MacGillivray's Warbler

MacGillivray's Warbler, male

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MacGillivray's Warbler, female, Riverside Co., CA, May

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1. Description
2. Sound
3. Conservation Status
4. Other Names
5. Cool Facts
6. Full detailed species account

A furtive bird of forest edges and thickets, MacGillivray's Warbler breeds across much of the Pacific Northwest and the Rocky Mountains. In appearance, voice, habits, and winter range, it resembles its close relative, the Mourning Warbler, but the breeding ranges of the two species do not overlap.

Description

• Small songbird.
• Slate-gray hood, covering head, nape, and throat.
• White eye-arcs.
• Olive-green back and wings.
• Yellow chest and belly.

• Size: 10-15 cm (4-6 in)
• Wingspan: 19 cm (7 in)
• Weight: 9-13 g (0.32-0.46 ounces)

Sex Differences

Female has paler head with less pronounced white eye-arcs and black lores, and lacks male's dark mottling on breast.

Sound

Song is a rolling series of churring syllables, similar to song of Mourning Warbler but more complex, longer, and higher. Call is a harsh chip, or a high, ventriloquial chip.

Conservation Status

Because of its preference for cleared or regenerating land, MacGillivray's Warbler has probably benefited from human land-use practices such as logging and mining.

Other Names

Paruline des buissons (French)
Chipe cabecigiris de Tolmie, Reinita de tupidero, Reinita de MacGillivray, Verderón de Tolmie, Verdin de Tolmie (Spanish)

Cool Facts

• MacGillivray's Warbler and Mourning Warbler are now considered distinct species, but in the recent past, they have been considered to be the same species on the basis of similar plumages and possible cases of hybridization where their ranges overlap. Size disparity (MacGillivray's is smaller), consistent differences in morphology and song, and physical separation of breeding ranges supports the recognition of separate species.
• MacGillivray's Warbler nests from near sea level to as high as 3,000 meters (9842 ft) in elevation.

• MacGillivray's Warbler was named by John James Audubon for his friend and editor, Dr. W. MacGillivray. Audubon coined this name even though John Kirk Townsend had already named the species "Tolmie's Warbler," after Dr. W. T. Tolmie.

Sources used to construct this page:

Pitochelli, J. 1995. MacGillivray's Warbler (Oporornis tolmiei). In The Birds of North America, No. 159 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and the American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.