10 Birds With Yellow Feathers | Birds Advice
Have you ever wondered why birds’ feathers are so beautiful? And if they feature excellent colors like yellow, then the beauty of birds increases more. When they flutter their wings, you can enjoy a dazzling sight.
But, do you want to know what birds have yellow feathers? The most common yellow-feathered birds are American goldfinches, yellow-breasted chats, American yellow warblers, orchard orioles, eastern meadowlarks, western tanagers, common yellowthroats, saffron finches, Wilson’s warblers, golden conures, and more.
In this article, we’re going to talk about the distribution, identification, diet, size, and weight of these birds. Keep reading on till the end. Here is another article for you on 10 most popular green-feathered birds.
Read Also: 10 Birds With Pink Feathers | Click here
Birds With Yellow Feathers
1. American Goldfinch
- Scientific Name – Spinus tristis
- Body Length – 11 to 14 cm (4.3 to 5.5 in)
- Weight – 0.02 to 0.04 lbs. (11 to 20 g)
- Wingspan – 19 to 22 cm (7.5 to 8.7 in)
- Lifespan – 11 years
#Distribution and Habitat
During the breeding season, American goldfinches are available in North America, especially from mid-Alberta to North Carolina. In the winter season, these birds are found from the south of the United States to Mexico. They inhabit weedy fields, floodplains, orchards, roadsides, and cultivated areas.
#Identification
American goldfinches are small finches with a short, notched tail and a conical bill. Adult males are brilliant yellow with dark forehead and wings with white markings. On the other hand, adult females and immatures are unstreaked brown with blackish wings and pale wingbars.
#Diet
American goldfinches mostly feed on seeds, weeds, grasses, and insects. These birds love thistle, sunflower, elm, birch, and alder seeds. Besides, you can see them consuming the bark of young twigs, buds, and maple sap.
2. Yellow-breasted Chat
- Scientific Name – Icteria virens
- Body Length – 17 to 19.1 cm (6.7 to 7.5 in)
- Weight – 0.05 to 0.06 lbs. (23 to 31 g)
- Wingspan – 23 to 27 cm (9.1 to 10.6 in)
- Lifespan – 5 to 8 years
#Distribution and Habitat
Yellow-breasted chats are readily available all over North America. During winter, these birds migrate from the southern plains of Canada to Mexico and other Central American regions. They’re common in the tropics, open scrubs, briars, and woodland edges in the lowlands.
#Identification
Yellow-breasted chats are olive-green above and yellow below as the name suggests. These birds feature long, bulky tails, heavy bills, bold face markings, white mustache stripe, and a white eyering. However, the lower belly is white.
#Diet
Yellow-breasted chats mainly feed on insects and berries. The insects these birds eat most are moths, beetles, mayflies, grasshoppers, bugs, ants, bees, wasps, katydids, caterpillars, and small spiders. In berries, they prefer blackberries, elderberries, and more. You may see them consuming peanut butter and suet.
3. American Yellow Warbler
- Scientific Name – Setophaga petechia
- Body Length – 11.43 to 12.7 cm (4.5 to 5 in)
- Weight – 0.01 to 0.05 lbs. (7 to 25 g)
- Wingspan – 16 to 22 cm (6.3 to 8.7 in)
- Lifespan – 10 years
#Distribution and Habitat
American yellow warblers are usually found in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the Amazon region. These birds are most common in bushes, swamp edges, streams, marshes, lakes, alders, and more.
#Identification
American yellow warblers are round-headed with a dark eye and a stout, thin bill. Adult males are entirely bright, egg-yolk yellow with a yellow-green back and reddish streaks on the underparts. These small songbirds also feature medium-length tails with flash yellow patches.
#Diet
American yellow warblers are carnivorous, meaning they feed on insects only. The most common insects they eat are mayflies, beetles, damselflies, moths, mosquitoes, treehoppers, caterpillars, leafhoppers, wasps, and small spiders.
