Mourning Warbler -- South Dakota Birds

Mourning Warbler

Oporornis philadelphia

Named after the black patch on the male's upper breast, giving the impression of being dressed in mourning.  The Mourning Warbler is a bird of shrubby areas and forest undergrowth, and is often difficult to spot.  Unlike many migrants, Mourning Warblers avoid flying over the Gulf of Mexico during the spring and fall, instead preferring to migrate overland through Mexico and the interior of the U.S.

Habitat: Prefers shrubby undergrowth and second-growth forest.  Can often be found in forest areas that are regenerating after fire disturbance or clear-cutting.

Diet: Primarily insects, especially caterpillars and beetles.  Also spiders. 

Breeding: Non-breeder in South Dakota

Song: 2-part song, with 2nd part lower than the first part, jirry-jirry, jorry-jorry.  To listen to an audio file, click on the following "E-nature.com" link, and click on the "listen to this bird" icon: E-nature.com: Mourning Warbler.

Migrations: Summers through southern Canada, the northern Midwest, and the northeastern U.S.   Neotropical migrant, wintering in Central and South America.

Similar Species: Connecticut Warbler, MacGillivray's Warbler

Status: Generally stable.  Its preference for second-growth forest makes it less susceptible to habitat loss than many species.

Further Information: 1) USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter, Mourning Warbler

2) Cornell University's "All About Birds - Mourning Warbler"

3) E-nature.com: Mourning Warbler

Photo Information: May 25th, 2001 -- Aberdeen, Brown County -- Dan Tallman

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This page was last edited on 02/03/08