Birds of Concern: Cerulean Warbler

Cerulean Warbler

The cerulean warbler is a small, migratory bird that weighs about 0.3 oz. Cerulean warblers nest in uplands, wet bottomlands, moist slopes, and mountains from less than 100 feet to more than 3,500 feet in elevation. The Cerulean Warbler's diet is a simple diet of insects and spiders.

Areas of Concern:

• The cerulean warbler has steadily declined at a rate of about 3 percent per year since 1966, when the survey first began. Based on an estimated 560,000 ceruleans in 1995, that rate of decline would result in a 2006 population of about 400,000.
• Over 50 percent of the historical forests have been cleared and replaced with farms, cities and suburbs. Many forests that remain do not have suitable habitat for cerulean warblers.
• Over 60 percent of the cerulean’s wintering habitat has been converted from native tropical forest to pastures and farms.
• During migration ceruleans use coastal woodlots and forests along the Gulf Coast of North and Central America. Those wooded areas are being cleared as coastal development expands.
• Fact Sheet: http://www.fws.gov/midwest/eco_serv/soc/birds/cerw/cerw-fctsheet.html