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Lillian Waddick

Vukovich

Zoology: Period One

15 February 2019

Golden-Cheeked Warbler

The golden-cheeked warbler is native to the state of Texas. It is also known as the

goldfinch of Texas. This bird is a small songbird ranging from 12 to 13 centimeters in length.

Most people identify it by the yellow face, a black line through the eyes, a black throat, and two

white wing bars. The golden-cheeked warbler belongs to the wood warbler family and usually

lives in junipers, oaks, and streamline trees. The majority of its diet is insects, including

caterpillars, beetles, ants, katydids, and others. It feeds almost completely in the trees. This male

warbler returns to the breeding grounds around March, and both sexes return to the previous

years’ breeding territory. Lastly, the young leave the nest around nine days after hatching.

Since the golden-cheeked warbler is found only in the oak-juniper woodlands of Texas, it

has a specific habitat. Over time, this habitat has been disrupted by pollution, agriculture, and

invasive species. People have cleared golden-cheeked warbler habitat in order to build urban

settings and livestock facilities. Not only has this disrupted adult warblers, but this has disrupted

their nesting patterns, which endangers the young. In addition to this, cowbirds have taken over

the golden-cheeked warblers’ nests, preventing them from raising their young.

There are a few efforts being made to protect the golden-cheeked warbler. The U.S. Fish

and Wildlife Service is organizing cooperation between lumber companies to protect the forests

that the warbler lives. Sadly, the Texas General Land Office attempted to strip the federal
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protections of the golden cheeked warbler in 2017. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is still

protecting the bird, but that could change in the future. Hopefully, the golden-cheeked warbler

will continue to be protected.