Beak of the Week – Cerulean Warbler

Cerulean Warblers are small, dashing warblers. Males are sky-blue above, and white underneath with a thin blue “necklace” and streaking on the sides. Females are similar but are green-blue above and their underparts have a faint yellow wash. Females also lack the “necklace” seen on males and have a pale eyebrow. Both sexes have two white wing-bars.

Cerulean Warblers breed in the Appalachians and the Midwest, and migrate south to spend the winter in the northern Andes. They nest and forage high in the canopy, but their rising, buzzy song will alert you to the presence of a nearby male. These birds require large tracts of mature deciduous forest to nest in, and prefer to build their nests near gaps in the canopy. Outside of the breeding season, Cerulean Warblers are often found in mixed-species flocks.

Unfortunately, Cerulean Warbler populations have been declining, likely due to habitat loss on both their breeding and wintering grounds. Their preference for relatively large patches of mature forest makes them especially sensitive to landscape changes as a result of logging and human development. They are fairly common migrants in High Island from April through mid-May, and may be seen at any of our High Island sanctuaries.