Northern Parula

Setophaga americana

New World Warblers · Passeriformes · Common

The Northern Parula (Setophaga americana) is a common new world warbler found in 43 countries, weighing about 8 g. The northern parula is a small New World warbler.

Least ConcernCommonEats invertebratesforestcup nest8 g

About the Northern Parula

The northern parula is a small New World warbler. It is migratory and breeds in eastern North America from southern Canada to Florida.

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

How to identify it

The northern parula is one of the smaller North American migratory warblers, often being one of the smallest birds in a mixed feeding flock besides kinglets or gnatcatchers. Length is 10.8 to 12.4 cm (4.3 to 4.9 in), wingspan is 16 to 18 cm (6.3 to 7.1 in) and body weight is 5 to 11 g (0.18 to 0.39 oz). Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 5.1 to 6.5 cm (2.0 to 2.6 in), the tail is 3.7 to 4.5 cm (1.5 to 1.8 in), the bill is 0.8 to 1.1 cm (0.31 to 0.43 in) and the tarsus is 1.5 to 1.8 cm (0.59 to 0.71 in).

What the Northern Parula sounds like

Recording: Jonathon Jongsma · CC BY-SA 3.0 · via xeno-canto
Recording: Jonathon Jongsma · CC BY-SA 3.0 · via xeno-canto
Recording: Doug Hynes · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto

Where it lives

Recorded as a rare visitor in United Kingdom, Dominica, Trinidad & Tobago, France, St. Barthélemy.

When to see it

Best months: March, April, May, June, July, September, October, with peak activity in May. It is a summer visitor species across most of its range.

Easily confused with

Quick questions

How do you identify a Northern Parula?
The northern parula is one of the smaller North American migratory warblers, often being one of the smallest birds in a mixed feeding flock besides kinglets or gnatcatchers. Full identification notes are on this page.
How big is a Northern Parula?
The Northern Parula is a tiny sized bird weighing about 8 g.
Where can you see a Northern Parula?
The Northern Parula occurs in 43 countries, including the United States, Canada, Mexico, Cuba and Puerto Rico.
What does a Northern Parula sound like?
You can listen to 3 field recordings of the Northern Parula on this page, contributed to xeno-canto under open licences.
What birds look similar to a Northern Parula?
The Northern Parula is most easily confused with the Pine Warbler, the Palm Warbler and the Black-throated Green Warbler.
Is the Northern Parula endangered?
The Northern Parula is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

Learn the Northern Parula for real

BeakBrain drills you on photos and calls until you can greet this bird by name in the field. Free to play, on any device.

Play BeakBrain

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