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Russet-crowned Warbler | Myiothlypis coronata
Goudkruinzanger | Reinita coronirrojiza | Pula-pula-de-coroa-ruiva
The Russet-crowned Warbler is one of the most widespread warblers of montane forest in the Andes, from Venezuela to Bolivia. It lives in the understorey of cloud forest and upper montane forest, usually in pairs that travel with mixed flocks, and pairs often sing in duet.
Voice
The song is a loud, rising series of notes ending in a sharp, explosive finish; pairs often sing in duet. The call is a dry, sharp tchek.
Recording: Juan Freile — CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 · xeno-canto
Identification
14–14.5 cm, rather sturdy, with a fairly long tail. The head is grey, with a rufous to orange-brown crown stripe bordered on each side by a black band, and a black eyestripe. The upperparts are olive-green. In most of the guide area the underparts are yellow; birds of the western slope in south-western Colombia and western Ecuador have a grey throat and breast and a whitish to pale yellow belly. The sexes are alike. Young birds are duller and browner, with fainter head markings.
Confusion species
Three-striped Warbler Basileuterus tristriatus is smaller, with pale and black head stripes without rufous and a black ear patch. Citrine Warbler Myiothlypis luteoviridis has an olive-green head without a crown stripe and a yellow supercilium. Black-crested Warbler Myiothlypis nigrocristata has a black crown and a yellow supraloral stripe. Grey-throated Warbler Myiothlypis cinereicollis of north-eastern Colombia has a yellow crown stripe and lives lower.
Habitat
Understorey of cloud forest and upper montane forest, also forest edges, bamboo and tall scrub, mainly between 1500 and 3000 m, locally lower or higher. It forages in pairs, often with mixed flocks, for insects in the lower vegetation. The nest is a domed nest on the ground, often in a bank or among roots.
Where the bird is most at home, classified by the vegetation units of the Andes and the west coast.
Range and movements
Colombia: in all three Andean ranges. Ecuador: on both Andean slopes. Peru: along the eastern slope of the Andes over the whole length of the country, in the north also on the western slope. Bolivia: in the Yungas of La Paz and Cochabamba and the montane forests of western Santa Cruz. Absent from the Galápagos. Outside the guide area in the Andes of western Venezuela.
- Resident
- dark = core range, pale = thinly spread
How and when to look
In cloud forest along roads and trails, listen for the loud duet from the dense understorey. The birds often appear briefly at the edge of bamboo or scrub, usually together with a mixed flock.
Conservation status
Least Concern. The species has a large range and is fairly common in suitable montane forest; it tolerates forest edges and old secondary forest, but disappears where the forest is cleared completely.
Scientific name
Myiothlypis coronata | (Tschudi, 1844)
Tschudi described the species in 1844 as Myiodioctes coronatus; because it was later moved to another genus, the author and year stand in brackets. The genus Myiothlypis was introduced in 1851 by Cabanis. The genus name combines Greek muia, 'fly', with thlupis, an unidentified small bird. The species name comes from Latin coronatus, 'crowned', after the russet crown stripe. The specimen the first description was based on came from Chanchamayo Valley, Junín, Peru.