In this article I’ll be going over 9 yellow birds that can be found all across the state of Wisconsin so continue reading for a more detailed look at each bird below:

• American Goldfinch
• American Yellow Warbler
• Eastern Meadowlark
• Common Yellowthroat
• Yellow Breasted Chat
• Baltimore Oriole
• Orchard Oriole
• Yellow Headed Blackbird
• Yellow Rumped Warbler

9 Yellow Birds In Wisconsin

1. American Goldfinch (Spinus Tristis)

• Size: 11 – 13cm
• Weight: 11 – 20 grams
• Wingspan: 19 – 22cm

American goldfinches are year round residents across all of Wisconsin.

These finches are recognised by their yellow, white and black plumage. Their wings are black and white, their forehead is distinguished by the small black patch on it, their under tail is white with the remainder of the body a bright yellow color. Females are far less vibrant with hints of yellow however, are mostly a light brown color.

American goldfinches are found around the edges of forests and plains, around areas filled with brush and thistle plants.

These finches tend to mainly consume seeds that come from the daisy composite family, seeds from weeds, from trees like birches and elm trees, buds, the occasional insect, maple sap, and berries.

American goldfinches are known to live between 2 – 4 years in the wild and upto 9 years in captivity.

2. American Yellow Warbler (Setophaga Petechia)

• Size: 12.5 – 13cm
• Weight: 8 – 16 grams
• Wingspan: 16 – 22cm

You’ll find American yellow warblers in all of Wisconsin throughout their breeding spring and summer seasons.

American Yellow Warblers are recognised by their yellow plumage with streaks of brown on their feathers and back. The males have a few more patterns to their plumage but, both the males and females are mostly yellow in color.

As for the habitats in which these little avians tend to spend the majority of their time, it would be bushes, swamp edges, streams, and gardens.

Yellow warblers tend to consume insects and berries with 2/3 of their diet mostly consisting of small insects like caterpillars,
beetles, damselflies, treehoppers, and more.

These little warblers are known to live upto 10 years although most warblers don’t live nearly as long as that. Often a warblers will live closer to 2 – 5 years in the wild as opposed to the full 10.

3. Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella Magna)

• Size: 19 – 28cm
• Weight: 90 – 100 grams
• Wingspan: 35 – 40cm

Eastern meadowlarks are year round residents in southern Wisconsin and breeding residents throughout the remainder of the state. 

These meadowlarks are recognised by their yellow belly and breast with a black v like shape on their upper breast area, along with a patterned brown and black wings. Female meadowlarks look pretty similar to the males but may be somewhat duller in their color scheme.

You can find eastern meadowlarks around farm fields, grasslands, wet fields, pastures, croplands, roadsides among other more open areas.

As for what they eat, it includes insects like grasshoppers, crickets, beetles and their larvae, caterpillars, ants, true bugs, seeds and other smaller berries.

As for how long their lifespan is, it will often be around the 10 year mark.

4. Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis Trichas)

• Size: 11 – 14cm
• Weight: 11 – 15 grams
• Wingspan: 15 – 19cm

You’ll find common yellowthroats all across Wisconsin when they happen to breed.

Common yellowthroats are recognised by their mostly light brown/dirty yellow plumage from their head to tail whilst their throat is a bright yellow color. Females are mostly yellow with small elements of yellow on their tail and chin whilst males have more elements of black on their face.

As for where you can find these yellowthroats, they can be located around swamps, marshes, wet thickets, edges where they will often breed within wet marshes as well. They also nest within briars, moist brushy places, tangles of rank weeds and shrubbery along streams and overgrown fields.

Common yellowthroats are known to eat smaller insects like ants, spiders, and beetles along with seeds and smaller fruits like berries.

These avians can live for around 11 years in the wild.

5. Yellow Breasted Chat (Icteria Virens)

• Size: 17 – 19cm
• Weight: 20 – 34 grams
• Wingspan: 23 – 27cm

These yellow breasted chats are found throughout the southern regions of Wisconsin when breeding. This usually falls between the spring and summer months. 

