The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has recently reviewed the status of the golden-cheeked warbler. However, the species is still listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Any changes to the federal status of a species requires a separate rulemaking process, and any proposed rule would be published in the Federal Register, open to public comment.
On Jan. 17, 2025, following its review of an Endangered Species Act petition to delist the golden-cheeked warbler, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found that the petition presents substantial information indicating that a change in status may be warranted. This 90-day finding does not trigger a change in the current endangered species status of the golden-cheeked warbler; rather, it initiates a more thorough review of all the biological information available for the species.
On Jan. 7, 2025, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service completed the five-year status review of the golden-cheeked warbler, which recommends downlisting the species from endangered to threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The golden-cheeked warbler is still currently listed as an endangered species and may become downlisted to a threatened species in the future through a transparent rulemaking process, which would be based on the best available scientific data and would include public input and review.
- News release- Five-year review, Jan. 7, 2025
- Frequently Asked Questions- Five Year Review
- 5 Year Review Document (PDF)
Regardless of the species’ listing status as endangered or threatened, it will still receive federal protections under the ESA, and conservation efforts will continue.
Overview
The golden-cheeked warbler (Dendroica chrysoparia) is the only bird that exclusively nests in Texas and breeds in mixed-hardwood/juniper woodlands unique to the Texas Hill Country. In July and August, it migrates southward through Mexico and Central America to winter in the mountainous regions of southern Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua. From late February through April, it returns to Central Texas. The golden-cheeked warbler was first described in 1860 from a specimen collected in Guatemala.
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Characteristics
Physical Characteristics
The bird weighs about 10 grams (0.34 ounces) and is about 12 centimeters (4.7 inches) long.
Adult males have yellow cheeks outlined in black, with a thin black line through each eye and extending backward. The upper breast, throat and back are black, while the lower breast and belly are white with some lateral black spotting or streaking. The wings are blackish with two white wingbars and tail feathers are black with the exception of the outermost tail feather on each side, which is white with a black shaft line.
Adult females are similar to adult males, but less strikingly marked. For example, the cheeks and center of the throat of females are yellowish, grading to pale buff or white on the abdomen. Additionally, the back is dark olive-green with thin black streaks. The sides of the throat are black with feathers tipped in white and the flanks, or sides, are covered with black streaks.
The golden-cheeked warbler makes sharp chipping calls while foraging for food. The male warbler emits a buzzy, hurried “tweah-tweah-twee-sy” call when defending its territory. Single, sharp chipping calls can frequently be heard from both male and female golden-cheeked warblers.
Habitat
This small, insectivorous, migratory bird nests and breeds only in the mixed Ashe juniper/deciduous woodlands of central Texas. It uses the shredding bark of Ashe juniper trees as nest materials. While within its wintering range, the golden-cheeked warbler prefers foraging in deciduous trees in pine-oak forests.
Food
Food foraging plays a role in site selection in breeding habitats. The golden-cheeked warbler is strictly insectivorous and typically feeds in the upper two-thirds of the canopy. It feeds on insects based on availability and difficulty of capture. Common invertebrates that the golden-cheeked warbler has been observed feeding on include spiders, brown and green caterpillars, green lacewings, small green cicadas, katydids, walkingsticks, deer flies, crane flies, adult flies, adult moths, small butterflies and other unidentifiable small insects.
Behavior
On its wintering grounds, the golden-cheeked warbler is associated with mixed species flocks, typically consisting of other warbler species. These mixed species flocks may contain single golden-cheeked warblers per flock; however, as many as 12 have been observed together in a single flock.
Life Cycle
The golden-cheeked warbler generally arrives at its Central Texas breeding grounds from January to March. The bird typically leaves its breeding grounds in late summer to begin its migration south, and is found in its wintering grounds from September to February.
Reproductive success of the golden-cheeked warbler is higher in large, unfragmented patches of habitat compared to small, fragmented patches and reproductive success increases as forest edge decreases.
The female golden-cheeked warbler does most of the work of nest building and incubating the eggs. They often nest in different trees each season, although nesting in the same tree for two or more years in succession has been noted. The selection of nesting habitat is especially important because nest location often affects reproductive success.
Females usually lay clutches of 3 or 4 eggs each year during the nesting season, and both adults tend to the offspring. Nesting warblers generally nest once each season unless the first nesting attempt fails, in which case they may attempt a second time.
Geography
The bird uses several migratory pathways to reach the highlands of southern Mexico and Central America for the winter; however, its predominant migratory pathway is along the Sierra Madre Oriental Mountain range in Mexico.
Timeline
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