In some areas Yellow Warblers have learned to scavenge for food from visitors and have become very tame. Photo Jeff Wells

North American birders who are fortunate to have Yellow Warblers breeding in the backyard may be surprised to see that the males of the resident race on Aruba have a bright red cap. Other than that, they look and sound quite similar. Yellow Warblers are common around Bubali Bird Sanctuary, in Arikok National Park, and on many other parts of the island. Some authors consider this form to be a separate species that they call the Golden Warbler. Adding to the confusion is the fact that migrant Yellow Warblers from North America may pass through or occasionally winter on the ABCs. To make matters further complicated, some of the immature, worn, or molting resident Yellow Warblers can look like other warbler species that are rare or unrecorded for the island such as Tennessee Warbler, Nashville Warbler, or Cape May Warbler.

Watch our short video of a male Yellow Warbler at Bubali, Aruba, filmed in November, 2011.