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
Bachman's Warbler in its habits is very much like the Parula Warbler
(_Compsothlypis americana_). The resemblance is more noticeable when
feeding and in search of food. The birds will then penetrate a thick
bunch of leaves and go through, over and all around in the most thorough
manner in their exploration after insects that appeal to their taste.
They are very active, and constantly in motion. They are also
quarrelsome, and resent the intrusion of other species. Frequently I
have noticed them fighting away the White-eyed Vireo, and where two or
more Bachman's Warblers are observed together, one is pretty sure to see
them chasing and fighting among themselves. When disturbed or alarmed
they are at once alert; a sharp alarm note, something like that of a
Yellow-throated Warbler (_D. dominica_) is uttered, but more forcible
and clear cut in its delivery. This is accompanied with a few jerks of
the tail, and the bird is off to a neighboring tree. They are found
alike in the trees, low bushes, and shrubbery, sometimes on or quite
near the ground, and seem to prefer the heavy and more thickly grown
woods to trees or bushes more in the open. Young birds are quite tame,
but the adults as a rule were very shy and difficult to approach after
having been once disturbed.
_Voice._--The song of Bachman's warbler is of a wiry or insect-like
character, and has been widely compared by many observers to the music
of the worm-eating and parula warblers and the chipping sparrow. It also
resembles, according to Aretas A. Saunders (MS.), one of the songs of
the blue-winged warbler. Brewster (1891) says:
The song is unlike that of any other species of _Helminthophila_ with
which I am acquainted and most resembles the song of the Parula Warbler.
It is of the same length and of nearly the same quality or tone, but
less guttural and without the upward run at the end, all of its six or
eight notes being given in the same key and with equal emphasis. Despite
these differences it would be possible to mistake the performance,
especially at a distance, for that of a Parula singing listlessly. The
voice, although neither loud nor musical, is penetrating and seems to
carry as far as most Warblers'. Besides the song the only note which we
certainly identified was a low hissing _zee-e-eep_, very like that of
the Black-and-white Creeper.
Widmann (1897), observing a singing male for 8 hours, says that "the
bird kept singing nearly all the time at the rate of ten times a minute
with the regularity of clockwork, and its sharp, rattling notes reminded
me strongly of an alarm-clock. In this regard it recalls one of the
performances of Parula, whose rattle is of the same length and quality,
except that it has a certain rise at the end, by which it is easily
distinguished."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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