Northern Parula - Setophaga americana

Northern Parula has a partial preformative molt, and an absent to limited prealternate molt of feathers on the head and breast that is often difficult to detect. Sex can usually be determined by plumage, although presence or absence of molt limits can be helpful in distinguishing FCF/FCU (HY/SY) males from DCB/DCU (AHY/ASY) females.

Quick tips

• Check the primary coverts - on FCF/FCU (HY/SY) birds they have little or no edging and are paler than the greater coverts, while on DCB/DCU (AHY/ASY) birds they have distinct blue edging and are uniform with the greater coverts.
• Look at the tail - on HY/SY birds the rectrices are fairly narrow and pointed, whereas on AHY/ASY birds they are relatively broad and rounded at the tip.
• Look at the overall plumage - within each age class males tend to be more bluish overall and have larger white patches on the rectrices, while females are more greenish and have smaller white patches on the rectrices.

Species account prepared by McGill Bird Observatory (2016). Last updated by Marcel Gahbauer (Mar 2022)