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.

Breeding and Nesting

Magnolia Warbler: Three to five brown marked, white or green eggs are laid in a shallow twig-and-grass nest lined with rootlets. Incubation ranges from 11 to 13 days and is carried out by the female.

Foraging and Feeding

Magnolia Warbler: Eats mostly insects, but also feeds on berries. Gleans insects from undersides of leaves and from bark crevices; frequently spreads its tail, exposing bold white patches.

Readily Eats

Sugar Water, Fruit, Nut Pieces

Vocalization

Magnolia Warbler: Song is a "weeta-weeta-weeteo." Call note is "tslip."

Similar Species

Magnolia Warbler: Prairie, Kirtland's, Black-throated Green, and Blackburnian warblers lack gray breast bands and white tail patches.