Tropical Parula
Encyclopedia
The Tropical Parula is a small New World warbler
. It breeds from southernmost Texas
and northwest Mexico
(Sonora
) south through Central America
to northern Argentina
, including Trinidad and Tobago
. This widespread and common species is not considered threatened by the IUCN.
This passerine
is not migratory
, but northern birds may make local movements. For example, although it does not breed in much of Pacific Central America, it is a regular vagrant to countries like El Salvador
.
Females are slightly duller than the males and lacks black on the head. The immature Tropical Parula is dull-plumaged, lacks the wing bars, and has a grey band on the breast.
The song is a high buzzy trill, and the call is a sharp tsit.
The Tropical Parula has about 14 subspecies
, with a wide range of plumage tones. P. p. graysoni, is endemic to Socorro
in the Revillagigedo Islands
. Some subspecies (especially insular ones) are occasionally considered separate species.
P. pitiayumi has occasionally been lumped with the closely related Northern Parula
(P. americana) as a single species. Hybrids are routinely found in the Rio Grande Valley
of southern Texas, though this may be a recent phenomenon. Most Tropical Parulas can be distinguished from the Northern Parula by their lack of white eye crescents, but this may be ambiguous in hybrids. One should also look for the distribution and extent of non-yellow coloration on the breast, and the extent of yellow below the cheek and on the belly.
In addition, a partially leucistic
Tropical Parula female was seen in 2005, at Reserva Buenaventura in El Oro Province
, Ecuador
. With several small white areas on the forehead and around the eyes, this bird appeared much like a hybrid, but such birds would only occur as far south as Panama
(if they would migrate like the Northern Parula).
The Tropical Parula is a species mainly of hill and premontane forests, and does not occur in the Amazon basin. It seems to prefer moderately disturbed and secondary forest
and seems to cope well with habitat fragmentation
. On the eastern slope of the Andes
for example it is regularly found at about 3,300-4,300 ft (1,000-1,300 m). There its habitat is a patchy mix containing primary forest (e.g. high Iriartea deltoidea palm woods), wet premontane secondary forest dominated e.g. by Elaeagia (Rubiaceae
) and with abundant epiphyte
s and hemiepiphyte
s such as Clusiaceae
, former clearings overgrown with shrubs, and fresh forest edges.
P. p. graysoni mostly keeps to low woody vegetation, typically Croton masonii shrubs, a few feet (some 1-1.5 meters) above ground; they are more terrestrial than other subspecies of the Tropical Parula and often can be seen hopping on the ground – though probably less so where feral cat
s are abundant.
These birds feed on insect
s, spider
s and occasionally berries. They may be seen to attend mixed-species feeding flock
s, in some locations (e.g. in the Serra de Paranapiacaba) commonly, but often just coincidentally.
The Tropical Parula nests in clumps of epiphytes (especially Spanish moss
, Tillandsia usneoides) in a tree, laying usually two eggs in a scantily lined domed nest. Incubation is 12–14 days, mainly by the female. On Socorro Island
, the breeding season is probably in the summer months, and by November, the young appear to have fledge
d.
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New World warbler
The New World warblers or wood-warblers are a group of small, often colorful, passerine birds restricted to the New World. They are not related to the Old World warblers or the Australian warblers....
. It breeds from southernmost Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and northwest Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
(Sonora
Sonora
Sonora officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 72 municipalities; the capital city is Hermosillo....
) south through Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
to northern Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, including Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
. This widespread and common species is not considered threatened by the IUCN.
This passerine
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
is not migratory
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
, but northern birds may make local movements. For example, although it does not breed in much of Pacific Central America, it is a regular vagrant to countries like El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
.
Description
It is 4.3 in (11 cm) long and has mainly blue-grey upperparts, with a greenish back patch and two white wingbars. The underparts are yellow, becoming orange on the breast. The male has a black patch from the bill to behind the eye.Females are slightly duller than the males and lacks black on the head. The immature Tropical Parula is dull-plumaged, lacks the wing bars, and has a grey band on the breast.
