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The Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea) is a small songbird of the New World warbler family. It is the only member of the genus Protonotaria.

It is 13 cm long and weighs 12.5 g. It has an olive back with blue-grey wings and tail, yellow underparts, a relatively long pointed bill and black legs. Adult males have a bright orange-yellow head; females and immature birds are duller in colour and have a yellow head.

The breeding habitat is hardwood swamps in southern Canada and the eastern United States. This bird nests in a cavity, sometimes using old Downy Woodpecker nests. The male often builds several incomplete unused nests in his territory; the female builds the real nest.

The preferred foraging habitat is dense, woody streams. The best way to see these little golden birds is from the water by kayak or canoe.

These birds migrate to the West Indies, Central America and northern South America.

They forage actively in low foliage in wet areas; these birds mainly eat insects and snails.

The song of this bird is a loud repeated tweet-tweet-tweet-tweet.

These birds are declining in numbers due to loss of habitat. They are also frequently victimized by the Brown-headed Cowbird.

This bird was named after officials in the Roman Catholic Church known as the protonotarii, who wore golden robes.

References

* Curson, Quinn and Beadle,New World Warblers ISBN 0-7136-3932-6
* Stiles and Skutch, ''A guide to the birds of Costa Rica’’ ISBN 0-0814-9600-4