WatchList Species Account for Golden-winged Warbler (Vermivora chrysoptera)

Qualifies for the list as a Red List Species

Photo: © Michael Patrikeev, NatureServe

Breeding in a variety of early successional habitats from the southern Appalachians to the Great Lakes region and parts of New England into southern Canada, the Golden-winged Warbler reaches its greatest densities in the upper Midwest. In winter it is found in forest and scrub from Guatemala to northern South America. The species appears to have undergone a widespread decline since at least 1966, but with a concurrent expansion to the north. For example, while the population in West Virginia declined by 5.28% per year from 1966-1990, the population in Vermont increased by 3.33% per year. Its population size is unknown.

Among the threats to the species are the loss of early successional habitats to suburban sprawl, regeneration of eastern forests, competition and hybridization with Blue-winged Warblers which has gradually replaced it particularly in the southern parts of its range, cowbird parasitism, and potentially loss of wintering habitat.