Belding’s Yellowthroat

Belding's yellowthroat (Geothlypis beldingi) is a New World warbler. It is a resident breeder endemic to the southern Baja California Peninsula (Mexico). It is closely related to common yellowthroat, Altamira yellowthroat and Bahama yellowthroat, with which it forms a superspecies, and was formerly considered conspecific. The breeding habitat is freshwater marshes and lagoons, usually with cattails. It builds a cup nest of dead cattails which is usually attached to low on the stem of a living cattail. It lays 2–4 eggs, usually 3. Like other yellowthroats it forages low in vegetation and feeds on insects and other small invertebrates. The Belding's yellowthroat is 14 cm long with an olive-green back and bright yellow belly. The adult male of the southern nominate race G. b. beldingi has yellow underparts, a black facemask and yellow forecrown. The female is similar, but lacks the black mask and has an olive crown. It is similar to Altamira yellowthroat, but separated from it by the width of Mexico. This race has been drastically affected by habitat loss, and is now restricted to several small marshes in southernmost Baja California [the estero at San Jose del Cabo and the lagoon at Todo Santos; August, 2007]. The…