Yellow-rumped Warbler, October

Setophaga coronata

Yellow-rumped Warbler · Constitution Marsh · 17 October 2026

A Yellow-rumped Warbler on a lichen-covered branch at Constitution Marsh, in the plain brown and buff of autumn with only a touch of yellow at the side. This is the eastern form, the Myrtle Warbler, which breeds in the northern conifer forests and is the last warbler of the autumn through New York, often still common in November.

It can winter further north than any other warbler because it can digest the wax coating on bayberries and wax myrtle, something few birds can manage, so it isn't wholly dependent on insects once the cold sets in.