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
Francis H. Allen has sent me the following notes on the behavior of this
species: "Aug. 27, 1915, Mt. Sunapee, N. H. On the summit of the
mountain an immature myrtle warbler, very tame, flitted and hopped about
on the ground, over moss and rocks, and in bushes and trees, feeding
industriously on small insects. It seemed to pay no attention to my
companion and me, and at one time hopped between us when we stood about
6 feet apart, and came within 2 feet of my outstretched hand as I held a
crumb out towards it. I followed it about a little and found it quite
fearless, except when I made a sudden movement. The bird could fly well
and seemed perfectly well able to take care of itself.
"July 5, 1931, Mt. Whiteface, N. H. One or more were seen flying up
fifty or a hundred feet above the tops of the low spruces and darting
about up there after insects--doubtless the black flies which were
abundant on the summit.
"Oct. 25, 1941, Plymouth, Mass. A sizable flock were feeding actively,
flying back and forth across the narrow Eel River, feeding among
foliage, catching flies and eating bayberries. One came within 6 feet of
me and calmly ate bayberry after bayberry."
_Voice._--Aretas A. Saunders contributes the following account of the
songs: "The songs of the myrtle warbler show some differences from those
heard from birds on migration or on the breeding grounds. The song in
general is a series of short, rapid notes in a rather colorless simple,
but musical quality. The number of notes, in my 41 records, varies from
7 to 21 and averages about 12. The songs heard on migration, however,
average 11 while those on the breeding grounds average 14.
"The songs heard on migration are quite indefinite in form; the pitch
rises and falls irregularly, and no two songs are much alike. An
individual bird may sing many variations, each song it sings often being
a little different from the others. The notes, however, are all about
the same length and loudness, accented notes that stand out from the
others being rare. This song shows indications of a somewhat primitive
character.
"The song on the breeding grounds is somewhat more definite; the notes
are often joined in 2-note phrases, the first note of each phrase higher
in pitch than the second and each phrase successively higher, so that
the song trends upward in pitch. This is true of 10 of my 13 records of
the song on the breeding grounds in the Adirondacks. The other 3 have a
slight downward trend. In addition to the more regular form, these songs
have a somewhat brighter, livelier, and more musical sound than those
heard on migration.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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