4. Orchard Oriole
- Scientific Name – Icterus spurius
- Body Length – 15 to 18 cm (5.9 to 7.1 in)
- Weight – 0.03 to 0.06 lbs. (16 to 28 g)
- Wingspan – 25 cm (9.8 in)
- Lifespan – 11 years
#Distribution and Habitat
Orchard orioles’ breeding range include the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Typically, these birds are found in northern Florida, southern Texas, Montana, Colorado, and northwestern Oklahoma. They inhabit open woodlands, wood edges, orchards, and shade trees.
#Identification
Orchard orioles feature black and orange or yellow plumage. Adult males are black above and orange or yellow below. These birds also have a black head and throat, a pale bill, and black rounded eyes. Adult females and immatures, however, are greenish-yellow.
#Diet
Orchard orioles usually feed on insects, berries, and nectar. In summer, these birds mostly eat insects, like caterpillars, beetles, grasshoppers, and spiders. In fall and winter, they eat berries, nectar, and parts of flowers.
5. Eastern Meadowlark
- Scientific Name – Sturnella magna
- Body Length – 19 to 28 cm (7.5 to 11.0 in)
- Weight – 0.16 to 0.33 lbs. (76 to 150 g)
- Wingspan – 35 to 40 cm (14 to 16 in)
- Lifespan – 3 to 5 years
#Distribution and Habitat
Eastern meadowlarks are year-round residents in the eastern United States. Their breeding range includes southeastern Canada, Great Lakes regions, and the Appalachian Mountain corridor. They usually inhabit grasslands, golf courses, savannas, and shrubby overgrown fields.
#Identification
Eastern meadowlarks are medium-sized songbirds, featuring shorter tails and longer, spear-shaped bills. These birds are pale-brown marked with black above and bright-yellow below. The outer wings are white, which is clearly seen during flight.
#Diet
Being omnivorous, eastern meadowlarks feed on seeds, insects, grains, etc. The majority of their diet consists of insects, including grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, ants, true bugs, caterpillars, and small spiders. In fall and winter, they consume seeds and waste grains.
6. Western Tanager
- Scientific Name – Piranga ludoviciana
- Body Length – 16 to 19 cm (6.3 to 7.5 in)
- Weight – 0.05 to 0.07 lbs. (24 to 36 g)
- Wingspan – 29 cm (11.5 in)
- Lifespan – 7 to 8 years
#Distribution and Habitat
Western tanagers are usually found in the western United States and Canada. During the breeding season, these birds are available in western conifer forests and juniper-pine mixtures. Besides, they migrate to nearly any shrubby or wooded habitats, pine-oak woodlands, and forest edges.
#Identification
Adult males are mostly yellow with an orange-red head and black wings. Adult females, however, have subdued yellow-green plumage with red restricted to the front of the face. Their wings have a couple of bold wingbars; one is yellow and the other is white.
#Diet
Western tanagers mainly feed on insects, including wasps, bees, ants, cicadas, beetles, grasshoppers, termites, and others. Apart from that, these birds consume a variety of fruits and berries, especially elderberries, mulberries, some dried fruits, freshly cut oranges, and other fresh fruits.
7. Common Yellowthroat
- Scientific Name – Geothlypis trichas
- Body Length – 11 to 13 cm (4.3 to 5.1 in)
- Weight – 0.01 lbs. (8.5 g)
- Wingspan – 15 to 19 cm (5.9 to 7.5 in)
- Lifespan – 11 to 12 years
#Distribution and Habitat
Common yellowthroats are usually found in the United States and Canada during the spring and summer months. These birds migrate to the south to overwinter from August to October. Their common habitats are swamps, moist brushy places, wet thickets, marshes, and edges.
#Identification
In appearance, adult males are olive above and bright yellow below with a sharp black face mask. Adult females, on the other hand, are plain olive-brown with a bright yellow throat and undertail. Besides, immature males have traces of the full mask.
