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
Of nestings in Maine, Knight (1908) says: "As soon as nest building
begins, the favorite locality selected is a thicket of evergreen trees
near the highway, some open pasture containing a few clumps of scattered
evergreens, small thickets of evergreens along the banks of some stream
or river or about the shore of a pond or lake, or a row of trees about
some country dwelling or in an orchard. In the vast majority of cases an
evergreen tree is selected as a nesting site, though occasionally some
hardwood tree, such as maple, apple or birch, may be taken. A majority
of nests seem to be placed in cedar trees, with fir and spruce following
as close second choices."
Forbush (1929) mentions two Massachusetts nests in tall white pines. A
nest studied by Mrs. Nice (1930a), at Pelham, Mass., was "six feet up in
a small red cedar on a branch next to the trunk. It was a rather shallow
affair, composed of cedar twigs and bark, plant fibers, a piece of
string and pine needles, and was lined with a few horse hairs and many
Ruffed Grouse feathers."
Dr. Paul Harrington has sent me his notes based on the study of 44 nests
of the myrtle warbler in Simcoe County, Ontario. He says that the white
pine is generally chosen as a nesting tree, the nests being placed from
6 to 40 feet up, averaging 15 feet; "28 nests were built on horizontal
limbs about two-thirds out from the trunk, but none at the outermost
end. They were conspicuous from below but not from above, as clumps of
needles overhung them in such a way as to afford good protection." Of
the remainder, 2 were built in the top clump of needles in young trees;
5 were in small spruces, the lowest 3 feet, the highest 15, and all on
horizontal limbs, 3 near the trunk and 2 halfway out on the limb; 5 were
about 15 feet up in crotches of small cedars; 3 were found in red pines,
in the outermost clumps of needles 10 to 15 feet from the ground; and 1
nest was 6 feet up in a small balsam. He says that the nest is lined
thickly with feathers and a few hairs. "The feathers are so placed that,
as well as lining the nest, they form a screen over the inside when the
bird is not sitting. This is done by the shafts of the feathers being
woven or imbedded into the inside of the nest and the vane lying free."
At Petawa he found these birds nesting in small jack pines.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account