Learn the song and call of the Yellow warbler (Setophaga petechia). 

You might find this little yellow bird in a stand of willows next to a pond or hear its call while walking past the shrubby edge of a creek. Its song is an anthem of the early summer and it’s sung in two phrases. The first goes “sweet sweet sweet” and the second can be heard as “I’m so sweet” or “song so sweet.” The singer is yellow from head to tail with just a tinge of olive across its back. In the breeding season the males have handsome red streaks down their front. 

Do you want to learn more bird songs, frog calls, and insect noises? Join Voice of the Wild every Friday to explore a new wild voice. From time to time, we’ll also do a deep dive into wildlife science, news, and natural history. Voice of the Wild is brought to you by the University of Illinois Extension Natural Resources, Environment, and Energy program. 

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The following Macaulay Library recordings were used in this episode:

ML509228 by Mike Andersen, ML509226 by Wil Hershberger, and ML509234 Robert C. Stein