Tropical Parula (Setophaga pitiayumi)

Identification & Behavior: ~11.4 cm (4.4 in). The Tropical Parula, is blue above and yellow below. It has two white wing bars and yellowish mantle. It has yellow-orange on the breast, which is more saturated in the male. Both sexes have white webbing on the tail feathers. It forages in the canopy and sub-canopy and often joins mixed-species flocks. It is superficially similar to the Slate-throated Redstart and the Canada Warbler.

Status: The Tropical Parula is overall fairly common in semi-deciduous and humid forests in northwestern Peru. It is also uncommon in the humid montane forest on the east slope of the Andes at elevations ranging between 700 – 1900 m. The Tropical Parula also occurs in Co, Ec, Br, and Bo.

Name in Spanish: Parula Tropical.

Sub-species: Tropical Parula (Setophaga pitiayumi pacifica), Berlepsch and Taczanowski, 1885. Pacific slope of Andes from SW Colombia (Nariño) S to NW Peru (Cajamarca).
(S. p. alarum), Chapman, 1924. E Ecuador and N Peru (W of Amazon Basin).
(S. p. melanogenys), Todd, 1924. Andes of C Peru (Junín) S to W Bolivia (La Paz and Cochachamba).

Meaning of Name: Setophaga: Gr. ses, setos= moth and phagos, phagein= eating, to eat. pitiayumi: Güarani name Puihtiá-yú-mí for the Tropical Parula.

See more of the Family Parulidae