Cerulean Warbler

Overview

Cerulean Warbler: The male is sky-blue with faintly streaked upperparts and black-streaked white flanks. A black band separates a white throat and belly. Wings have two bold white bars. The female has unstreaked blue-gray upperparts and a yellow wash on face and breast with pale streaks on flanks, and yellow eyebrows. The immature bird is paler and more olive over all. Prefers to stay high in the crowns of mature deciduous trees, making it difficult to see.

Range and Habitat

Cerulean Warbler: Breeds from extreme southwestern Quebec and southern Ontario west to Minnesota and Nebraska, and south from eastern Texas to North Carolina. Spends winters in montane forests of northern South America. Prefers mature forests with broad-leaved, deciduous species and an open understory; often found near bottomlands and rivers.

INTERESTING FACTS

Females frequently exit their canopy nests by tumbling from the nest. In doing so, the female resembles a leaf falling from a tree until, just above the forest floor, she untucks her wings and swiftly flies off parallel to the ground.
If the female has to abandon a nest and begin a new one, she will leave behind the grass, bark and hair, but will take the spider web with her for the new nest.
The Cerulean Warbler’s population is dropping faster than any other warbler species in the United States. Between 1966 and 1999, it declined an average of 4% per year for a total population loss of 70%. Current estimates are at around 560,000 birds.
A group of warblers has many collective nouns, including a "bouquet", "confusion", "fall", and "wrench" of warblers.

The Cerulean Warbler is currently rated as Vulnerable. The population of this species of bird has experienced a serious decline over the past few years due to loss of habitat. The Cerulean Warbler breeds in the region from eastern Canada and portions of southeastern United States. This is a migratory bird that travels to Mexico and portions of Central America. The Cerulean Warbler has experienced a decrease in population of 26% every ten years since 1980 and the long-term outlook for this bird species is severe.