New World Warblers (Parulidae)

Grey-crowned Yellowthroat (Geothlypis poliocephala) - HBW 15, p. 774

French: Paruline à calotte grise German: Wiesengelbkehlchen Spanish: Mascarita Coronigrí
Other common names: (Grey-crowned) Ground Chat, Meadow Warbler

Taxonomy: Geothlypis poliocephala S. F. Baird, 1865, Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico.
Often placed in a monotypic genus, Chamaethlypis. Differs from present congeners in many characters, including vocalizations, morphology and some plumage features. Geographical variation not very marked and mostly clinal, birds becoming more olive above, deeper and more extensively yellow below, darker grey on head and with less obvious eye-crescents from N to S. Proposed race pontilis (described from Morelos, in S Mexico) is synonymized with nominate. Six subspecies currently recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution:

  • poliocephala S. F. Baird, 1865 - Pacific slope of Mexico from N Sinaloa S to extreme W Oaxaca.
  • ralphi Ridgway, 1894 - Gulf slope of Mexico in Tamaulipas and San Luis Potosí.
  • palpebralis Ridgway, 1887 - E slope from E Mexico (Veracruz) and Yucatán Peninsula S to N Costa Rica.

     See all 6 subspecies
  • poliocephala S. F. Baird, 1865 - Pacific slope of Mexico from N Sinaloa S to extreme W Oaxaca.
  • ralphi Ridgway, 1894 - Gulf slope of Mexico in Tamaulipas and San Luis Potosí.
  • palpebralis Ridgway, 1887 - E slope from E Mexico (Veracruz) and Yucatán Peninsula S to N Costa Rica.
  • caninucha Ridgway, 1872 - Pacific slope from S Mexico (E Oaxaca) S to S Honduras.
  • icterotis Ridgway, 1889 - Pacific slope from Nicaragua S to W Costa Rica.
  • ridgwayi ( Griscom, 1930) - SW Costa Rica S to SW Panama.