Northern Yellow Warbler

Northern Yellow Warbler

Setophaga aestiva

Silhouette: Dylan GE Gomes · PhyloPic

Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible
at Montreal

In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%

921 Verified sightings at Montreal
1,339 In all 41 parks From 2019 to 2026
May Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Northern Yellow Warbler

The American yellow warbler (Setophaga aestiva), also known as the northern yellow warbler, is a New World warbler. It is a widespread migratory species in the diverse genus Setophaga, that breeds in most parts of North America. It was formerly considered to be conspecific with the non-migratory mangrove warbler (Setophaga petechia).

The American yellow warbler was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He mainly based his account on a hand-coloured engraving of the "Figuier de Canada" by François-Nicolas Martinet. Gmelin placed the warbler in the genus Motacilla and coined the binomial name Motacilla aestiva. In 1957 the type locality was restricted to Quebec in Canada. The specific epithet aestiva is from Latin aestivus meaning "summery", from aestas, aestatis meaning "summer". The American yellow warbler is now one of the 35 species in the genus Setophaga. The genus name Setophaga combines the Ancient Greek σης/sēs, σητος/sētos meaning "moth" with -φαγος/-phagos meaning "-eating".

The American yellow warbler was formerly considered to be conspecific with... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song0:41

United States · 2026

© Rory Nefdt · XC1142131 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call1:25

Ecuador · 2025

© Manuel Sánchez-Nivicela · XC1040409 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Begging call0:59

United States · 2020

© Steve Hampton · XC582716 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Point Pelee National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~60%
2 Gros Morne National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~40%
3 Elk Island National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~30%
4 Zion National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~30%
5 Masaya Volcano National Park 🇳🇮 Nicaragua
~30%
6 Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~30%
7 Lago de Yojoa 🇭🇳 Honduras
~30%
8 Grand Teton National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~30%
9 Cañón del Sumidero National Park 🇲🇽 Mexico
~20%
10 Cerro Azul Meámbar National Park 🇭🇳 Honduras
~20%
11 Riding Mountain National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~20%
12 Tenorio Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~20%
13 Calakmul Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~20%
14 Channel Islands National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
15 Celestún Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~20%
16 Arenal Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
17 Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park 🇲🇽 Mexico
~10%
18 Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~10%
19 Acadia National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
20 Grand Canyon National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
21 Death Valley National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
22 Glacier National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
23 Soberanía National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
~10%
24 Joshua Tree National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
25 Banff National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~10%
26 Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
27 Yosemite National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
28 Pacific Rim National Park Reserve 🇨🇦 Canada
~10%
29 Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
30 Saguaro National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
31 Yellowstone National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
32 Big Bend National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
33 Great Bear Rainforest 🇨🇦 Canada
~10%
34 Parque Natural Metropolitano 🇵🇦 Panama
~10%
35 Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
36 Shenandoah National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
37 Olympic National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
38 Cumbres de Monterrey National Park 🇲🇽 Mexico
~10%
39 Rocky Mountain National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
40 Everglades National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
41 La Amistad International Park (Panama) 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Managua 🇳🇮 Nicaragua
~40%
2 San Salvador 🇸🇻 El Salvador
~30%
3 Montreal 🇨🇦 Canada
~30%
4 San Pedro Sula 🇭🇳 Honduras
~20%
5 Medellín 🇨🇴 Colombia
~20%
6 San José 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~20%
7 Edmonton 🇨🇦 Canada
~20%
8 Tegucigalpa 🇭🇳 Honduras
~20%
9 Calgary 🇨🇦 Canada
~20%
10 Toronto 🇨🇦 Canada
~20%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 National Zoological Park 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
2 Woodland Park Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
3 Moody Gardens 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
4 Como Park Zoo and Conservatory 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
5 Como Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
6 Ralph Perkins II Wildlife Center and Woods Garden 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
7 Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
8 Montreal Biodome 🇨🇦 Canada In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Northern Yellow Warbler in Montreal?

Possible

About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Northern Yellow Warbler sighting in Montreal on a given day, based on 921 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 24th most-seen of the 256 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.

When is the best time to see a Northern Yellow Warbler in Montreal?

May

In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Northern Yellow Warbler in Montreal on a given day, against under 5% in September to March, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Northern Yellow Warbler?

Between 8 and 11 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Northern Yellow Warbler sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Montreal the best place to see a Northern Yellow Warbler?

3rd of 48

Of the 48 cities where we can rate Northern Yellow Warbler sightings, Montreal ranks 3rd at about 30%. The best odds are in Managua (Nicaragua, about 40%) and San Salvador (El Salvador, about 30%).

Which relatives of the Northern Yellow Warbler live in Montreal?

Same genus: Setophaga

The closest relatives of the Northern Yellow Warbler that you can see in Montreal (genus Setophaga, Setophaga Warblers) are Yellow Warbler (about 30%), American Redstart (about 20%) and Yellow-rumped Warbler (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Northern Yellow Warbler sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Northern Yellow Warbler is recorded against all the birds logged in Montreal (921 verified sightings), 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.

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