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
"Both twittering birds bring the materials while it is damp, if
possible, and place it, but being very timid, they work little while an
observer is near. At such times the birds come silently, one at a time,
deposit the bit of cinquefoil or hair-like fibre hurriedly, the female
who is oftentimes less timid than the male, doing most of the modelling,
turning around and around in the tiny dwelling and shaping it with her
breast. Two birds that I timed carefully spent 4 days building their
habitation, and another pair 6 days in doing the same work. The amount
of time occupied by the task is determined by the abundance or scarcity
of materials and the weather; continuous, heavy, cold and retard the
work greatly."
_Eggs._--Four eggs almost always form a full set for the magnolia
warbler, but sometimes there are only three and occasionally five. They
vary in shape from ovate to short ovate, or rarely to elongate ovate,
and are only slightly glossy. The ground color is white or creamy white
and in some instances greenish white. Their markings vary considerably,
some being very lightly speckled, while others are boldly spotted,
blotched or clouded with "buffy brown," "cinnamon-brown," "Mars brown,"
"Prout's brown," "mummy brown," "Brussels brown," "chestnut," "auburn,"
or "tawny-olive," with occasional scrawls of "bay" or black, and with
undertones of "vinaceous-drab," "deep brownish drab," or "Quaker drab."
There is a tendency for the markings to be concentrated at the large
end, where they often form a wreath, or sometimes a solid cap. Many
interesting effects are found on the boldly marked eggs, where the large
brown blotches are superimposed on the drab undertones. The measurements
of 50 eggs average 16.3 by 12.3 millimeters; the eggs showing the four
extremes measure =17.9= by =13.2=, =15.0= by 12.0, and 15.8 by =11.6=
millimeters (Harris).
_Young._--The period of incubation for the magnolia warbler is said, by
different observers, to be 11, 12, or 13 days, and it is evidently
performed by the female only. Miss Stanwood tells me that incubation
sometimes begins after the second egg is laid. One egg is laid each day
until the set is complete. The young remain in the nest from 8 to 10
days, usually the latter. The eyes of the young are opening on the third
or fourth day. On the sixth day, the feathers are breaking the sheaths,
and by the eighth or ninth day the young are well feathered. The female
does all the brooding of the young, of which Miss Stanwood writes in her
notes:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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