Cerulean warbler (Dendroica cerulea)

Abstract

This small, canopy-foraging insectivore breeds locally in mature and older deciduous forests with broken canopies across much of the Eastern United States. Sky blue, sky high in the canopy, the Cerulean warbler has been little studied; management actions to enhance its habitat have not yet been specified. Among Dendroica, this species forages and nests higher in the canopy, and migrates farther and earlier than most others. Its social system remains poorly understood. Numerous interesting questions about wintering individuals in montane South American forests, where this species associates with others in mixed flocks of canopy insectivores, await investigation. Although the Cerulean warbler was formerly among the most abundant breeding warblers in the Ohio and Mississippi River valleys, its numbers plummeted in the 1900’s. Concern for the future of this species is warranted. Yet even in the face of these steep declines, some populations are currently expanding.

Citation

Hamel, Paul B. 2000. Cerulean warbler (Dendroica cerulea). In: Poole, A.; Gill, F., eds. The birds of North America—life histories for the 21st century; no. 511. Philadelphia, PA: The Birds of North America, Inc.: 1-20.