an island in Lake Edward, Quebec, on June 7, 1916, by Dr. H. F. Merriam,
who published an interesting account of it (1917). He watched the
building of the nest for some days before the nest was taken on the
eighteenth. The female was seen carrying nesting material into the thick
top of a spruce about 40 feet from the ground in a rather open part of
the woods, consisting for the most part of spruce and balsam of moderate
size interspersed with large white and yellow birches.
The female was not at all timid and apparently gathered most of her
nesting material at two places, both within sixty feet of the nest tree.
* * * While searching in the low growth she was absorbed in manner,
giving only occasionally a sharp chip. In going to the nest her actions
were more rapid and she chipped more frequently, generally alighting ten
to twenty feet below the nest and working her way up from limb to limb
on the outside of the tree. * * * The male was not seen to carry any
nest material but seemed to be generally in the immediate neighborhood.
At times he accompanied the female part way to or from the nest and
sometimes remained near her in the low spruces. * * *
The nest was placed about six feet from the top of the tree on a short
branch nine inches from the trunk and an equal distance from the tip.
From the ground it could not be seen even with field glasses. From a few
feet below the nest was apparently a green ball of moss. Closer
examination, however, showed it to be a neatly cupped nest resting on
the branch and short twigs. To these it was not securely tied and was
lifted intact from its position without difficulty.
The exterior of the nest was of green Sphagnum moss, interwoven with
vine stems, and a very few twigs, bound lightly with plant down, small
wads of which appeared here and there over the moss. The body of the
nest consisted of fine grass stems. Within this was a lining of white
hairs apparently from the rabbit, one small partridge feather and a few
fine black rootlets. The nest was bulky but very neatly and fairly
compactly put together. At the rim one side was very smoothly finished.
This was probably the entrance side toward the tree trunk. It was an
unusual and beautiful nest.
Its dimensions were: outside, 4 inches wide by 2-1/4 deep; inside, 1-3/4
inches wide by 1 inch deep.
Two years later, Philipp and Bowdish (1919) found four nests in northern
New Brunswick. "They were in rather high spruce trees, within two or
three feet of the extreme top, usually as near the top as suitable site
and cover could be secured. All were built in very thick foliage,
against the main stem of the tree, resting lightly on twigs and foliage,
but fairly secured thereto by webs, and were entirely invisible from the
ground, in every case." The nests were from 35 to 40 feet above the
ground, and were not substantially different in size and construction
from that described by Dr. Merriam. They add that the thick lining of
hair, feathers, and a little fur, all smoothly felted, serves to
distinguish the nests from those of the black-poll and myrtle warblers,
and note that the nest tree is usually "fairly openly situated, at least
as to one side, although this is not always the case, since other pairs
watched were very evidently nesting in trees where it was much more
difficult to detect them."
Richard C. Harlow has sent me the data for seven nests of the Cape May
warbler that he collected in Tabusintac, New Brunswick, in 1919. Two of
these were 55 feet from the ground in a fir, and the others were 35, 45,
50, 55, and 60 feet up, respectively, in black spruces. All were in the
very topmost shelters of the trees, and three of them were in heavy
forests, the others being on the edges. In other respects they were
similar to those described above. The females sat very closely until
almost touched, and then dropped down to the ground.
The nest found by James Bond (MS.) on Mount Desert Island, Maine, was
against the trunk of a red spruce 38 feet above ground and about 4 feet
from the extreme top of the tree. In construction it was similar to
those described above. In his published (1937) paper the tree was said
to be a black spruce, but he now writes to me that it was a red spruce
and that there were no black spruces in the immediate vicinity; these
two spruces are difficult to distinguish.
Dr. Paul Harrington, of Toronto, writes to me that he found a nest of
the Cape May warbler in an open spruce forest near Dorcas Bay, Bruce
Peninsula, on June 12, 1934. "The tree was about 35 feet high, a typical
'church spire.' Near the top was a heavy clump, but I could see nothing
that indicated a nest; when I put my hand in the heavy needles near the
trunk a bird popped out and straight down. * * * I carefully groped
about and eventually found the nest, built near the trunk in the
uppermost clump of needles."
