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
Probably due to this lack of singing posts and to the unusual abundance
of birds, chasing was also extensively used as a defense measure, and
during the height of the nesting season squabbling birds were a common
sight all over the area. * * * Neighboring males seemed to lack any
conception of the limits of each other's territories and moved about
indiscriminately until chased out. No actual fighting was observed.
* * * In other parts of the area where trees were available, the males
commonly sang at a height of 18 feet, often up to a height of 45 feet,
and chasing was not often observed.
For yellow warblers observed by Wendell P. Smith (1943) at Wells River,
Vt., "territorial exclusiveness scarcely existed. In one season a
Chestnut-sided Warbler's nest was located within five feet of that of
the Yellow Warbler. The following species were represented by one
nesting pair within a radius of thirty feet: House Wren, Catbird, Black
and White Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Northern Yellow-throat and
Indigo Bunting. Unless another individual came very close to the nest,
no hostility was shown by either male or female. Too close an approach
would bring a swift attack by one or the other, however, but for only a
short distance when the pursuer would give up the chase."
A. D. Du Bois mentions in his notes a nest that was about 6 feet from
the door of a screened porch in daily use and tells the following story
about the territory involved: "Twelve yards south of this nest was a
spruce tree. On several occasions the male met another male at this tree
or beyond it. Both alighted at times in the treetop. Their boundary
arguments had the appearance of pushing-contests in the air; and
sometimes the contestants revolved in the air, about an imaginary axis
between them. Once, while one of the warblers was in the tree, the other
was seen to poise near the tree on fluttering wings, remaining for two
or three seconds as nearly stationary in the air as a hummingbird.
Twelve yards beyond the spruce I found a nearly completed nest in tall
lilacs; but this nest was not finally occupied." Apparently, a second
pair of warblers had tried to build a nest too near the territory of the
first pair and had been driven out of the territory.
_Courtship._--Mr. Smith (1943) says on this subject:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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