Paruline triste— Quebec wildlife

The mourning warbler (Geothlypis philadelphia) is a small songbird of the New World warbler family. Mourning warblers are neotropical migrants native to eastern and central North America and wintering in Central and South America. They tend to be found in dense second growth forests. They are very similar to the MacGillivray's warbler in appearance, especially in females and immature birds, but their breeding range does not overlap into the west. The "mourning" in this bird's name refers to the male's hood, thought to resemble a mourning veil.

Description

Mourning warblers are small songbird with yellow underparts, olive-green upperparts, a thin pointed bill and pink legs. Adult males have a gray hood, black lores and a black patch on the throat and breast. In the fall, this pattern becomes less bright and harder to distinguish from similar species; however they never have a broken eye ring. Females and immatures are gray-brown on the head with an incomplete eye-ring. They have a yellow-gray throat with a brown or olive tint to their breast. Both sexes can range from 10 to 15 cm (3.9–5.9 in) in length and 11–13 g (0.4–0.5 oz) in weight. Their wingspan is 18 cm (7.1 in). Other than the MacGillivray's Warbler, similar species include the Connecticut warblers which have a complete eye ring, not to be confused with a broken eye ring seen on immature mourning warblers. Immature Connecticut warblers also have a whiter chest compared to the yellow chest on immature mourning warblers. Nashville warblers are also commonly confused; however they have a yellow throat unlike the black or grey throats of mourning warblers, females have a grey back, and they are smaller and less active than mourning warblers.