Cape May Warbler

Setophaga tigrina

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered

KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
PhylumChordata (Chordates)
ClassAves (Birds)
OrderPasseriformes (Perching Birds)
FamilyParulidae (New World Warblers)
GenusSetophaga (Setophaga Warblers)
SpeciesSetophaga tigrina (Cape May Warbler)

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

at Tortuguero National Park

3 Verified sightings at Tortuguero National Park From 2019 to 2026

11,972 Verified sightings across all 49 parks From 2019 to 2026

☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted during daytime hours (6am–6pm)

About the Cape May Warbler

The Cape May warbler (Setophaga tigrina) is a species of New World warbler. It breeds in northern North America. Its breeding range spans all but the westernmost parts of southern Canada, the Great Lakes region, and New England. It is migratory, wintering in the West Indies. This species is a very rare vagrant to western Europe, with two records in Britain as of October 2013. The English name refers to Cape May, New Jersey, where George Ord collected the specimen that was later described by Alexander Wilson.

The Cape May 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 placed it in the genus Motacilla and coined the binomial name Motacilla tigrina. The specific epithet is from Latin tigrinus meaning "tigrine" or "barred or striped like a tiger". Gmelin based his account on "The yellow spotted fly-catcher" that had been described by the English naturalist George Edwards in 1758, and "Le figuier brun de Canada" that had been described by French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760. The Cape May warbler is now one of more than 30 species placed in the genus... Wikipedia →

Closest Relatives at Tortuguero National Park

Setophaga pensylvanica

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible

LC Endemic

Setophaga petechia

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible

Setophaga castanea

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

Setophaga americana

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Setophaga aestiva

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Setophaga auduboni

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Setophaga virens

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Setophaga coronata

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Setophaga fusca

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Setophaga ruticilla

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Setophaga magnolia

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Setophaga dominica

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

See all 12 relatives Show fewer

Global Distribution

Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.

where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there

Parks Where Found

#	Park	Country	Daily sighting probability
1	Ciénaga de Zapata	🇨🇺 Cuba	~40%
2	Point Pelee National Park	🇨🇦 Canada	~40%
3	Los Haitises National Park	🇩🇴 Dominican Republic	~30%
4	Isle Royale National Park	🇺🇸 United States	~30%
5	Jaragua National Park	🇩🇴 Dominican Republic	~20%
6	Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park	🇯🇲 Jamaica	~20%
7	Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park	🇲🇽 Mexico	~10%
8	Wood Buffalo National Park	🇨🇦 Canada	~10%
9	Riding Mountain National Park	🇨🇦 Canada	~10%
10	Arenal Volcano National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	~10%
11	Everglades National Park	🇺🇸 United States	~10%
12	Voyageurs National Park	🇺🇸 United States	~10%
13	Gros Morne National Park	🇨🇦 Canada	~10%
14	Shenandoah National Park	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
15	Cape Breton Highlands National Park	🇨🇦 Canada	<5%
16	Great Smoky Mountains National Park	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
17	Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	<5%
18	Big Cypress National Preserve	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
19	Congaree National Park	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
20	Acadia National Park	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
21	El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	<5%
22	Calakmul Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	<5%
23	Big Bend National Park	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
24	Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	<5%
25	Celestún Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	<5%
26	Bastimentos Island National Marine Park	🇵🇦 Panama	<5%
27	Chagres National Park	🇵🇦 Panama	<5%
28	Jasper National Park	🇨🇦 Canada	<5%
29	Banff National Park	🇨🇦 Canada	<5%
30	Los Quetzales National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
31	Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
32	La Amistad International Park (Panama)	🇵🇦 Panama	<5%
33	Cahuita National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
34	Cañón del Sumidero National Park	🇲🇽 Mexico	Insufficient data
35	Isla del Coco National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
36	Lago de Yojoa	🇭🇳 Honduras	Insufficient data
37	Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	Insufficient data
38	Elk Island National Park	🇨🇦 Canada	Insufficient data
39	Pico Bonito National Park	🇭🇳 Honduras	Insufficient data
40	Las Baulas Marine National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
41	Tortuguero National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
42	Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary	🇧🇿 Belize	Insufficient data
43	Grand Canyon National Park	🇺🇸 United States	Insufficient data
44	Volcán Barú National Park	🇵🇦 Panama	Insufficient data
45	Tenorio Volcano National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
46	Soberanía National Park	🇵🇦 Panama	Insufficient data
47	Death Valley National Park	🇺🇸 United States	Insufficient data
48	Rocky Mountain National Park	🇺🇸 United States	Insufficient data
49	Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data

← Back to Tortuguero National Park

Cape May Warbler

About the Cape May Warbler

Closest Relatives at Tortuguero National Park

Chestnut-sided Warbler

Yellow Warbler

Bay-breasted Warbler

Northern Parula

Northern Yellow Warbler

Audubon's Warbler

Black-throated Green Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Blackburnian Warbler

American Redstart

Magnolia Warbler

Yellow-throated Warbler

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found