_Eggs._--Mr. Harlow tells me that the Cape May warbler lays from 4 to 9
eggs to a set. The larger numbers must be very rare, but 6 or 7 seem to
be the commonest numbers among my records, and sets of 4 seem to be
uncommon. The eggs vary in shape from ovate to short ovate and are
almost lusterless. They are creamy white, richly spotted and blotched
with shades of reddish brown, such as "auburn," "chestnut," "sayal
brown," "bay," or "snuff brown," with an occasional scrawl of black. The
undermarkings are of "fawn," "light brownish drab," "brownish drab," or
"light mouse gray." The markings are more concentrated at the large end.
The measurements of 50 eggs average 16.8 by 12.5 millimeters; the eggs
showing the four extremes measure =18.4= by 12.3, 18.0 by =14.0=, =15.0=
by 12.0, and 16.0 by =11.5= millimeters (Harris).
_Plumages._--Dr. Dwight (1900) describes the juvenal plumage, in which
the sexes are alike, as "above, dark hair-brown, olive tinged on the
back. Wings and tail black, edged chiefly with dull brownish
olive-green, the coverts with drab and tipped with buffy white. The two
outer rectrices with subterminal white spots. Below, including sides of
head, mouse-gray with dusky mottling or streaking on the breast and
sides; the abdomen and crissum dingy white faintly tinged with
primrose-yellow."
The partial postjuvenal molt, beginning early in July, involves the
contour plumage and the wing coverts, but not the rest of the wings or
the tail. This produces the first winter plumage, in which the sexes
begin to differentiate. Dr. Dwight describes the first winter male as
"above, dull olive-green, each feather centrally clove-brown veiled with
olive-gray edgings; the rump canary-yellow, the feathers basally black.
Below, including sides of neck, superciliary lines and spot under eye,
canary-yellow, palest on abdomen and crissum, narrowly streaked on sides
of chin, on the throat, breast and sides with black which is veiled by
grayish edgings; auriculars mouse-gray." The young female, he says, is
"duller and browner above, and generally without yellow below, being
dull white with gray streaking."
The first nuptial plumage is acquired by a partial prenuptial molt
beginning in late winter, "which involves much of the body plumage but
not the wings nor the tail. The black crown, the streaks on the back,
the chestnut ear-patches and the streaked yellow of the throat and
breast are acquired," in the male. The female in first nuptial plumage
"shows a little yellow assumed by a limited prenuptial moult." Both
sexes are now in nearly fully adult plumage, except for the worn juvenal
wings and tail.
Adults have a complete postnuptial molt in July and probably a partial
prenuptial molt, as in the young bird, though there is not enough
pertinent material available to prove the latter. Dr. Dwight (1900) says
that the adult winter plumage of the male is "similar to first winter
plumage but the head black, the back streaked and everywhere veiled with
smoke-gray edgings. Below, whitish edgings obscure the black streaks,
the chestnut ear-coverts and the bright lemon-yellow areas. The wings
and tail are blacker than in first winter, the back is black, either
streaked or spotted, and the yellow below is deeper." Of the female, he
says: "The adult winter plumage is similar to the male in first winter
dress, the yellow below rather paler and with less heavy streakings."
_Food._--Throughout most of the year the Cape May warbler is
insectivorous, and mainly beneficial, but for a short time on its fall
migration it undoubtedly causes damage to ripe grapes by puncturing them
to obtain the juice, often ruining a large percentage of the crop. Many
complaints have been made and several have been published. Frank L.
Burns (1915a) claimed that about 50 percent of his crop was destroyed at
Berwyn, Pa., and says: "I believe that grape juice was the principal
food of the Cape May Warbler during its lengthy visit in this
neighborhood. It was present in countless numbers at Berwyn and vicinity
as far as a mile south of the village, apparently by far the most
abundant species for a period; the complaints of the the 'little striped
yellow bird' were many, and so far as I am able to learn, all unbagged
grapes were ruined; the loss must have been many tons worth several
hundred dollars." He sent ten stomachs to the Biological Survey for
analysis and received the following reply:
Hymenoptera constituted on an average 57.5 percent of the contents of
the stomachs. A third perhaps of this material was parasitic Hymenoptera
and their destruction counts against the bird. The others were ants and
small bees and are of neutral importance except perhaps the ants which
may be injurious. Diptera made up 16.7 percent of the stomach contents
and again a large proportion of them were parasitic species. Lepidoptera
(small moths) constitute 16.7 per cent, beetles 7.8 percent and the
remainder was made up of Hemiptera, spiders and miscellaneous insects.
