The Mourning Warbler (Geothlypis philadelphia) is one of our latest warbler species to arrive in the spring. They are an uncommon summer resident which breeds across the province. They are more numerous everywhere than in the south-central lowland around Grand Lake and on the east coast. They can be found from late May to late September. Mourning Warblers prefer heavy tangled vegetation in forest openings and along forest edges. They like ferns, raspberries and broadleaf shrub tangles.
The Mourning Warbler, a member of the Parulidae family, is an intermediately sized warbler (13 cm long). In breeding plumage the male has a bluish-gray hood and a variable dark patch on the breast. The olive upperparts and yellow underparts make it outstanding in appearance. There may be dark lores (patch in front of the eye) and the legs are pinkish. Rarely there may be a thin white eyering. The bill is pinkish with a dusky upper mandible.
The female in breeding plumage is similar to the male except she has a light gray hood and no or little black on the breast. Her throat may be buffy or whitish and she may have a thin broken white eyering. Like all warblers the plumage changes in the fall. The males look similar to spring females except their heads and upperparts are all olive or brownish with a yellow or whitish throat.
Other warbler species that one would need to differentiate this species from are MacGillivray's Warbler, Connecticut Warbler and the Common Yellowthroat. For us here in New Brunswick the Common Yellowthroat would be the most likely species one would have to watch out for. But they have a longer tail, a smaller dark bill and they don't have the gray crown. MacGillivray's are not seen here and Connecticut Warblers are very rare. Connecticut Warblers have a distinctive complete white eyering and a shorter tail projection. Connecticuts also walk and the Mourning Warbler hops to move itself along, a neat distinguishing feature.
The summer range of the Mourning Warbler includes Atlantic Canada, across the southern half of Quebec and Ontario and into the prairies north to touch a bit on northern British Columbia and the Northwest Territories. It also is found south of the Great Lakes to about southern Ohio and Michigan and New England. Their winter range is the southern part of Central America and the northwestern part of South America. No wonder it takes them a long time to get here in the spring!
The song of the Mourning Warbler is not a mournful song as the name would suggest. It is a happy, 'cheery' melody. Their cheery cheery cheery chorry chorry is what led me to find my first ever member of this species. It is an easy song to remember and describes this beautiful warbler. So, why the name? Well, the Mourning Warbler was named by Alexander Wilson, a famous American ornithologist, in 1810 because of the gray hood and the black markings on the male's breast. He must have thought it looked like it was in mourning. The 'philidelphia' part of the name came from the place where he first saw it. Another ornithologist, Forbush, in 1929 took exception to the name given by Wilson and stated that the bird is active and happy and its song is a 'paean of joy'. I agree with Forbush but unfortunately the name given by Wilson has stuck.
The Mourning Warbler nests in dense undergrowth in forest clearings, usually near wet areas. This is a vegetation type we don't often wander in so no wonder we don't often find their nests. The nest, a well concealed open cup, is on or near the ground and is made of fibres and leaves and lined with grass and hair. Three to five creamy white eggs spotted with brown are laid and incubated by the female for 12 days. Both adults will use the broken wing display to try to detract intruders from the nest. After the young birds hatch, the female eats the egg shells. Mourning Warblers feed on insects and spiders which they glean from tree and bush foliage.
The Mourning Warbler population numbers are listed as stable. This is one species that has benefitted from humankind's disruption of the forest. It likes the bushy tangles that often are found where the trees have been cleared. It also benefits from the broken continuity of the forest that often follows forest operations. We have so much of that I am surprised we don't see more of this species in New Brunswick.
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