CreatureData

Cerulean warbler

Setophaga cerulea (A. Wilson, 1810)

NTNear Threatenedsongbirds

The cerulean warbler (Setophaga cerulea) is a species in the family Parulidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 8.8 g to 9.3 g and live up to 6 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Near Threatened.

Cerulean warbler (Setophaga cerulea)
Photo: Mdf · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the cerulean warbler

Weight
8.8 g – 9.3 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
6 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
forestsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
12.3 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
4src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
Litters or clutches a year
1src for Litters or clutches a year
Lifestyle
Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Migratorysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Near Threatened (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the cerulean warbler live?

Not recorded

What is the cerulean warbler?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The cerulean warbler (Setophaga cerulea) is a small songbird in the family Parulidae. It is a long-distance migrant, breeding in eastern North American hardwood forests and wintering on the Eastern slope of the Andes in South America during non-breeding season, preferring subtropical forests.

It displays strong sexual dichromatism. Adult males have cerulean blue and white upperparts, with a black necklace across the breast and black streaks on the back and flanks. Females and immature birds have bluish-green upperparts, a pale stripe over the eye, no streaking, and are yellow below. All have two white wing bars and a thin, pointed bill.

The cerulean warbler is insectivorous and predominantly feeds on insect larvae, though it also consumes winged insects. It forages for prey and nests high in forest canopies. Individuals are strongly territorial; males will defend areas of forests. Males arrive on breeding grounds about one to two weeks earlier than females. Breeding and incubation take place from late May to early June.

The species is rated as near threatened on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)'s Red List of endangered species, indicating it is under risk of becoming vulnerable in the near future. The population of the cerulean warbler has been under rapid decline, though in recent years this decline has slowed. Deforestation in its non-breeding range continues to reduce its available habitat.

From the Wikipedia article “Cerulean warbler” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cerulean_warbler&oldid=1375604426), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the cerulean warbler endangered?

The cerulean warbler is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List: it is close to qualifying as threatened.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Near Threatened species.

How is the cerulean warbler classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderPasseriformes
  5. familyParulidae
  6. genusSetophaga
  7. SpeciesSetophaga cerulea (A. Wilson, 1810)

Synonyms Dendroica caerulea, Dendroica cerulea, Dendroica rara, Setophaga rara, Sylvia cerulea, Sylvia rara

Other names and names in other languages (48)
  • Blue-green warblerEnglish
  • هازجة زرقاءArabic
  • Лазурна дървесницаBulgarian
  • bosquerola blavaCatalan
  • lesňáček modropláštíkovýCzech
  • telor wybrliwWelsh
  • Cyanblå SangerDanish
  • BlauwaldsängerGerman
  • PappelwaldsängerGerman
  • lazura parulioEsperanto
  • Chipe CelesteSpanish
  • Chipe cerúleoSpanish
  • Reinita CeruleaSpanish
  • Reinita cerúleaSpanish
  • lasuursäälikEstonian
  • سسک نیلیPersian
  • latvuskerttuliFinnish
  • Paruline azuréeFrench
  • Ceolaire scothghormIrish
  • סבכון תכלכלHebrew
  • plavoleđa sjeničicaCroatian
  • Kék lombjáróHungarian
  • BlámaskríkjaIcelandic
  • Dendroica ceruleaItalian
  • ミズイロアメリカムシクイJapanese
  • mizuiroamerikamushikuiJapanese
  • mėlynasis krūminukasLithuanian
  • zilbaltais ķauķisLatvian
  • Tsinlátah yádíłtihii dootłʼizhígííNavajo
  • AzuurzangerDutch
  • Azuurblauwe zangerDutch
  • asurparulaNorwegian
  • Chipe Blou Garganta BlancoPapiamento
  • Chipe Blou Garganta BlankuPapiamento
  • lasówka niebieskaPolish
  • mariquita-azulPortuguese
  • Mariquita-celestePortuguese
  • mariquita-cerúleaPortuguese
  • Голубой лесной певунRussian
  • Голубоватая древесницаRussian
  • horárik topoľovýSlovak
  • Svetloplava cvrkutarkaSerbian
  • blåvit skogssångareSwedish
  • Gökmavi ÖtleğenTurkish
  • пісняр-лісовик блакитнийUkrainian
  • 蓝林莺Chinese
  • 深藍色林鶯Chinese
  • 白喉林莺Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the cerulean warbler

Other species in the same genus Setophaga.

CompareCerulean warbler vs Mangrove warblerCerulean warbler vs Yellow-rumped warblerCerulean warbler vs American redstartCerulean warbler vs Blackpoll warbler

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the cerulean warbler?

An adult cerulean warbler weighs 8.8 g – 9.3 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the cerulean warbler endangered?

The cerulean warbler is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is close to qualifying as threatened.

How long does the cerulean warbler live?

The cerulean warbler has a recorded lifespan of 6 years.

What kind of animal is the cerulean warbler?

The cerulean warbler (Setophaga cerulea) belongs to the family Parulidae in the order Passeriformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Cerulean warbler (Setophaga cerulea). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/cerulean-warbler

MLA

“Cerulean warbler (Setophaga cerulea).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/cerulean-warbler.

BibTeX
@misc{cerulean_warbler_2026,
  title = {Cerulean warbler (Setophaga cerulea)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/cerulean-warbler},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}