May 30 to June 10, indicating the height of the season.
New Brunswick: 13 records, June 13 to 28; 9 records, June 5 to 19.
New York: 19 records, May 30 to July 16; 10 records, June 2 to 11.
Nova Scotia: 13 records, June 7 to 28; 9 records, June 13 to 20
(Harris).
DENDROICA VIRENS WAYNEI (Bangs)
WAYNE'S BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER
CONTRIBUTED BY ALEXANDER SPRUNT, JR.
HABITS
It was a silent world, this great cypress swamp where I sought the nest
of the Wayne's black-throated green warbler in the company of the man
whose name it bears and who first made it known to science. A vast
flooded expanse of trees and water--colorful, eerie, and mysterious--it
was a realm of gray-green gloom. Huge trunks towered on all sides; long
aisles of wine-dark mirror-smooth water stretched illimitably away among
the buttressed columns. The grayness that predominated, from the
furrowed knees and smoother trunks of the great trees to the shrouds of
moss festooned from their branches, was relieved here and there by
contrasting splotches of bright green overhead where occasional shafts
of brilliant sunlight penetrated the canopy of feathery foliage.
Our dugout made no sound as it slid along. Only the slight splash of the
paddle entering and leaving the water gave evidence of any means of
propulsion. Now and again the silence was broken by the calls echoing
down the flooded aisles--the clear whistle of the prothonotary warbler
ringing sweetly, the full-voiced carol of the yellow-throated warbler,
the strident call of the pileated woodpecker answered by the distant cry
of a hunting red-shouldered hawk. Occasionally the deep, resonant
"whoo-aw" of a barred owl reverberated solemnly among the cypresses, and
once a sombre anhinga flapped ahead of the dugout to plunge cleanly into
the still water in full career.
But above these evidences of swamp life, above the swish of breaking
bass, the crashing splash of a disturbed alligator, the clamor of a
startled heron or ibis, sounded one persistent call from the high
branches--a song of seven notes, five on the same tone, one ascending,
the last descending. It was this call that drew us on, the song of the
bird whose nest we sought that morning, Wayne's warbler, the southern
race of the black-throated green warbler.
To find the black-throated green warbler in a cypress swamp might seem
strange indeed to one who knows the species in its spruce and balsam
highlands, in the rhododendron and laurel thickets of the Blue Ridge, in
the evergreens of the Adirondacks and Maine! Yet here it is, one of the
characteristic avian dwellers of the warm swamplands of the South
Carolina Low Country, arriving in the spring to nest amid the green
cypress twigs, the drooping limbs of the magnolias, and the majestic
spread of the live oak.
When Arthur T. Wayne of Mount Pleasant, S. C., discovered the first
nesting of this race he was sure it was not a typical _Dendroica virens
virens_, and on April 25, 1918 he sent a male to Outram Bangs of the
Museum of Comparative Zoology in Cambridge, Mass. Later he sent him six
other specimens. Upon comparing them with specimens of _D. v. virens_,
Bangs (1918) described it as a different race, giving it the name of the
discoverer, _waynei_. Extracts from his published material are
illuminating. He states, for instance, that "this series proves to
represent a form easily distinguishable from true _Dendroica virens_
(Gmelin). I take great pleasure in naming it after the keen
ornithologist and excellent observer and collector who discovered it,
and who noticed its peculiarities even without sufficient material with
which to compare it."
The subspecific differences are mainly a duller coloration, less
yellowish, and of a paler shade, and the throat patch more restricted.
Its principal variation from _virens_ is its much smaller and more
delicate bill. As Bangs points out, "measurements of a bill so small do
not convey the same impression that an actual comparison of specimens
does. The bill of the new form when compared to that of _D. v. virens_,
appears not more than two-thirds as large." Certainly this is true. So
marked is the difference that a specimen of _waynei_ placed amid a score
or more of _virens_ can easily be picked out even at some distance.
The southern limit of the breeding range of _virens_ appears to be the
high mountains of Carolina and Georgia and northern Alabama, usually at
elevations of more than 4,000 feet; _waynei_ is confined to a coastal
strip (in some cases less than 5 miles from the ocean) so that the
intervening area between it and _virens_ averages about 300 miles. In
all that distance, no northern black-throated green warbler appears
except in scattered and isolated instances. The migratory route of
_waynei_ is as yet imperfectly known, but since _virens_ is so scarce
along the lower Atlantic coast as to be virtually absent, and since it
has never yet been secured or reported along the Carolina and Georgia or
northern Florida coasts, it would seem that any specimen seen in those
localities would be _waynei_.
