In 1758, Linnaeus classified the northern parula as a tit, Parus americanus, and as taxonomy developed the genus name was modified first to Parulus and then the current form. The family name, Parulidae, also derives from this source.
Recent genetic research has suggested that Parula and Setophaga are congeneric and should be merged. As the name Setophaga (published in 1827) takes priority over Parula (published in 1838), both the species would be transferred to Setophaga where this is accepted.[1] This change has been accepted by the North American Classification Committee of the AOU,[2] and the IOC.,[3] however the South American Classification Committee of the AOU continues to use the genus Parula.
Biology
The northern parula winters south of its breeding ranges in Central America and the West Indies, where the tropical parula is a usually a permanent resident.
Parula warblers are tiny, 11–12cm long. They have yellow, orange or red throats, with the color extending further down the underparts in some species. The upperparts and wings are various shades of grey or blue-gray, and the mantle is greener or blacker than the rest of the back.
The breeding habitat is woodlands with clearings. These warblers nest low in a tree or on the ground, laying 3-7 eggs in a cup nest.
Parula warblers feed on insects and spiders, often caught by flycatching, and they have distinctive buzzing songs and loud chip calls.
In art
Audubon's Blue Yellow-backed Warbler (northern parula) from Birds of America
John James Audubon illustrated a pair of northern parulas in Birds of America (published in London 1827–38), Plate 15 entitled "Blue Yellow-backed Warbler - Sylvia americana". The birds are shown perched on a Louisiana flag (Iris fulva) painted by Joseph Mason to which Audubon added the two birds in 1821. This led to a group of irises in Louisiana known as the "Louisiana irises".[4][5] The image was engraved and colored by the Robert Havell, London workshops. The original watercolor by Audubon was purchased by the New York History Society where it remains as of January 2009.
The distinctive color scheme of the Parula (a soft fade from blue to yellow) has led to a Heat Map color scheme with the same name, used as the default plotting colors in the MATLAB programming language since October 2014.[6] Parula replaces the previous default, "Jet", which was a full rainbow- depiction color scheme. The company has stated that having a dichromatic color transition is an asset to data analysis as it eliminates the "Apparent changes" that occur over a rainbow color scheme. (Note that even a perfectly smooth color gradient over a rainbow will appear to have distinct stripes, which can obscure more subtle gradients in the data). The Parula colormap also has the effect that when plotted in grayscale, the colors also map to a smooth gradient from dark to light grey.[7]
Related Research Articles
The New World warblers or wood-warblers are a group of small, often colorful, passerine birds that make up the family Parulidae and are restricted to the New World. They are not closely related to Old World warblers or Australian warblers. Most are arboreal, but some, like the ovenbird and the two waterthrushes, are primarily terrestrial. Most members of this family are insectivores.
The myrtle warbler is a small New World warbler.
The yellow-rumped warbler is a regular North American bird species that can be commonly observed all across the continent. Its extensive distribution range connects both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of the U.S. as well as Canada and Central America, with the population concentrating in the continent's northern parts during the breeding season and migrating southwards to southern North and Central America in Winter. The species generally prefers coniferous forests or mixed coniferous-deciduous forests as its breeding habitat, while during the winter it can be found inhabiting more open areas such as shrublands that offer food resources. The diet of the yellow-rumped warbler is based primarily on insects, though the species does eat fruits such as juniper berries as well, especially in winter.
Audubon's warbler is a small bird of the Parulidae family.
The Bay-breasted Warbler is a small species of songbird in the New World warbler family, Parulidae. It is one of thirty-four species in the diverse genus Setophaga. Like all songbirds, or passerines, the species is classified in the order Passeriformes.
The northern parula is a small New World warbler. It breeds in eastern North America from southern Canada to Florida.
The hooded warbler is a New World warbler. It breeds in eastern North America and across the eastern United States and into southernmost Canada (Ontario). It is migratory, wintering in Central America and the West Indies. Hooded warblers are very rare vagrants to western Europe.
Wilsonia is a small genus of New World warblers which breed in North America. They are migratory, wintering south of their breeding ranges in Central America, the West Indies or South America.
Setophaga is a genus of birds of the New World warbler family Parulidae. It contains at least 33 species. The males in breeding plumage are often highly colorful. The Setophaga warblers are an example of adaptive radiation with the various species using different feeding techniques and often feeding in different parts of the same tree.
References
↑ Lovette, I. J. et al. (2010). A comprehensive multilocus phylogeny for the wood-warblers and a revised classification of the Parulidae (Aves). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 57 (2): 753-770. Abstract
↑ Chesser, R. T. et al. (2011). Fifty-Second Supplement to the American Ornithologists’ Union Check-list of North American Birds. Auk 128 (3): 600-613 fulltext
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