The song is a high buzzy trill, and the call is a sharp tsit.
The Tropical Parula has about 14 subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
, with a wide range of plumage tones. P. p. graysoni, is endemic to Socorro
Socorro Island
Socorro Island is a small volcanic island in the Revillagigedo Islands, a Mexican possession lying some 600 kilometers off the country's western coast at 18°48'N, 110°59'W. The size is 16.5 by 11.5 km, with an area of 132 km².- Geology :...
in the Revillagigedo Islands
Revillagigedo Islands
The Revillagigedo Islands or Revillagigedo Archipelago are a group of four volcanic islands in the Pacific Ocean, known for their unique ecosystem...
. Some subspecies (especially insular ones) are occasionally considered separate species.
P. pitiayumi has occasionally been lumped with the closely related Northern Parula
Northern Parula
The Northern Parula, Parula americana, is a small New World warbler. It breeds in eastern North America from southern Canada to Florida....
(P. americana) as a single species. Hybrids are routinely found in the Rio Grande Valley
Rio Grande Valley
The Rio Grande Valley or the Lower Rio Grande Valley, informally called The Valley, is an area located in the southernmost tip of South Texas...
of southern Texas, though this may be a recent phenomenon. Most Tropical Parulas can be distinguished from the Northern Parula by their lack of white eye crescents, but this may be ambiguous in hybrids. One should also look for the distribution and extent of non-yellow coloration on the breast, and the extent of yellow below the cheek and on the belly.
In addition, a partially leucistic
Leucistic
Leucism is a condition characterized by reduced pigmentation in animals and humans. Unlike albinism, it is caused by a reduction in all types of skin pigment, not just melanin.- Details :...
Tropical Parula female was seen in 2005, at Reserva Buenaventura in El Oro Province
El Oro Province
El Oro province is the southernmost of Ecuador's coastal provinces. It was named for its historically important gold production. Today it is one of the world's major exporters of bananas. The capital is Machala.-Geography:To the north and east the province has borders with the provinces Guayas,...
, Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
. With several small white areas on the forehead and around the eyes, this bird appeared much like a hybrid, but such birds would only occur as far south as Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
(if they would migrate like the Northern Parula).
Ecology
Secondary forest
A secondary forest is a forest or woodland area which has re-grown after a major disturbance such as fire, insect infestation, timber harvest or windthrow, until a long enough period has passed so that the effects of the disturbance are no longer evident...
and seems to cope well with habitat fragmentation
Habitat fragmentation
Habitat fragmentation as the name implies, describes the emergence of discontinuities in an organism's preferred environment , causing population fragmentation...
. On the eastern slope of the Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
for example it is regularly found at about 3,300-4,300 ft (1,000-1,300 m). There its habitat is a patchy mix containing primary forest (e.g. high Iriartea deltoidea palm woods), wet premontane secondary forest dominated e.g. by Elaeagia (Rubiaceae
Rubiaceae
The Rubiaceae is a family of flowering plants, variously called the coffee family, madder family, or bedstraw family. The group contains many commonly known plants, including the economically important coffee , quinine , and gambier , and the horticulturally valuable madder , west indian jasmine ,...
) and with abundant epiphyte
Epiphyte
An epiphyte is a plant that grows upon another plant non-parasitically or sometimes upon some other object , derives its moisture and nutrients from the air and rain and sometimes from debris accumulating around it, and is found in the temperate zone and in the...
s and hemiepiphyte
Hemiepiphyte
A hemiepiphyte is a plant which begins its life as an epiphyte but which later grows roots down into the ground. The seeds of hemiepiphytes germinate in the canopy and initially live epiphytically...
s such as Clusiaceae
Clusiaceae
The Clusiaceae or Guttiferae Juss. is a family of plants formerly including about 37 genera and 1610 species of trees and shrubs, often with milky sap and fruits or capsules for seeds. It is primarily tropical...