_Spring._--Wayne (1910) said of this bird in South Carolina: "This
species arrives with great regularity [Charleston County] as the
following dates will show, viz., March 26, 1890; March 27, 1900; March
27, 1912; March 23, 1916. It is not common until the middle of April and
its passage through the coast region requires so long a time that one
not acquainted with the migrations of birds might readily believe that
it bred here ... that this species should remain on the coast until
June, and not breed is very surprising."
At that time he was, of course, unaware that the species contained two
races, but, as Outram Bangs has pointed out (1918), these March arrival
dates in coastal South Carolina occur when "true _D. virens_ is still in
winter quarters in Mexico and Central America." Thus, it will be seen
that the migration times must vary considerably, and the arrival of the
coastal race is in advance of the true species, indicating a different
and less distant winter home, another phase to consider when comparing
the two.
There is almost a complete dearth of additional information on arrival
dates in other southern states. My records of South Carolina arrival
dates in recent years do not vary much from Wayne's, and he has no
earlier ones. I have but once encountered _waynei_ in spring elsewhere
than in South Carolina, this being a specimen observed in full song in
Rhetta Lagoon, Cumberland Island, Ga., on April 15, 1932. However, that
it was, in fact, a migrant is beyond all question for it is not present
in its United States range in late fall and winter.
In his description of the race in 1918, Bangs stated that "it would seem
not unlikely that the South Carolina form is resident and non-migratory,
and I hope Mr. Wayne will be able to prove whether or not this is so."
This belief of Bangs' was carried into the A. O. U. Check-List (1931)
which gives the range of this form as "resident in the coastal district
of South Carolina." This is not the case; _waynei_ does not remain in
winter, and is therefore not resident but migratory, as I have
previously pointed out (1932).
The migration of this race is as yet imperfectly known. While any
coastal migrant black-throated green warbler would probably be referable
to it, as _virens_ appears to keep to the interior when travelling
north, as a matter of fact there are almost no records of migratory
occurrences. S. A. Grimes (MS.) tells me that he has never observed any
black-throated green warbler in the area about Jacksonville, Fla., where
he lives and where he is much afield, having had years of experience.
Earle K. Greene (MS.) similarly states that his experience of over two
years in the Okefenokee Swamp in southern Georgia failed to produce "a
single individual." Strictly in line with his observations are those of
Francis Harper (MS.) whose experience in the Okefenokee is even more
extensive than Greene's. He writes in response to my request, "I have
never found the slightest trace of the bird there." This is strange, as
the Okefenokee would seem to be typical habitat for the Wayne's Warbler,
but it evidently does not occur there.
_Courtship._--Nothing is known of the courtship behavior of this bird,
owing to the difficulty of observation, the very restricted range of the
bird, and the dearth of local observers.
_Nesting._--Wayne was under the impression that he was the discoverer of
the first known nest of this race, but search of the literature reveals
that he was in error, though the first nests found were not recognized
as those of _waynei_. Wayne secured the first eggs, and these still
appear to be the only ones in existence, as all other breeding records
deal with young birds. Authentic breeding information is exceedingly
scanty, and since this is the case, all of the instances are mentioned
herewith.
The first recorded breeding was in coastal North Carolina, and is
mentioned by Pearson and the Brimleys (1919). They included it under the
black-throated green warbler, as the species at that time had not been
divided into two races. One nest was found at La Grange, Lenoir County,
in June 1905 (Smithwick), and the other at Lake Ellis, Craven County,
June 1910. Adults were seen feeding very young birds.
Continually impressed with the birds' presence in coastal South Carolina
so late in spring, Wayne sought evidences of nesting and, on April 11,
1917, saw a female carrying nesting material in a large cypress swamp in
Charleston County, but could not locate the nest. On the twenty-eighth
of the same month he detected both a male and female in the same
procedure but again failed to find the nest. His (1918) comment on this
follows: "The brief account of this bird written in 'Birds of South
Carolina' is, in the main, correct. Although I had never found it
breeding when the book went to the press I was absolutely certain that
it really bred on the coast." A year later, on April 28, 1918, he saw
another female engaged in nest building, and again was unable to find
the nest. Those who knew Wayne's untiring energy in such work can
readily understand the extreme difficulty experienced in locating this
elusive bird's home. It was on this last date that he secured the type
specimen from which Bangs described the race. The following year finally
brought success. Wayne (1919) states:
"On March 20, 1919, I visited the place where the type specimen was
taken. * * * A few males were heard singing from the topmost branches of
tall, gigantic, deciduous trees, and were also seen to fly into very
tall pines." He again visited this spot on April eighteenth with Henry
Moessner and the latter located a nest. It "was built in a live oak
tree and on the end of a horizontal branch among twigs * * * absolutely
concealed * * * about 38 feet above the ground." Wayne climbed a nearby
tree and with Moessner's help from below, attempted to pull the oak limb
toward him in order to reach the nest, when "sad to relate, without a
moment's warning, the limb snapped off and the four fresh eggs that the
nest contained were dashed in fragments on the ground."