Except for the spiders the food was entirely composed of insects, and a
large proportion of useful species were taken and no decidedly injurious
ones. I should say that these Cape May Warblers did very little to pay
for the destruction of grapes.
McAtee (1904), after investigating the damage done on grapes by this and
the Tennessee warbler in Indiana, published the following report on the
contents of a single stomach of a Cape May warbler:
8 _Typlocyba comes_, an especial pest of the grape, "an exceedingly
abundant and destructive" jassid; 3 _Aphodius inquinatus_ and one
Carabid, kinds which may be considered neutral economically, but, in
case of a departure from their ordinary diet, would on account of
vegetarian tendencies become injurious; 1 _Drasterias_ sp.
(click-beetle), 1 tortoise-beetle, 1 flea-beetle (_Haltica chalybea_),
all injurious beetles, the last of which is a particular enemy of the
grape, which "appears on the vine in early spring and bores into and
scoops out the unopened buds, sometimes so completely as to kill the
vine to the roots," and later in the season in both larval and adult
stages feeds upon the foliage, and if abundant "leaves little but the
larger veins"; 1 _Notoxus_ sp., a weevil, with all the undesirability
characteristic of the creatures bearing that name; 2 ants, harmful, if
for no other reason than harboring plant lice; and a vespoidean
hymenopteron (wasp) of neutral significance. * * *
The feeding habits of the birds may, from the present knowledge, be
declared practically entirely beneficial. In return it seems not too
much to expect that we should without complaint furnish, for a few days
in the year, the drink to wash the great numbers of our insect enemies
down to their destruction; and to consider these two little fellows as
among the worthiest as they are among the prettiest of our warbler
friends.
Prof. Maurice Brooks (1933), speaking of this warbler in West Virginia,
says:
We had at that time [1909] a small commercial vineyard, and during the
first week in September, when the crop was just ripening, we were
surprised to find in the vineyard swarms of Cape May Warblers. We were
not long in doubt as to their purpose there, for within a week they had
destroyed practically every grape we had. * * * Their method was to
puncture the skin of the berry at one point, extract a little juice, and
move on to the next. They would systematically work over every berry in
the cluster, if undisturbed, and they soon became exceedingly tame. It
is no exaggeration to say that there were hundreds of the birds in the
locality.
After the birds had made one puncture, swarms of bees and wasps soon
finished the work of destruction. There was no way of frightening so
many birds away, and we were driven to sacking our grapes in the future.
The next year, 1910, they returned in numbers again, destroying
practically all unsacked clusters, and completely cleaning out the vines
of our neighbors, who raised just a few grapes for their home use.
These and other warblers have been seen drinking sap from the holes dug
in trees by sapsuckers, but they also obtain some insects from such
borings and perhaps also from the punctured grapes, which make fine
insect traps. However, the damage does not seem to be universal, and
occurs only where the birds are abundant, and then for only a short
time. In view of his record as an insect destroyer, the laborer may be
worthy of his hire.
To the insects mentioned as food for this warbler, A. H. Howell (1932)
adds small crickets, flies, leaf hoppers, termites, larvae of moths,
dragonflies, and daddy-long-legs.
_Behavior._--Brewster (1938) writes:
It keeps invariably near the tops of the highest trees whence it
occasionally darts out after passing insects. It has a habit of singing
on the extreme pinnacle of some enormous fir or spruce, where it will
often remain perfectly motionless for ten or fifteen minutes at a time;
on such occasions the bird is extremely hard to find, and if shot is
almost certain to lodge on some of the numerous spreading branches
beneath. * * * In rainy or dark weather they came in numbers from the
woods to feed among the thickets of low firs and spruces in the
pastures. Here they spent much of their time hanging head downward at
the extremity of the branches, often continuing in this position for
nearly a minute at a time. They seemed to be picking minute insects from
the under surface of the fir needles. They also resorted to a thicket of
blossoming plum trees directly under our window, where we were always
sure of finding several of them. There were numerous Hummingbirds here
also, and these, the Cape Mays were continually chasing.
