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Kirtland's Warbler

Dendroica kirtlandiiOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Wood Warblers (Parulidae)

Kirtland's Warbler Breeding Male Portrait
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General

Kirtland's Warbler: Rare, medium-sized warbler with black-streaked gray upperparts and yellow underparts with black streaks on sides. Face is black with broken white eye-ring. Legs, feet, and bill are black. Female, winter adult, and juvenile are duller with yellow breasts and white bellies, and lack black masks.

Range and Habitat

Kirtland's Warbler: Breeds in upper and lower Michigan in 13 counties from Lake Huron west to Kalkaska County, and from Presque Isle County south to Ogemaw County. Winters throughout the Bahama Islands. Nests exclusively in young jack-pine forests 80 acres or larger with numerous small, grassy openings. Winters in the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"chip-chip-che-way-o"

Interesting Facts

  • The endangered Kirtland's warbler is one of the rarest members of the wood warbler family.
  • It was not until 1903 that Norman A. Wood discovered the first nest in Oscoda County in northern lower Michigan. Until 1996, all nests were found within 60 miles of this site.
  • There is a Kirtland's Warbler Festival, which is sponsored in part by Kirtland Community College.
  • A group of kirtland's warblers are collectively known as a "scarcity" of warblers.


Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Range Map for Kirtland's Warbler
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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family
Species Dendroica kirtlandii
Length4.5 - 5 Inches
Wingspan7.5 Inches

Kirtland's Warbler

Kirtland's Warbler: Rare, medium-sized warbler with black-streaked gray upperparts and yellow underparts with black streaks on sides. The face is black with a broken white eye-ring. Legs, feet, and bill are black. It is a ground nester, prefers Jack Pine stands over 80 acres in size.

● Song: "chip-chip-che-way-o"

● Foraging & Feeding: Kirtland's Warbler: Diet consists of insects, including caterpillars, butterflies, moths, flies, and grasshoppers; also eats blueberries.

● Breeding & nesting: Kirtland's Warbler: Four to six white or pale pink eggs with brown flecks and spots are laid in a ground nest made of bark strips and vegetable fibers, and lined with grass and pine needles. Incubation ranges from 13 to 16 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Kirtland's Warbler: Prairie and Palm warblers have yellow rumps and faces and lack the broken eye-ring.

Flight Pattern

Weak fluttering flight with shallow wing beats.
Kirtland's Warbler Breeding Male Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Kirtland's Warbler: Breeds in upper and lower Michigan in 13 counties from Lake Huron west to Kalkaska County, and from Presque Isle County south to Ogemaw County. Winters throughout the Bahama Islands. Nests exclusively in young jack-pine forests 80 acres or larger with numerous small, grassy openings. Winters in the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos.
BreedingMonogamous
PopulationDeclining
MigrationMigratory
Weight0.5 Ounces