up to 9,000 feet and rarely higher, the black-and-white warbler is
somewhat more abundant in that portion of its altitudinal range
comprised between 2,000 or 3,000 and 7,000 or 8,000 feet above sea
level. It is found in the heavy forest, in the more open types of
woodland, among the shade trees of the coffee plantations, and even amid
low second-growth with scattered trees. It creeps along the branches in
exactly the same fashion in its winter as in its summer home. Solitary
in its disposition, two of the kind are almost never seen together. The
only time I have heard this warbler sing in Central America was also one
of the very few occasions when I found two together. Early on the bright
morning of September 1, 1933, when the warblers were arriving from the
north, I heard the black-and-white's weak little song repeated several
times among the trees at the edge of an oak wood, at an altitude of
8,500 feet in the Guatemalan highlands. Looking into the tree tops, I
saw two of these birds together. Apparently they were singing in
rivalry, as red-faced warblers, Kaup's redstarts, yellow warblers, and
other members of the family solitary during the winter months will sing
in the face of another of their kind, at seasons when they are usually
silent. Often such songs lead to a pursuit or even a fight; but I have
never seen black-and-white warblers actually engaged in a conflict in
their winter home.
"Although intolerant of their own kind, the black-and-white warblers are
not entirely hermits; for often a single one will attach itself to a
mixed flock of small birds. In the Guatemalan highlands, during the
winter months, such flocks are composed chiefly of Townsend's warblers;
and each flock, in addition to numbers of the truly gregarious birds,
will contain single representatives of various species of more solitary
disposition, among them often a lone black-and-white, so different in
appearance and habits from any of its associates.
"This warbler arrives and departs early. It has been recorded during the
first week of August in Guatemala, and by the latter part of the month
in Costa Rica and Panamá. In Costa Rica, it appears not to linger beyond
the middle or more rarely the end of March; while for northern Central
America my latest date is April 22.
"Early dates of fall arrival in Central America are: Guatemala--passim
(Griscom), August 3; Sierra de Tecpán, August 23, 1933; Santa María de
Jesús, August 6, 1934; Huehuetenango, August 14, 1934. Honduras--Tela,
August 19, 1930. Costa Rica--San José (Cherrie), August 20; Carrillo
(Carriker), September 1; San Isidro de Coronado, September 8, 1935;
Basin of El General, September 19, 1936; Vara Blanca, September 5, 1937;
Murcia, September 11, 1941. Panamá--Canal Zone (Arbib and Loetscher),
August 24, 1933, and August 29, 1934. Ecuador--Pastaza Valley, below
Baños, October 17, 1939.
"Late dates of spring departure from Central America are: Costa
Rica--Basin of El General, February 23, 1936, March 10, 1939, March 26,
1940, March 3, 1942, March 18, 1943; Vara Blanca, March 13, 1938;
Guayabo (Carriker), March 30; Juan Viñas (Carriker), March 21.
Honduras--Tela, April 22, 1930. Guatemala--Motagua Valley, near Los
Amates, April 17, 1932; Sierra de Tecpán, February 20, 1933."
The bird has a wide winter range, as shown above. Dr. Thomas Barbour
(1943) speaks of it thus in Cuba: "Common in woods and thickets. A few
arrive in August, and by September they are very abundant, especially in
the overgrown jungles about the Ciénaga."
Edward S. Dingle (MS.) has sent to A. C. Bent a remarkable winter record
of a black-and-white warbler seen on Middleburg plantation, Huger, S.
C., on January 13, 1944.
DISTRIBUTION
_Range._--Canada to northern South America.
