about 3,300–4,300 ft (1,000–1,300 m). There its habitat is a patchy mix containing primary forest (e.g. high Iriartea deltoidea palm woods), wet premontane secondary forest dominated e.g. by Elaeagia (Rubiaceae) and with abundant epiphytes and hemiepiphytes such as Clusiaceae, former clearings overgrown with shrubs, and fresh forest edges. S. p. graysoni mostly keeps to low woody vegetation, typically Croton masonii shrubs, a few feet (some 1–1.5 meters) above ground; they are more terrestrial than other subspecies of the tropical parula and often can be seen hopping on the ground – though probably less so where feral cats are abundant. These birds feed on insects, spiders and occasionally berries. They may be seen to attend mixed-species feeding flocks, in some locations (e.g. in the Serra de Paranapiacaba) commonly, but often just coincidentally. The tropical parula nests in clumps of epiphytes (especially Spanish moss, Tillandsia usneoides) in a tree, laying usually two eggs in a scantily lined domed nest. Incubation is 12–14 days, mainly by the female. On Socorro Island, the breeding season is probably in the summer months, and by November, the young appear to have fledged. Gallery References Further reading Curson, Jon; Quinn, David & Beadle David (1994): New World Warblers. Christopher Helm, London. ffrench, Richard; O'Neill, John Patton & Eckelberry, Don R. (1991): A guide to the birds of Trinidad and Tobago (2nd edition). Comstock Publishing, Ithaca, N.Y. Hilty, Steven L. (2003): Birds of Venezuela. Christopher Helm, London. External links Parula pitiayumi: Vocalizations from "Avifauna of the Interior of Ceará, Brasil" tropical parula Birds of the Rio Grande valleys Birds of Central America Birds of South America Birds of Trinidad and Tobago tropical parula tropical parula