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Range
Map - Color online
- Song
If
you really want to see a Northern Parula, go no
farther than The Greenbrier resort in southeastern
West Virginia in spring. At the Greenbrier, and
other locations in western Virginia and eastern
West Virginia, the Northern Parulas are as common
as Robins! They are everywhere - singing from shrubs,
low branches, high branches, short trees and high
trees!
Description:
The tiny four inch Northern Parula has a blue-gray
head, back, and wings. It has a yellow belly and
a white stomach. There are at least three other
distinguishing characteristics of the Northern Parula.
It has a pronounced white eye ring, a green triangular
patch of feathers on its back, and males have a
two-tone marking on their breast, the upper half
being dark maroon, and the lower half being light
red. Females lack the breast markings.
Range/Habitat/Diet:
The Northern Parula ranges throughout
the eastern United States. However, in parts of
their range Northern Parulas can be very common,
while in other parts they are absent. Parulas tend
to be most common in northern New England, the Appalachian
Mountains, and in the southeast. Parulas prefer
mixed woodlands in the north, and wet, deciduous
woodlands in the south. They are particularly fond
of Spanish Moss in the south, and may only nest
where it is abundant. Northern Parulas feed on insects.
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