Magnolia Warbler (Dendroica magnolia)

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A Field Guide to Warblers of North America (The Peterson Field Guide Series). by Kimball L. Garrett, Jon L. Dunn, Cindy House (Illustrator)

Warblers of Eastern North America

Recording by John R. Sauer, U.S. Geological Survey

Magnolia Warbler (Dendroica magnolia)

Identification: 4.25 inches from tip of bill to tip of tail.

Breeding Male: The top of the head is blue-gray. A triangular black band runs through the eye and is edged with a white band over the eye. The throat, breast, and belly are bright yellow with strong black lines. The back is black with a yellow rump. The tail has a broad white band.

Female: The breeding female is similar to the male, but slightly duller.The back is olive-brown, not black.

Fall Male and Female: Fall males and females are very different from the breeding birds. The head is completely gray with a white eye ring, but with no trace of a black mask or white band over the eye. An indistinct light gray band is found on the breast near the junction with the throat.

Immature: Similar to the fall male and female.

Similar Species: The breeding male and female are distinctive, but might be confused with the Yellow-rumped Warbler. The breast of the Yellow-rumped Warbler is black and the belly is white, not yellow. The Yellow-rumped Warbler has two lateral yellow patches and a yellow cap on the head. The fall male and female, as well as the immature, are much more difficult to separate from their counterparts in other species such as the Prairie, Kirtland's, Black-throated Green, and Blackburnian Warblers. However the presence of a diffuse gray band across the chest and the white band on the tail will usually distinguish the Magnolia Warbler from these species.

Breeding Range (see map below): The Magnolia Warbler breeds throughout the Northern Boreal Forest, although it is absent from Alaska. The species extends as far south as Pennsylvania in the east and even further south in the Appalachian Mountains.

Overwintering Range: American tropics.

Habitat: The Magnolia Warbler breeds in open stands of fir and spruce, or in the transition forests between the Northern Boreal Forest and the Eastern Deciduous Forest.

Food: Insects.

Behavior: The song is a rising weeta-weeta-weeta. The Magnolia Warbler forages in a variety of habitats including in trees, and near the ground among low shrubs.

Reproduction: The nest is constructed of twigs and grass lined with rootlets. The nest is most commonly placed in a conifer tree. The clutch contains 3 to 5 eggs, usually 4. Incubation takes about 12 days and the youngster is fledged about 10 days after hatching.

Notes: Like so many other warblers, the Magnolia Warbler was badly named. It was first collected during migration in a magnolia tree. The name stuck even though the species breeds in the conifers of the Boreal Forest. The Magnolia Warbler is among the commonest of the eastern Warblers.