Mourning Ground Warbler

Mourning Ground Warbler [now Mourning Warbler]
Trichas philadelphia, Wilson [now Geothlypis philadelphia]
Octavo edition, plate 100

“Although this beautiful species has been met with in various portions of our eastern maritime districts, it cannot be said to be an abundant one; and no one has, as yet, been able to discover its nest. Several of my ornithological friends have supplied me with specimens procured in the neighbourhood of New York, Philadelphia, and in the mountainous parts of Vermont; all these were found during the spring and summer months, none having been seen during the autumn; where, on the contrary, the Connecticut Warbler is plentiful. The habits of the Mourning Warbler resemble, considerably, those of the Maryland Yellow-throat, and other birds of the genus trichas, keeping in low thickets, among the branches of which it hops, as well as on the ground. Its flight also resembles that of the bird above mentioned. So curiously and cautiously does it pass from south to north, and from north to south, that its migratory movements have eluded the most attentive observers. My friend the Rev. John Bachman never has seen it in South Carolina; and in one instance only, have I met with it in Louisiana. The figure represents a fine adult male in perfect plumage.”

John James Audubon, Birds of America (New York: J.J. Audubon; Philadelphia: J. B. Chevalier, 1840-1844), vol. 2, p. 76.

View bird in National Audubon Society Guide to North American Birds.