Geothlypis philadelphia
male
The Mourning Warbler is a plump ground-dwelling songbird. The sexes are dissimilar. Adult males have an olive-buff back, wings, and tail. There is a blue-gray hood, darkest on the lores and on the lower margin. The underparts are otherwise bright yellow. Adult females are similar to an adult male but the hood is uniformly pale gray. The lack of a pale eyering helps distinguish adults from an adult Connecticut Warbler. Immatures are similar to an adult female but with a drab gray head and neck, a yellowish throat, and an indistinct, broken pale eyering. The legs are pinkish in all birds.
The Mourning Warbler is present as a breeding species mainly from June to August. It spends the rest of the year in Central and South America. It is a secretive and unobtrusive bird, and a challenge to observe.
male
FACT FILE
LENGTH 5.25 in (13.5 cm)
FOOD Invertebrates
HABITAT Dense scrub and secondary woodland thickets
STATUS Widespread and fairly common summer visitor
VOICE Song is usually in two parts, the first a set of buzzing whistles, the second a series of churring notes. Call is a thin chit
