The Chiriqui yellowthroat is a species of New World warbler. It has a number of separate resident breeding populations in Central America from southwestern Costa Rica to Panama. It was previously considered a subspecies of the masked yellowthroat.
Region
Southern Central America
Typical Environment
Occurs in patchy, resident populations from southwestern Costa Rica into western Panama, especially around the Chiriquí region. It favors freshwater marshes, cattail and sedge beds, reedy lake margins, and overgrown ditches. The species also uses wet pastures, rice fields, and shrubby riparian edges where dense emergent vegetation provides cover. It avoids closed forest and open dry habitats, sticking to thick, low vegetation near standing or slow-moving water.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1500 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Formerly treated as a subspecies of the Masked Yellowthroat, the Chiriqui yellowthroat is now recognized as a distinct species restricted to southwestern Costa Rica and western Panama. Males show a striking black mask edged in gray, while females are maskless and much duller. It is a skulking warbler of dense marsh vegetation and wet pastures, often revealed more by its song than by views.
Temperament
skulking and secretive
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats low over vegetation
Social Behavior
Typically found in pairs or small family groups within dense marsh vegetation. Pairs defend breeding territories and nest low in cattails, sedges, or other emergent plants. The cup nest is well concealed; both parents attend the young.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Song is a bright, hurried series of sweet notes reminiscent of other yellowthroats but with a local cadence; often delivered from a concealed perch within reeds. Calls include sharp chips and tacks given when disturbed.
Plumage
Male with olive upperparts and bright yellow underparts, a bold black facial mask bordered above with gray; female dull olive-brown above with yellowish underparts and no mask. Both sexes have soft, sleek plumage suited to moving through reeds.
Diet
Feeds primarily on insects and other small arthropods such as beetles, caterpillars, bugs, flies, and spiders. It gleans prey from reed stems and leaves, probes among sedges, and occasionally makes short sallies to catch flying insects. Foraging is typically low, within a meter or two of the water or ground.
Preferred Environment
Forages in dense emergent vegetation of marshes, pond edges, ditches, and wet pastures. Often works through cattails and sedges, moving methodically under cover and popping up briefly to scan.
