Northern Parula

Northern Parula, male

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Northern Parula, female

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1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Sound
4. Range
5. Conservation Status
6. Other Names

A small warbler of the upper canopy, the Northern Parula can be found in two rather distinct populations. The southern population nests primarily in hanging Spanish moss, while the northern population uses the similar-looking old man's beard lichen.

Cool Facts

• The distribution of the Northern Parula has an unusual break north to south. It may formerly have nested in that zone, and was eradicated. Explanations for the disappearance may be changes in habitat or increasing air pollution, which limited the growth of epiphytes on trees that the warbler depended on for nesting.
• Since the 1950s, Northern Parula has nested several times along the coastal region of northern California, far from the normal range.

Description

• Size: 11-12 cm (4-5 in)
• Wingspan: 16-18 cm (6-7 in)
• Weight: 5-11 g (0.18-0.39 ounces)

• Small songbird.
• Blue-gray hood and wings.
• Yellow chest with black and reddish band across it.
• White crescents above and below eyes.
• Green back.
• Two white wingbars.

Sex Differences

Sexes similar, but female duller and usually lacks breast bands.

Immature

Similar to female, but more green on upperparts.

Sound

Song a rising buzzy trill with a final sharp note, or a series of buzzy notes.

Range

Range Map

© 2003 Cornell Lab of Ornithology

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Summer Range

Breeds from southern Ontario to Nova Scotia, and northern Minnesota to northern New York and southern New Hampshire. Also from southern Iowa to southern New York southward to eastern Texas and Florida.

Winter Range

Winters in southern Mexico to Honduras and in the Caribbean. Some in very southern Florida.

Conservation Status

Populations appear stable or increasing.

Other Names

Paruline à collier, La Fauvette parula (French)
Verdin silvestre, Reinita pechidorada, Bijirita chica (Spanish)
Parula Warbler (English)

Sources used to construct this page:

Moldenhauer, R. R., and D. J. Regelski. 1996. Northern Parula (Parula americana). In The Birds of North America, No. 215 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.