Front matter (continued 10)

Many other somewhat similar renderings have appeared in print, both in syllables and in human words, most of which seem to recall the song to mind. Some of the best of the wordings are trees, trees, murmuring trees and sleep, sleep, pretty one, sleep (Torrey, 1885); good Saint Theresa (Maynard, 1896); and take it, take it, leisurely (Stanwood, 1910b). Miss Stanwood pays this tribute to the charm of the song: “His voice is suggestive of the drowsy summer days, the languor of the breeze dreamily swaying the pines, spruces, firs, and hemlocks. It recalls the incense of evergreens, the fragrance of the wild strawberry, the delicate perfume of the linnea. No other bird voice is so potent to evoke that particular spell of the northern woods.”

The black-throated green warbler is a most persistent singer. The Nices (1932) say that the first warbler "gave 466 songs in a single hour and more than 14,000 in the 94 hours of observation.” According to Albert R. Brand (1938), the approximate mean number of vibrations per second in the song is 6,025, in the highest note 6,750 and in the lowest note 5,125. This compares with a mean of 8,900 for the black-polled warbler, which is the shrillest passerine bird song.

Field marks.—The conspicuous, bright yellow cheeks, the olive-green back, the prominent black throat, the two white wing bands, and the white outer webs of the lateral tail feathers will distinguish the male in breeding plumage. The female is duller and has less black, or none at all, on the throat. Young birds in the fall are much like the female. See the descriptions under Plumages.

Fall.—The fall migration of the black-throated green warbler begins during the latter part of August, continuing through September and often through much of October. It seems to be a reversal of the route followed in the spring. Similar haunts are frequented in the fall in the company of vast congregations of other species. A remarkable flight of various species of warblers was seen by Rev. W. F. Henninger in Scioto County, Ohio, an account of which is quoted by W. L. Dawson (1903) as follows:

On September 28, 1899, I ran into a company of warblers which I would place conservatively at two thousand individuals. It was like a regular army as it moved up a long sloping hillside, and with wonderful rapidity. The wind was blowing almost a gale from the north, and the birds allowed themselves to be urged before it in the direction of their ultimate retreat, like half-stubborn autumn leaves. Lisping, chipping, whirling, driving, they hurried on and I after at full speed, panting, and wishing devoutly for a better chance to identify the fleeing forms. Arrived at the top of the hill the army suddenly halted and when I arrived breathless I had time to note the arrangement by species, not rigid indeed, but sufficiently striking to command attention. In the center were seen Hooded Warblers and a sprinkling of Chestnut-sides. On either side of these in turn were Black-throated Greens and Sycamores, about two hundred of each; while the wings proper were held by Bay-breasts and Black-polls in enormous numbers. * * * As the birds deployed to feed the specific lines were not quite obliterated.

Winter.—The following notes are contributed by Dr. Alexander F. Skutch: “The black-throated green warbler is an abundant winter resident in the Central American mountains, where it is well distributed on both the Caribbean and Pacific slopes. In Guatemala, it winters from 1,000 to about 8,500 feet above sea-level, but is not abundant at either of these extremes of altitude. Farther south, in Costa Rica, it prefers slightly higher elevations. Here I have not recorded it between 2,000 and 2,900 feet, although the greater part of my bird-watching in the country has been done in this altitudinal belt. From 2,900 feet, where it is rare as a winter resident, it ranges up to nearly 10,000 feet. At this elevation, I found it abundant on the Volcán Irazú in late November. Less sociable than the Townsend warbler, it does not form flocks, and except during the actual period of migration, is more often seen alone than in the company of others of its kind.

“As a rule the black-throated green warbler arrives late, and has rarely been recorded before mid-October. But on August 9, 1933, I found a lone male in full nuptial plumage with a mixed flock of small resident birds in an open oak wood on the Sierra de Tecpán in the Guatemalan highlands. He sang his dreamy, unsubstantial song as he foraged along with his newly found companions. I saw only one other of his kind—or possibly it was the same individual again—before early October, when the species began to arrive on the Sierra de Tecpán in numbers.

“Another early arrival appeared on September 28, 1938, in the yard of the cottage I occupied at Vara Blanca, at an altitude of 5,500 feet on the northern slope of the Cordillera Central of Costa Rica. During the following days, it came every afternoon to forage in the low cypress hedges that surrounded the dwelling. Possibly it was attracted to these because of associations with its native land, for these trimmed cypresses were the only coniferous trees in the vicinity—indeed, in Costa Rica, the warblers find no native conifers save two species of Podocarpus, a genus whose center of distribution is in the Southern Hemisphere rather than in the North. At times the newly arrived warbler descended to the bare ground in the flower garden, where it appeared to find something edible. On October 2 it was for the first time accompanied by a second of its kind. Throughout the winter months a black-throated green warbler continued to visit these cypress hedges.

“This is another migrant warbler that plucks the dainty white protein corpuscles from the velvety cushions at the bases of the long petioles of the Cecropia tree. In excessively humid highland regions, as at Vara Blanca, the wide, hollow internodes of these trees are much of the time flooded with water, and therefore uninhabitable by the Azteca ants which at lower elevations usually colonize them. In the absence of the ants, whose food these tiny morsels are, the birds find an abundance of them on the Cecropia trees. A number of small native birds, including finches, tanagers, warblers, honeycreepers and ovenbirds (Furnariidae), share them with the migratory warblers.

“By mid-March the males are in resplendent nuptial plumage. On April 27, 1933, I heard a male black-throated green warbler singing among the alder trees beside a rivulet on the Sierra de Tecpán. On April 4 and 5, 1938, a male sang repeatedly at the edge of the forest at Vara Blanca; and from this date until the disappearance of the species from the region on April 14 I often heard their song.

“There is a certain amount of evidence that with the increasing aridity of the dry season the black-throated green warblers withdraw early in the year from districts on the Pacific slope where they were present during the wetter closing months of the preceding year. Thus, on the Sierra de Tecpán I met none between December 7 and April 20, when the northward movement was in progress, and the birds seen were doubtless transients rather than winter residents. And in the higher parts of the Basin of El General in southern Costa Rica I have recorded the species only in October, November, and December, after which the nearly rainless season begins. But in the wetter climate of Vara Blanca, they were seen throughout February and March until their northward departure in April.

“The black-throated green warbler withdraws from Costa Rica about the middle of April, and by the end of the first week of May has vanished from Guatemala.

“Early dates of fall arrival in Central America are: Guatemala—passim (Griscom), October 15; Sierra de Tecpán, August 9, 1933; Finca Mocá, October 29, 1934. Honduras—Tela, October 26, 1930. Costa Rica—Vara Blanca, September 28, 1937; San José (Underwood), October 16; Basin of El General, October 22, 1936.

“Late dates of spring departure from Central America are: Costa Rica—Juan Viñas (Carriker), April 17; Vara Blanca, April 14, 1938. Guatemala—passim (Griscom), May 4; Sierra de Tecpán, May 6, 1933.”

The following account of its winter haunts in El Salvador by Dickey and van Rossem (1938) is also interesting:

All through the mountainous districts, both in the interior and coastwise, the black-throated green warbler is an extremely common winter visitant; in fact, it constitutes, at levels between 3,500 and 5,000 feet, fully 90 per cent of the nonresident warbler population. The numerous flocks of from a dozen to half a hundred individuals invariably formed the nuclei about which gathered smaller numbers of other insectivorous species resident and nonresident. The black-throated green warbler showed decided preference for the oak and pine association at the altitudes mentioned, although it was by no means confined to such environments.

Many were seen in the coffee cover down to 3,000 feet on Mt. Cacaguatique and 2,300 feet at San Salvador. A few birds reach as high as 8,000 feet, at which level they were found in both pines and cloud forest on Los Esesmiles. * * * The average winter range of virens lies approximately 3,000 feet below that of townsendi, although strays and vagrants make the extremes of altitude nearly the same in both cases.

DISTRIBUTION

Range.—Eastern North America from southern Canada to Panamá.

Breeding range.—The black-throated green warbler breeds north to central western and northeastern Alberta (Grande Prairie, Peace River and Chipewyan); central Saskatchewan (Big River and Emma Lake); southern Manitoba (Brandon and Hillside Beach); southern Ontario (Lac Seul, Rossport, Chapleau, and Lake Abitibi; casual or accidental at Moose Factory); central Quebec (Mistassini Post, Upper St. Maurice River, Godbout, Mingan, and Natashquan); and casually in southeastern Labrador (Battle Harbor). East to southeastern Quebec (Natashquan); southwestern Newfoundland (Spruce Brook and Tompkins); Nova Scotia (Sydney, Halifax, and Barrington); the coast of New England; Long Island (Miller’s Place); northern New Jersey (Demarest and Dover); central Pennsylvania (Pottsville and Carlisle); central Maryland (Thurmont); central and southeastern Virginia (Charlottesville and Dismal Swamp); North Carolina (Lake Mattamuskeet); and central South Carolina (Charleston). South to South Carolina (Charleston); northern Georgia (Pinelog Mountains and Lookout Mountain); northeastern Alabama (Sand Mountain); southeastern Kentucky (Big Black Mountain and Jackson); central Michigan (Bay City and Mason County); northern Wisconsin (New London and Ladysmith); central Minnesota (Lake Minnetonka, Mille Lacs, and Cass Lake); southwestern Manitoba (Aweme); and southern Alberta (Brooks). West to western Alberta (Brooks, Glenevis, Sturgeon Lake, and Grande Prairie).

Winter range.—The black-throated green warbler is found in winter north to southern Texas (Arroya Colorado, Willacy County); and Yucatán (Tunkas and Chichén-Itzá). East to Yucatán (Chichén-Itzá); the coast of Quintana Roo; northeastern El Salvador (Mount Cacaguatique); eastern Costa Rica (Volcán Irazú); and central Panamá (Veragua); casual or accidental to northern Colombia (one record; Cincinnati, Santa Marta region). South to Panamá (Veragua and Volcán de Chiriquí). West to western Panamá (Volcán de Chiriquí); western Costa Rica (El General); western El Salvador (San Salvador); western Guatemala (Volcán de Agua and Dueñas); Oaxaca (Tehuantepec); western Morelos (Curnavaca); Puebla (Metlatoyuca); southern Tamaulipas (Altamira); probably eastern Nuevo León (Linares); and southern Texas (Santa Maria and Arroya Colorado).

