The olive-crowned yellowthroat (Geothlypis semiflava) is a species of bird in the family Parulidae, the New World warblers. It is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama.
Taxonomy and systematics
The olive-crowned yellowthroat was formally described in 1860 with its current binomial Geothlypis semiflava.
The species' further taxonomy is unsettled. Most taxonomic systems assign it these three subspecies:
G. s. bairdi Ridgway, 1884
G. s. chiriquensis Salvin, 1872
G. s. semiflava Sclater, PL, 1860
The IOC treats G. s. chiriquensis as a separate species, the Chiriqui yellowthroat. BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) treats G. s. chiriquensis as the Chiriqui yellowthroat and also treats G. s. bairdi as a species, "Baird's yellowthroat". In opposing these treatments, the AviList Core Team states, "More comprehensive reviews of genetic and vocal variation would be required to justify splits in this species."
This article follows the majority three-subspecies model; there is also a separate article for the "Chiriqui yellowthroat".
Description
The olive-crowned yellowthroat is 11.1 to 13.5 cm (4.4 to 5.3 in) long and weighs 15.5 to 17.5 g (0.55 to 0.62 oz). The species is sexually dimorphic. Adult males of the nominate subspecies G. s. semiflava have a wide black mask from their forehead and forecrown around the eye to the side of the neck. The rest of their head and their upperparts, wings, and tail are olive-green. Their throat and underparts are yellow with an olive wash on the flanks. Adult females have no black on their face. They have a mostly olive-green head with a thin yellowish supercilium. Their upper- and underparts are like the male's.
Males of subspecies G. s. bairdi are similar to the nominate with the addition of a brown wash on the head and upperparts that is especially strong on the rump and tail. They have more extensive olive on their flanks that narrows the underparts'...
