Wilson's Warbler (Cardellina pusilla chryseola)

These birds will become common in willow thickets in our area next month but this was the first of the season for us. This is an adult male showing an extensive shiny black cap. However some females also have a black cap in West Coast populations. We know this one was a male primarily because it was singing. The orange color on its forehead is typical of the West Coast subspecies W. p. chryseola. This population is also brighter yellow overall and their song is much more emphatic, quite different from migrants I have heard in Eastern North America (nominate C. p. pusilla), Formerly placed in the genus Wilsonia.