Magnolia Warbler
(Setophaga magnolia)

Overview

Summary

© Dan Busby
For additional photos and vocalizations, visit Dendroica. (Link opens in a new window.)

The Magnolia Warbler is a conspicuous and abundant species across Canada's coniferous and mixed woods forests from Newfoundland and Labrador to the Yukon Territory. The population has increased moderately since about 1970, as indicated by the Breeding Bird Survey. Currently, there appear to be few conservation concerns for this species. With over 95% of the species' global breeding population, Canada's responsibility for Magnolia Warbler is very high. This species has been identified as a priority for conservation and/or stewardship in one or more Bird Conservation Region Strategies in Canada.

Designations

Population status

Population estimate

Distribution maps

• BirdLife International / NatureServe
• Breeding Bird Survey (BBS): Relative Abundance and Breeding Distribution (1993-2012)

Migration strategy, occurrence

Responsibility for conservation of world population

Conservation and management

With a moderately increasing population and the absence of known significant threats on either the breeding or wintering grounds, there is presently little conservation concern for this species. Unlike some other Neotropical migrants, habitat loss on the Central American and West Indian wintering grounds does not appear to be a problem because this species occupies several different habitat types (Dunn and Hall 2010). The species prefers young, thick coniferous- or mixed-woods; that habitat is increasing in the southern parts of the breeding range due to regeneration of abandoned farmland (McLaren 2007), and in the north due to logging operations (Dunn and Hall 2010).

Bird conservation region strategies

Environment and Climate Change Canada and partners have developed Bird Conservation Region Strategies in each of Canada’s Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs). In these strategies, selected species are identified as priorities for one or more of the following reasons:

• conservation concerns (i.e., species vulnerable due to population size, distribution, population trend, abundance, or threats)
• stewardship responsibilities (i.e., species that typify the regional avifauna or have a large proportion of their range or population in the sub-region)
• management concerns (i.e., species that require ongoing management because of their socio-economic importance as game species, or because of their impacts on other species or habitats)
• other concerns (i.e., species deemed a priority by regional experts for other reasons than those listed above or because they are listed as species at risk or concern at the provincial level)

Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.

References

• Dunn, E. and G.A. Hall. 2010. Magnolia Warbler (Dendroica magnolia), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Dunn, E. and G.A. Hall. 2010. Magnolia Warbler (Dendroica magnolia), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. (Link)
• McLaren, P.L. 2007. Magnolia Warbler. pp. 478-479 in: Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Ontario, 2001-2005. Cadman, M.D., D.A. Sutherland, G.G. Beck, D. Lepage and A.R. Couturier, Eds. Bird Studies Canada, Environment Canada, Ontario Field Ornithologists, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, and Ontario Nature, Toronto, Ontario.