#Diet
Common yellowthroats are omnivorous, meaning that they eat only insects. The most common insects are wasps, grasshoppers, dragonflies, damselflies, moths, flies, ants, aphids, leafhoppers, mayflies, beetles, grubs, bees, cankerworms, and small spiders.
8. Saffron Finch
- Scientific Name – Sicalis flaveola
- Body Length – 13.5 to 14 cm (5.25 to 5.5 in)
- Weight – 0.044 to 0.048 lbs. (20 to 22 g)
- Wingspan – 17 to 20 cm (7 to 8 in)
- Lifespan – 10 to 12 years
#Distribution and Habitat
Saffron finches are readily available in South America, especially in Colombia, western Peru, eastern and southern Brazil, northern Venezuela, western Ecuador, Bolivia, Paraguay, and northern Argentina. These birds usually live in semi-open and open areas in lowlands outside the Amazon region.
#Identification
Saffron finches are brilliant yellow with an orange crown that differentiates them from most other yellow finches. In contrast, this is difficult to identify the females slightly duller versions of the males. Their legs and feet are pink-grey with black wings, tails, and feathers.
#Diet
The diet of saffron finches includes a mixture of millets, such as wild seeds, green food, and canary grass seeds. These birds are especially fond of oat grouts. However, during breeding, they need more protein, which they gain from larva, worms, mealworms, and grit.
9. Wilson’s Warbler
- Scientific Name – Cardellina pusilla
- Body Length – 10 to 12 cm (3.9 to 4.7 in)
- Weight – 0.01 to 0.02 lbs. (5 to 10 g)
- Wingspan – 14 to 17 cm (5.5 to 6.7 in)
- Lifespan – 6 years
#Distribution and Habitat
Wilson’s warblers spend the nonbreeding season in the southern United States, especially the southern coast of California and the Gulf Coast, Mexico, and Panama. These species are common in thickets along wooded streams, low shrubs, moist tangles, willows, and alders.
#Identification
Both genders have a black cap, but immature females don’t have this feature. Being one of the smallest warblers, Wilson’s warblers have small, thin bills. In appearance, these birds are large-headed compared to their body size.
#Diet
Wilson’s warblers are insectivores, meaning that they can feed on insects gleaned from twigs, leaves, or caught in the air. The most common insects these birds consume are beetles, caterpillars, bees, wasps, aphids, and small spiders.
10. Golden Conure
- Scientific Name – Guaruba guarouba
- Body Length – 33 to 35 cm (13 to 14 in)
- Weight – 0.55 to 0.6 lbs. (250 to 275 g)
- Wingspan – 20.8 to 21.8 cm (8.18 to 8.58 in)
- Lifespan – 30 years
#Distribution and Habitat
Golden conures, also known as golden parakeets, are native to the Amazon Basin of northern Brazil. During the breeding season, these birds stay in open areas on the edge of the forests. During the nonbreeding season, they inhabit tall trees.
#Identification
In appearance, golden conures are mainly yellow with green in the outer wings. They have a large horn-colored beak, pink legs, brown irises, and pale-pink bare eye rings. Immatures have less yellow and greener feathers than adults.
#Diet
Golden conures mostly feed on seeds, nuts, fruits, nectar, greens, and other plant matters. The most common fruits they eat are mangoes, apples, berries, grapes, and bananas. In vegetables, they prefer pumpkin, carrot, squash, and broccoli.
Final Words
Now that you know what birds have yellow feathers, you should offer them delicious once one of them is noticed in your backyard. Make sure to give them shelter in harsh winter months. They will surely appreciate your hospitality and come back to you again and again.
By the way, we hope you’ve learned a lot about 10 fascinating birds that feature yellow feathers. If you’ve ever noticed such a wild bird in your backyard, let us know below in the comment section. Here are our Social Media pages: Pinterest, Twitter, & Facebook.
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- Pixabay.com
- Flickr.com
- Commons.wikimedia.org
