2025 MURAL SPECIES!
kirtland’s warbler
Ojibwe: Biipiigenh
Latin: Setophaga kirtlandii
STATUS:
US STATUS: No Status/Not Listed
MI STATUS: T - Threatened (Legally Protected)
ARTIST:
MAX COLEMAN
Max Coleman is an illustrator and painter from Denver, Colorado who works under the moniker "Oak Bloak". The human condition, mythology, and ecology are all recurring motifs used throughout his drawings which vary wildly in subject matter and execution. Informed by classical illustration and printmaking his murals take on a narrative feel, inviting the viewer to become part of the picture.
Find more of Max’s work here!
EDUCATOR:
THE KIRTLAND’S WARBLER ALLIANCE
The Kirtland’s Warbler Alliance is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit created in 2014 to help ensure the future of the Kirtland’s Warbler. We work closely with the Kirtland’s Warbler Conservation Team to help the public, legislators, and policymakers understand why the Kirtland’s Warbler is Michigan’s real State Bird.
Visit our Kirtland’s Warbler mural in downtown Grand Rapids at 56 Front Avenue NW!
Description:
A relatively large wood warbler with adults 5 ¾ inches (14.6cm) in length and weighing 12-15 grams. Adults with a yellow breast with black streaks confined to the sides; two white wing bars, and a heavily streaked blue-gray back. The distinctive white eye ring is broken at the front and back of the eye. The adult female is less colorful than the male, having gray cheeks, paler streaked sides and breast and a grayish-brown back. The Kirtland's warbler persistent tail-pumping habit is similar to that of the Palm Warbler (Dendroica palmarum) and Prairie Warbler (Dendroica discolor).
Habitat and Occurrence
If you’re looking to find a Kirtland’s Warbler for yourself, check within the following ecosystems within the green counties on the map!
All information on this page is generously provided by the Michigan Natural Features Inventory (MNFI). For more information about Kirtland’s Warblers - visit the species description here: mnfi.anr.msu.edu/kirtlands-warbler. To learn more about Michigan’s biodiversity, ecological communities and natural heritage, visit mnfi.anr.msu.edu
get involved with kirtland’s warbler conservation!
While there are currently no Community Science projects specifically operating to benefit the preservation of Kirtland’s Warbler in Michigan, there are many organizations who work to protect the young Jack Pine habitats where it resides! Volunteer with some of these organizations and help protect the habitat that Kirtland’s Warbler need in order to survive. You also can participate in Breeding Bird Surveys with Michigan Audubon which helps understand bird populations throughout our state!
report an observation
MNFI stewards the Michigan Natural Heritage Database and track observations of some of Michigan’s rarest forms of life to fully understand the population and range of rare species to protect biodiversity in Michigan. If you have encountered a Kirtland’s Warbler, you can share the location information with these trusted conservation professionals here: mnfi.anr.msu.edu/species/report