FIRST RECORD OF MacGILLlVRAY’S WARBLER 
FOR NEW YORK STATE 
Richard R. Veit 1 and Margo E. Taylor 2 
biology Department 
The College of Staten Island 
2800 Victory Boulevard 
Staten Island, NY 10314 
Veit@postbox.csi.cuny.edu 
2 323 W 1st Ave. 
Malvern, PA 19355 
One of us (Veit) identified a MacGillivray's Warbler (Oporornis tolmiei) 
at the Mohlenoff Nursery (now a New York City Parks facility) just after 
dawn on Wednesday 15 Decl999. The nursery is located on Victory 
Boulevard, along the northern edge of the Fresh Kills marshes, Staten 
Island, Richmond County, New York. Veit was searching at the time for 
Orange-crowned (Vermivora celata) and Nashville warblers (V ruficapilla) 
that had been discovered by Andrew Bemick the previous Sunday, 12 
Dec. During the subsequent days, a number of observers viewed the 
MacGillivray's Warbler from as close as 20' with IOX binoculars, and 
exposed some recognizable photographs. Several of us (Albert 
Burchsted, Tom Brown, Andy Bemick, Jarrod Santora, plus others not in 
our party) saw the warbler on Saturday 17 Dec, on the Staten Island 
Christmas Bird Count, and Burchsted made recognizable recordings of 
its call note. 
The bird spent much of its time foraging in weedy vegetation enclosed 
within a dilapidated greenhouse. At other times, it would leave the 
greenhouse and forage along a stand of Norway spruces and in the 
shrubs and weeds surrounding the spruces. It was last seen by Santora 
on 28 Dec. 
The MacGillivray's Warbler was recognizable as MacGillivray's, and 
not Mourning (0. Philadelphia) due to its call note, the coloration of the 
throat, and the color and configuration of the crescents about the eye. 
This bird was extremely vocal for an Oporornis , uttering bursts of 15-20 
calls at a time over a 2-3 minute period, during which time it would flit 
actively about the shrubby vegetation. The call note of the Staten Island 
bird can be best described as intermediate between that of a Common 
Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) and that of a Yellow-rumped Warbler 
2 
The Kingbird 2000 March; 50(1) 
