Mourning Warbler

Mourning Warbler, male

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Mourning Warbler, female (front) and male at nest

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

Common within its range, the Mourning Warbler is a small songbird of second-growth forests of eastern and central North America. It typically reveals its presence by its distinctive song of rolling phrases, usually remaining hidden in the low, thick vegetation.

Description

• Small songbird.
• Complete gray hood with broken black patch at base of chest.
• Yellow belly and vent.
• Plain olive back and wings.

• Size: 10-15 cm (4-6 in)
• Wingspan: 18 cm (7 in)
• Weight: 11-13 g (0.39-0.46 ounces)

Sex Differences

Sexes similar, but male has a distinctive broken black patch on the breast that female lacks. Female has a lighter-gray hood than male.

Sound

Song a rhythmic series of rolling two-syllable phrases, usually lower at the end: "chirry, chirry, chirry, chorry, chorry." Also at least two distinct chip notes, one loud and harsh and the other higher.

Conservation Status

Populations slightly increasing in New England, stable or slightly decreasing in Canada. Given their preference for disturbed forests, Mourning Warbler populations may have benefited from various human activities that are detrimental to other birds, such as mining, forest clear-cutting, and road-building.

Other Names

Paruline triste, Fauvette triste (French)
Verderón llorón (Spanish)

Cool Facts

• Both male and female Mourning Warblers pretend to have broken wings to distract predators close to their nest.

• The adult female Mourning Warbler eats the eggshells after the young hatch.

Sources used to construct this page:

Pitocchelli, J. 1993. Mourning Warbler (Oporornis philadelphia). In The Birds of North America, No. 72 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.