While watching a pair at their nest building, Dr. Merriam (1917) saw a
female on the ground gathering material; she "was attacked by a Junco
and after a chase the Junco actually caught and held her. At this
commotion the male Cape May flew down and lit close by but took no
active part in the argument. The Junco was apparently victor for after
one more flight to her nest the female Cape May was not again seen to
trespass on the Junco's territory or do any more nest building that
morning." However, in his notes from West Virginia, Dr. J. J. Murray
says that "this warbler is more active and restless in its feeding than
any of our warblers, except possibly the myrtle; and it is also noisier
and more aggressive in its attitude toward other warblers which seek to
share its feeding places." Harlow also says that "the male Cape May is
the tiger of the north woods in defending his territory. He attacks all
birds that come close to the nest, up to the size of the olive-backed
thrush, and is absolutely fearless."
_Voice._--Aretas A. Saunders sends me the following note on the song of
this warbler: "I have had few opportunities to study the song of the
Cape May warbler, and have only five records. These show that the song
is weak, high-pitched and somewhat sibilant. The notes are mainly all on
one pitch, in even rhythmic time and from eight to eleven in number.
They are pitched on E´´´´ and F´´´´. Two of the songs have one or two
notes, near the end, a half-tone higher in pitch than the others. The
songs are from 1-3/5 to 2 seconds in length."
Francis H. Allen (MS.) heard one singing and feeding in some Norway
spruce in West Roxbury, Mass., on May 10. "He had _chip_ notes very much
like a familiar note of the chipping sparrow. (I have also recorded a
_prssp_ like that of the black-poll warbler but fainter and sometimes
doubled.) This bird had a variety of songs. The simplest one resembled
the black and white warbler's song and a short simple song of the
redstart, but was thinner and harder in quality than the latter. Then
there were other, more elaborate songs, some divided into two parts and
some into three. Two or three times he sang several times with no pauses
between, making what was practically a long continuous song. The chief
characteristic of the songs, I should say, was short and staccato double
notes, the latter part of which were very high-pitched. These repeated
several times formed the simplest of the songs. The song in three parts
reminded me of that of the Tennessee warbler, but was higher pitched and
not so full and loud. The bird had long periods of silence, but sang
freely when he did sing."
Brewster (1938) says that "the song of this Warbler is harder--or at
least sharper and more penetrating--than that of either the Bay-breast
or Blackburnian. In these respects it resembles the song of
_Protonotaria_ but the tone or quality is more wiry and, indeed, very
close to that of _Mniotilta_."
_Field marks._--The adult male Cape May warbler should be unmistakable
in his brilliant spring plumage, with his black cap, chestnut cheeks,
white lesser wing coverts, and bright yellow breast conspicuously
streaked with black.
The female lacks the black cap and chestnut cheeks; her breast is pale
yellow streaked with pale dusky; and all her colors are duller. Young
birds are much like the female, but are still duller in coloration. See
descriptions of other plumages. The tail-tilting habit is quite
pronounced.
_Fall._--The fall migration starts in August and is prolonged through
September, or even into October or a little later. The birds are
numerically more abundant in the fall because of the large families of
young, but they are less conspicuous while the foliage is still on the
trees and while they are clad in dull autumn and immature plumages.
Deciduous woods seem to be their favorite haunts at this season. The
migration route is a reversal of the spring route, the main flight being
between the Mississippi and the Alleghenies.
In this area, the birds are often excessively abundant, as shown by the
accounts in the preceding paragraphs under food. They are common in
Florida on migration on their way to the Bahamas and West Indies. C. J.
Maynard (1896) writes:
"They were very abundant at Key West in November, frequenting the
gardens near the houses where they were searching among the tropical
trees and shrubs for inesects. The birds were very unsuspicious, often
clinging to branches which overhung the sidewalks within a few feet of
the passengers. They appeared to prefer the inhabited portion of the
Key, for I rarely found them in wooded districts. The majority left the
island before the first of December, but a few remained all winter."
_Winter._--Maynard (1896) says: "These birds are also common on all of
the northern Bahamas which I have visited, occurring in the thickets
about gardens as well as in the dense scrub. I found them abundant on
Inagua in February, 1888. Here they were feeding upon the juices of a
large tubular flower of a peculiar species of vine, in company with the
Bahama Honey Creeper and the Lyre-tailed Hummingbird."
In Cuba, according to Dr. Barbour (1923), "a few arrive from time to
time during the autumn, but in February they become really common; they
stay until May. They are great flower feeders and haunt aloes and the
majagua tree when it is in bloom. Many may be seen about the sisal
plantations near Matanzas and in gardens where agaves blossom."