The black-throated green warbler has apparently extended its winter range northward in recent years. Except for a single specimen taken at Brownsville in January 1911, it was not known to winter in Texas until 1933-34, when about 30 birds were seen. Since then it has increased and spread over most of Cameron County and to the southern border of Willacy County. One was recorded on Bull’s Island, S. C., on January 8 and 9, 1940.

The species is also rare or casual in winter or migration in the West Indies: Cuba (Habana and Isle of Pines); Jamaica; Haiti (Île à Vache); Puerto Rico (Adjuntas); and the islands of St. Croix, Guadeloupe, and Dominica; also Watling Island, Bahamas.

The ranges as outlined apply to the entire species of which two geographic races are recognized. The northern black-throated green warbler (D. v. virens) is found in all the breeding range except the coastal region, from southeastern Virginia to South Carolina, which is occupied by Wayne’s black-throated green warbler (D. v. waynei).

Migration.—Late dates of spring departure from the winter home are: Costa Rica—Juan Viñas, April 17. Guatemala—Tecpán, May 6. Tamaulipas—Xicoténcatl, May 11. Cuba—Habana, May 1.

Early dates of spring arrival are: Florida—Key West, March 3. Alabama—Eutaw, April 1. Georgia—Atlanta, March 26. South Carolina—Mount Pleasant, March 22. North Carolina—Raleigh, March 22. Virginia—Lawrenceville, April 3. West Virginia—French Creek, April 10. District of Columbia—Washington, April 18. Pennsylvania—Erie, April 19. New York—Rhinebeck, April 20. Massachusetts—Cambridge, April 19. New Hampshire—Tilton, April 26. Maine—Portland, April 26. New Brunswick—Scotch Lake, May 1. Nova Scotia—Wolfville, May 3. Quebec—Montreal, May 4. Louisiana—Avery Island, March 23. Mississippi—Oxford, March 10. Tennessee, Chattanooga, March 19. Kentucky—Eubanks, March 23. Arkansas—Delight, March 26. Missouri—Forsyth, April 8. Illinois—Murphysboro, April 11. Indiana—Bicknell, April 16. Ohio—Oberlin, April 13. Michigan—Vicksburg, April 13. Ontario—Guelph, April 20. Wisconsin—Milwaukee, April 19. Minnesota—Brainerd, April 25. Texas—Rockport, February 5. Kansas—Independence, April 1. North Dakota—Fargo, May 5. Manitoba—Aweme, April 30. Alberta—Edmonton, May 5.

Late dates of the spring departure of transients are: Florida—Pensacola, May 7. Alabama—Long Island, May 16. Georgia—Athens, May 14. South Carolina—Greenwood, May 17. North Carolina—Chapel Hill, May 24. Virginia—Norfolk, May 26. West Virginia—Fairmont, May 23. District of Columbia—Washington, June 10. Pennsylvania—Beaver, May 27. Louisiana—Lobdell, May 9. Mississippi—Horn Island, May 12. Tennessee—Knoxville, May 31. Arkansas—Delight, May 30. Missouri—St. Louis, May 22. Illinois—Chicago, June 3. Indiana—Notre Dame, June 2. Ohio—Toledo, June 5. Texas—Brownsville, May 15. Oklahoma—Tulsa, May 18. Kansas—Lawrence, May 16. Nebraska—Syracuse, May 27.

Early dates of fall departure are: Alberta—Glenevis, August 30. Manitoba—Brandon, September 24. North Dakota—Fargo, September 19 (bird banded). Nebraska—Stapleton, October 17. Oklahoma—Oklahoma City, November 2. Minnesota—Minneapolis, November 2. Wisconsin—Madison, November 1. Michigan—Detroit, November 1. Ontario—Ottawa, October 25. Ohio—Columbus, October 31. Illinois—Rantoul, October 31. Kentucky—Madisonville, October 24. Tennessee—Memphis, October 28. Mississippi—Gulfport, November 18. Louisiana—New Orleans, November 4. Newfoundland—Tompkins, October 4. Nova Scotia—Sable Island, October 7. New Brunswick—Saint John, October 12. Quebec—Quebec, October 3. Maine—Ellsworth, October 19. Vermont—Woodstock, October 19. Massachusetts—Harvard, November 2. New York—Scarsdale, October 26. Pennsylvania—McKeesport, October 25. District of Columbia—Washington, October 21. North Carolina—Weaverville, October 31. Georgia—Athens, November 1. Alabama—Fairhope, November 19. Florida—Sombrero Key, November 10 (two struck lighthouse, one killed).

Early dates of fall arrival are: North Dakota—Wilton, September 4. Kansas—Lake Quivira, September 6. Oklahoma—Tulsa, August 13. Texas—Cove, July 26. Ohio—Toledo, August 20. Indiana—Waterloo, August 14. Illinois—Chicago, August 15. Kentucky—Versailles, August 13. Missouri—Montier, August 25. Arkansas—Winslow, August 13. Tennessee—Memphis, August 7. Mississippi—Hernando, July 30. Louisiana—Breaux Bridge, August 12. Pennsylvania—Pittsburgh, August 20. District of Columbia—Washington, August 22. West Virginia—Bluefield, August 29.—Virginia—Charlottesville, September 3. North Carolina—Montezuma, August 27. Georgia—Atlanta, September 6. Florida—Pensacola, September 9. Cuba—Habana, September 30. Mexico—Cuernavaca, Morelos, September 14. Guatemala—Tecpán, August 9. Costa Rica—Vara Blanca, September 28.

Banding.—A few interesting records of banded birds are available. One banded at Hanover, N. H., on September 16, 1930, was found dead at Milledgeville, Ga., on February 25, 1935. Since the bird was an adult when banded it had lived at least five years and eight months. Another banded at Groton, Mass., on May 24, 1933, was “caught” at West Memphis, Ark., on October 22, 1933. A third bird, banded at Overbrook, Philadelphia, Pa., was killed by an Indian near Tetela, Oaxaca, Mexico, about April 1, 1936.

Casual records.—A specimen of the black-throated green warbler was collected on one of the Farallon Islands on May 29, 1911, and another seen on June 1. There are three records for Arizona: one collected in Ramsay Canyon, Huachuca Mountains, on May 9, 1895; one recorded seen in the same mountains in August 1932; and one collected May 30, 1933, in Toroweap Valley, Mohave County, on the brink of Grand Canyon. One was noted on the Teton River below Collins, Mont., on June 4, 1916. A specimen was collected at Barr Lake, Colo., May 20, 1909. In Monroe Canyon, Sioux County, Nebr. one was noted October 8, 1920. At Julianehaab, Greenland, a specimen was taken in 1853; and another at Sukkertoppen in the fall of 1933. There are three records for Bermuda: May 7, 1878; February 1927; and May 1, 1928. A specimen was secured on the island of Heligoland, Germany, on November 19, 1858.

Egg dates.—Massachusetts: 26 records, May 21 to July 11; 15 records, May 30 to June 10, indicating the height of the season.

New Brunswick: 13 records, June 13 to 28; 9 records, June 5 to 19.

New York: 19 records, May 30 to July 16; 10 records, June 2 to 11.

Nova Scotia: 13 records, June 7 to 28; 9 records, June 13 to 20 (Harris).

DENDROICA VIRENS WAYNEI (Bangs)

WAYNE’S BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER

Contributed by Alexander Sprunt, Jr.

HABITS

It was a silent world, this great cypress swamp where I sought the nest of the Wayne’s black-throated green warbler in the company of the man whose name it bears and who first made it known to science. A vast flooded expanse of trees and water—colorful, eerie, and mysterious—it was a realm of gray-green gloom. Huge trunks towered on all sides; long aisles of wine-dark mirror-smooth water stretched illimitably away among the buttressed columns. The grayness that predominated, from the furrowed knees and smoother trunks of the great trees to the shrouds of moss festooned from their branches, was relieved here and there by contrasting splotches of bright green overhead where occasional shafts of brilliant sunlight penetrated the canopy of feathery foliage.

Our dugout made no sound as it slid along. Only the slight splash of the paddle entering and leaving the water gave evidence of any means of propulsion. Now and again the silence was broken by the calls echoing down the flooded aisles—the clear whistle of the prothonotary warbler ringing sweetly, the full-voiced carol of the yellow-throated warbler, the strident call of the pileated woodpecker answered by the distant cry of a hunting red-shouldered hawk. Occasionally the deep, resonant “whoo-aw” of a barred owl reverberated solemnly among the cypresses, and once a sombre anhinga flapped ahead of the dugout to plunge cleanly into the still water in full career.

But above these evidences of swamp life, above the swish of breaking bass, the crashing splash of a disturbed alligator, the clamor of a startled heron or ibis, sounded one persistent call from the high branches—a song of seven notes, five on the same tone, one ascending, the last descending. It was this call that drew us on, the song of the bird whose nest we sought that morning, Wayne’s warbler, the southern race of the black-throated green warbler.

To find the black-throated green warbler in a cypress swamp might seem strange indeed to one who knows the species in its spruce and balsam highlands, in the rhododendron and laurel thickets of the Blue Ridge, in the evergreens of the Adirondacks and Maine! Yet here it is, one of the characteristic avian dwellers of the warm swamplands of the South Carolina Low Country, arriving in the spring to nest amid the green cypress twigs, the drooping limbs of the magnolias, and the majestic spread of the live oak.

When Arthur T. Wayne of Mount Pleasant, S. C., discovered the first nesting of this race he was sure it was not a typical Dendroica virens virens, and on April 25, 1918 he sent a male to Outram Bangs of the Museum of Comparative Zoology in Cambridge, Mass. Later he sent him six other specimens. Upon comparing them with specimens of D. v. virens, Bangs (1918) described it as a different race, giving it the name of the discoverer, waynei. Extracts from his published material are illuminating. He states, for instance, that “this series proves to represent a form easily distinguishable from true Dendroica virens (Gmelin). I take great pleasure in naming it after the keen ornithologist and excellent observer and collector who discovered it, and who noticed its peculiarities even without sufficient material with which to compare it.”

The subspecific differences are mainly a duller coloration, less yellowish, and of a paler shade, and the throat patch more restricted. Its principal variation from virens is its much smaller and more delicate bill. As Bangs points out, “measurements of a bill so small do not convey the same impression that an actual comparison of specimens does. The bill of the new form when compared to that of D. v. virens, appears not more than two-thirds as large.” Certainly this is true. So marked is the difference that a specimen of waynei placed amid a score or more of virens can easily be picked out even at some distance.

