Life histories of North American wood warblers, Part 1 (of 2)Bent, Arthur Cleveland
Science
Life histories of North American wood warblers, Part 1 (of 2)
Bent, Arthur Cleveland
Birds -- North America; Passeriformes; Wood warblers
We found Virginia's warbler fairly common there in the middle reaches of
the canyons, around 7,000 feet, and found a nest being built at the base
of a bush of mountain misery; Mr. Willard collected it with a set of
three eggs on June 4, 1922; it was made of leaves and strips of bark and
was lined with horsehair.
Another nest before me, from the Huachucas, has a foundation of moss and
lichens, dry leaves, and strips of cedar bark, over which are finer
strips of the bark and shreds of dry weed stalks and grasses, with a
lining of still finer fibers; it is a shallow nest, its diameter being 3
by 3-1/2 inches outside and 2 inches inside.
_Eggs._--While 4 eggs seem to constitute the usual set for Virginia's
warbler, as few as 3 and as many as 5 have been reported. These are
ovate to short ovate and only slightly lustrous. They are white, finely
speckled or spotted with shades of reddish brown, such as "chestnut" and
"auburn," intermingled with faint specks of "pale vinaceous-drab." Some
eggs are profusely spotted over the entire surface, while others have
the markings concentrated at the large end. The measurements of 40 eggs
average 15.9 by 12.4 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes
measure =17.0= by 12.4, 16.0 by =13.0=, =14.2= by 12.2, and 16.3 by
=11.2= millimeters (Harris).
_Young._--On the period of incubation and on the development and care of
the young we have no information except the following observations of
Bailey and Niedrach (1938): "The hatching time of many species of
Colorado birds seems to coincide with an abundance of larvae feeding
upon plants among which the birds are nesting. We have noticed time and
again, that pests are numerous upon the vegetation when the fledglings
are in the nest, but a few weeks later, after the little fellows have
taken wing and are able to move to other parts, the caterpillars have
gone into the pupa stage." At a nest they were watching, they observed
that both parents shared the work of feeding the young, averaging a trip
every 6 minutes.
A. J. van Rossem (1936) took young birds that were not fully grown on
July 10, and others on July 13 that had nearly completed the postjuvenal
molt, from which he inferred that two broods might be raised in a
season. H. S. Swarth (1904) noted that the young birds began to appear
in the Huachuca Mountains about the middle of July, after which both old
and young birds moved down into the foothills.
_Plumages._--The young Virginia's warbler in juvenal plumage is plain
grayish brown above; the throat, chest, and sides are paler brownish
gray; the abdomen and center of the breast white; the upper and under
tail coverts are dull greenish yellow; there is no chestnut crown patch;
and the greater and median wing coverts are tipped with dull buffy. The
sexes are alike.
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