Birds
Yellow and Black Birds in California – All You Need To Know (2023)
Have you spotted a yellow and black bird before? or have you heard of yellow and black birds in California? in this blog post I would be listing a few of these yellow and black birds and explaining a few things about them.
Yellow And Black Birds In California
There are about ten thousand types of birds in the world and almost a thousand of them are in California. These birds have several colors and patterns, concerning their species. One of those which capture the eyes are birds with yellow and black colors.
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Yes, there are yellow and black birds in California, they’re indeed a sight to behold. some include; the Orioles, Tanagers, American Goldfinch, Common Yellowthroat, Magnolia Warbler, The Warblers, Evening grosbeak, Orchard orioles, Hooded Orioles, Goldfinch, and Meadowlark, to mention a few.
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Examples Of Yellow And Black Birds In California
I’ll be giving a list of some of them as I proceed, with a short insight into the birds.
#1. Hooded Orioles.
Females are called Palm leaf Orioles: the hooded oriole is a medium-sized bird of about 7-8 inches in length. The males have black throats, faces, backs, wings, and tails. Sometimes, the wings contain white strips, while the females are yellow and olive-greenish with dark wings.
They breed in open spaces, mostly palm trees and they feed on fruits, nectars, insects, and sometimes, hummingbird feeders. They can be attracted to oranges, sugar water, or jelly. They belong to a family of birds with long bills with which they get foods other birds can’t reach; Blackbirds(Icteridae).
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#2. Western tanager (Piranga Ordovician).
During spawning, western tanagers are found primarily in quite open coniferous forests and mixed woodlands.
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During migration, western tanagers are widely populated, including lowland woodlands, deserts, parks, and orchards. They obtain their food by hawking and gleaning, but, they also feed on fruits and insects.
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#3. Warbler.
(Yellow, Nashville, hooded warbler, orange-crowned warbler, hermit warbler, black-throated warbler, Townsend’s warbler, etc.)There are a couple of warblers, but I’ll be speaking specifically on the Yellow warbler.
The Yellow warbler, with the scientific name, Setophaga petechia, is a species that is usually very similar, with a uniform color of yellow, with only their eyes being black. Females have a paler shade of greenish-yellow, especially on their rounded heads. Length is about 3.9 to 71 inches and the wingspan is 6.3 to 8.7 inches.
They are generally small, weighing just about 7 and 25 grams. Yellow warblers are mostly inhabitants of the mangrove swamps. However, they sometimes migrate to other regions. During breeding, these birds are vehemently fierce regarding their territory or habitat.
They breed in shrubs and woodlands. Yellow warblers mainly feed on caterpillars, notwithstanding, they feed on other insects like mosquitoes, beetles, flies, etc. The method used is gleaning and hawking. They seldom eat berry-like fruits. They lay up to 6 eggs at once and their youngsters are fed by both parents.
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#4. American Goldfinch:
It’s a small bird with just 4.3-5.5 inches in length and11-20g in weight. They are usually found in weedy fields, flood plains, gardens, cultivated grasslands, roadsides, and meadows, among others.
Adult males are bright yellow with black foreheads and wings. Females are pale yellow underneath and olive above with two distinct wing bars. In winter, they are brownish. Finches are mostly active and acrobatic. They feed on seeds, buds, the bark of twigs, and insects. The scientific name is “Spinus tristis”
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#5. Lesser Goldfinch:
The scientific name is Spinus psaltria. It’s a small bird that belongs to the same family as the American goldfinch and Lawrence goldfinch. The males have bright yellow parts and patches of white on their tails and wings.
Females, on the other hand, are greyish or olive on their backs, with little or no white on the tails and wings respectively. They have long, pointed wings and short tails. They occur in flocks and are usually found near places of habitation.
Food is mostly buds of trees and seeds. They are common at weedy fields and feeders, too, especially where there are plenty of trees and shrubs. They sometimes exhibit Geophagy. Length is 9-12cm, weight is 8-11g and the wing span is 15-20cm. Eggs are between 3 – 6 at once.
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#6. Magnolia Warbler:
Setophaga magnolia is another small bird of the warbler genus. It’s 11 – 13cm long, weighs between 6g and 13g, and is 16cm – 20cm wide from wing to wing.
The males have either white, grey, or black backs, yellow with black strips on the belly part; blackheads and short bills, black, long tails, and white patches on their wings.
