Setophaga aestiva
Silhouette: Dylan GE Gomes · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~60%
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 →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Managua | 🇳🇮 Nicaragua | |
| 2 | San Salvador | 🇸🇻 El Salvador | |
| 3 | Montreal | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 4 | San Pedro Sula | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 5 | Medellín | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 6 | San José | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 7 | Edmonton | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 8 | Tegucigalpa | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 9 | Calgary | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 10 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | National Zoological Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Woodland Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Moody Gardens | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Como Park Zoo and Conservatory | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Como Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Ralph Perkins II Wildlife Center and Woods Garden | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Montreal Biodome | 🇨🇦 Canada |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Northern Yellow Warbler sighting in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve on a given day, based on 11 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 100th most-seen of the 288 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Northern Yellow Warbler in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve on a given day, against under 5% in January, May–September and November, the lowest months. That is one of Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve's driest months, with about 40 mm of rain against 230 mm in June.
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.
18th of 41
Of the 41 parks where we can rate Northern Yellow Warbler sightings, Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve ranks 18th at about 10%. The best odds are in Point Pelee National Park (Canada, about 60%), Gros Morne National Park (Canada, about 40%) and Elk Island National Park (Canada, about 30%). All parks ranked.
Same genus: Setophaga
The closest relatives of the Northern Yellow Warbler that you can see in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve (genus Setophaga, Setophaga Warblers) are American Redstart (about 40%), Yellow Warbler (about 40%) and Magnolia Warbler (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Northern Yellow Warbler is recorded against all the birds logged in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve (11 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.
