Northern Parula (Crum Woods Biodiversity Guide)

Northern Parula

Setophaga americana

Summary ⁴

The Northern Parula (Setophaga americana) is a small New World warbler. It breeds in eastern North America from southern Canada to Florida.

Setophaga americana ⁵

A small (4 ½ inches) wood warbler, the male Northern Parula is most easily identified by its bluish-gray head, yellow throat, and greenish back, as well as its white eye-ring and wing bars. Female Northern Parulas are similar to males, but are paler and duller, especially on the head and throat. In its winter range, this species may be separated from the similar Tropical Parula by that species’ yellower breast and lack of eye-rings. The Northern Parula breeds across much of the eastern United States and southern Canada. It is absent as a breeding bird in parts of the coastal Mid-Atlantic region, upstate New York, the upper Midwest, and extreme southern Florida. In winter, Northern Parulas may be found in the Florida Keys, the West Indies, southern Mexico, and on the Caribbean coast of northern Central America. Northern Parulas breed in a number of wet forest habitats, including swamps and bogs. In winter, this species may be found in other types of habitat, including agricultural fields, humid tropical forests, and scrub. Northern Parulas primarily eat small invertebrates, including insects and spiders, but this species may also eat seeds and berries in winter. In appropriate habitat, Northern Parulas may be observed foraging for insects at the ends of branches in the tree canopy. Birdwatchers may also listen for this species’ song, a whirring “zeeeeeeeee-up.” Northern Parulas are primarily active during the day, but, like many migratory songbirds, this species migrates at night.

Conservation status ⁶

Parula americana is considered "least concern" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources' (IUCN) Red List. This species inhabits an expansive geographical range and the population appears to be increasing. Despite this abundance, Parula americana has been extirpated from several regions where it previously bred. Massachusetts, New Jersey, Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont have recently experienced increased levels of air pollution and have consequently lost most of the epiphytes that this species prefers to nest in. Clearcutting and bog draining have also significantly reduced the amount of preferred breeding habitats available. Though this species is of least concern, efforts should still be made to develop sustainable forestry practices and decrease air pollutants to increase habitat quality for this and other species.

US Migratory Bird Act: protected

US Federal List: no special status

CITES: no special status

State of Michigan List: no special status

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern

Habitat ⁷

Parula americana inhabits various habitats depending on season and location. This is primarily a forest-dwelling species, but the northern and southern breeding populations select different habitats. In general, abundance of this species has been found to be positively correlated with increased tree species diversity, canopy height, and percent canopy cover. Northern populations breed in mature, moist coniferous forests. This species constructs its pendulum nests in hanging vegetation and so it is often attracted to suspended clumps of moss or coniferous twigs that are more abundant in moist spruce bogs or hemlock swamps. Southern populations breed in mature, moist, bottomland forest where Spanish moss is prevalent.

Outside of the breeding season, Parula americana becomes more of a habitat generalist and may be found in a wide variety of habitats during migration and winter. These habitats may include: pastures; moist, dry or wet forests; and agricultural fields or plantations.

Habitat Regions: temperate ; tropical ; terrestrial

Terrestrial Biomes: forest ; scrub forest

Wetlands: swamp ; bog

Other Habitat Features: agricultural

Iucn red list assessment ⁸

Red List Category

Least Concern

Red List Criteria

Version

3.1

Year Assessed

2012

Assessor/s

BirdLife International

Reviewer/s

Butchart, S. & Symes, A.

Contributor/s

Justification

This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend appears to be increasing, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size is extremely large, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

History

Least Concern (LC)
Least Concern (LC)
Least Concern (LC)
Lower Risk/least concern (LR/lc)
Lower Risk/least concern (LR/lc)
Lower Risk/least concern (LR/lc)

Sources and Credits

(c) Dan Pancamo, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://www.flickr.com/photos/10017367@N03/5587284140
Original uploader was Albuttlee at en.wikipedia, no known copyright restrictions (public domain), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Northernparalua20.jpg
(c) Marv Elliott, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Marv Elliott
Adapted by Amanda Carrillo-Perez from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Setophaga_americana
(c) Smithsonian Institution, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/34818218
(c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31413340
(c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31413330
(c) International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/34634287