_Breeding range._--The black-and-white warbler breeds =north= to
southwestern Mackenzie, rarely (Simpson and Providence; has been
collected at Norman); northern Alberta (Chipewyan and McMurray); central
Saskatchewan (Flotten Lake, probably Grand Rapids, and Cumberland
House); southern Manitoba (Duck Mountain, Lake St. Martin, Winnipeg, and
Indian Bay); central Ontario (Kenora, Pagwachuan River mouth, and Lake
Abitibi; has occurred at Piscapecassy Creek on James Bay, and at Moose
Factory); southern Quebec (Lake Tamiskaming, Blue Sea Lake, Quebec,
Mingan, and Mascanin; has occurred at Sandwich Bay, Labrador); and
central Newfoundland (Deer Lake, Nicholsville, Lewisport, and Fogo
Island). =East= to Newfoundland (Fogo Island and White Bear River); Nova
Scotia (Halifax and Yarmouth); the Atlantic coast to northern New Jersey
(Elizabeth and Morristown); eastern Pennsylvania (Berwyn); Maryland
(Baltimore and Cambridge); eastern Virginia (Ashland and Lawrenceville);
North Carolina (Raleigh and Charlotte); South Carolina (Columbia and
Aiken); and central Georgia (Augusta and Milledgeville). =South= to
central Georgia (Milledgeville); south central Alabama (Autaugaville);
north-central Mississippi (Starkville and Legion Lake); northern
Louisiana (Monroe; rarely to southern Louisiana, Bayou Sora); and
northeastern and south-central Texas (Marshall, Dallas, Classen,
Kerrville, and Junction). =West= to central Texas (Junction and Palo
Dura Canyon); central Kansas (Clearwater); central-northern Nebraska
(Valentine); possibly eastern Montana (Glasgow); central Alberta
(Camrose, Glenevis, and Lesser Slave Lake); to southwestern Mackenzie
(Simpson). There is a single record of its occurrence in June at Gautay,
Baja California, 25 miles south of the international border.
_Winter range._--In winter the black-and-white warbler is found =north=
to southern Texas (Cameron County, occasionally Cove, and Texarkana);
central Mississippi, occasionally (Clinton); accidental in winter at
Nashville, Tenn.; southern Alabama (Fairfield); southern Georgia (Lumber
City, occasionally Milledgeville, and Athens); and rarely to
central-eastern South Carolina (Edisto Island and Charleston). =East= to
the coast of South Carolina, occasionally (Charleston); Georgia
(Blackbeard Island); Florida (St. Augustine, New Smyrna, and Miami); the
Bahamas (Abaco, Watling, and Great Abaco Islands); Dominican Republic
(Samaná); Puerto Rico; Virgin Islands and the Lesser Antilles to
Dominica; and eastern Venezuela (Paria Peninsula). =South= to northern
Venezuela (Paria Peninsula, Rancho Grande, and Mérida); west-central
Colombia (Bogotá); and central Ecuador (Pastazo Valley). =West= to
central and western Ecuador (Pastazo Valley and Quito); western Colombia
(Pueblo Rico); western Panamá (Dvala); El Salvador (Mount Cacaguatique);
western Guatemala (Mazatenango); Guerrero (Acapulco and Coyuca); Colima
(Manzanillo); northwestern Pueblo (Metlatayuca); western Nuevo León
(Monterey); and southern Texas (Cameron County). It also occurs casually
in the Cape region of Baja California and in southern California (Dehesa
and Carpenteria). There are also several records in migration from
California and from western Sinaloa.
_Migration._--Late dates of spring departure from the winter home are:
Venezuela--Yacua, Paria Peninsula, March 20. Colombia--Santa Marta
region, March 12. Panamá--Gatún, March 26. Costa Rica--El General, April
9. Honduras--Tola, April 22. Guatemala--Quiriguá, April 17. Veracruz--El
Conejo, May 15. Puerto Rico--Algonobo, April 27. Haiti--Île à Vache, May
6. Cuba--Habana, May 25. Bahamas--Abaco, May 6. Florida--Orlando, May
21. Georgia--Cumberland, May 26. Louisiana--Avery Island, April 27.
Early dates of spring arrival are: South Carolina--Clemson College,
March 20. North Carolina--Weaverville, March 3. Virginia--Lawrenceville,
March 23. District of Columbia--Washington, March 30. New York--Corning,
April 18. Massachusetts--Stockbridge, April 16. Vermont--St. Johnsbury,
April 19. Maine--Lewiston, April 27. Quebec--Montreal, April 26. Nova
Scotia--Wolfville, April 29. Mississippi--Deer Island, March 4.
Louisiana--Schriever, March 8. Arkansas--March 12. Tennessee--Nashville,
March 20. Illinois--Chicago, April 17. Michigan--Ann Arbor, April 6.
Ohio--Toledo, April 7. Ontario--Guelph, April 22. Missouri--Marionville,
April 3. Iowa--Grinnell, April 16. Wisconsin--Milwaukee, April 20.
Minnesota--Lanesboro, April 23. Kansas--Independence, April 1.
Omaha--April 21. North Dakota--April 28. Manitoba--Winnipeg, April 28.
Alberta--Edmonton, May 6; McMurray, May 15. Mackenzie--Simpson, May 22.
Late dates of fall departure are: Alberta--Athabaska Landing, September
11. Manitoba--Aweme, September 22. North Dakota--Argusville, October 2.
Minnesota--Minneapolis, October 10. Iowa--Davenport, October 1.