The southern limit of the breeding range of virens appears to be the high mountains of Carolina and Georgia and northern Alabama, usually at elevations of more than 4,000 feet; waynei is confined to a coastal strip (in some cases less than 5 miles from the ocean) so that the intervening area between it and virens averages about 300 miles. In all that distance, no northern black-throated green warbler appears except in scattered and isolated instances. The migratory route of waynei is as yet imperfectly known, but since virens is so scarce along the lower Atlantic coast as to be virtually absent, and since it has never yet been secured or reported along the Carolina and Georgia or northern Florida coasts, it would seem that any specimen seen in those localities would be waynei.

Spring.—Wayne (1910) said of this bird in South Carolina: “This species arrives with great regularity [Charleston County] as the following dates will show, viz., March 26, 1890; March 27, 1900; March 27, 1912; March 23, 1916. It is not common until the middle of April and its passage through the coast region requires so long a time that one not acquainted with the migrations of birds might readily believe that it bred here … that this species should remain on the coast until June, and not breed is very surprising.”

At that time he was, of course, unaware that the species contained two races, but, as Outram Bangs has pointed out (1918), these March arrival dates in coastal South Carolina occur when “true D. virens is still in winter quarters in Mexico and Central America.” Thus, it will be seen that the migration times must vary considerably, and the arrival of the coastal race is in advance of the true species, indicating a different and less distant winter home, another phase to consider when comparing the two.

There is almost a complete dearth of additional information on arrival dates in other southern states. My records of South Carolina arrival dates in recent years do not vary much from Wayne’s, and he has no earlier ones. I have but once encountered waynei in spring elsewhere than in South Carolina, this being a specimen observed in full song in Rhetta Lagoon, Cumberland Island, Ga., on April 15, 1932. However, that it was, in fact, a migrant is beyond all question for it is not present in its United States range in late fall and winter.

In his description of the race in 1918, Bangs stated that “it would seem not unlikely that the South Carolina form is resident and non-migratory, and I hope Mr. Wayne will be able to prove whether or not this is so.” This belief of Bangs’ was carried into the A. O. U. Check-List (1931) which gives the range of this form as “resident in the coastal district of South Carolina.” This is not the case; waynei does not remain in winter, and is therefore not resident but migratory, as I have previously pointed out (1932).

The migration of this race is as yet imperfectly known. While any coastal migrant black-throated green warbler would probably be referable to it, as virens appears to keep to the interior when travelling north, as a matter of fact there are almost no records of migratory occurrences. S. A. Grimes (MS.) tells me that he has never observed any black-throated green warbler in the area about Jacksonville, Fla., where he lives and where he is much afield, having had years of experience. Earle K. Greene (MS.) similarly states that his experience of over two years in the Okefenokee Swamp in southern Georgia failed to produce “a single individual.” Strictly in line with his observations are those of Francis Harper (MS.) whose experience in the Okefenokee is even more extensive than Greene’s. He writes in response to my request, “I have never found the slightest trace of the bird there.” This is strange, as the Okefenokee would seem to be typical habitat for the Wayne’s Warbler, but it evidently does not occur there.

Courtship.—Nothing is known of the courtship behavior of this bird, owing to the difficulty of observation, the very restricted range of the bird, and the dearth of local observers.

Nesting.—Wayne was under the impression that he was the discoverer of the first known nest of this race, but search of the literature reveals that he was in error, though the first nests found were not recognized as those of waynei. Wayne secured the first eggs, and these still appear to be the only ones in existence, as all other breeding records deal with young birds. Authentic breeding information is exceedingly scanty, and since this is the case, all of the instances are mentioned herewith.

The first recorded breeding was in coastal North Carolina, and is mentioned by Pearson and the Brimleys (1919). They included it under the black-throated green warbler, as the species at that time had not been divided into two races. One nest was found at La Grange, Lenoir County, in June 1905 (Smithwick), and the other at Lake Ellis, Craven County, June 1910. Adults were seen feeding very young birds.

Continually impressed with the birds’ presence in coastal South Carolina so late in spring, Wayne sought evidences of nesting and, on April 11, 1917, saw a female carrying nesting material in a large cypress swamp in Charleston County, but could not locate the nest. On the twenty-eighth of the same month he detected both a male and female in the same procedure but again failed to find the nest. His (1918) comment on this follows: “The brief account of this bird written in ‘Birds of South Carolina’ is, in the main, correct. Although I had never found it breeding when the book went to the press I was absolutely certain that it really bred on the coast.” A year later, on April 28, 1918, he saw another female engaged in nest building, and again was unable to find the nest. Those who knew Wayne’s untiring energy in such work can readily understand the extreme difficulty experienced in locating this elusive bird’s home. It was on this last date that he secured the type specimen from which Bangs described the race. The following year finally brought success. Wayne (1919) states:

“On March 20, 1919, I visited the place where the type specimen was taken. * * * A few males were heard singing from the topmost branches of tall, gigantic, deciduous trees, and were also seen to fly into very tall pines.” He again visited this spot on April eighteenth with Henry Moessner and the latter located a nest. It "was built in a live oak tree and on the end of a horizontal branch among twigs * * * absolutely concealed * * * about 38 feet above the ground.” Wayne climbed a nearby tree and with Moessner’s help from below, attempted to pull the oak limb toward him in order to reach the nest, when “sad to relate, without a moment’s warning, the limb snapped off and the four fresh eggs that the nest contained were dashed in fragments on the ground.”

The nest itself was preserved, and Wayne describes it as “small and compact, measuring 1³⁄₄ inches in height and 1¹⁄₂ inches in depth. It is constructed of strips of fine bark and weed stems, over which is wound externally the black substance that is invariably present in the lining of the nests of Bachman’s Warbler (Vermivora bachmanii). The interior * * * is chiefly composed of a beautiful ochraceous buff substance, doubtless from the unfolding leaves of some fern, and a few feathers.”

On the twenty-eighth, ten days after this nest was found, Wayne returned to the swamp with the Misses Louise Ford and Marion Pellew and found “a very young bird just from the nest and unable to fly more than a few feet, being fed by the male parent, which shows that the birds breed irregularly.”

The party proceeded to another part of the swamp where a female was seen to enter a large magnolia. “Miss Ford * * * saw the female go to her nest * * * built near the extremity of a long drooping magnolia limb, but on the horizontal portion of it and about 25 feet above the ground.” This nest held four heavily incubated eggs, these being the first ones actually taken. This nest had a quantity of caterpillar silk binding the fibres of Spanish and hypnum moss outside, and was “lavishly lined with the beautiful ochraceous buff substance from young fern leaves, as in the first nest.”

Edward S. Dingle (MS.) writes that “on the morning of April 25, 1923, a Wayne’s warbler was observed building in a cypress tree; the bird collected material from the ground and also from the trunk of a large cypress nearby. The male was not seen.” On the third of May following, I accompanied Wayne and Dingle to the site; there Dingle located the nest, climbed the tree, and secured it, with four eggs. This nest was 62 feet from the ground and 5 feet out from the trunk. This is the third, and last nest from South Carolina with eggs, on which data are extant. All, with the exception of the first, were in Wayne’s collection at his death, and are now in the Charleston (S. C.) Museum. The sites in each case, were found by Wayne, but the nests were actually located by Moessner, Dingle, and Miss Ford.

Commenting on these discoveries, Wayne (1919) states: “I have known this bird ever since May 4, 1885 when I took a male in Caw-caw Swamp, Colleton County, S. C., while on a collecting trip with my friend, the late William Brewster. I gave the bird to him in the flesh, and in his collection it still remains. The nest and eggs have remained unknown until brought to light by this season’s research.”

Russell Richardson (1926) reported black-throated green warblers in the Dismal Swamp, on the North Carolina side, in June. No evidence of nesting was found by him, and he did not, apparently, realize that the birds he saw were waynei. In 1932 Drs. W. R. McIlwaine and J. J. Murray visited Dismal Swamp on May 23-26, and “found Wayne’s warblers rather common.” From Murray (1932) we find that they “heard two singing males on May 23rd as we came down the Washington Ditch to the Lake; two males singing on the 24th near the entrance to the Feeder Ditch * * * and six males on the 26th.” They also found two family parties of adults feeding small birds on the 24th. One of these parties was near the mouth of the Feeder Ditch; the other a half mile up the Jericho Ditch from the Lake (Drummond). * * * The young birds were out of the nest and could fly well. They looked like big bumble-bees buzzing across from one tree to another; staying rather high up. The adults ranged low in gathering food, both male and female feeding the young birds.

Eggs.—The eggs of waynei are similar to those of virens. Wayne has described them (1919) as “of a white or whitish color speckled and spotted in the form of a wreath around the larger end with brownish red and lilac.” The sets previously described are the only ones of which the writer is aware, and may be the only ones in collections. Whether any have ever been secured outside of South Carolina is doubtful. Measurements of Wayne’s two sets average 16.79 by 12.25 and 15.12 by 12.03 mm., a trifle under the average for eggs of virens. The breeding records for the Dismal Swamp (Virginia) and two localities in North Carolina, concern young birds only.

Plumages.—Data available are not sufficient for a detailed description of the plumages but they are probably the same as those of virens.

Food.—No positive information on the food of waynei exists, as far as I can ascertain, except that in July 1939, G. H. Jensen examined the stomach contents of a single specimen secured by Howell and Burleigh at Murrells Inlet, S. C., June 5, 1932. It was full and contained 100 percent animal matter, consisting of 3 Lepidoptera larvae, 98 percent; 1 Formica sp., 2 percent. That the race is insectivorous goes without saying, but more than that remains to be worked out. Howell (1932) cites Barrows as saying that virens consumes plant lice, span-worms, and leaf-rollers together with berries of poison ivy. Probably waynei indulges similar tastes.

Behavior.—Wayne’s warbler is essentially a high-ranging bird. It spends much of its time amid the topmost branches of cypress, magnolia, gum, and other swamp trees, rarely descending to even mid-sections of this characteristic growth while feeding. Highly restless and exceedingly active in movements, it is constantly on the go and, as a consequence, is rather difficult to see and study satisfactorily, the oft-repeated song being the best indication of its whereabouts. As might be supposed, the female is even more elusive, and flits about like some swamp wraith, silent and mysterious. The failure of as keen an observer as Wayne to locate the nests of building females gives an idea of its secretiveness.