, former clearings overgrown with shrubs, and fresh forest edges.
P. p. graysoni mostly keeps to low woody vegetation, typically Croton masonii shrubs, a few feet (some 1-1.5 meters) above ground; they are more terrestrial than other subspecies of the Tropical Parula and often can be seen hopping on the ground – though probably less so where feral cat
Feral cat
A feral cat is a descendant of a domesticated cat that has returned to the wild. It is distinguished from a stray cat, which is a pet cat that has been lost or abandoned, while feral cats are born in the wild; the offspring of a stray cat can be considered feral if born in the wild.In many parts of...
s are abundant.
These birds feed on insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s, spider
Spider
Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
s and occasionally berries. They may be seen to attend mixed-species feeding flock
Mixed-species feeding flock
A mixed-species feeding flock, also termed a mixed-species foraging flock, mixed hunting party or informally bird wave, is a flock of usually insectivorous birds of different species, that join each other and move together while foraging...
s, in some locations (e.g. in the Serra de Paranapiacaba) commonly, but often just coincidentally.
The Tropical Parula nests in clumps of epiphytes (especially Spanish moss
Spanish Moss
Spanish moss is a flowering plant that grows upon larger trees, commonly the Southern Live Oak or Bald Cypress in the southeastern United States....
, Tillandsia usneoides) in a tree, laying usually two eggs in a scantily lined domed nest. Incubation is 12–14 days, mainly by the female. On Socorro Island
Socorro Island
Socorro Island is a small volcanic island in the Revillagigedo Islands, a Mexican possession lying some 600 kilometers off the country's western coast at 18°48'N, 110°59'W. The size is 16.5 by 11.5 km, with an area of 132 km².- Geology :...
, the breeding season is probably in the summer months, and by November, the young appear to have fledge
Fledge
Fledge is the stage in a young bird's life when the feathers and wing muscles are sufficiently developed for flight. It also describes the act of a chick's parents raising it to a fully grown state...
d.
Book
- Regelski, D. J., and R. R. Moldenhauer. 1997. Tropical Parula (Parula pitiayumi). In The Birds of North America, No. 293 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists’ Union, Washington, D.C.
Articles
- ALABARCE, E. A. (1987) NOTES ON THE BIOLOGY OF SOME PASSERINES BIRDS FROM NORTHWEST ARGENTINA I. Acta Zoologica Lilloana. vol 39 no 1. p. 23-28. (article in Spanish, English abstract)
- Baptista, F. Luis, and Juan E. Martinez Gomez. (2002) Bioacoustic reasearch Revillagigedo Archipielago birds: a progress report. HUITZIL. 3 p.33-41. (article in Spanish, English abstract)
- Camperi, Anibal R. (1992) Study on birds collected in the southwestern extreme of Buenos Aires Province . Neotropica (La Plata). vol 38 no 100. 1992, 1993. p. 127-140. (article in Spanish, English abstract)
- Cueto VR & de Casenave JL. (2002). Foraging behavior and microhabitat use of birds inhabiting coastal woodlands in eastcentral Argentina. Wilson Bulletin. vol 114, no 3. p. 342-348.
- Jehl JRJ & Parkes KC. (1982). The Status of the Avi Fauna of the Revillagigedo Islands Mexico. Wilson Bulletin. vol 94, no 1. p. 1-19.
- Naoki K, and E. Toapanta. (2001) Mullerian body feeding by Andean birds: New mutualistic relationship or evolutionary time lag? . BIOTROPICA. vol 33 no 1. p. 204-207
- Lovette, Irby J and Eldredge Bermingham. (2001) Mitochondrial perspective on the phylogenetic relationships of the Parula Wood-warblers. The Auk. Vol 118, no 1. p. 211 (5 pages)
- Waters A. (1994). Tropical parula seen in Augusta. Oriole. vol 59, no 4.
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External links
- Parula pitiayumi: Vocalizations from "Avifauna of the Interior of Ceará, Brasil"