Chiriqui yellowthroat

Chiriqui yellowthroat
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Parulidae
Genus: Geothlypis
Species:
G. chiriquensis
Binomial name
Geothlypis chiriquensis
Salvin, 1872
Synonyms

See text

The Chiriqui yellowthroat (Geothlypis chiriquensis) is a bird in the family Parulidae, the New World warblers. It is found in Costa Rica and Panama.[2] Taxonomists are divided on whether it is a full species or a subspecies of the olive-crowned yellowthroat (G. semiflava).

Taxonomy and systematics

The Chiriqui yellowthroat was formally described in 1872 with its current binomial Geothlypis chiriquensis.[3]

Since its description the Chiriqui yellowthroat's taxonomy has undergone many revisions. Many taxonomic systems and field guide authors long considered it a subspecies of the masked yellowthroat (G. aequinoctialis).[4][5][6] In 2018 the American Ornithological Society and Clements taxonomy reassigned it as a subspecies of the olive-crowned yellowthroat and as of late 2025 they retain it there.[7][8][9][10] The initial version of AviList in 2025 also treats it this way.[11] In contrast, in 2015 the IOC restored it to full species status.[12] In 2017 BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) followed suit.[13] As of early 2026 and late 2025 respectively they both retain it as a species.[2][14]

This article treats the Chirqui yellowthroat as a species. It also is included as a subspecies in the olive-crowned yellowthroat article.

Description

The Chiriqui yellowthroat is 11.1 to 13.5 cm (4.4 to 5.3 in) long and weighs about 17 g (0.60 oz). The species is sexually dimorphic. Adult males have a wide black mask from their forehead and forecrown around the eye to the side of the neck. They have a gray crown and a gray line along the top and rear of the mask. Their nape, upperparts, tail, and wings except their primaries are bright yellowish green. Their primaries are dusky with bright yellowish green outer webs. Their sides and flanks are greenish yellow and the rest of their underparts bright yellow. Females have a gray mask and cheeks and a very faint supercilium. Their upper- and underparts are like the male's. Both sexes have a dark iris, a black bill with pale horn tomia and gonys, and pinkish horn or dull orange legs and feet.[15]

Distribution and habitat

The Chiriqui yellowthroat is found from extreme southwestern Costa Rica into western Panama's Chiriquí Province.[15][7] It inhabits a variety of landscapes including marshes, damp pastures with tall grass and shrubs, and thickets of bamboo. Most are near water, usually ponds but also moving watercourses.[15] In Costa Rica it ranges in elevation between 900 and 1,200 m (3,000 and 3,900 ft).[5]

Behavior

Movement

The Chiriqui yellowthroat is a sedentary year-round resident.[15]

Feeding

The Chiriqui yellowthroat's diet has not been studied but is assumed to be mostly insects and other invertebrates. It typically forages singly or in pairs and captures prey by gleaning from low dense vegetation.[15]

Breeding

The Chiriqui yellowthroat's breeding season has not been defined but is known to include May in Costa Rica. The species' nest is an open cup made from coarse grasses lined with finer plant fibers and hair. They are typically placed in a clump of grass less than 1 m (3 ft) above the ground. The clutch is one or two eggs that are white with markings of several darker colors. The incubation period is 15 days. Nothing else is known about the species' breeding biology.[15]

Vocalization

The Chiriqui yellowthroat's song is "three- to four-note phrases repeated many times and becoming progressively faster, weaker and higher, and ending with distinct flourish, e.g., twichee-teeweeo tweecheo or tuwichyeer tuwichyeer tuwichyeer tuweecha tuweecha chee-che-che chit". Males sing from a perch or in a flight display that can take it to 6 m (20 ft) above the ground. The species' calls include "a hoarse chuck, a nasal chee-uw or chreeuw, a sharp chip or kip, and a short, dry, downslurred chatter in alarm or agitation".[15]

Status

The IUCN has assessed the Chiriqui yellowthroat as being of Least Concern. It has a small range; its population size is not known but is believed to be increasing. No immediate threats have been identified.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 BirdLife International (2020). "Chiriqui Yellowthroat Geothlypis chiriquensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020 e.T103795596A139148930. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T103795596A139148930.en. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
  2. 1 2 Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (April 2026). "New World warblers, mitrospingid tanagers". IOC World Bird List. v 15.2. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
  3. ↑ Salvin, Osbert (1872). "XVIII.—Remarks on the Mniotiltine Genus Geothlypis". Ibis. II (3). British Ornithologists’ Union: 148–150. Retrieved July 6, 2026.
  4. ↑ Check-list of North American Birds (7th ed.). Washington, D.C.: American Ornithologists' Union. 1998. pp. 559–560.
  5. 1 2 Garrigues, Richard; Dean, Robert (2007). The Birds of Costa Rica. Ithaca: Zona Tropical/Comstock/Cornell University Press. pp. 272–273. ISBN 978-0-8014-7373-9.
  6. ↑ Greeney, H. F. and P. F. D. Boesman (2022). Masked Yellowthroat (Geothlypis aequinoctialis), version 3.0. In Birds of the World (N. D. Sly, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.masyel2.03 retrieved July 6, 2026
  7. 1 2 R. Terry Chesser, Kevin J. Burns, Carla Cicero, Jon L. Dunn, Andrew W. Kratter, Irby J. Lovette, Pamela C. Rasmussen, J. V. Remsen, Jr., Douglas F. Stotz, Benjamin M. Winger, and Kevin Winker. "Fifty-ninth supplement to the American Ornithological Society's Check-list of North American Birds". The Auk 2018, vol. 135:798-813 retrieved December 13, 2022
  8. ↑ Clements, J. F. et al. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018.
  9. ↑ Chesser, R. T., S. M. Billerman, K. J. Burns, C. Cicero, J. L. Dunn, B. E. Hernández-Baños, R. A. Jiménez, Oscar Johnson, N. A. Mason, and P. C. Rasmussen. 2025. "Check-list of North American Birds" (online). American Ornithological Society. https://checklist.americanornithology.org/taxa
  10. ↑ Clements, J. F., P. C. Rasmussen, T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, A. Spencer, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, M. Smith, and C. L. Wood. 2025. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2025. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ retrieved November 3, 2025
  11. ↑ AviList Core Team (2025). "AviList: The Global Avian Checklist, v2025". Retrieved June 11, 2025.
  12. ↑ Gill, F. and D. Donsker (Eds). 2015. "IOC World Bird List" (v 5.1). http://www.worldbirdnames.org/
  13. ↑ HBW and BirdLife International (2017) "Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world". Version 2 Available at: http://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_Version_2.zip
  14. ↑ HBW and BirdLife International (2025). Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 10. Available at: https://datazone.birdlife.org/about-our-science/taxonomy#birdlife-s-taxonomic-checklist retrieved October 12, 2025
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Curson, J., J. del Hoyo, N. Collar, and G. M. Kirwan (2022). Olive-crowned Yellowthroat (Geothlypis semiflava), version 1.1. In Birds of the World (B. K. Keeney, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.olcyel1.01.1 retrieved July 6, 2026

Further reading

  • New World Warblers by Curson, Quinn and Beadle, ISBN 0-7136-3932-6
  • A guide to the birds of Costa Rica by Stiles and Skutch ISBN 0-8014-9600-4
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