Choco warbler
| Golden-bellied warbler | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Parulidae |
| Genus: | Myiothlypis |
| Species: | M. chlorophrys |
| Binomial name | |
| Myiothlypis chlorophrys (Berlepsch, 1907) | |
The Choco warbler (Myiothlypis chlorophrys) is a species of bird in the family Parulidae, the New World warblers. It is found in Colombia and Ecuador.[2]
Taxonomy and systematics
[edit]The Choco warbler was formally described in 1907 as a subspecies of the two-banded warbler with the trinomial Basileuterus bivittatus chlorophrys.[3] At some time in the twentieth century it was reassigned as a subspecies of what was then called the golden-bellied warbler (Basileuterus chrysogaster). By 2007 taxonomic systems had begun to resurrect genus Myiothlypis, which had been erected in 1850, for chrysogaster and many other species.[4][5]
The above assignment lasted into the twentieth century. By 2012 the IOC had split the golden-bellied warbler into the Choco warbler and the Cuzco warbler; the latter retained the binomial Myiothlypis chrysogaster.[6] BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) did the same in 2016, though it kept the name "golden-bellied" warbler for chrysogaster until 2024.[7][5] The Clements taxonomy adopted the split in 2022.[8] However, as of February 2026 the South American Classification Committee retained the two-subspecies golden-bellied warbler.[4]
This article follows the majority one-subspecies model.
Description
[edit]The Choco warbler is 11.5 to 13 cm (4.5 to 5.1 in) long. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have an orange crown stripe with thin blackish borders, a yellow spot above the lores, a pale olive supercilium, and a dark line through the eye. Their nape and upperparts are olive. Their throat and underparts are mostly olive-yellow with a much olive on the sides of the breast and the flanks. They have a dark iris, a blackish gray bill, and yellowish or straw legs and feet.[9][10]
Distribution and habitat
[edit]The Choco warbler is found in the foothills of the western slope in Colombia's Western Andes[11] from Antioquia Department[12] and south through Ecuador's Andes to southern Los Ríos and Bolívar provinces.[10] It primarily inhabits the interior and edges of humid primary and secondary lowland and submontane forest.[9][10] In elevation it ranges between 300 and 1,000 m (1,000 and 3,300 ft) in Colombia and between 400 and 1,200 m (1,300 and 3,900 ft) in Ecuador.[11][10]
Behavior
[edit]Movement
[edit]The Choco warbler is a sedentary year-round resident.[9]
Feeding
[edit]The Choco warbler's diet has not been studied but is believed to be mostly or entirely invertebrates. Pairs and family groups usually forage from the forest's mid-level to its subcanopy. The species mostly gleans its prey from vegetation and branches. It often joins mixed-species feeding flocks.[9][10][11]
Breeding
[edit]The Choco warbler has a long breeding season; evidence suggests it spans at least from October to early June. Nothing else is known about the species' breeding biology.[9]
Vocalization
[edit]The Choco warbler's "[f]requently heard and distinctive song [is] a very thin, wiry, and buzzy t-t-t-t-tzzzzzzzzzzz".[10] Its calls include a "short high-pitched tsee note" and a "peculiar rough-sounding burry rrweet".[9]
Status
[edit]The IUCN has assessed the Cuzco warbler as being of Least Concern. Its population size is not known and is believed to be decreasing. No immediate threats have been identified.[1] It is considered uncommon in Colombia and locally common in Ecuador.[11][10]
References
[edit]- 1 2 BirdLife International (2024). "Myiothlypis chlorophrys". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2024 e.T103800433A264295460. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2024-2.RLTS.T103800433A264295460.en.
- ↑ AviList Core Team (2025). "AviList: The Global Avian Checklist, v2025". Retrieved June 11, 2025.
- ↑ von Berlepsch, Hans (1907). "Descriptions of new species and con-species of neotropical birds". Ornis (in Latin and English). XIV: 347–348. Retrieved July 16, 2026.
- 1 2 "South American Classification Committee". www.museum.lsu.edu. Archived from the original on 2026-06-30. Retrieved 2026-07-17.
- 1 2 "Taxonomy". BirdLife DataZone. Retrieved 2026-07-17.
- ↑ Gill, F and D Donsker (Eds). 2012. IOC World Bird List (v 3.1)
- ↑ BirdLife International (2016) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. [Old] Version 9. Available at: http://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/BirdLife_Checklist_Version_90.zip.
- ↑ Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2022. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2022. retrieved November 30, 2022
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Curson, Jon; del Hoyo, Josep; Collar, Nigel; Kirwan, Guy M.; Boesman, Peter F. D. (2022). "Choco Warbler (Myiothlypis chlorophrys), version 1.0". Birds of the World. doi:10.2173/bow.gobwar4.01. ISSN 2771-3105.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Ridgely, Robert S.; Greenfield, Paul J. (2001). The Birds of Ecuador: Field Guide. Vol. II. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. p. 610. ISBN 978-0-8014-8721-7.
- 1 2 3 4 McMullan, Miles; Donegan, Thomas M.; Quevedo, Alonso (2010). Field Guide to the Birds of Colombia. Bogotá: Fundación ProAves. p. 216. ISBN 978-0-9827615-0-2.
- ↑ Olaciregui, C., A. Quevedo, F. González, and L. F. Barrera (2016). "Range extensions and noteworthy records of birds from the Serranía de Abibe, north-west Colombia". Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 136(4):243–262.