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
There is a limited prenuptial molt about the head, and wear has removed
most of the edgings and fading has made the under parts clearer. At this
age, young birds can be distinguished from adults by the worn and dull
brown wings and tail. Subsequent molts and plumages, in which young and
old are alike, consist of a complete postnuptial molt in July and August
and a limited prenuptial molt about the head. The adult male in the fall
is only slightly tipped with greenish above and with whitish on the
black throat, which may be somewhat less in extent.
_Food._--No thorough study of the food of the black-throated blue
warbler seems to have been made, but probably all of the items
mentioned as food for the young are also eaten by the adults. Forbush
(1929) adds the hairy tent caterpillar, flies, beetles, and plant lice.
Aughey (1878) found 23 locusts and 15 other insects in one stomach
collected in Nebraska. Dr. Wetmore (1916) reports on the contents of
eight stomachs collected in Puerto Rico, in which animal matter formed
75.5 percent and vegetable matter 24.5 percent of the food. "The
vegetable food was found in the three stomachs taken in December and
January and consisted of seeds of the camacey (_Miconia prasina_)." The
principal items in the animal food were lantern flies (Fulgoridae),
19.46 percent, various weevils, 14.25 percent, flies, 10.09 percent, and
spiders, 12.62 percent. A few beetles and one ant were eaten. Most of
the food consisted of harmful insects.
_Behavior._--The black-throated blue warbler is one of the tamest and
most confiding of all our wood warblers. I was able to photograph (pl.
30) the female incubating and both sexes feeding the young at very short
range without any special concealment; they are very devoted parents and
show great concern when the safety of their young is threatened,
trailing along the ground with the broken-wing act in great distress.
Gerald Thayer wrote to Dr. Chapman (1907): "In its movements the
Black-throated Blue is more deliberate than many of its relatives, but
it has at the same time a somewhat Redstart-like way of 'spiriting'
itself from one perch to another, and, while perched, of partly opening
its white-mooned wings;--a habit and a marking shared by the boldly
blue-and-black-and-white males and the dimly green and yellowish females
and young."
Henry D. Minot (1877) writes:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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