In these respects it differs materially from virens, at least in my experience with that race, which is frequency found at rather low elevations. Doubtless the type of growth is responsible, for virens is a spruce-balsam-hemlock dweller, and these evergreens are dense trees with branches often beginning only a few feet from the ground, so that it can be seen and watched rather easily.

While several authors have referred to virens as a tame bird, the same cannot be said for waynei. In years of experience with the latter, I have always found it shy and retiring. Singing freely enough if unaware of observation, it often ceases when it detects an intruder, and since the song is one of the surest means of locating it, great care has to be taken in moving about, particularly near the nest.

The nest is impossible to find without watching the female, for it is more often than not completely invisible from the ground. D. v. waynei is found in the same habitat with yellow-throated and parula warblers, but, unlike them, never utilizes the hanging clumps of Spanish moss (Tillandsia) in which they invariably nest. I have climbed a tall cypress and collected a nest and eggs of D. d. dominica while waynei was singing in the near vicinity. The preference of waynei for heavy, old-growth swamp forests is so marked that if this timber is cut out, the bird disappears from the area completely, even though other growth is left standing. In the South Carolina Low Country, this characteristic is shared by both Bachman’s and Swainson’s warblers, both of which nest in heavy swamps.

Voice.—Though it was the cuckoo which Bryant characterized as “a wandering voice,” he might well have written the words with respect to this tiny warbler for the bird is heard far more readily than it is seen. As a songster it is all but indefatigable. Perhaps this is because the depths of the cypress swamps and the old “backwaters” are cooler than the surrounding highlands, but no matter how warm the day, or close the atmosphere, the constantly reiterated, seven-note song resounds through the air most of the day. The ornithologists I have guided to the haunts of waynei all agree that the song is very close to that of virens. Perhaps it is a shade more deliberate and studied, as might be expected of a southerner! However, to all intents and purposes, it is the same song. I am inclined to describe it as slower and more pronounced, but after all the difference is minor.

Arthur H. Howell (1932) describes the song of virens as “a drowsy, drawled ditty of four or five notes, wee-wee-wee-su-see, the next to last note on a lower pitch and the final one distinctly higher.” This portrays quite well the song of waynei, except for the number of notes, which are much oftener seven than less, the first five being exactly alike, the sixth descending, and the seventh ascending.

Frank M. Chapman (1907), quoting Gerald Thayer, says of virens that “most of the individuals in a region sing nearly alike … but about one in forty does queer tricks with its voice. Among the commonest of these tricks is the introduction into all parts of the song of a pronounced quaver or tremulo…. The song is sometimes disguised almost past recognition.” He states further that the “deliberate song of five (sometimes six or eight) notes, is the one usually described in books.”

I have never noted any “quaver or tremulo” in the song. It may occur, but in the scores of times I have heard the song it has not taken place. Nor can I recall any song of eight notes. Occasionally, waynei will utter only five notes, but this is the marked exception and not the rule. Certainly, individuals in a given region sing exactly alike, and indeed, all the specimens I ever heard sounded alike, except for the occasional slight variation in number of notes.

Fall.—The length of stay of waynei in its summer range has not yet been determined with certainty. Few departure dates have been recorded, but in all probability the bird is a rather early migrant. Occurrence of the song decreases markedly after the nesting season, making the birds’ movements much more difficult to trace. It will be recalled that young were noted flying on May twenty-fourth, in the Dismal Swamp of Virginia. South Carolina birds were seen to fly “a few feet” on April twenty-eighth, almost a month earlier. The North Carolina records show that young were noted “in June”, probably early in the month. That multiple broods are raised is also something of an open question, though it seems that in South Carolina two are raised. Henry H. Kopman (1904) states that on July 30, 1897, he took one at Beauvoir, Miss., on the Gulf coast, and later comments (1905) that “Professor Cooke [W. W.] is inclined to think” that the Beauvoir bird was a stray. Probably it was a stray, and in view of what we know today, the chances are that the bird was a specimen of waynei. Many of the birds of course linger much later than that; on September 29, 1935, Earle R. Greene [MS.] noted one at Lake Mattamuskeet, N.C. This is doubtless a rather late date and may be taken as about the limit of its stay along the Atlantic coast.

Enough remains to be learned about this most interesting race to keep students busy. The highly attractive type of habitat, the marked isolation of nesting pairs even in a restricted range, the active character and handsome appearance of the bird itself, all these combine to render Wayne’s warbler distinctive and appealing.

DENDROICA CHRYSOPARIA Sclater and Salvin

GOLDEN-CHEEKED WARBLER

HABITS

This elegant warbler is confined in the breeding season to a very narrow range in south-central Texas, the timbered parts of the “Edwards Plateau” region. It has been reported as breeding in Bandera, Bexar, Comal, Concho, Kendall, Kerr, and Tom Green Counties, and rarely north to Bosque and McLennan Counties. It winters in the highlands of southern Mexico and Guatemala.

The golden-cheeked warbler was entirely unknown to early American ornithologists. William Brewster (1879) gives the following brief account of its early history: “The original specimens were procured by Mr. Salvin in Vera Paz, Guatemala. Since that time, with the exception of a male obtained by Mr. Dresser, near San Antonio, Texas, about 1864, no additional ones have apparently been taken. The specimen mentioned by Mr. Purdie was taken by George H. Ragsdale in Bosque County, Texas, April, 1878.” The bird is now well known in the limited region outlined above, and many specimens of the birds, their nests, and their eggs have found their way into collections.

The first comprehensive account of its habits was given to Dr. Chapman (1907) by H. P. Attwater, of San Antonio, Tex. He says of its summer haunts in the counties named above:

The Golden-cheek is not a bird of the forest, being seldom met with in the tall timbered areas in the wilder valleys along the rivers, or in the tall trees which fringe the streams in the cañons; but its favorite haunts are among the smaller growth of trees, on the rough wooded hillsides, and which covers the slopes and “points” leading up from the cañons, and the boulder strewn ridges or “divides” which separate the heads of the creeks. The trees which compose this growth consist chiefly of mountain cedar (juniper), Spanish or mountain oak, black oak, and live oak on the higher ground, and live oak and Spanish oak clumps or thickets on the lower flats among the foothills, interspersed in some localities with dwarf walnut, pecan and hackberry. All these trees grow on an average from 10 to 20 feet high, the cedar often forming almost impenetrable "brakes". Whatever space remains among the oaks and cedars is generally covered with shin oak brush, which is a characteristic feature of the region. The cedar or juniper appears to possess some peculiar attraction for this bird for they are seldom found at any great distance from cedar localities, and they seem to divide the greater part of their time between the cedars and Spanish oaks, searching for Insects, with occasional visits to other oaks, walnuts, etc., but seldom descending as low as the shin oak brush, which averages four to five feet. It is quite probable that future observations will show, that some favorite insect food which comprises a portion of their “bill of fare,” is found among the cedar foliage.

Spring.—The golden-cheeked warblers arrive in central Texas about the middle of March, sometimes a little earlier or later. The adult males precede the young males and females by about 5 days. Mr. Attwater (Chapman, 1907) says: “The song of the male is the first unmistakable notification of its arrival and within a few days it is quite common and the females are also observed. In the localities described the Golden-cheeked Warbler is by no means a rare bird, and it is by far the most abundant of the few Warblers, which breed in the same region.”

Nesting.—W. H. Werner was apparently the first to find the nest of the golden-cheeked warbler, in Comal County, Tex., in 1878, about which he wrote to Mr. Brewster (1879): “The four nests that I have found were similar in construction, and were built in forks of perpendicular limbs of the Juniperus virginiana, from ten to eighteen feet from the ground. The outside is composed of the inner bark of the above-mentioned tree, interspersed with spider-webs, well fastened to the limb, and in color resembling the bark of the tree on which it is built, so that from a little distance it is difficult to detect the nest.” Two of these nests were examined by Mr. Brewster both so much alike that the following description of one will suffice:

It is placed in a nearly upright fork of a red cedar, between two stout branches to which it is firmly attached. Although a large, deep structure, it by no means belongs to either the bulky, or loosely woven class of bird domiciles, but is, on the contrary, very closely and compactly felted. In general character and appearance it closely resembles the average nest of the Black-throated Green Warbler (Dendroica virens). It is, however, of nearly double the size, in fact, larger than any Wood Warbler’s nest (excepting perhaps that of D. coronata) with which I am acquainted. It measures as follows: external diameter, 3.50; external depth, 3.45; internal diameter, 1.60; internal depth, 2.00. The exterior is mainly composed of strips of cedar bark, with a slight admixture of fine grass-stems, rootlets, and hemp-like fibres, the whole being kept in place by an occasional wrapping of spider-webs. The interior is beautifully lined with the hair of different quadrupeds and numerous feathers; among the latter, several conspicuous scarlet ones from the Cardinal Grosbeak. The outer surface of the whole presents a grayish, inconspicuous appearance, and from the nature of the component materials is well calculated to escape observation. Indeed, it must depend for concealment upon this protective coloring, as it is in no way sheltered by any surrounding foliage.

Attwater (Chapman, 1907) says:

Of over fifty nests of this bird which I have examined, most of them were securely placed in perpendicular forks of the main limbs of cedar trees, about two-thirds up in the tree; average fifteen feet from the ground. My highest record is twenty-one feet, and lowest six feet. I have also found them in similar positions in small black oak, mountain oak, walnut and pecan trees. * * * The favorite nesting haunts are isolated patches or clumps of scrubby cedars, with scant foliage, on the summits of the scarped cañon slopes, and in the thick cedar “brakes.” In cedar the older growth of trees is always selected, and no attempt at concealment is made. I have never found a nest in a young thrifty cedar with thick foliage.

The male is always to be heard singing in the vicinity of the nest, and the old nesting localities, and occasionally the same tree is selected apparently and returned to one year after another.

Nearly all the nests reported by others were in cedars and were similar in construction to those described. There are five nests of the golden-cheeked warbler in the Thayer collection in Cambridge, of which only one was in a cedar; two were in Spanish or mountain oaks and two in live oaks; four of these had more or less admixture of lichens, mosses, bits of dry leaves, and plant down in the bases, and feathers of quail, cardinal and other birds in the linings. The smallest nest in the series measures externally 2¹⁄₂ inches in diameter and 2 inches in height; it is very neatly and firmly woven.

