Northern Parula
Setophaga americana
eBird describes the Northern Parula like this: Small, short-tailed warbler with a sharply pointed, bicolored bill. Blue-gray above with mossy-green patch on the back, white eye-arcs, and yellow breast. Adult males have most extensive black and rufous breast band; young females are plain yellow. Breeds in mature coniferous or deciduous forests, especially near water. Builds nest with moss; especially fond of Spanish moss in the southeast U.S. and old-man’s-beard in the Northeast. Found in any wooded habitat in migration. Winters primary in the Caribbean and eastern Mexico. Loud song is a buzzy, ascending trill with sharp chip at the end; sounds like a zipper. Compare with Tropical Parula, which always has a clean yellow or orange breast and lacks white eye-arcs. All About Birds gives this additional descriptive information about the Northern Parula: A small warbler of the upper canopy, the Northern Parula flutters at the edges of branches plucking insects. This bluish gray warbler with yellow highlights breeds in forests laden with Spanish moss or beard lichens, from Florida to the boreal forest, and it’s sure to give you “warbler neck.” It hops through branches bursting with a rising buzzy trill that pinches off at the end. Its white eye crescents, chestnut breast band, and yellow-green patch on the back set it apart from other warblers.
The first Northern Parula I saw was an immature male at the Quintana Neotropical Bird Sanctuary on the morning of April 18. 2020. I was delighted to watch and photograph this beautiful little warbler! To see my blog post that includes my visit to Quintana Neotropical Bird Sanctuary, look here.
“Cool Facts” About The Northern Parula From All About Birds:
- Before this species received the name Northern Parula (a diminutive form of parus, meaning little titmouse), Mark Catesby, an English naturalist, called it a “finch creeper” and John James Audubon and Alexander Wilson called it a “blue yellow-backed warbler.”
- Northern Parulas have an odd break in their breeding range. They breed from Florida north to the boreal forest of Canada, but skip parts of Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, and some states in the Northeast. The reason for their absence may have to do with habitat loss and increasing air pollution, which affects the growth of moss on trees that they depend on for nesting.
- Northern Parulas in the western part of their range sound different than those in the eastern part of their range. Western birds sing longer, less buzzy songs.
- Northern Parulas are usually considered an eastern warbler, but they occasionally breed along California’s coast as well as in New Mexico and Arizona.
- Some bird names are hard to pronounce, and the Northern Parula has started its share of lively debates. Most people say “par-OOH-la” or “PAR-eh-la,” while others say “PAR-you-la.”
- The oldest recorded Northern Parula was a female at least 5 years, 11 months old, when she was recaptured and rereleased during banding operations in Maryland.