The Yellow Warbler is aptly named for it is the most yellow of all North American wood warblers. The male has a bright, unmarked, yellow face and yellow throat and under parts. It is the only wood warbler with yellow spots in the tail. From below the tail and under tail coverts are entirely yellow. The male has red streaks on its chest, although this feature is quite variable. Its dark black eye is prominent and beady.

The Orange-crowned is a medium-sized warbler with an olive-green back and a yellow-green chest marked by indistinct gray streaks. There is a dusky gray stripe through the eye. The undertail coverts are brighter yellow. There are no wing bars or other distinctive marks on its plumage. In short, the bird is, “Striking in its plainness” (Gilbert, et al). 

As with many of our western birds this warbler is named after human beings.  John James Audubon named it in honor of the Scottish ornithologist Wiliam MacGillivray who authored the 5-volume History of British Birds (1837-1851).  However, it was later learned that John Townsend (of Townsend’s Warbler and Townsend’s Solitaire) had named it for William Tolmei, a physician who worked for Hudson Bay Company.