Setophaga discolor
Silhouette: Dylan GE Gomes · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
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 |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Prairie Warbler sighting in Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 208th most-seen of the 216 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Prairie Warbler in Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
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.
13th of 14
Of the 14 parks where we can rate Prairie Warbler sightings, Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve ranks 13th at under 5%. The best odds are in Ciénaga de Zapata (Cuba, about 30%), Everglades National Park (United States, about 30%) and Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park (Jamaica, about 30%).
Same genus: Setophaga
The closest relatives of the Prairie Warbler that you can see in Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve (genus Setophaga, Setophaga Warblers) are Yellow Warbler (about 50%), Palm Warbler (about 10%) and American Redstart (about 10%), 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 Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve (8 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.
