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
Migration is evident in Utah, for Woodbury (MS.) says: "In addition to
its summer residence, it is a common migrant through the state, and a
sparse winter resident, mainly at low altitudes. It migrates through the
streamside and cultivated trees of the valleys, including shade trees
and orchards. The migrations cover a period of about 6 weeks each in
spring and fall, usually from about mid-April to the end of May and from
mid-September to the end of October, but in different years the waves
may be a little earlier or later."
In California, there is a gradual exodus of Audubon's warblers from the
lowlands to the mountains during April and May. Mrs. Amelia S. Allen
tells me that "by the end of April they have disappeared from the San
Francisco Bay region." And Swarth (1926b) says that in May, following
the spring molt, "there is a gradual withdrawal of the birds to the
higher mountains and to more northern latitudes."
Audubon's warbler occurs abundantly on the Huachuca Mountains, Ariz.,
but as a migrant only, during March, April, and May. Swarth (1904)
writes:
Though distributed over all parts of the mountains, they were at all
times more abundant in the higher pine region, than elsewhere; and on
April 24, 1903, I found them particularly numerous along the divide of
the mountains, evidently migrating. They could hardly be said to be in
flocks on this occasion, for along the ridge, which runs almost due
north and south, there was for several miles a continuous stream of
Audubon Warblers travelling rapidly from tree to tree, always moving in
a northerly direction; sometimes a dozen or more in one pine, and
sometimes only two or three, but never stopping long and all moving in
the same direction. Almost all that were seen on this occasion were high
plumaged males, hardly half a dozen females being observed for the day.
This was about two weeks before the local breeding race _(D. a.
nigrifrons)_ might be expected to arrive.
Dr. Merrill (1888), at Fort Klamath, Oreg., found Audubon's warblers
"extremely abundant during the migrations. A few males were seen at
Modoc Point on the 8th and 9th of April, and at the Fort on the 15th; by
the 20th they were quite plentiful. A second 'wave' composed of both
males and females, which latter had not previously been seen, arrived
about the 4th of May, when they suddenly became more abundant than ever,
bringing _D. aestiva morcomi_ and _H. lutescens_ with them."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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