Black-throated Green Warbler
Learn to identify the Black-throated Green Warbler by ear. Master the "zee-zee-zee-zoo-zee" phrase and tell it apart from similar species.
What the Black-throated Green Warbler sounds like
Rapid series of 4-6 buzzy, rising notes ending with a slurred "zoo zee"; given mainly to attract females.
How to tell it apart
Lessons featuring the Black-throated Green Warbler
Ready to test your ear? Practice identifying the Black-throated Green Warbler's sounds in this interactive in-app lesson.
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Where you'll hear it
Neotropical migrant: summers in the boreal and montane east of North America; winters from eastern Mexico through Central America and the Greater Antilles to northern Colombia and Venezuela.
Breeds in mature coniferous or mixed hemlock–spruce–fir forests as well as white-cedar swamps across Canada, New England, and the Appalachians. During migration it uses almost any woodland, and on the wintering grounds it favors humid pine-oak and evergreen forests from Mexico through the Caribbean to northern South America.
Arrives on breeding grounds from late April to mid-May; peak breeding May–July; southbound migration August–October; spends November–March on the wintering grounds.
How to recognize it by sight
A tiny, active wood-warbler with an unmistakable combination of a bright yellow face, olive-green back, and contrasting black on the throat and upper chest (adult males). Females and immatures lack the solid black throat but keep the glowing yellow face. The species constantly flits through mid- to upper-canopy foliage, often hanging from needles and leaves while picking insects.
Similar species
Townsend’s Warbler
Townsend’s shows bold black cheek patch; Black-throated Green has yellow cheek.
Hermit Warbler
Adult male Hermit Warblers have a golden-yellow head and black throat, but their back is gray and their underparts are much cleaner white than a Black-throated Green Warbler’s.
Pine Warbler
Pine is larger, with unstreaked olive back and lacks black throat.