Setophaga discolor
Silhouette: Dylan GE Gomes · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
The prairie warbler (Setophaga discolor) is a small songbird of the New World warbler family. The prairie warbler belongs to the genus Setophaga. The species was described by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot in a work published in 1807 documenting North American birds, where he called the bird Sylvia discolor, although the genus designation Sylvia was not later retained. It was also previously assigned to the genus Dendroica before that genus was merged into Setophaga.
The vernacular name "prairie warbler" is attributed to the Scottish-American naturalist Alexander Wilson who saw the species in 1810 in prairie country in southwestern Kentucky. This name is arguably misleading, since the bird generally prefers shrubbery and small trees rather than true open prairie habitats.
The first, S. d. discolor, is the migratory form which breeds throughout the full range and spends winters in Florida and the West Indies. The second, S. d. paludicola, is the sedentary form which permanently inhabits the coasts of Florida. American zoologist Arthur H. Howell is credited with describing S. d. paludicola... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ciénaga de Zapata | 🇨🇺 Cuba | |
| 2 | Everglades National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park | 🇯🇲 Jamaica | |
| 4 | Big Cypress National Preserve | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 8 | Point Pelee National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 9 | Congaree National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 11 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 12 | Celestún Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 13 | Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 14 | Soberanía National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miami | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Havana | 🇨🇺 Cuba | |
| 3 | Santo Domingo | 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic | |
| 4 | Orlando | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Prairie Warbler sighting in Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park on a given day, based on 255 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 45th most-seen of the 91 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December
In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Prairie Warbler in Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park on a given day, against about 10% in May and August, the lowest months. June has too few records to rate.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Prairie Warbler sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 14 parks where we can rate Prairie Warbler sightings, Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park ranks 3rd at about 30%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Ciénaga de Zapata (Cuba, about 30%) and Everglades National Park (United States, about 30%).
Same genus: Setophaga
The closest relatives of the Prairie Warbler that you can see in Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park (genus Setophaga, Setophaga Warblers) are American Redstart (about 80%), Black-throated Blue Warbler (about 70%) and Northern Parula (about 60%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Prairie Warbler is recorded against all the birds logged in Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park (255 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
