The Canada Warbler inhabits shady forest undergrowth year round, making this species vulnerable to forest loss. It spends the majority of the nonbreeding season in northern Andean forests, which are among the most threatened in the world, having experienced a 90% loss due to agricultural expansion (cattle, coffee, coca) and fuel wood production. On the breeding grounds, dense deer (Odocoileus virginianus) populations have resulted in over-browsing of the shrubby layer that Canada Warblers prefer. Additional potential threats include habitat fragmentation from energy development and habitat desiccation from land draining and climate change.

Full life cycle Conservation Action Plans have recently been developed for the Canada Warbler for both the breeding and nonbreeding seasons. Overall, habitat loss in the Andes appears to be the most critical threat, however shade grown, bird friendly coffee may be a a major part of the solution. Information gaps remain, especially understanding the nuances of habitat selection on the breeding and nonbreeding grounds, as well as understanding why eastern populations are declining at a faster rate than others.

Primary Habitats:

Major Threats:

Breeding: Changing Forest Conditions

Wintering: Tropical Deforestation

Conservation Status:

Population Loss Since 1970: 63%
Urgency/Half Life: >50 years
Global Conservation Status: IUCN 2016-3 Red List – Least Concern
U.S. Conservation Status: not listed
Canadian Conservation Status: Threatened (COSEWIC 2008); Schedule 1, Threatened (SARA)
Birds of Conservation Concern: USFWS – Bird of Conservation Concern

Conservation Responsibilities:

85% breeds in Canada, 15% in U.S.

Conservation Opportunities:

• Join the Canada Warbler International Conservation Initiative (CWICI Facebook page)
• Incorporate needs in forest management guidelines and practices
• Implement landscape-level planning for industrial forestry in boreal region
• Revise fire-prevention policies to support natural forest conditions
• Promote management for a shifting mosaic of forest age structures
• Support sustainable forestry
• Support national, regional, and local initiatives in Latin America to stop deforestation
• Develop and implement conservation plans for wintering grounds
• Generate economic programs to sustain people in working landscape
• Provide funding for existing and new protected areas
• Support bird-friendly and sustainable products (coffee/cacao) from Neotropical regions
• Collaborate across jurisdictions & work internationally
• Improve monitoring in boreal Canada
• Quantify limiting factors and population drivers on breeding and wintering grounds

Species Conservation Plans:

Recovery Strategy for Canada Warbler (Cardellina canadensis) in Canada, Environment Canada. 2016. 

Key Species References:

Peer Reviewed Papers:

• Machtans et al. 2013. A first estimate for Canada of the number of birds killed by colliding with building windows.
• González-Prieto et al. 2016. Topography of the Andew Mountains shapes the wintering distribution of a migratory bird
• Flockhart et al. 2016. Factors driving territory size and breeding success in a threatened migratory songbird, the Canada Warbler
• Ball et al. 2016. Regional habitat needs of a nationally listed species, Canada Warbler (Cardellina canadensis), in Alberta, Canada
• Grinde and Niemi. 2015. Influence of landscape, habitat, and species co-occurrence on occupancy dynamics of Canada Warblers
• Zlonis and Niemi. 2014. Avian communities of managed and wilderness hemiboreal forests.

Management Guide:

• Harding, C., L. Reitsma, and J.D. Lambert 2017. Guidelines for Managing Canada Warbler Habitat in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Regions
• Forthcoming: Guidelines for Managing Canada Warbler Habitat in the Atlantic Northern Forest of Canada 2017 (contact a.westwood[at]dal.ca)

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