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
On June 21, at 6.12 p. m., the young were fully fledged in green plumage
above and dirty yellow beneath. They showed fear of me for the first
time, eyeing me in the same manner as the parent bird when on the nest.
They were evidently ready to vacate at a moment's notice or hasty
movement on my part. The parents appeared, scolding rapidly. The female
fed the young as soon as I retired to my old stand under a bush, with a
rather large green grub (6.20 p. m.) and flew out to the top of a
blackberry bush, followed immediately by the topmost fledgling. It could
do little more than run. The adults flew to within a yard of my head,
making a great outcry, and in the midst of the excitement the remainder
of the young vacated the nest with feeble _chips_. The male gave his
attention to them, while the female followed me as I beat a hasty
retreat to enable them to collect their little family before dark. Eight
days had elapsed since incubation was completed, and it is not at all
unusual for the young of this species to leave the nest while so tiny
and ragged.
_Plumages._--Dr. Dwight (1900) calls the natal down "mouse-gray," and
describes the juvenal plumage, in which the sexes are alike, as, "entire
body plumage olive-yellow darkest on the back and throat. Wings and tail
slate-gray largely edged with plumbeous gray, the tertiaries and coverts
with olive-yellow; the greater and median coverts tipped with white,
yellow tinged. Rectrices largely white. Lores dusky."
A partial postjuvenal molt begins early in July, involving the contour
plumage and the wing coverts, but not the rest of the wings or the tail.
This molt produces the first winter plumage in which the sexes are very
much alike, the female being duller in color, especially the streak
through the eye, and having less yellow on the crown. Dr. Dwight (1900)
describes the first winter male as "above, bright olive-green,
lemon-yellow on the crown veiled by greenish tips. Below, bright
lemon-yellow, the crissum white or merely tinged with yellow.
Transocular streak black. Wing coverts plumbeous gray, edged with
olive-green, the greater and median tipped with white, yellow tinged,
forming two broad wing-bands."
The birds are now practically adult in plumage. The first and subsequent
nuptial plumages are acquired by wear, which produces little change
beyond removal of the greenish tips. Subsequent winter plumages are
acquired by a complete postnuptial molt each July.
The interesting hybrids between this and the golden-winged warbler are
discussed on pages 3 and 4. Kumlien and Hollister (1903) mention a
probable mating of this with the Nashville warbler.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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