Since 2004 · Licensed by the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT)

Golden-crowned Warbler (Basileuterus culicivorus)
Photo: Blake Ross, CC BY 4.0, via iNaturalist
Golden-crowned Warbler

Family Parulidae

Golden-crowned Warbler

Basileuterus culicivorus

In Spanish: Reinita Coronidorada

  • Resident

A small, striped-crowned warbler of mountain forest understory.

The Golden-crowned Warbler (Reinita Coronidorada) is a small, yellow-bellied warbler that lives in mountain areas across Costa Rica. It is a resident, so it is here all year.

Look for it in the forest understory, often in mixed flocks. It moves constantly, so a little patience and a good ear help.

How to find it

Check mixed-species flocks in the forest understory, where it forages in pairs or family groups. Near San Ramon, a guide found one in a flock led by an Olive Tanager that also held greenlets, other tanagers and a Brown-billed Scythebill. Look along streams, thickets, and bamboo or vine tangles, and watch for the tail flick.

How to recognise it

This is a small warbler, about 12 cm long. The back is grey-olive, and the crown has bold stripes with a black band on each side. The legs are pale orange, a handy clue. The underparts are yellow, with an olive wash on the throat, chest and flanks. The eyebrow is dull olive to yellow, the eye ring is broken and yellow, and the cheeks are greyish. Males and females look alike. Immatures are duller and browner, and they lack the head pattern except for the eyestripe.

What it sounds like

0:14

Recording: Rajan Rao, CC BY 4.0, source, read 4 Nov 2026.

Behaviour and diet

It feeds on arthropods, mainly insects and spiders. It usually forages in pairs or family groups and often travels with other insect-eating birds in mixed-species flocks in the forest understory. It is active and often flicks its tail as it forages low in dense cover. A breeding record from Costa Rica exists for April.

Where it lives

It is a resident of mountain areas across Costa Rica. On the Caribbean side it lives between about 300 and 1500 m. On the Pacific side it lives higher, between about 900 and 2150 m. Look in forest understory, along streams, thickets, and bamboo or vine tangles. One writer describes it as common in middle-elevation forest habitats here.

Similar birds

The similar Three-striped Warbler (Basileuterus tristriatus) is told from it by the Costa Rican bird's fully yellow underparts and orange legs.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

Costa Rican sources call it reinita coronidorada, which means golden-crowned little warbler. Other countries use different Spanish names, such as chipe corona dorada in Mexico and chiví silbador in Venezuela.

Status and conservation

It is a resident (R) on the AOCR list, and the IUCN rates the species Least Concern across its very large range.

Photography tips

It is always on the move in the dark shade of dense vegetation, which makes it hard to photograph, and one Costa Rica birder still has no photo of it. Trees near a moth sheet or a balcony may offer better chances.

How we know this 16 sources, each read on the date shown
  1. Aves de Costa Rica read 2026-11-04https://avesdecostarica.com/Basileuterus-culicivorus.html
  2. Wikipedia read 2026-11-04https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basileuterus_culicivorus
  3. Cloudbridge Nature Reserve bird list read 2026-11-04https://www.cloudbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Bird-Species-List-Costa-Rica-13-April-2020.pdf
  4. Pinterest (photo caption) read 2026-11-04https://www.pinterest.com/pin/goldencrowned-warbler--296956169184091274/
  5. Birds of Costa Rica (birdsofcolombia.org) read 2026-11-04https://www.birdsofcolombia.org/costarica/Basileuterus.html
  6. Wikipedia read 2026-11-04https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden-crowned_Warbler
  7. Cornell Birds of the World read 2026-11-04https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/gcrwar/cur/introduction
  8. Birding Craft read 2026-11-04https://birdingcraft.com/wordpress/2010/page/3/
  9. Featherscan read 2026-11-04https://www.featherscan.com/birds/golden-crowned-warbler
  10. Field Guides trip list, Costa Rica 2024 read 2026-11-04https://fieldguides.com/triplists/cos24.html
  11. Birds Outside My Window read 2026-11-04https://www.birdsoutsidemywindow.org/category/travel/costa-rica/
  12. Wikipedia (es) read 2026-11-04https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basileuterus_culicivorus
  13. Avibase read 2026-11-04https://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/species.jsp?avibaseid=E15EEACD3258027C
  14. Field Guides trip list 2023 read 2026-11-04https://fieldguides.com/triplists/cos23b.html
  15. Birda read 2026-11-04https://app.birda.org/species-guide/35827/Golden-crowned_Warbler
  16. 10,000 Birds read 2026-11-04https://www.10000birds.com/may-warblers-costa-rican-style.htm