Plumages.—Ridgway (1902) describes the juvenal plumage of the golden-cheeked warbler as follows: “Pileum, hindneck, back, scapulars, rump, and upper tail-coverts plain grayish brown or brownish gray; sides of head, chin, throat, chest, and sides pale brownish gray; rest of under part white, the breast very indistinctly streaked with pale gray; wings and tail essentially as in adults, but middle coverts with a mesial wedge-shaped mark of dusky.”

Apparently there is a partial postjuvenal molt early in the summer, which is similar to that of other wood warblers. This produces the first winter plumages, in which the sexes are recognizable and much like the respective adults at that season. In the young male the upper parts are streaked with olive-green and black, the upper tail coverts are margined with olive-green and gray, and the white tips of the median wing coverts have narrow, black shaft streaks instead of the dusky wedges seen in the juvenal coverts. Ridgway (1902) says of the young female: “Similar to the adult female but pileum, hindneck, back, scapulars, rump, and upper tail-coverts plain olive-green, or with very indistinct narrow streaks of dusky on pileum and back; throat and chest pale grayish (the feathers dusky beneath surface), the former tinged with yellow anteriorly; sides and flanks indistinctly streaked with dusky.”

I have seen no specimens showing a prenuptial molt, which is probably finished before the birds arrive in Texas. The first and subsequent nuptial plumages may be largely produced by wear, as the fall and winter plumages are much like those of spring birds, but are concealed by the tips and margins of the feathers. However, it would be strange if there were no prenuptial molt, especially in young birds. Young birds in first nuptial plumage can be recognized by the worn and faded wings and tail.

Eggs.—Four eggs make up the regular set for the golden-cheeked warbler, although sometimes only three and very rarely five are found. They are ovate to short ovate and have only a very slight lustre. They are white or creamy white, finely speckled and spotted with “bay,” “auburn,” or “chestnut,” and occasionally “argus brown,” intermingled with spots of “vinaceous drab,” “brownish drab,” or “light mouse gray.” They are generally finely marked, but sometimes eggs will have spots which are large enough to be called blotches, or even a few small scrawls of very dark brown. The markings are concentrated at the large end, where frequently a fine wreath is formed, or the speckles may be so dense as to almost obscure the ground; occasionally the markings are scattered over the entire egg. The measurements of 50 eggs average 17.7 by 13.1 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 18.9 by 13.0, 17.8 by 13.7, and 15.6 by 12.4 millimeters (Harris).

Young.—We have no information on incubation or on the care and feeding of the nestlings. Attwater (Chapman, 1907) has this to say:

The young birds out of the nest, which are being fed by the parents late in April and in May, are from early nests which have escaped destruction by “northers” on account of their sheltered positions and situations, and it is possible that then another nest is built and a second brood reared. * * * During June the family groups wander about together, chiefly in the cañons and along the lower hillsides, keeping together till the young are old enough to take care of themselves. While being fed by the parents the “twittering” of the young birds is continually heard, with the cautions “tick, tick” alarm notes of the female when enemies approach. Early in July they begin to scatter, as most of the young birds are then able to shift for themselves.

Food.—Very little has been mentioned regarding the food of this wood warbler beyond the fact that it seems to be mainly, if not wholly, insectivorous. Mr. Attwater (1892) says: “Upon examining the stomachs of a number of young birds which were being fed, I found they all contained (with other insects) a number of small black lice (Aphis sp.) which I watched the old birds collecting from the green cedar limbs.”

Behavior.—Mr. Attwater wrote to Dr. Chapman (1907):

Like most of the same sex of other Warblers, the female of this species is very shy, and seldom noticed except when an intruder disturbs the nest or when feeding the young after leaving it, but the male Golden-cheeked Warbler is by no means a shy bird. He keeps continually flying from tree to tree in search of insects, and on fine days uttering his song at short intervals from early dawn until after sundown, and before nest building begins shows little alarm upon being approached. I have stood under a tree a number of times within five or six feet of a wandering male Golden-cheek, which appeared as pleased and interested in watching me as I was in observing him. Seemingly he was desirous of assisting me to describe his song in my note-book, by very obligingly repeating it frequently for my special benefit.

Mr. Werner told Mr. Brewster (1879) that “their habits were similar to those of D. virens; they were very active, always on the alert for insects, examining almost every limb, and now and then darting after them while on the wing.”

Voice.—The song evidently bears a resemblance to that of the black-throated green warbler in quality. Mr. Werner wrote it tsrr weasy-weasy tweah, and referred to the notes as soft. Mr. Attwater wrote to Dr. Chapman (1907): “It would be difficult to describe the Golden-cheek’s song with any real satisfaction. It varies somewhat, being uttered much more rapidly by some individuals than by others. At a distance only the louder parts are heard, so that it sounds quite different than when heard at close quarters. The hurried song might be given as tweah, tweak, twee-sy, with some individuals introducing an extra note or two, and the slower or more deliberate style twee-ah, eseah, eachy. After the young leave the nests the males gradually stop singing, and at this period sometimes only use a part of the regular song.”

George Finlay Simmons (1925) describes the song as “ventriloquistic, elusive, seeming to come from here, there, everywhere; ter-wih-zeee-e-e-e, chy, the first, second, and fourth notes short and soft, the third longest, most distinct, and with the shrill buzzing z-z-z-z quality of the Black-throated Green Warbler’s song. * * * Sung by male from conspicuous perch atop a small tree near nest and hidden female; heard commonly in spring in the Golden-cheek habitat; males gradually stop singing when young have left nest. Call, chirping in migration; female, a soft, scolding check, check, check or tick, tick, uttered slowly, a note at a time.”

Enemies.—According to Dr. Friedmann (1929), the golden-cheeked warbler is “apparently a rather rare victim of the Dwarf Cowbird.” He mentions only three authentic cases.

Field marks.—The golden-cheeked warbler might at first glance be mistaken for a black-throated green warbler, but the upper parts in the adult male are deep black from crown to tail, instead of olive-green, and the under parts, except for the black throat, are white and not tinged with yellow. The female differs from the eastern bird in the same way.

Fall.—Golden-cheeked warblers do not remain on their breeding grounds very long and leave for their winter resorts in Mexico and Central America before the end of summer. Mr. Attwater told Dr. Chapman (1907) that "early in July they begin to scatter, as most of the young birds are then able to shift for themselves. By the middle of July most of the old males have stopped singing, and by the end of July old and young have disappeared from their usual haunts. I have noticed a few stragglers during the first two weeks in August, and all probably leave before September first.”

DISTRIBUTION

Range.—Texas to Nicaragua.

Breeding range.—During the breeding season the golden-cheeked warbler is confined to a few counties in south central Texas: North to Kerr (Ingram and Kerrville) and Travis (Austin) Counties; south to Bexar (San Antonio) and Medina (Castroville) Counties; and west to Real County (West Frio Canyon). It is probably not so narrowly confined as the definite records indicate. It has been recorded in summer, but with no indication of breeding, at Waco, Hunt, and Commerce.

Winter range.—Little is known of the golden-cheeked warbler in winter. At that season it has been found at Teziutlán, western Veracruz; Tactic, central Guatemala; and Matagalpa, central northern Nicaragua. On November 23, 1939, and January 8, 1940, a male was observed on the island of St. Croix, Virgin Islands. It has been observed in Tamaulipas and Nuevo León in March, probably on migration.

Migration.—The golden-cheeked warbler is an early migrant both in spring and fall. It has arrived at Kerrville, Tex., as early as March 5, and the majority of the birds have left by the middle of July; latest, Ingram, August 18.

Egg dates.—Texas: 29 records, April 1 to June 27; 10 records, April 11 to 24; 10 records, May 18 to 28 (Harris).

DENDROICA OCCIDENTALIS (Townsend)

HERMIT WARBLER

Plate 39

HABITS

This well-marked wood warbler lives in summer in the high coniferous forests of the west, from British Columbia southward to the southern Sierra Nevadas in California, and spends the winter in Mexico and Central America. This is another of those species discovered by J. K. Townsend along the Columbia River, of which he wrote to Audubon (1841): “I shot this pair of birds near Fort Vancouver, on the 28th of May, 1835. I found them flitting among the pine trees in the depth of a forest. They were actively engaged in searching for insects, and were frequently seen hanging from the twigs like Titmice. Their note was uttered at distant intervals, and resembled very much that of the Black-throated Blue Warbler, Sylvia canadensis.”

In northwestern Washington the hermit warbler is not common and is decidedly local in its summer haunts, being regularly found in certain favored regions and entirely absent in other somewhat similar localities. It is partial to a certain type of coniferous forest, and when one learns to recognize the proper environment he is quite likely to find it. D. E. Drown and S. F. Rathbun showed me some typical haunts of this warbler near Tacoma, where J. H. Bowles has found it nesting. This is level land covered with a more or less open growth of firs and cedars, the largest trees, giant Douglas firs, are somewhat scattered and tower above the rest of the forest, some reaching a height of 200 feet or more. As the warblers spend most of their time in the tops of these great trees and are very active, it is difficult to identify them even with a good glass, and still more difficult to follow them to their nests.

Chester Barlow (1901) says that in the central Sierra Nevada, in California, “the hermit warbler is pre-eminently a frequenter of the conifers, although it feeds in the bushes and black oaks in common with other species.” In the Yosemite region, according to Grinnell and Storer (1924), “the Hermit Warbler is a bird of the coniferous forests at middle altitudes. Pines and firs afford it suitable forage range and safe nesting sites. The birds keep fairly well up in the trees, most often at 20 to 50 feet from the ground. The Hermit may thus be found in close association with the Audubon Warbler, although the latter ranges to a much greater altitude in the mountains.”

