Northern Parula

The Northern Parula is a tiny, compact wood-warbler found in forests across the eastern United States and southeastern Canada, closely associated with hanging epiphytic growths such as Spanish moss in the South or old-man's-beard lichen in the North, which it uses for nest building. It winters mainly in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. Its small size and distinctive blue-gray, yellow, and greenish coloring make it one of the more readily identified small warblers.

Upperpart feathers are blue-gray, broken by a distinctive yellow-green patch on the upper back. The throat and breast are bright yellow, and breeding males show a dark breast band formed by a blend of chestnut and blackish feathers crossing the upper chest. Two bold white wingbars cross the wing. The combination of a small compact body, blue-gray upperparts with a contrasting green back patch, and a broken white eye-ring is distinctive among small warblers.

Breeding males show the boldest breast band and cleanest blue-gray tones; females and immatures show a paler, less defined breast band or lack it altogether, with slightly duller overall coloring. A single complete molt occurs after the breeding season.

Northern Parulas breed in a variety of forest types across the eastern United States and southeastern Canada, generally where hanging moss or lichen is available for nest construction, including bottomland and riparian forest in the South and mixed or coniferous forest in the North. They winter in forest and forest-edge habitats of Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean.

This species forages actively for insects in the outer foliage of trees, often at varying heights. The male's song is a distinctive buzzy trill that rises and then drops abruptly at the end. Nests are built inside hanging clumps of Spanish moss or similar epiphytic growth, giving the nest natural concealment. It is a fairly common migrant across much of eastern North America.