Common Yellowthroat
Learn to identify the Common Yellowthroat by ear. Master the "witchety-witchety-witchety" phrase and tell it apart from similar species.
What the Common Yellowthroat sounds like
A distinctive, rolling 'witchity-witchity-witchity' or 'witch-i-ty, witch-i-ty' sung from exposed perches by territorial males.
- Husky chip call: A low, rough chip from dense cover, often the first hint that a Common Yellowthroat is tucked into the vegetation. “tchep!”
How to tell it apart
Lessons featuring the Common Yellowthroat
Ready to test your ear? Practice identifying the Common Yellowthroat's sounds in these interactive in-app lessons.
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Where you'll hear it
Migratory; breeding across most of the United States and Canada, wintering in southern U.S., Mexico, and Central America.
Thick, tangled vegetation in wetlands, prairies, pine forests, hedgerows, and disturbed sites across North America.
Most active during daylight hours, skulking through dense vegetation and singing from exposed perches.
How to recognize it by sight
Common Yellowthroats are small songbirds with chunky, rounded heads and medium-length, slightly rounded tails. Adult males are bright yellow below, with a sharp black face mask and olive upperparts. Females are a plain olive brown, usually with yellow brightening the throat and under the tail.
Similar species
Wilson's Warbler
Male has black cap rather than mask
Nashville Warbler
Gray head without mask
MacGillivray's Warbler
Broken white eye-arcs above and below eye