Missouri--Columbia, October 24. Wisconsin--Madison, October 7.
Illinois--Port Byron, October 15. Ontario--Hamilton, October 3.
Michigan--Detroit, October 15. Ohio--Youngstown, October 15.
Kentucky--Danville, October 14. Tennessee--Athens, October 17.
Arkansas--Winslow, October 17. Louisiana--New Orleans, October 25.
Mississippi--Gulfport, November 19. Quebec--Quebec, September 18. New
Brunswick--St. John, September 19. Nova Scotia--Yarmouth, September 23.
Maine--Portland, October 17. New Hampshire--Ossipee, October 18.
Massachusetts--Cambridge, October 15. New York--New York, October 6.
Pennsylvania--Atglen, October 29. District of Columbia--Washington,
October 18. Virginia--Charlottesville, October 18. North
Carolina--Raleigh, October 29. South Carolina--Charleston, November 15.
Georgia--Savannah, October 29.
Early dates of fall arrival are: South Carolina--Charleston, July 19.
Florida--Pensacola, July 12. Cuba--Artemisa, Pinar del Río, August 1.
Dominican Republic--Ciudad Trujillo, September 27. Puerto
Rico--Mayagüez, October 9. Louisiana--New Orleans, July 21.
Mississippi--Bay St. Louis, July 4. Michoacán--Tancitaro, August 7.
Guatemala--Huehuetenango, August 14. Honduras--Cantarranas, August 7.
Costa Rica--San José, August 20. Panamá--Tapia, Canal Zone, August 24.
Colombia--Bonda, Santa Marta region, August 21. Ecuador--Pastaza Valley,
October 17. Venezuela--Estado Carabobo Las Trincheras, October 9.
_Banding._--A single banding recovery is of considerable interest: A
black-and-white banded at Manchester, N. H., on August 31, 1944, was
found on March 17, 1945, at Friendship P. O., Westmoreland, Jamaica.
_Casual records._--This warbler is casual in migration or winters in
Bermuda, having been recorded in six different years from October to
May.
At Tingwall, Shetland Islands, north of Scotland one was picked up on
November 28, 1936. This is almost as far north as the northernmost
record of occurrence in North America and later than it is normally
found in the United States.
A specimen was collected near Pullman, Wash., on August 15, 1948, the
first record for the State.
_Egg dates._--Massachusetts: 31 records, May 18 to June 14; 17 records,
May 25 to June 3, indicating the height of the season.
New Jersey: 7 records, May 18 to June 8.
Tennessee: 3 records, May 1 to 17.
North Carolina: 6 records, April 20 to 28.
West Virginia: 7 records, May 6 to 29 (Harris).
PROTONOTARIA CITREA (Boddaert)
PROTHONOTARY WARBLER
PLATES 4-6
HABITS
I do not like the above name for the golden swamp warbler. The
scientific name _Protonotaria_, and evidently the common name, were
apparently both derived from the Latin _protonotarius_, meaning first
notary or scribe. I sympathize with Bagg and Eliot (1937), who
exclaimed:
What a name to saddle on the Golden Swamp-bird! Wrongly compounded in
the first place, wrongly spelled, wrongly pronounced! We understand that
Protonotarius is the title of papal officials whose robes are bright
yellow, but why say "First Notary" in mixed Greek and Latin, instead of
Primonotarius? Proto is Greek for first, as in prototype. Why and when
did it come to be misspelled Protho? Both Wilson and Audubon wrote
Protonotary Warbler, a name seemingly first given to the bird by
Louisiana Creoles. Both etymology and sense call for stress on the third
syllable, yet one most often hears the stress laid on the second. Here,
certainly, is a bothersome name fit only to be eschewed!
The scientific name cannot be changed under the rules of nomenclature,
but a change in the common name would seem desirable. However, the name
does not make the bird or detract from its charm and beauty. It will
still continue to thrill with delight the wanderer in its swampy haunts.
The center of abundance of the prothonotary warbler as a breeding bird
in this country is in the valleys of the Mississippi River and its
tributaries, notably the Ohio, the Wabash, and the Illinois Rivers. Its
summer range extends eastward into Indiana and Ohio, northward into
southern Ontario, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota, and westward into
Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and eastern Texas--wherever it can
find suitable breeding grounds.
It also breeds in the Atlantic Coast States from Virginia to Florida.