Spring.—Dr. Chapman (1907), outlining the migration of the hermit warbler, says that it “enters the United States in April being reported from Oracle, Arizona, April 12, 1899, and the Huachuca Mountains, Arizona, April 9, 1902. Records of the earliest birds seen in California are Campo, April 27, 1877, and Julian, April 25, 1884. A Hermit Warbler was noted at Burrard Inlet, British Columbia, April 20, 1885.” Swarth (1904) says that the first arrivals in the Huachucas “appeared in the very highest parts of the mountains, but a little later they could be found in all parts of the range, and on April 17, 1902, I saw a few in some willows near the San Pedro River.” Mrs. Amelia S. Allen’s notes from the San Francisco Bay region, give dates of arrival from April 24 to May 10. In northwestern Washington, according to Bowles (1906), “the hermits make their first appearance early in May and the fact is only to be known thru their notes; for they frequent the tops of the giant firs which cover large sections of our flat prairie country.”

Nesting.—The first undoubted nests of the hermit warbler were found by C. A. Allen in Blue Cañon, California, two in 1886 and one about eight years previously, about which he wrote to William Brewster (1887): “All three nests were similarly placed;—in ‘pitch pines,' from twenty-five to forty feet above the ground, on thick, scraggy limbs, where they were so well concealed that it would have been impossible to find them except by watching the birds, as was done in each instance.” One of these nests held two eggs on June 4, but they were destroyed before they could be collected; the other two nests contained three young each. One of the nests with three young was sent to Brewster, who writes:

The nest with young, taken June 7, 1886, is now before me. It is composed of the fibrous stalks of herbaceous plants, fine dead twigs, lichens (Evernia vulpina), and a little cotton twine, and is lined with soft inner bark of some coniferous tree and fine long hairs, apparently from the tail of a squirrel. The bright, yellow Evernia, sprinkled rather plentifully about the rim, gives a touch of color to the otherwise cold, gray tone of the exterior and contrasts agreeably with the warm, reddish-brown lining. Although the materials are coarse and wadded, rather than woven, together, the general effect of this nest is neat and tasteful. It does not resemble any other Warbler’s nest that I have seen, but rather recalls the nest of some Fringilline bird, being perhaps most like that of the Lark Finch. It measures externally 4.50 inches in width by 2 inches in depth. The cavity is 1.25 inches deep by 2.50 inches wide at the top. The walls at the rim average nearly an inch in thickness.

Chester Barlow (1901), who has had considerable experience with the nesting of the hermit warbler in the central Sierra Nevada, refers to the records up to that time as follows:

On June 10, 1896, Mr. R. H. Beck collected a nest and four eggs from a limb of a yellow pine 40 feet up, near the American River at 3,500 feet altitude. The nest was reached by means of a ladder carried a long distance up the mountain. (See Nidologist, IV, p. 79). On June 14, 1898, I had the good fortune to discover a nest opposite the station at Fyffe, it being built at the end of a small limb of a yellow pine 45 feet up. The nest was located by searching at random and contained four eggs about one-fourth incubated. This nest was described at length in The Auk (XVI, pp. 156-161.) * * * While walking through the timber at Fyffe on June 8, 1899, Mr. H. W. Carriger came upon a nest of this species but 2¹⁄₂ feet up in a cedar sapling. It contained four eggs, advanced in incubation. (See CONDOR I, pp. 59-60). A nest containing young about four days old found by Mr. Price’s assistant at Fyffe on June 11, 1897, was placed twelve feet up near the top of a small cedar, next to the trunk and well concealed. Thus it is probable that Fyffe has afforded more nesting records of this species than has any other part of the state.

Of the nest described in The Auk, Barlow (1899) says:

The nest was 45 feet from the ground in a yellow pine, built four feet from the trunk of the tree on an upcurved limb 18 inches from the end. * * * The nest is not fastened to the limb, resting merely upon the limb and pine needles and is wider at the bottom than at the top, its base measuring four inches one way and three inches the other. It is very prettily constructed, the bottom layer being of light grayish weed stems, bleached pine needles and other light materials held securely together by cobwebs and wooly substances. The nest cavity is lined with strips of red cedar bark (Libocedrus) and the ends, instead of being woven smoothly, project out of the nest. The inner lining is of a fine brownish fiber resembling shreds of soap-root. The composition of the nest gives it a very pretty effect.

J. H. Bowles (1906) found a nest in northwestern Washington on June 11, 1905, “in a grove of young hundred-foot firs near a small swamp.” The female sat so close that he was obliged to lift her from the nest with his hand—

and she then flew only a few feet where she remained chipping and spreading her wings and tail. * * * The nest was placed twenty feet from the ground in a young fir, and was securely saddled on a good sized limb at a distance of six feet from the trunk of the tree. It is a compact structure composed externally of small dead fir twigs, various kinds of dry moss, and down from the cottonwood flowers, showing a strong outward resemblance to nests of D. auduboni. But here the likeness between the two is at an end; for the lining consists of fine dried grasses, and horsehair, with only a single feather from the wing of a western bluebird. The measurements are, externally, four inches in diameter and two and three-quarters inches deep; internally, two inches in diameter by one and a quarter inches deep.

A nest in the Thayer collection in Cambridge was collected by O. W. Howard “70 feet above ground, near the end of a limb of a yellow pine, in a bunch of needles,” in Tulare County, Calif. Gordon W. Gullion tells me of an Oregon nest that was “about 125 feet above the ground.”

Eggs.—The hermit warbler lays 3, 4, or 5 eggs to a set; 5 are apparently not rare. Bowles (1906) says of his 5 eggs: “They have a rather dull white ground with the slightest suggestion of flesh color, heavily blotched and spotted with varying shades of red, brown and lavender. * * * I think they may be considered the handsomest of all the warblers’ eggs.” The 4 eggs in the Thayer collection in Cambridge are ovate, with a very slight lustre. They are creamy white, finely speckled and spotted with “chestnut” and “auburn,” with intermingling spots of “light brownish drab.” The markings are concentrated at the large end, forming a broad, loose wreath. The measurements of 50 eggs average 17.0 by 13.1 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 18.0 by 13.4, 17.0 by 13.7, 15.2 by 12.7, and 16.3 by 11.8 millimeters (Harris).

Young.—We have no information on the incubation of the eggs, nor on the care and development of the young.

Plumages.—I have examined the nestlings sent to Brewster by C. A. Allen; they are about two-thirds fledged on the body and wings; the heads still show the long natal down, “hair brown” in color; the feathers of the back are “olive brown”; the wings are “clove brown,” with two narrow, white wing bars, faintly tinged with pale yellow; the breasts and sides are pale “hair brown” to “light grayish olive”; and the rest of the under parts are yellowish white. A young bird in fresh plumage, collected July 1, is probably in full juvenal plumage; its body plumage is similar to that of the nestlings, but there is some yellow on the forehead and throat, and the sides of the head and neck are decidedly yellow; however, this may be a bird that has assumed its first winter plumage at an unusually early date.

In first winter plumage, young birds of both sexes are much like the adult female at that season, mainly grayish olive-green above, with black streaks concealed or absent; forehead, sides of the head, and chin pale yellow; and the rest of the under parts buffy white, the sides browner. The broad, white tips of the lesser wing coverts have a black shaft streak or wedge, apparently characteristic of this plumage. There is probably a prenuptial molt involving much of the head and body plumage and the wing coverts, but the dull juvenal wings are retained until the next molt.

The complete postnuptial molt occurs in July and August. The fall plumages of both sexes are like the spring plumages, but the clear blacks and yellows are largely concealed by olive above and by buffy below.

Food.—The only item I can find on the food of the hermit warbler is the following short statement by Bowles (1906): “Their food consists of small spiders, caterpillars, tiny beetles, and flying insects which they dart out and capture in a manner worthy of that peer of flycatchers the Audubon warbler.”

Behavior.—The most marked trait of the hermit warbler is its fondness for the tree tops, spending much of its time in the tops of the tallest firs, often 200 feet or more above the ground, where it is very active and not easy to follow. But it builds its nest at lower levels, and often comes down to forage in the lower branches, in smaller trees and even in the underbrush, where it is not particularly shy and can be easily approached. It is a close sitter while incubating; Bowles had to lift one off its nest.

A hermit warbler watched by Miss Margaret W. Wythe, in Yosemite Valley, “was foraging in the upper parts of the trees and never came to the lower branches. Starting from near the trunk of a pine it would work out to the tip of one branch before going to another. Its demeanor while foraging was much more deliberate than that of any of the other warblers” (Grinnell and Storer, 1924).

Voice.—Rathbun (MS.) writes: “The song is quite strong, can be heard a considerable distance, and when given in full consists of five or six notes. The first note, rather faint, rises and then falls, with a slight accent at its close; if one is quite close to the singer, the note has a light lisping sound. This note is followed by another, similar but stronger and more prolonged. Then come three or four short, clear notes quickly given, the song ending with a prolonged rising one that closes sharply. Our interpretation of the song would be zweeo-zweeo-zwee-zwee-zwee-zweeck. Whenever an additional note is given, it is of the intermediate kind. One or two of these notes are, to us, suggestive of some heard in the song of Townsend’s warbler. The song is quite rapidly sung in an energetic way, being very distinctive and is pleasing. It resembles the song of no other warbler in the region.”

Bowles (1906) says that the song of the hermit warbler “consists of four distinct notes, as a rule, and is described as zeegle-zeegle, zeegle-zeek, uttered somewhat slowly at first but ending rather sharply.” Barlow (1899) states that “though not loud it would penetrate through the woods quite a distance and very much resembled tsit, tsit, tsit, tsit, chee chee chee, the first four syllables being uttered with a gradual and uniform speed, ending quickly with the chee chee chee.” Grinnell and Storer (1924) write:

The song of the male Hermit Warbler, while varying somewhat with different individuals, is sufficiently distinct from that of the other warblers of the region to make possible identification by voice alone. The song is most nearly like that of the Audubon Warbler but usually not so clear or mellow. A male bird observed at Chinquapin seemed to say seezle, seezle, seezle, seezle, zeek, zeek; just that number of syllables, over and over again. The quality was slightly droning, but not so much so as that of the Black-throated Gray Warbler. Another song, clearer in quality, heard in Yosemite Valley, was written ter´-ley, ter′-ley, ter´-ley, sic´, sic´, thus much more nearly like the song of the Audubon Warbler. Other transcriptions ranged between these two as to timbre. A rendering set down at Glacier Point June 16, 1915, was as follows: ser-weez´, ser-weez´, ser-weez´, ser´, ser´. The marked rhythm throughout, and the stressed terminal syllables, are distinctive features of the Hermit’s song. The call note is a moderate chip.

