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
The eggs are ovate to short ovate and have only a slight luster. The
ground color is white or creamy white, and the markings, in the form of
speckles and small spots, are in shades of "chestnut" and "auburn,"
sometimes intermingled with "light vinaceous-drab." On some the markings
are well scattered over the entire surface while on others they are
concentrated at the large end, often forming a loose wreath. Only
occasionally do the spots assume the proportions of blotches. The
measurements of 50 eggs average 16.1 by 12.4 millimeters; the eggs
showing the four extremes measure =17.8= by 12.7, 16.8 by =13.1=, =14.8=
by 12.3, and 15.8 by =11.4= millimeters (Harris).
_Young._--Nothing seems to have been recorded on the period of
incubation, which is performed by the female alone. Nor do we know
anything about the care of the young or their development.
_Plumages._--Dr. Dwight (1900) says that the young Tennessee warbler in
juvenal plumage, in which the sexes are alike, is similar to the young
Nashville warbler in similar plumage but lacks the brownish cast and has
a faint transocular stripe. He describes it as "above dull grayish
olive-green, the rump brighter. Wings and tail clove-brown, the
primaries whitish edged, the secondaries, tertiaries and wing coverts
greenish edged with two yellowish white wing bands. Below grayish buff
rapidly fading when older to a greenish gray; abdomen and crissum pale
straw-yellow. Trace of ducky transocular streak."
The incomplete postjuvenal molt, involving the contour plumage and the
wing coverts, but not the rest of the wings or the tail, begins about
the middle of July. This produces the first winter plumage, in which
the young male is "above, bright olive-green, gray tinged on the pileum.
Below, olive-yellow darker on the flanks, the abdomen and crissum white.
Superciliary line and orbital ring buff. Transocular streak dull black."
The young female "differs from the male in having the lower parts more
washed with olive-green." Young and old birds are now practically
indistinguishable.
Dickey and van Rossem (1938) say that the prenuptial molt "begins in
late February and is not finished before about the middle of March. The
molt involves most of the anterior body plumage, but progresses so
slowly that this species never has the ragged 'pin-feathered' appearance
so often seen in _Dendroica aestiva_ at the spring molt." Dr. Dwight
noticed the beginning of this molt as early as January 14. He says it
"involves chiefly the head, chin and throat. The ashy gray cap is
acquired, the chin, throat, and superciliary line become white, the
throat is tinged with cream-buff and the transocular streak black. The
yellow tints of the feathers retained below are lost by wear." In the
female, this molt is less extensive than in the male, and "the crown
never becomes, even in later plumages, as gray as that of the male, but
always has a brown or greenish tinge."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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