It is essentially a bird of the damp and swampy river bottoms and
low-lying woods, which are flooded at times and in which woodland pools
have been left by the receding water. Perhaps this warbler abounds more
than anywhere else in the valley of the lower Wabash, where William
Brewster (1878) found it to be--
one of the most abundant and characteristic species. Along the shores of
the rivers and creeks generally, wherever the black willow (_Salix
niger_) grew, a few pairs were sure to be found. Among the button-bushes
(_Cephalanthus occidentalis_) that fringed the margin of the peculiar
long narrow ponds scattered at frequent intervals over the heavily
timbered bottoms of the Wabash and White Rivers, they also occurred more
or less numerously. Potoka Creek, a winding, sluggish stream, thickly
fringed with willows, was also a favorite resort; but the grand
rendezvous of the species seemed to be about the shores of certain
secluded ponds lying in what is known as the Little Cypress Swamp. Here
they congregated in astonishing numbers, and early in May were breeding
almost in colonies. In the region above indicated two things were found
to be essential to their presence, namely, an abundance of willows and
the immediate proximity of water. * * * So marked was this preference,
that the song of the male heard from the woods indicated to us as surely
the proximity of some river, pond, or flooded swamp, as did the croaking
of frogs or the peep of the Hylas.
Dr. Chapman (1907) writes of this bird in its haunts:
The charm of its haunts and the beauty of its plumage combine to render
the Prothonotary Warbler among the most attractive members of the
family. I clearly recall my own first meeting with it in the Suwanee
River region of Florida. Quietly paddling my canoe along one of the many
enchanting, and, I was then quite willing to believe, enchanted streams
which flowed through the forests into the main river, this glowing bit
of bird-life gleamed like a torch in the night. No neck-straining
examination with opera-glass pointed to the tree-tops, was required to
determine his identity, as, flitting from bush to bush along the river's
bank, his golden plumes were displayed as though for my special benefit.
Dr. Lawrence H. Walkinshaw (1938) says that the golden swamp warbler
"nests rather abundantly along southwestern-Michigan rivers. * * *
Winding streams, bordered densely with oak, maple, ash, and elm, shallow
ponds with groups of protruding willows and flooded, heavily shaded
bottom-lands are favorite nesting habitats for the Prothonotary Warbler
(_Protonotaria citrea_). Such habitats occur along the banks of the
Kalamazoo River and its tributary the Battle Creek River in Calhoun
County, Michigan."
_Territory._--The males arrive on the breeding grounds a few days or a
week before the females come and immediately try to establish their
territories, select the nesting sites, and even build nests. Dr.
Walkinshaw (1941) writes:
The Prothonotary Warbler is a very strongly territorial species. When a
male takes possession of a certain area he continually drives off all
opponents if he is able. At certain areas in Michigan I have watched
these birds battle intermittently for two or three days, usually for the
same bird house, one male finally taking possession. In addition I have
observed them to drive off House Wrens (_Troglodytes aedon_),
Black-capped Chickadees (_Penthestes atricapillus_) and Yellow Warblers
(_Dendroica aestiva_). * * * The male Prothonotary Warbler selects the
territory, selecting the nesting site before he becomes mated for the
first nest, but thereafter both birds inspect the new nest sites.
On observations made near Knoxville, Tenn., Henry Meyer and Ruth Reed
Nevius (1943) found that--
three males established territories. Male I arrived April 14. By the
next day he was singing on an area 550 feet long and for the most part
not more than 200 feet wide. It included three kinds of habitats: (a) a
grassy terrace on which several nesting boxes were located, (b) river
banks densely covered with small trees and bushes, and (c) a small open
orchard which constituted the connecting link between the terrace and
the river bank. Male II arrived on April 18 and occupied a narrow
territory along a brook confined by wooded slopes and which contained
two lotus ponds. The area was about 400 feet long and 100 feet wide. A
nesting box was on a stake above one of the ponds. Male III appeared May
5 in the terraced area being claimed by Male I. During the day, the 2
males sang energetically and flew often only a few inches apart. Male I
maintained his territory and Male III disappeared.
There were a number of nesting boxes on the area that the males
investigated, carrying nesting material into some of them while they
were waiting for the females to arrive. The mate of the first male came
on April 20, and--
on this day this pair communicated by their full call-note. Twice the
male was seen pursuing the female rapidly in a small semi-circle and
pausing, called a soft, full note which was later heard only when the
two sexes were together.
The mate of Male II came April 22, four days after the latter's arrival.
Combat with other species found within the territories of these birds
was observed. Combat with the Bluebird was most frequent but one or more
indications of opposition was noticed with the Flicker, Downy
Woodpecker, Acadian Flycatcher, Tufted Titmouse, Robin, and Cardinal.
