The many species of this family have evolved to fill a wide variety of niches including marshes (yellowthroats) to tree trunks (the Black-and-white Warbler), and spruce forests (the Cape May Warbler). The wood-warblers occur throughout North America except for the far northern tundra. In addition to having bright yellow in their plumages, males in bright breeding plumage can show orange, blue, grays, and handsome patterns of black and white. Different shades of yellow and olive occur in many species, including the dull, brown, streaked plumages of females and immatures.

Members of the Parulidae come in a variety of colors. They have short to longish wings (in migratory species), and medium length, thin, pointed bills.

Like several other Passerines, the wood-warblers are small birds with medium length tails, medium length legs and strong feet suited to perching. However while many species are known for their beautiful breeding plumage colors, they are also known to bird watchers as being extremely challenging to identify when in the fall they revert to their drab tan, olive, and pale colored plumages. The wood-warblers are known for their colorful plumages – the Blackburnian Warbler being one of the most striking members of this family with its deep orange-red throat that contrasts with its handsome black and white plumage. North America has ninety species of wood-warblers in twenty-six genera included in this family are the yellowthroats, a seemingly dizzying array of warblers, and the waterthrushes. The wood-warblers, or Parulidae (pronounced pah-ROO-luh-dee), are a large family of one hundred and twenty-two species in twenty-six genera that only occur in North and South America. The wood-warblers are one of the one hundred eighteen families of birds in the order PASSERIFORMES (pronounced pas-ser-i-FOR-meez) a large taxonomic order that includes other small perching birds such as the vireos, the white-eyes, and the tanagers.

Yellow rumped warbler range map