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
"Although a number of wood warblers which winter in the Central American
highlands are gregarious, those that center in the lowlands are
typically solitary. In this, the yellow warbler is no exception. Each
wintering bird appears to have its own territory, from which it attempts
to drive others of its kind. Trespassers are scolded with insistent
_chips_; or more rarely, soon after his arrival, a male will sing while
defending his claim. Near San Miguel de Desamparados, Costa Rica (4,600
feet), on October 1, 1935, I made the following note: 'This morning,
which for a change was bright and calm, I heard a yellow warbler singing
in the low fig trees near the house. Upon going out to look, I found
that there were two yellow warblers in the trees. One was trying to
drive the other away; but the pursued always circled around and
returned. I watched them for a long time; but this indecisive action
continued without any change in the situation. In the intervals of the
pursuit, the warblers (or at least one of them) would sing, but in a low
and imperfect fashion, far inferior to the yellow warbler's summer
song.' Again, on October 31: 'After the Wilson warbler, the most
abundant winter visitor is the yellow warbler. The bird who on October 1
drove its competitor out of the fig trees beside the house still retains
these trees and the surrounding _Inga_ trees as its domain.'
"The yellow warbler sings far less while in Central America than many
other wintering species. Exceptionally, one will be found singing
profusely. In early October, 1934, I came upon such a bird among the
coffee groves of a great plantation on the lower Pacific slope of
Guatemala. His behavior was so far out of the ordinary that I am tempted
to copy in full the notes I made upon it at the time: October 5--On the
afternoon of my arrival at 'Dolores,' I went out for a walk through the
coffee groves. From among the 'chalum' (_Inga_) trees which shaded the
coffee bushes, I heard a bird's song which seemed to belong to a
warbler; but I did not recognize it as the utterance of any species I
knew. After searching for a time among the tree-tops, I spotted the
singer, and was surprised to find him a yellow warbler. He was
apparently a young bird, for he lacked the chestnut splashes along the
sides which distinguish the mature males. He repeated over and over
again his little song of four or five notes, which was so unlike the
familiar song of the yellow warbler in the eastern United States that I
did not at first recognize it; but once I had identified the singer, I
realized that I was listening to a shortened and modified form of the
typical song.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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