The only difference between males and females is the color; females have a duller color, compared to males. Magnolia warblers feed on insects, especially caterpillars; sometimes, they feed on fruits and nectar. Reproduction is about 3-5 eggs at a go. They inhabit conifers or mixed forests.
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#7. Yellow-headed Blackbirds:
They are usually about 8-10 inches long and are usually found in farm fields and wetlands. Although they share their habitat with red-winged birds, yellow-headed blackbirds are largely dominant.
They feed on seeds and grains. Males have yellow heads and chests, with black bodies and white strips on their wings, while the females and younger ones are mainly brown instead of black, with pale yellow on their heads. The scientific name is Xanthocephalus.
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#8. Evening grosbeak:
a noisy and social species of bird with the binomial name Coccothraustes Vespertinus. They are usually large with long, pale, and thick bills and short black tails. The body is yellow and the head is brown.
The wing has white patches. Females are greyish with white and black wings. Length span is 6 – 9 inches, on average. Body mass is 60grams on average and wing expanse is 12 – 16 inches on average. They breed in feeders, conifers, and deciduous forests and feed on insects, berries, and seeds. They flock in associations. Eggs are about 2 – 6 variably.
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#9. Orchard orioles:
The smallest specie of icterid called Icterus spurius is a bird with a length of 6-7 inches, a body mass of 16-28 grams, and a wing expanse of 25cm. However, they are larger than warblers.
The males have a round head and a black, straight, pointed beak with a touch of greyish blue on the lower part, with white on their wings. While the females have yellow on their belly parts and olive green on their backs and upper parts, but, no black at all.
They are nocturnal migrants who live in areas with deciduous trees, as well as in shaded trees within water regions (lakes, streams, rivers), and in parks, woody edges, and orchards. They feed on insects, seeds, nectar, and fruits. They lay about 3-7 eggs at a go. They migrate in flocks.
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#10. Scott’s oriole:
Scott’s oriole is another medium-sized species of the Icterid with the scientific name, Icterus parisorum. Length is 23cm, body mass is 32-41g and wingspan is 32cm.
They breed in high deserts and mountain slopes and feed on invertebrates, nectars, and fruits. Scott’s oriole is closely related to yuccas. It does virtually everything on yuccas plants.
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#11. Eastern Meadowlark:
The scientific name is Sturnella magna. It also belongs to the Icterid family. It’s medium-sized with a short tail that has a white spot and a pointed beak.
The birds are dull brown with black marks, with bright yellow below their belly parts and a bold black V across the chest. Its length is 19 – 28cm, wingspan is 35-40cm and body mass is 76-150g.
Their place of habitation is grasslands, hay fields, and pastures, however, they build their nests on the ground. They feed on arthropods, seeds, and berries and they feed in flocks.
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#12. Western Meadowlark:
Sturnella neglecta is another member of the Icterid family of length 6-10 inches, 88-110g in weight, and 41cm of the wing span.
The birds have brown streaks on their upper parts and yellow on the lower parts, and a conspicuous V shape on their breasts. Like the Eastern meadowlark, it nests on the ground and inhabits grasslands. Feeds on bugs, seeds, berries, and insects. They equally feed in flocks. They lay eggs daily.
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#13. Wilson’s Warbler:
binomial name is Cardellina pusilla. Green and yellow colors are above and beneath respectively. They have round heads with black eyes and long tails. Males often have black caps.
Length is about 4-5 inches, weight is between 5 and 10grams, while wingspan is about 14-17cm. They inhabit mountain meadows, deciduous trees, grasslands, forest edges, and open woodlands with shrubs in water regions with streams, ponds, rivers, and wet clearings.
They feed majorly on insects. Eggs are between 2-7.
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#14. Common Yellowthroat:
Another type of warbler the scientific name, Geothylpis trichas is a bird that lays up to 5 eggs at once, in a cup-shaped nest.
Measurements include 4-5 inches in length, 8.5g in weight, and about 15-19cm from wing to wing. There are up to 13 races of this kind of bird.
Conclusion On Yellow And Black Birds In California
Yes, there are yellow and black birds in California, they’re indeed a sight to behold. They include; the Orioles, Tanagers, American Goldfinch, Common Yellowthroat, Magnolia Warbler, The Warblers, Evening grosbeak, Orchard orioles, Hooded Orioles, Goldfinch, and Meadowlark