Field Marks: 5 in. The yellowest of warblers and a familiar inhabitant of parks, residential areas, and thickets, usually near water. Especially fond of streamside willows. Found almost throughout North America, with several different geographical races varying from deep gold (in the Florida Keys) to a very pale form in the Southwest. Adults of both sexes predominantly yellow throughout; olive-yellow wings and tail, marked by yellow wing bars and tail spots. Males brighter than females, with rust-colored streaks on breast. Streaks faint or absent in females and immature males. Immature females much duller than adult, in some areas nearly pale gray. High-pitched, patterned song begins with three similar notes followed by a more varied phrase: "sweet-sweet-sweet-sue-so-sweet."
Range: Breeds from Alaska east to Newfoundland and south to s. California, n. Oklahoma, and n. Georgia; also in Florida Keys. Winters from Mexico to South America; occasionally in s. Florida, rarely in s. Arizona.
