Magnolia Warbler (Dendroica magnolia)

Magnolia Warbler Dendroica magnolia

TAXONOMY:

Order: Passeriformes
Family: Parulidae
Genus: Dendroica
Species: magnolia

MORPHOLOGY:

Male: Has a black face and a black ear patch with a white eyebrow. The throat is yellow and has a black necklace between the throat and upper breast. Streaks come from the black necklace and extend down the breast, which is yellow in color. The rump is also yellow but the undertail coverts are white. Has two white wing bars that come to form one. Has broken white eye-ring. In the fall the dorsal side is olive and has a narrow gray band running across the upper breast. Face and ear patch are olive and the eye-ring is thin and white.
Female: Similar to the male but with finer streaking on the breast and a gray band across the upper breast. Has two white wing bars, but they do not converge. Eyebrow is gray as well as the face and ear patch. In the fall the dorsal side is olive and has a narrow gray band running across the upper breast. Face and ear patch are olive and the eye-ring is thin and white.
Immature: The dorsal side is olive and has a narrow gray band running across the upper breast. Face and ear patch are olive and the eye-ring is thin and white.

FOOD: insectivorous (Ehrlich et al., 1988).

MATING SYSTEM: monogamous (Ehrlich et al., 1988).

BREEDING SYSTEM:

Where Breeds: Breeds in bogs, clearings, and woodland edges in conifers (Baicicich and Harrison, 1997).
Nest: The nest is found on a branch or near the trunk of a tree, 1-15 ft. high (Baicicich and Harrison, 1997). The nest is a loose cup made out of fine twigs, coarse grasses, moss stems, pine needles, and fine rootlets (Baicicich and Harrison, 1997). The nest is lined with fine black rootlets and occasionally hair (Baicicich and Harrison, 1997). The nest is built by the female in 4 to 6 days (Baicicich and Harrison, 1997).
Breeding Season: The breeding season begins from late May to early June and ends in mid-August (Baicicich and Harrison, 1997). This species is single-brooded, but will replace a lost clutch (Baicicich and Harrison, 1997).
Eggs: There are between 3 and 5 eggs laid in a clutch (Baicicich and Harrison, 1997). The eggs are subelliptical to short subelliptical in shape and white to creamy-white or faintly tinted greenish in background color (Baicicich and Harrison, 1997). The eggs are speckled brown to reddish-brown, but the speckling varies (Baicicich and Harrison, 1997).
Incubation: The incubation period is 11 to 13 days and is done by the female (Baicicich and Harrison, 1997).
Nestling: The young are born altricial and downy, with the down being dark brown in color (Baicicich and Harrison, 1997). The mouth is pinkish and the gape flanges are pale yellow in color of the young (Baicicich and Harrison, 1997). The young fledge from the nest after 8 to 10 days from hatching, and the young are tended by both parents while in the nest (Baicicich and Harrison, 1997). The eyes of the young open 3-4 days after hatching (Baicicich and Harrison, 1997).

MIGRATION STATUS IN WISCONSIN:
The magnolia warbler is a neotropical migrant.

NEST FOUND AT LAND O' LAKES SITE:
There was one nest found at the site, and it fledged two young.

REFERENCES:
Baicicich, P.J. and Harrison, C.J.O. 1997. A Guide to the Nests, Eggs, and Nestlings of North American Birds, 2nd edition. Academic Press: San Diego.

Ehrlich, P.R., Dobkin, D.S., and Wheye, D. 1988. The Birder’s Handbook: A Field Guide to the Natural History of North American Birds. Simon and Schuster, Inc.: New York.

Stokes, D.W. and Stokes, L.Q. 1996. Field Guide to Birds: Eastern Region. Little, Brown and Co.: Boston.

[Primate Definitions] [The Primata]