National Geographic Magazine/Volume 31/Number 4/Friends of Our Forests/Hooded Warbler

Hooded Warbler (Wilsonia citrina)


Range: Breeds in Carolinian and Austroriparian Zones from southeastern Nebraska, southern Iowa, southwestern Michigan, central New York, and the lower Connecticut Valley south to Louisiana, Alabama, and Georgia; winters from Vera Cruz and Yucatan to Panama.

While the hooded warbler has a wide range in eastern United States, its center of abundance is the lower Mississippi Valley. It is common only locally and wholly absent from many sections except as a casual migrant. Of the bird, one of our most beautiful warblers, Chapman says:

“To my mind there is no warbler to which that much misused word ‘lovely’ may be so aptly applied as to the present species. Its beauty of plumage, charm of voice, and gentleness of demeanor make it indeed not only a lovely, but a truly lovable bird. Doubtless, also, the nature of the hooded warbler's haunts increases its attractiveness not merely because these well-watered woodlands are in themselves inviting, but because they bring the bird down to our level. This creates a sense of companionship which we do not feel with the bird ranging high above us, and at the same time it permits us to see this exquisitely clad creature under most favorable conditions.”

Source: Henry W. Henshaw (April 1917), “Friends of Our Forests”, The National Geographic Magazine 31(4): 321. (Illustration from p. 320.)