Writing of warbler songs of early dawn, Dawson (Dawson and Bowles, 1909) indulges in the following flowery praise of the hermit’s sing: “There is Audubon with his hastening melody of gladness. There is Black-throated Gray with his still drowsy sonnet of sweet content. Then there is Hermit hidden aloft in the shapeless greenery of the under-dawn—his note is sweetest, gladdest, most seraphic of them all, lilly, lilly, lilly, leê-oleet. It is almost sacrilege to give it form—besides it is so hopeless. The preparatory notes are like the tinkle of crystal bells, and when our attention is focused, lo! the wonder happens, the exquisite lilt of the closing phrase, leê-oleet.”

Field marks.—The yellow head, the black throat, the dark back, and the white, unmarked under parts will distinguish the male in spring. The head of the female, of young birds, and of fall birds is also more or less yellowish and the back is more olivaceous. The two white wing bars are also common to several other species. Its song is said to be distinctive.

Fall.—The fall migration of the hermit warbler begins early. Bowles (1906) says that, in Washington, “about the middle of July both young and old assemble in good-sized flocks and frequent the water holes in the smaller growths of timber. At such times I have never seen them associating with any other kinds of birds.” W. W. Price wrote to Mr. Barlow (1901) of the migration in the Sierra Nevada:

The adults are very rare during June and July in the neighborhood of my camp at Silver Creek, but late in July and early in August a migration of the young birds of the year takes place and the species is very abundant everywhere in the tamaracks from about 6000 to 8000 feet. A hundred or more may be counted in an hour’s walk at my camp, 7000 feet, on Silver Creek. They are very silent, uttering now and then a ‘cheep,’ and always busy searching among the leaves and cones for insects. Among some fifty collected in the first week in August, 1896, there were only two or three adults. The young males have the most coloring, but they in no way approach adult plumage. These great flights of the hermit warbler are intermingled with other species, Hammond flycatcher, Calaveras and lutescent warblers, Cassin vireo, and sometimes Louisiana tanagers and red-brested nuthatches. Each year the flight has been noted, it comes without warning of storm or wind, and after a few days disappears to be seen no more.

In the Huachuca Mountains of Arizona, according to Swarth (1904), “they reappeared in August, but at this time were seen only in the pines above 8500 feet. It is rather singular, and in contradiction to the idea that in the migrations the old birds go first in order to show the way, that the first secured in the fall was a young female, taken August 7th. The young birds then became very abundant, and on August 14th the first adult female was taken; and not until August 19th was an adult male seen. The adults then became nearly as abundant as the juveniles, and both together were more numerous than I have ever seen them in the spring, on several occasions as many as fifteen to twenty being seen in one flock.”

Winter.—Dr. Skutch writes to me: “The hermit warbler is a moderately abundant winter resident in the Guatemalan highlands, found chiefly between 5,000 and 10,000 feet above sea level, but ranging downward to about 3,500 feet on the Pacific slope and possibly somewhat lower on the Caribbean slope, where pine forests push down into the upper levels of the Tropical Zone. These treetop birds are usually found in the mixed flocks of small birds, of which Townsend’s warblers form the predominant element. During the early part of their sojourn in Guatemala, I sometimes saw two, three, or more hermits in the same flock; but in February and March, there was as a rule only one. In 1933, I saw the last of these warblers on the Sierra de Tecpán on March 29, and recorded the first fall arrival on September 13, when four individuals were seen.”

DISTRIBUTION

Range.—Western North America from Puget Sound to Nicaragua.

Breeding range.—The hermit warbler breeds north to northwestern Washington (Lake Crescent and Tacoma). East to the Cascades of Washington (Tacoma); Oregon (Prospect); and the Sierra Nevada in California (Meadow Valley, Pinecrest, Yosemite Valley, Taylor Meadow, and the San Bernardino Mountains). South to the San Bernardino Mountains and La Honda. West to the Pacific coast from central western California northward (La Honda, Cahto, and Garberville); western Oregon (Kerby and Tillamook); and northwestern Washington (Lake Crescent).

Winter range.—The hermit warbler has been found in winter north to central Mexico (Taxco, Cuernavaca, and Mexico City). East to Mexico City and central Guatemala (San Gerónimo and Alotepeque). South to southern Guatemala (Alotepeque); probably farther south since specimens have been taken at Los Esesmiles, El Salvador, and Metagalpa, Nicaragua. West to western Guatemala (Alotepeque, Tecpán, and Momostenango); western Oaxaca (La Parada); and northern Guerrero (Taxco).

The hermit warbler has been taken three times in January in central western California (San Gerónimo and Point Reyes, Marin County; and Pacific Grove, Monterey County).

Migration.—Late dates of spring departure from the winter home are: Guatemala—Tecpán, March 29. Sonora—Rancho la Arizona, May 8. Arizona—Huachuca Mountains—May 28.

Early dates of spring arrival are: Tampico—Galindo, March 19. Coahuila—Sierra de Guadeloupe, April 20. Arizona—Oracle, April 12. California—Witch Creek, April 10. Washington—Tacoma, April 25.

Late dates of fall departure are: Washington—Edwards, October 19. California—Monterey, October 20. Arizona—Santa Catalina Mountains, September 29. Tamaulipas—Guiaves, October 7.

Early dates of fall arrival are: California—Berkeley, July 9. Arizona—Graham Mountains, July 30. New Mexico—Animas Peak, August 3. Michoacán—Tancitaro, August 16. Guatemala—Tecpán, September 13.

Casual records.—Specimens of the hermit warbler have been collected in the Huachuca Mountains in Arizona on June 16, 1894; at Basin in the Chisos Mountains in Texas on May 3, 1935; and near Cambridge, Minn., on May 3, 1931.

Egg dates.—California: 10 records, May 14 to June 25; 6 records, June 3 to 14, indicating the height of the season.

Washington: 3 records, June 5 to 11 (Harris).

DENDROICA CERULEA (Wilson)

CERULEAN WARBLER

Plate 39

HABITS

This heavenly-blue wood warbler was first introduced to science, figured, and named by Wilson in the first volume of his American Ornithology. Only the male was figured and described from a specimen received from Charles Willson Peale and taken in eastern Pennsylvania. The female was not known until Charles Lucien Bonaparte described it in his continuation of Wilson’s American Ornithology. Strangely enough the discovery of this specimen was also made by a member of the famous Peale family, Titian Peale, the bird having been taken in the same general region, on the banks of the Schuylkill, August 1, 1825. Audubon met with it later, but was almost wholly wrong in what he wrote about it, though his plate is good.

The species is now known to occupy a rather extensive breeding range located mainly west of the Alleghenies and east of the Great Plains from southern Ontario and central New York southward to the northern parts of some of the Gulf States and Texas. It is, however, decidedly local in its distribution over much of this range.

This warbler, a bird of the tree-tops in heavy deciduous woods, where its colors make it difficult to distinguish among the lights and shadows of the lofty foliage and against the blue sky, is well named cerulean! In his notes from central New York, Samuel F. Rathbun writes: “The type of growth to which the cerulean warbler is partial appears to be the rather open forests in the lowlands and often along some stream. During the nesting season, it will not be found to any extent in the better class of hardwood trees of the uplands; in fact, this warbler shows a strong liking for areas where large elms and soft maples and black ash are the dominant trees.” Verdi Burtch wrote to Dr. Chapman (1907) that near Branchport, N. Y., this warbler is “locally abundant in mixed growths of oak and maple with a few birch and hickory.” In other portions of its range, it is found in mixed woods of maples, beech, basswood or linden, elm, sycamore, or oaks. Frank C. Kirkwood (1901) found that, in Maryland, “the species has a decided preference for high open woods clear of underbrush. * * * The trees are principally chestnuts, with oaks, hickorys, tulip trees, etc.”

Spring.—The main migration route of the cerulean warbler is through the Mississippi Valley, from the Alleghenies westward; it is rare in the Atlantic States, especially the more southern ones, and hardly more than casual in Florida and the West Indies. It enters the United States, in Texas and Louisiana, in April, and reaches its breeding grounds in the interior early in May.

Rathbun (MS.) says of the spring migration in central New York: “The cerulean warbler arrives in this region about the middle of May, its coming being announced by its song. With rare exceptions, it is not found in the spring migration with other warblers and it appears to move in very small groups or singly; even in the large springtime movements of warblers known as ‘waves,’ some of the birds of which remain while others pass through the region, I have observed very few cerulean warblers. Not much time elapses after its arrival before mating takes place and nest building begins.”

Nesting.—The earlier ornithologists knew nothing about the nesting habits of the cerulean warbler; Audubon’s description of its nest was entirely erroneous, and it was about 50 years after the bird was discovered that its nest was reported. This is not strange, as the nest is not easy to find and still more difficult to secure. Rathbun (MS.) writes in his notes: “During our stay in New York State, we found only three of its nests, because they were rather difficult to locate. We found the first at a height of 55 feet in a little cluster of small, twig-like branches growing on the side of a feathered elm; these clusters were close enough together to be of great use in climbing the tree, which was at least 3 feet in diameter. The nest was discovered by seeing the bird fly into the cluster. Within the next week a second nest was found by watching the female bird; it was at a height of 45 feet in a very small, flat crotch of a soft maple. The third nest was at a height of about 30 feet.

“The nests were identical in all respects except as to shape, which varied because of its situation. Each was nicely made but not unusual in appearance. The material used was almost wholly the fine strips of the grayish bark of small weed stalks, neatly interwoven. Each was smoothly and beautifully lined with the fresh stems of ground mosses of a brownish red color, which contrasted nicely with the gray outer material. Of great interest was the smoothness with which the material was woven in.”

Burtch wrote to Dr. Chapman (1907) that near Branchport, N. Y., where the bird is locally common, “the nest is usually placed on a horizontal branch or drooping branch of an elm, ranging from twenty-five to sixty feet from the ground, and from four, to fifteen, or eighteen feet from the body of the tree over an opening.”

W. E. Saunders (1900) reports eight nests found in southern Ontario; two of these were in oaks, 20 and 23 feet up, two in maples, 30 and 35 feet from the ground, and four in basswoods (lindens), from 17 to 50 feet above ground. He gives the measurements of three nests; they measured externally from 1³⁄₄ to 2 inches in height and 2³⁄₄ inches in diameter; internally they varied from ⁷⁄₈ to 1 inch in depth and from 1⁷⁄₈ to 1³⁄₄ inches in diameter. He remarks: “A feature that interested me very much was the extreme shallowness of the nests; all the other warblers with which I am acquainted building a comparatively deep nest, and the query arises, Does the bird build a shallow nest because it places it on a substantial limb, or does it place it on a substantial limb because its nests are shallow? The attachment of the nest, also, is exceedingly frail, and I am inclined to think that few of these nests would remain in position long after the young had left.”

