Credit: Caleb Putnam
North American field guide
MacGillivray's Warbler
Oporornis tolmiei
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Identification
Field notes
13 cm (5") Fairly common. Western North America. Dense undergrowth. Nests on ground.
Male has a black hood, female's is gray. Unstreaked yellow underparts including undertail coverts. Best told from similar Mourning and Connecticut Warblers by its incomplete eye ring (bold white crest above and below eye).
Song: buzzy trill with an ending downslur "sweeter-sweeter-sweeter, sugar-sugar".
Details in the field
Photo gallery
Credit: Frank D. Lospalluto
Credit: Jerry Oldenettel
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Videos
MacGillivray's Warbler
Credit: Evan HoustonMacGillivray's Warbler
Credit: Scott RamosWhere it lives
Distribution map
Source legend · original intervals
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Unshaded in source · does not imply absence
Bird Advisor Identification rules 1 variant · 1 rule
These are the observation paths the Bird Advisor can use to identify this species. Each rule is an alternative match.
MacGillivray's Warbler
1 ruleRule 1 13 criteria · confidence 6
- Did the WINGS have STRIPES or PATCHES ?
- No · Unknown
- Was the RUMP or LOWER BACK light ?
- No · Unknown
- What colour was the BELLY ?
- Yellow · Unknown
- What colour was the BREAST ?
- Yellow · Gray, or blue-gray · Black, purple, or dark · Unknown
- What colour was the THROAT ?
- Gray, or blue-gray · Unknown
- What SHAPE was the BILL ?
- Straight and slender · Unknown
- What LENGTH was the BILL ?
- Short · Medium · Unknown
- What were the EYE markings if any ?
- Light RING (white or yellow) AROUND the eye · Unknown
- What was the predominant colour of the HEAD ?
- Gray, or blue-gray · Unknown
- How BIG was the bird ?
- Smaller than a sparrow · Sparrow-sized
- What TYPE of bird was seen ?
- Warbler-like
- WHEN was the bird seen ?
- Spring · Summer · Fall
- WHERE was the bird seen ?
- Southwestern United States · Northwestern Canada or United States