The Cerulean Warbler (Dendroica cerulea) is a Neotropic-Nearctic migratory passerine that breeds in eastern North America and winters in northwestern
South America (Dunn and Garrett 1997, Hamel 2000a, 2000b). The northern
two-thirds of Alabama historically represented the southernmost extension
of the Cerulean Warbler’s breeding range, where they were recorded in 1887
(Holt 1921) and later described as moderately common in the 1920s (Howell
1928). In the mid-1970s, Imhof (1976) stated that they were most numerous
toward the western half of the state and a locally common summer resident
south to the “Fall Line”, the boundary separating the Appalachian foothills and
Coastal Plain. Today, Cerulean Warblers are rarely encountered in Alabama
during the breeding season and, as a result, their current status and distribution are poorly understood. Furthermore, the Cerulean Warbler is reportedly experiencing the most precipitous population decline of any warbler species in the United States (Hamel 2000b). In 2002, it was designated as a Priority 1 species (Highest Conservation Concern) in Alabama based on its population trends, low relative abundance, patchy distribution, dependence on mature, contiguous forests and continual threats of habitat disturbance and destruction (Soehren 2004a).
Author: John P. Carpenter, Eric C. Soehren, Adrian A. Lesak, Yong Wang, and Callie J. Schweitzer
Volume Number: 51 Year Published: 2005
Issue Number: 1
Page Number: 1-11
Link to article: http://birdlife.aosbirds.org/2005/51_1_pages1-11.pdf
Link to the full issue of BirdLife: http://birdlife.aosbirds.org/2005/Vol 51 No. 1_2005.pdf
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