The males sing persistently and energetically from the time that they
arrive on their territories, hoping to attract their mates, but they are
not always successful, especially in regions where the species is rare
or not very common, and their nest-building brings no occupant. Edward
von S. Dingle writes to me that, at Summerton, S. C., a male
prothonotary warbler built a nest in a low stub, but no female was ever
seen. He sang frequently and remained in the vicinity for several weeks.
And Frederic H. Kennard, in far-away Massachusetts, mentions in his
notes that he saw one and watched it for several days, June 16-20, 1890.
"He sang loudly and clearly and sweetly, and seemed to like a particular
place by the side of the river, for when I returned later in the day, he
was still there, on the other side of the river." On June 19, he watched
him for half an hour. He was always in the same locality. On a later
search, no nest or no mate could be found.
_Courtship._--Brewster (1878a) gives the following full account of this
performance:
Mating began almost immediately after the arrival of the females, and
the "old, old story" was told in many a willow thicket by the little
golden-breasted lovers. The scene enacted upon such occasions was not
strikingly different from that usual among the smaller birds; retiring
and somewhat indifferent coyness on the part of the female; violent
protestations and demonstrations from the male, who swelled his plumage,
spread his wings and tail, and fairly danced around the object of his
affections. Sometimes at this juncture another male appeared, and then a
fierce conflict was sure to ensue. The combatants would struggle
together most furiously until the weaker was forced to give way and take
to flight. On several occasions I have seen two males, after fighting
among the branches for a long time, clinch and come fluttering together
to the water beneath, where for several minutes the contest continued
upon the surface until both were fairly drenched. The males rarely meet
in the mating season without fighting, even though no female may be
near. Sometimes one of them turns tail at the outset; and the other at
once giving chase, the pursuer and pursued, separated by a few inches
only, go darting through the woods, winding, doubling, now careering
away up among the tree-tops, now down over the water, sweeping close to
the surface until the eye becomes weary with following their mad flight.
During all this time the female usually busies herself with feeding,
apparently entirely unconcerned as to the issue. Upon the return of
the conqueror her indifference, real or assumed, vanishes, he receives
a warm welcome, and matters are soon arranged between them.
_Nesting._--The prothonotary warbler and Lucy's warbler are the only two
American warblers that habitually build their nests in cavities, usually
well concealed. The normal, and probably the original, primitive,
nestling sites are in natural cavities in trees and most nests are still
to be found in such situations today. The prothonotary is not at all
particular as to the species of trees, nests having been found in many
kinds of trees, although perhaps a slight preference is shown for dead
willow stumps. Nor is it particular as to the size or condition of the
cavity, or its location, though quite often choosing one over water or
near it. The height above the ground or water varies from 3 feet or less
to as much as 32 feet but there are more nests below 5 feet than there
are above 10, the height of the majority being between 5 and 10 feet.
The size and shape of the cavity are of little concern; if the cavity is
too deep, the industrious little birds fill it with nesting material up
to within a few inches of the top; sometimes a very shallow cavity is
used, so that the bird can be plainly seen from a distance as it sits on
the nest. The old deserted holes of woodpeckers or chickadees are
favorite nesting sites; the entrances to these have often been enlarged
by other agencies, or are badly weathered. In very rotten stumps, the
warblers have been known to excavate partially or to enlarge a cavity.
The nests built by the males in early spring, referred to above, are
probably rarely used as brood nests and might be classed as dummy nests.
The family nest is built almost entirely by the female, with
encouragement and a little help from her mate, who accompanies her to
and from the nest and in the search for material; much of the soft,
green moss used extensively in the nest is often obtainable from fallen
logs and stumps in the vicinity.
Brewster (1878a) mentions a nest taken from a deep cavity that "when
removed presents the appearance of a compact mass of moss five or six
inches in height by three or four in diameter. When the cavity is
shallow, it is often only scantily lined with moss and a few fine roots.
The deeper nests are of course the more elaborate ones. One of the
finest specimens before me is composed of moss, dry leaves, and cypress
twigs. The cavity for the eggs is a neatly rounded, cup-shaped hollow,
two inches in diameter by one and a half in depth, smoothly lined with
fine roots and a few wing-feathers of some small bird."
In Dr. Walkinshaw's (1938) Michigan nests, "moss constituted the bulk of
the nesting material in nearly all cases, completely filling the nest
space whether it was large or small. On top of this the nest proper was
shaped and a rough lining of coarse grape-bark, dead leaves, black
rootlets procured from the river-banks, and poison-ivy tendrils was
added. Above this a lining of much finer rootlets, leaf-stems, and very
fine grasses was used."