Wetmore and Swales (1931) write: "Though the Cape May warbler is found
through the Greater Antilles Hispaniola appears to be the winter
metropolis of the species as the birds are found throughout the island
often in considerable numbers. In fact their abundance in some
localities is almost bewildering to one accustomed to their rarity as
migrants in the eastern United States."
DISTRIBUTION
_Range._--Eastern North America and the West Indies.
_Breeding range._--The Cape May warbler breeds =north= to northeastern
Alberta (Chipewyan); possibly southwestern Mackenzie (Simpson); northern
Saskatchewan (north shore of Lake Athabaska near Fair Point); central
Ontario (Moose Factory); and southern Quebec (Lake Abitibi, Lake Edward,
and Anticosti Island). =East= to eastern Quebec (Anticosti Island and
Grand Grève); New Brunswick (Tabusintac and Saint John); and Nova Scotia
(Wolfville and Stewiacke). =South= to Nova Scotia (Stewiacke); southern
Maine (Ship Harbor, Mount Desert Island; Hog Island, Muscongus Bay;
Pemaquid Point; and Auburn); northern New Hampshire (Lake Umbagog);
south-central Vermont (Mount Killington); northern New York (North
Elba); southern Ontario (Dorcas Bay and Biscotasing); northern Michigan
(Newberry and Camp Cusino); northern Wisconsin (Kelley Brook and
Harbster); rarely northeastern Minnesota (Gabro Lake); southwestern
Ontario (Lac Seul); and central Alberta (Lesser Slave Lake and Sturgeon
Lake). =West= to west-central and northeastern Alberta (Sturgeon Lake
and Chipewyan). The Cape May warbler probably breeds in northern
Manitoba since it is a regular, though not abundant, migrant in the
southern part of the province.
_Winter range._--The winter home of the Cape May warbler is in the West
Indies =north= to the Bahamas (Nassau and Watling Island), =east= and
=south= to St. Lucia, and =west= to Jamaica and western Cuba (Isle of
Pines and Habana). It has also been found on the island of Roatán,
Honduras. It was found in Quintana Roo not far from Xcopén on March 13
which is the second record for Mexico; the other is simply "Yucatán."
_Migration._--Late dates of spring departure from the winter home are:
Virgin Islands--St. Croix, April 25. Puerto Rico--Mayagüez, April 8.
Haiti--Île à Vache, April 30. Cuba--Habana, May 4. Bahamas--Nassau, May
15.
Early dates of spring arrival are: Florida--Key West, March 6.
Georgia--Macon, April 7. South Carolina--Chester, April 15. North
Carolina--Greensboro, April 13. District of Columbia--Washington, April
19. Pennsylvania--Carlisle, April 30. New York--Geneva, April 30.
Massachusetts--Amherst, May 4. Vermont--Clarendon, May 7. Maine--Auburn,
May 4. New Brunswick--Scotch Lake, May 8. Nova Scotia--Pictou, May 11.
Quebec--Montreal, May 14. Tennessee--Nashville, April 16.
Kentucky--Russellville, April 27. Indiana--Bloomington, April 22.
Ohio--Oberlin, April 27. Michigan--Ann Arbor, April 27. Ontario--London,
May 1; Moose Factory, May 28. Iowa--Davenport, May 2. Wisconsin--Racine,
May 2. Minnesota--St. Paul, May 2. South Dakota--Sioux Falls, May 12.
North Dakota--Argusville, May 11. Manitoba--Aweme, May 10.
Saskatchewan--Indian Head, May 16. Alberta--Medicine Hat, May 17.
Some late dates of spring departure of transients are:
Florida--Warrington, May 18. Alabama--Anniston, May 7. Georgia--Round
Oak, May 15. South Carolina--Clemson (College), May 17. North
Carolina--Arden, May 19. Virginia--Naruna, May 29. District of Columbia,
Washington, May 30. Pennsylvania--Doylestown, May 26. New
York--Watertown, June 1. Massachusetts--Northampton, June 6.
Tennessee--Nashville, May 15. Kentucky--Bowling Green, May 10.
Illinois--Chicago, June 3. Indiana--Lafayette, May 31. Ohio--Austinburg
June 2. Michigan--Sault Ste. Marie, June 7. Ontario--Ottawa, June 7.
Minnesota--Minneapolis, June 1. South Dakota--Sisseton, June 3. North
Dakota--Grafton, June 5. Manitoba--Aweme, June 1.