Mourning Warbler (Oporonis philadelphia)

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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

Color Photograph: © Corel Corp.

Mourning Warbler (Oporonis philadelphia)

Identification:

Breeding Male: The head, throat, and upper breast of the Mourning Warbler are blue-gray with black accenting of the feathers of the breast portion. The rest of the underside is yellow. The back is olive-brown and wing bars are absent. An eye ring is absent as well.

Female: The female is similar to the male, but the throat is suffused with white and the black accented feathers of the male are absent. The female may have a partial white eye-ring, but the eye-ring is always broken.

Fall Male and Female: Similar to the breeding sexes.

Immature: Similar to the female.

Similar Species: The Mouring Warbler is very similar to the Connecticut Warbler and the two species can be extremely difficult to tell apart. Females and immatures are particularly difficult to separate. The blue-gray neck and breast of the male Mourning Warbler is flecked with black, but this black flecking is absent in the Connecticut Warbler. The Connecticut Warbler has a complete white eye-ring. The eye-ring is absent in the male Mourning Warbler. An eye-ring may present in the female Mourning Warbler, but is weaker and broken. The yellow underside of the male Mourning Warbler is brighter than that of the Connecticut Warbler. The Mourning Warbler could be confused with a Nashville Warbler. However the throast and breast of the Nashville Warbler is yellow and the white eye-ring of the Nashville Warbler is connected by a white line to the base of the bill.

Breeding Range (see map below): The Mourning Warbler breeds throughout most of the Northern Forest from eastern British Columbia in the west to Nova Scotia in the east. The species extends southward into New England and in the mountains to West Virgina. The species is also found in northern North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan.

Overwintering Range: American tropics.

Habitat: The Mourning Warbler is found in thickets of blackberries and raspberries. The species is also found in woods with thick undergrowth.

Food: Insects.

Behavior: The Mourning Warbler forages near the ground in brambles and thick undergrowth and is seldom seen. The song is loud and musical of the form teedle-teedle, turtle-turtle with the last pair of notes lower in pitch.

Reproduction: The nest is constructed of plant fibers and leaves, lined with hair and grass. The nest is located on the ground in undergrowth. The clutch consists of 3 to 5 white eggs with brown spots. Incubation takes 12 days and the young is ready to leave the nest 7 to 9 days after hatching.