Cerulean Warbler (Setophaga cerulea) | Photos, Calls and ID

NTNear ThreatenedInvertebrates

ForestCup nestTiny · 9 g

Cerulean Warbler (Setophaga cerulea), photo 1 — Photo: (c) Matt Schenck, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Matt Schenck · cc-by

Cerulean Warbler (Setophaga cerulea), photo 2 — Photo: tcantrell52 · CC BY 4.0

Cerulean Warbler (Setophaga cerulea), photo 3 — Photo: Brent Cox · CC BY 4.0

Cerulean Warbler (Setophaga cerulea), photo 4 — Photo: Brent Cox · CC BY 4.0

Cerulean Warbler (Setophaga cerulea), photo 5 — Photo: Dan Vickers · CC BY 4.0

Cerulean Warbler (Setophaga cerulea), photo 6 — Photo: Dan Vickers · CC BY 4.0

Cerulean Warbler (Setophaga cerulea), photo 7 — Photo: Matthew Neswold · CC BY 4.0

Cerulean Warbler (Setophaga cerulea), photo 8 — Photo: Matthew Neswold · CC BY 4.0

Cerulean Warbler (Setophaga cerulea), photo 9 — Photo: Brandon Johnson · CC BY 4.0

What the Cerulean Warbler sounds like

Sonogram of the Cerulean Warbler: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.

Recorded by Manuel cabrera · Song · Pacto Sumaco, Napo, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto

ID tip

The cerulean warbler is one of the smallest Setophaga wood-warblers, about 11 cm (4.3 in) long, weighing 8–10 g (0.28–0.35 oz), and having a wingspan of 20 cm (7.9 in). Males are slightly larger than females, and older males tend to also be larger. Wing chord measures 62–66 mm (2.4–2.6 in), while the tail is 40.6–42.7 mm (1.60–1.68 in) long. The culmen, or upper edge of the beak, measures 9.5–9.8 mm (0.37–0.39 in) long, 3.5 mm (0.14 in) wide and 3.5 mm (0.14 in) height. The cerulean warbler is strongly sexually dichromatic.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Cerulean Warbler

One bar for each month. Filled bars are the 3 months with records; pale bars are months with none. The wide bar is May, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Cerulean Warbler

Regular rangeRare visitor

The map shades 17 countries with regular records, and 4 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

United States Canada Colombia Ecuador Costa Rica Venezuela Panama Peru Mexico Belize Nicaragua Honduras Guatemala Trinidad & Tobago Bermuda Cuba Cayman Islands

Recorded as a rare visitor in Guadeloupe, Iceland, Bolivia, Caribbean Netherlands.

About the Cerulean Warbler

The cerulean warbler is a small songbird in the family Parulidae. It is a long-distance migrant, breeding in eastern North American hardwood forests and wintering on the Eastern slope of the Andes in South America during non-breeding season, preferring subtropical forests.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Hermit WarblerSetophaga occidentalisHermit warblers are dark gray in coloration on top, and white below, and their flanks are streaked with black.

Grace's WarblerSetophaga graciaeGrace's warbler is a small bird, 11–13 cm long.

Golden-cheeked WarblerSetophaga chrysopariaThe golden-cheeked warbler is very striking due to its bright yellow cheeks that are contrasted by its black throat and back.

Side by side: Cerulean Warbler vs Tropical Parula · Cerulean Warbler vs Hermit Warbler · Cerulean Warbler vs Grace's Warbler · Cerulean Warbler vs Golden-cheeked Warbler

Learn the Cerulean Warbler in the BeakBrain App

Photo and call practice. Coming soon to iPhone and Android.

Play today's Daily Bird

Every photo and recording on this page is credited to its author under the licence shown. Spotted a problem with this page, or have a better photo? Contribute.