A nest found by Kirkwood (1901) in Baltimore County, Md., is described as follows: “The nest is made of brown bark fibre, with some fine grass stems among it, and is finished inside with a few black horse-hairs. Outside it is finished with gray shreds of bark, spider web, and a few small fragments of newspaper that had been water-soaked. * * * As the branch sloped, one part of the rim is within ³⁄₄ of an inch of it, while the opposite part is 1³⁄₄ inches above it, the material comes down on one side of branch to 2¹⁄₄ inches below the rim. On this side a tiny twig arches out from branch and extending to the rim is embedded in the nest, and the leaves which grew from its top shaded the nest.” The nest was 48 feet and 6 inches up from the ground and 15 feet out from the trunk of a tulip tree, with no other limb between it and the ground.

A neat little nest before me is made of materials similar to those mentioned. It is lined with the reddish brown flowering stems of mosses smoothly woven with other very fine brownish fibres into a compact rim, and it is decorated externally with various brown and gray lichens and mosses. Other nests have been reported in sycamores, beeches, rock maples, sugar maples, and white oaks.

Eggs.—The cerulean warbler lays from 3 to 5 eggs, usually 4. They are ovate to short ovate and have a slight luster. The ground color is grayish white, creamy white, or even very pale greenish white, and they are speckled, spotted or blotched with “bay,” “chestnut,” or “auburn,” intermingled with spots of “light brownish drab,” or “brownish drab.” Some eggs have spots scattered all over the surface, but usually they are concentrated at the large end, where a loose wreath is formed. Generally the eggs are finely marked, but occasionally are quite heavily blotched. The measurements of 50 eggs average 17.0 by 13.0 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 17.9 by 13.0, 17.0 by 13.7, 16.0 by 12.4, and 17.2 by 12.0 millimeters (Harris).

Young.—The period of incubation seems to be unknown, and we have no information on the care and development of the young. Incubation is said to be performed by the female alone, but both parents assist in feeding the young. After the young are out of the nest, they may be seen travelling through the woods in family parties with their parents. There seems to be no evidence that more than one brood is raised in a season.

Plumages.—Ridgway (1902) describes the young cerulean warbler in nestling (juvenal) plumage as “above uniform brownish gray (deep drab gray), the pileum divided longitudinally by a broad median stripe of grayish white; sides of head (including a broad superciliary stripe) and entire under parts white; a narrow postocular stripe of deep drab gray; wings as in adults, but edgings greenish rather than bluish.”

The first winter plumage is assumed by a partial postjuvenal molt, involving the contour plumage and the wing coverts, but not the rest of the wings nor the tail. Dr. Dwight (1900) describes the young male in this plumage as “above, deep bice-green, partly concealing cinereous gray which is conspicuous on the rump and upper tail coverts, the latter and the feathers of the back often black centrally. The wing coverts with bluish cinereous gray edgings; two wing bands white, faintly tinged with canary-yellow. Below, white, strongly washed except on the chin, abdomen and crissum with primrose-yellow, the sides and flanks streaked obscurely with dull black. Superciliary line primrose-yellow; lores and orbital regions whitish; a dusky transocular streak.”

The first nuptial plumage is acquired by a partial prenuptial molt “which involves much of the body plumage and wing coverts, but not the rest of the wings nor the tail. The grayish cerulean blue, the black streaks on the back and the white wing bands are acquired; below, the plumage is white with a narrow bluish black band on the throat and the sides distinctly streaked. Young and old become practically indistinguishable, except by the duller wings and tail of the juvenal dress.”

The adult winter plumage is acquired by a complete postnuptial molt in July, which he says “differs from first winter in being much bluer and whiter, the wings and tail blacker and the edgings a bluer gray. Resembles the adult nuptial, but rather grayer on the back and the throat band incomplete.” The adult nuptial plumage is acquired by a partial-prenuptial molt as in the young bird.

He says of the plumages of the female: “The plumages and moults correspond to those of the male. In juvenal plumage the edgings of the wings and tail are greener tinged than those of the male. In first winter plumage the green above is duller and the black of the back and tail coverts is lacking; below there is more yellow and the side streaks are obscure. The first nuptial plumage is acquired by a moult limited chiefly to the head and throat which become bluer and whiter respectively. Later plumages are brighter, but green always replaces the blue of the male.”

Food.—No thorough study of the food of the cerulean warbler seems to have been made, but it is known to be insectivorous, foraging among the foliage, twigs, branches, and even on the trunks of trees. It is an expert fly catcher, darting out into the air for flying insects. A. H. Howell (1924) says that “examination of 4 stomachs of this species taken in Alabama showed the food to consist of Hymenoptera, beetles, weevils, and caterpillars.” Professor Aughey (1878) observed this warbler catching locusts in Nebraska.

Behavior.—S. Harmsted Chubb (1919) describes the behavior of the cerulean warbler as follows:

A bird more difficult to observe I have rarely if ever met with. His life seemed to be confined almost entirely to the tops of the tallest deciduous trees, where he would generally feed, with apparent design, on the side most remote from the would-be observer, exhibiting a wariness not expected on the part of a warbler, and finally leaving the tree, the first intimation of his departure being a more distant song. He never remained in the same tree top more than eight or ten minutes at a time and yet rarely ventured out of hearing distance from the center of his range. Fortunately, he would sometimes take a perch on a bare twig and sing for several minutes, but the perch was always high and generally with the sky as a poor background for observation. Had it not been for the almost incessant singing, being heard almost constantly from daybreak until nearly dark, the task of identification would have seemed hopeless.

Voice.—Aretas A. Saunders writes to me: “I have but six records of the song of this bird. There is probably more variation in the song than these records show, for all six are much alike. The song consists of four to eight notes, of even time and all mainly on one pitch, followed by a trill about a tone higher, the latter, in all of my records, pitched on C‴′. The first notes, in one of my records, are upward slurs, and in two others the first note of the group slurs upward, but in all of the others all of the notes are of even pitch and not slurred. The pitch varies from G‴ to C‴′. The songs are undoubtedly between one and two seconds in length, but I had no stop watch at the time, so did not time them. The song is rather loud and not particularly musical. In form the song is much like that of the Blackburnian warbler, but the loudness, different quality, and lower pitch distinguish it.”

Francis H. Allen (MS.) writes the song as “wee wee wee wee bzzz, heard many times without any apparent variation.” This was somewhat different from the song of a cerulean I heard, which had a “chippy” beginning that suggested the song of a yellow palm warbler, and also that of the parula warbler. Rev. J. J. Murray writes to me from Virginia: “The songs of the parula and cerulean in this section are very similar, but not difficult to distinguish. The pattern is reversed in the two; the parula’s song is ‘bzz, bzz, bzz, trill', while that of the cerulean is a ‘trill, trill, trill, bzz'. The cerulean’s song can be expressed by the phrase 'Just a little sneeze.'” A. D. DuBois tells me that “the beginning of the song is similar to that of the redstart, but it ends with a fine, ‘wiry,’ grasshopper-like trill, ascending in pitch and drawn out to nothing at the end.” Mr. Chubb (1919) describes two songs of the cerulean warbler as follows:

The musical exercises of the bird consisted of an alternation of two distinctly different songs, so different indeed that until the bird was caught in the act we never for a moment suspected a single authorship. One song suggested slightly that of the Magnolia Warbler but rather softer, four syllables, though not quite so well defined as in the Magnolia. The other, for want of something better, might be compared with the song of the Parula Warbler, a short buzzing trill rising in the scale, much louder and less lispy than the song of the Parula. The songs were each of about one second duration, rendered approximately eight or ten times per minute. Altogether the performance was quite musical, in sweetness far above the average warbler song. These two songs were generally alternated with clock-like regularity, though occasionally the bird preferred to dwell upon one or other of his selections for the greater part of the day.

Kirkwood (1901) says: “It also gives its song in a low tone as if it whispered it, and unless the bird is carefully watched the observer might be led to believe that he heard a second bird singing in the distance. I have watched a bird sing thus between each regular song, at other times it would not give it at all, or only occasionally, while on two or three occasions I heard it given for quite a while to the exclusion of the regular song, and quite often have heard it given two or three or even more times in succession between regular songs.” He has heard the cerulean warbler singing through July and until the middle of August; on August 19, he heard them singing “immature or imperfect (?) songs.”

Enemies.—The cerulean warbler is a rather uncommon victim of the eastern cowbird; not more than 10 cases seem to have been recorded.

Field marks.—No other American wood warbler has a similar shade of heavenly blue on its back as the male cerulean; its under parts are pure white, relieved by a narrow black necklace, and it has two white wing bars. Females, young birds, and even fall males are similar, and are tinged with blue above and with pale yellow below, with a whitish or yellowish line over the eye. In this plumage they resemble the young parula warbler, but the latter is much deeper yellow on the breast and has no line over the eye.

Fall.—Rathbun says in his notes from central New York: “When July comes the warblers will be found quite widely dispersed in any sort of forest, because they are now moving through the country in little family groups. Now and then will be heard snatches of the spring song. This is but preparatory for their departure from the region, which takes place in the latter part of August; we have never seen this warbler after the first week in September.”

Professor Cooke (1904) writes:

The cerulean warbler is a rare migrant in the States along the Atlantic coast, though it has been noted in the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida. In northeastern Texas and Louisiana it is not uncommon. Its main route of migration seems to cross the Gulf of Mexico chiefly from Louisiana and Mississippi. The species is one of the first to start on the southward migration. By the middle of summer it has reached the Gulf coast and is well on its way to its winter home. At Beauvoir and Bay St. Louis, on the coast of Mississippi, it has appeared in different years on dates ranging from July 12 to 29. For a few days it is common, attaining the height of its abundance about the first week in August. It then passes southward so rapidly that Cherrie was able to record its presence on August 24, 1890, at San José, Costa Rica. By November it reaches central Ecuador. Though the bulk of the birds perform their migration at this early date, some laggards remain behind until late in the season.