General

Magnolia Warbler: Medium-sized warbler with dark back, yellow rump, and black-streaked yellow underparts. Head has a blue-gray crown, yellow throat, and thick white eyebrows. Wings are dark with two white bars. Tail is dark with white patches and undertail coverts. Female and juvenile are much duller.

Range and Habitat

Magnolia Warbler: Breeds from British Columbia across central Canada to the northeastern U.S. and Appalachian mountains south to Virginia. Rare visitor to the west coast; winters in the tropics. Breeds in open stands of young spruce and fir. During migration, it can be found almost any place with shrubbery or trees.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"wee-o wee-o, wee-chew", "weety-weety-weeteeo"

Interesting Facts

 The Magnolia Warbler was named in 1810 by Alexander Wilson, who collected a specimen from a magnolia tree in Mississippi. He used the English name "Black-and-yellow Warbler" and used "magnolia" for the Latin species name, which became the common name over time.

 Unbeknownst to Wilson, the warblers he encountered were spring migrants on their way toward Canada--far north of the range of the Southern Magnolia tree in which he first saw them.

 Though it has very specific habitat preferences in the breeding season, it occupies a broad range of habitats in winter: from sea level to 1,500 meters elevation, and most landscape types, except cleared fields.

 A group of magnolia warblers are collectively known as a "corsage" of warblers.

Author

Gary Owen Dick