Identification
Skulky warbler found in dry and semi-humid scrub, overgrown clearings, and tangles at forest edge. Male is yellow with a conspicuous black mask. Female is plain and unremarkable. Similar to Olive-crowned Yellowthroat, but male has a gray crown and thinner mask, and female usually shows slightly darker upperparts. Female also similar to female Yellow Warbler, but has a thicker bill and darker back. Typical song west of the Andes is a melodious series of notes that speeds up near the end. In the Marañón Valley, it gives a much more complex rising and falling song. Also gives soft churring and buzzing calls. Ranges in western Ecuador and western Peru, with a few records from extreme southwestern Colombia. Formerly considered a subspecies group of Masked Yellowthroat.