Geothlypis tolmiei
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
MacGillivray's warbler (Geothlypis tolmiei) is a species of bird in the family Parulidae, the New World warblers. It is found from southeastern Alaska and western Canada to Panama. MacGillivray's warbler was formally described by John Townsend in 1839 with the binomial Sylvia Tolmiei [sic] and the English name "Tolmie's Warbler". He drew on paintings in Audubon's Birds of America, in which Audubon had confused it with what was later named the mourning warbler (Geothlypis philadelphia). Townsend's names honor his friend William Fraser Tolmie. MaGillivray's and the mourning warblers are sister species and hybridize extensively. Audubon gave the species its current English name to honor William MacGillivray.
MacGillivray's warbler was long assigned to the genus Oporornis. The American Ornithological Society moved it to its present genus Geothlypis in 2011. The IOC made the change in 2012, BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) in 2016, and the Clements taxonomy by 2018.
However, the further taxonomy of MacGillivray's warbler is unsettled. Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Luis Potosí | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 2 | Mexico City | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 3 | Guadalajara | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 4 | Guatemala City | 🇬🇹 Guatemala | |
| 5 | Puebla | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 6 | Phoenix | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Mesa | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Las Vegas | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Salt Lake City | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a MacGillivray's Warbler sighting in Rocky Mountain National Park on a given day, based on 805 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 59th most-seen of the 223 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June and July
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a MacGillivray's Warbler in Rocky Mountain National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September to April, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most MacGillivray's Warbler sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
8th of 36
Of the 36 parks where we can rate MacGillivray's Warbler sightings, Rocky Mountain National Park ranks 8th at about 10%. The best odds are in Glacier National Park (United States, about 40%), Yosemite National Park (United States, about 30%) and Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks (United States, about 30%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the MacGillivray's Warbler is recorded against all the birds logged in Rocky Mountain National Park (805 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
