Northern Parula

Description:

Blue-gray hood and wings, Yellow chest with black and reddish band across it. White crescents above and below eyes. Green back. Two white wingbars.Very small and active warbler, doesn't sit still long. Often heard and not seen. I

Habitat:

Northern Parulas breed in mature forests along streams, swamps, and other bottomlands. They're closely associated with epiphytic plants that grow on the branches of canopy trees. In the southern U.S. they use Spanish moss; farther north they use beard moss. Key tree species include water, willow, and swamp chestnut oak, black gum, eastern hemlock, sugar and red maple, birches, and sycamore On its tropical wintering grounds, parulas use many habitat types including fields, pastures, scrub, woodland, and coffee, cacao, and citrus plantations.

Notes:

Northern Parulas forage by gleaning leaves and branch tips for insects and spiders. They fly with rapid wingbeats and hop quickly through branches. When acting defensively, parulas may demonstrate a wing-droop display, during which wingtips are held below the base of the tail as the bird calls. I had been trying for a long while to get good photos of the breeding pair. I was stunned, and excited that this one decided to come check out my pond just after we fixed the waterfall and planted flower seeds.