Yellow breasted chats are recognised by their gray/greenish back, wings and forehead, bright yellow chest and white/grayish underside of their lower half.

These avians like to spend the majority of their time within thickets among other dense grassy environments where bushes, shrubs and clearcuts are present.

As for the type of food these yellow breasted avians eat, they include small insects like bees, wasps, mayflies, grasshoppers, katydids, caterpillars, spiders among others small variants along with the smaller fruits and berries.

Yellow breasted chats also tend to live for around 5 – 8 years in the wild.

6. Baltimore Oriole (Icterus Galbula)

• Size: 15 –  20cm
• Weight: 28 – 43 grams
• Wingspan: 23 – 30cm

Baltimore orioles can be found in all of Wisconsin in their spring and summer breeding months.

These orioles are recognised by their orange, black and white plumage, their head and wings that are a black color, their breast and the underside of the tail yellow with a beak that’s black in color. Females are yellow too but, their head isn’t black like the males.

Baltimore orioles can be found within open deciduous woodlands where they will build their nests within American elms, cottonwoods, and maples. 

As for the types of food they eat, it includes a variety of small insects like ants, wasps. beetles, grasshoppers, flies among others, flower nectar and smaller fruits like berries. They also feed on sugar water found within feeders.

These orioles are known to live for around 11 years in the wild, which is actually on the longer side for birds of their size.

7. Orchard Oriole (Icterus Spurious)

• Size: 15 – 18cm
• Weight: 16 – 28 grams
• Wingspan: 23 – 27cm

You’ll be able to spot these orchard orioles in southern Wisconsin throughout their spring and summer breeding months.

Orchard orioles are recognised by their orange breast and belly with their neck, head and back black in color. Females on the other hand are almost completely yellow with elements of gray throughout their body.

As for where you can find these birds, they will often be located around semi-open habitats with deciduous trees and open space, including riverside trees, orchards, suburbs, forest edges,  forest clearings and prairie groves. 

These orioles like most other orioles will consume a number of unique food sources such as insects, nectar from flowers, sugar water from feeders and a number of other smaller berries and fruits.

Orchard orioles can live for around 11 years in the wild.

8. Yellow Headed Blackbird (Xanthocephalus Xanthocephalus)

• Size: 20 – 25cm
• Weight: 44 – 100 grams
• Wingspan: 36 – 44cm

These yellow headed blackbirds are breeding residents in all of Wisconsin.

Yellow headed blackbirds are recognised by their obvious vibrant yellow face feathers, black wing feathers, beak and eyes. Their look is definitely more unique than the average black and yellow bird on his list but, their diet is more of the same.

This is because yellow headed blackbirds mostly consume seed and insects. The insects they consume include
beetles, caterpillars, grasshoppers, ants, wasp among other smaller insects. They also consume the occasional berry.

Like other blackbirds yellow headed blackbirds tend to spend the majority of their time in gardens, thickets, hedges, broad-leaved environments and coniferous forests.

Yellow headed blackbirds are known to live for around 11 years on average whilst the longest known one happened to hit the 18 year mark.

9. Yellow Rumped Warbler (Setophaga Coronata)

• Size: 12 – 14cm
• Weight: 12 – 13 grams
• Wingspan: 19 – 23cm

Yellow rumped warblers can be found in northern Wisconisin when breeding and in the remander of the state when they migrate. 

These warblers are recognised by their gray and black wings, tail, back, and head with a black mask like stroke across the eye, with yellow elements on the upper end of the wing, on the top and around the upper breast area. Females tend to be a  gray/brown color whilst males are a little more vibrant.

Yellow rumped warblers are often found around coniferous forests, especially during the breeding season whilst in winter they can be found in open areas with fruiting shrubs.

As for what they eat, it includes insects and berries where the insects are caterpillars, wasps, grasshoppers, gnats, aphids, beetles, and spiders with the berries including bayberry, juniper, wax myrtle, poison ivy, and others.

Warblers are known to live upto 10 years in the wild.