Length: About 5 inches.
Male: Smaller than the Myrtle Warbler, and at first glance, not unlike
it in appearance, because each bird has a yellow rump, a striped
breast, dark gray upper parts, and back and breast streaked with
black. The head of the Magnolia Warbler, however, has _no yellow
patch_, but a _broad white line over the eye_, black cheeks and
forehead, and _yellow_ under parts, (instead of white), which are
heavily streaked with black. The wings have _large white patches_
instead of _bars_; the tail is black, with a broad white band
extending _across_ the _middle_,--a distinguishing mark.
Female: Similar to male, but duller.
Song: "It is one of our full-voiced warblers, the song resembling the
syllables wee-to, _wee-to, wee-a-tee or witchi, witchi, witchi, tit,
witchi-tit, witchi-tit, witchi-tit_, the first four words deliberate
and even, the last three hurried and higher pitched.... The song is
louder than the yellow warbler's."[144]
Habitat: "Throughout the migration season, the Magnolia warbler is
common throughout our orchards and shade trees, as well as
woodlands.... In its nesting grounds, this warbler prefers
coniferous growth, especially young spruces."[144]
Range: Breeds from southern Mackenzie, Keewatin, northern Quebec, and
Newfoundland to central Alberta, Saskatchewan, Minnesota, northern
Michigan, and northern Massachusetts; in the mountains of West
Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York; winters from southern
Mexico to Panama.
Mr. C. F. Stone in "Birds of New York" says: "Every hemlock-clad gully
or hemlock woods where the trees are close and limbs intertwined afford
suitable haunts for this lively and emphatic singer.... Among the
smaller gullies 1 or 2 pairs may be found, and in the larger gullies it
is not unusual to locate 12 or 15 pairs during the nesting period. In
some of these situations the Magnolia does not seem to occur, perhaps
because it is so persecuted by red squirrels and cowbirds. The latter
seems to make a specialty of presenting this warbler with one or more of
its eggs, generally puncturing the eggs of the Magnolia before leaving
the nest."[144]