Cerulean Warbler
Setophaga cerulea
Also known as: Blue-Green Warbler
About This Species
Scan the high canopy of mature deciduous forest, especially in river bottomlands, for a small warbler with a sky-blue back and white underparts, more often heard than seen as it forages methodically along leafy branches. Its buzzy, ascending song carrying a trailing trill is the best clue to its presence during spring migration and the breeding season. Late spring mornings in tall bottomland or upland hardwoods across its eastern North American breeding range offer the best odds.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- Keep well back from any bird holding territory or feeding young, using binoculars rather than approaching the tree, since this species is declining and listed as Near Threatened.
- Migratory bird protections apply across its United States and Canadian breeding range and again on its South American wintering grounds, though enforcement and specific rules differ by country, so treat any approach with extra caution.
- Stick to trails, avoid playback during the breeding season, and give nesting pairs a wide, undisturbed berth.
NTAvesPasseriformesParulidae
Seasonal Activity
185,267 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
All monthsThis month
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Parulidae
Photo
Wikimedia Commons / Wikimedia Commons
CC-BY-SA-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.