The nest itself was preserved, and Wayne describes it as "small and
compact, measuring 1-3/4 inches in height and 1-1/2 inches in depth. It
is constructed of strips of fine bark and weed stems, over which is
wound externally the black substance that is invariably present in the
lining of the nests of Bachman's Warbler (_Vermivora bachmanii_). The
interior * * * is chiefly composed of a beautiful ochraceous buff
substance, doubtless from the unfolding leaves of some fern, and a few
feathers."
On the twenty-eighth, ten days after this nest was found, Wayne returned
to the swamp with the Misses Louise Ford and Marion Pellew and found "a
very young bird just from the nest and unable to fly more than a few
feet, being fed by the male parent, which shows that the birds breed
irregularly."
The party proceeded to another part of the swamp where a female was seen
to enter a large magnolia. "Miss Ford * * * saw the female go to her
nest * * * built near the extremity of a long drooping magnolia limb,
but on the horizontal portion of it and about 25 feet above the ground."
This nest held four heavily incubated eggs, these being the first ones
actually taken. This nest had a quantity of caterpillar silk binding the
fibres of Spanish and hypnum moss outside, and was "lavishly lined with
the beautiful ochraceous buff substance from young fern leaves, as in
the first nest."
Edward S. Dingle (MS.) writes that "on the morning of April 25, 1923, a
Wayne's warbler was observed building in a cypress tree; the bird
collected material from the ground and also from the trunk of a large
cypress nearby. The male was not seen." On the third of May following, I
accompanied Wayne and Dingle to the site; there Dingle located the nest,
climbed the tree, and secured it, with four eggs. This nest was 62 feet
from the ground and 5 feet out from the trunk. This is the third, and
last nest from South Carolina with eggs, on which data are extant. All,
with the exception of the first, were in Wayne's collection at his
death, and are now in the Charleston (S. C.) Museum. The sites in each
case, were found by Wayne, but the nests were actually located by
Moessner, Dingle, and Miss Ford.
Commenting on these discoveries, Wayne (1919) states: "I have known this
bird ever since May 4, 1885 when I took a male in Caw-caw Swamp,
Colleton County, S. C., while on a collecting trip with my friend, the
late William Brewster. I gave the bird to him in the flesh, and in his
collection it still remains. The nest and eggs have remained unknown
until brought to light by this season's research."
Russell Richardson (1926) reported black-throated green warblers in the
Dismal Swamp, on the North Carolina side, in June. No evidence of
nesting was found by him, and he did not, apparently, realize that the
birds he saw were _waynei_. In 1932 Drs. W. R. McIlwaine and J. J.
Murray visited Dismal Swamp on May 23-26, and "found Wayne's warblers
rather common." From Murray (1932) we find that they "heard two singing
males on May 23rd as we came down the Washington Ditch to the Lake; two
males singing on the 24th near the entrance to the Feeder Ditch * * *
and six males on the 26th." They also found two family parties of adults
feeding small birds on the 24th. One of these parties was near the mouth
of the Feeder Ditch; the other a half mile up the Jericho Ditch from the
Lake (Drummond). * * * The young birds were out of the nest and could
fly well. They looked like big bumble-bees buzzing across from one tree
to another; staying rather high up. The adults ranged low in gathering
food, both male and female feeding the young birds.
_Eggs._--The eggs of _waynei_ are similar to those of _virens_. Wayne
has described them (1919) as "of a white or whitish color speckled and
spotted in the form of a wreath around the larger end with brownish red
and lilac." The sets previously described are the only ones of which the
writer is aware, and may be the only ones in collections. Whether any
have ever been secured outside of South Carolina is doubtful.
Measurements of Wayne's two sets average 16.79 by 12.25 and 15.12 by
12.03 mm., a trifle under the average for eggs of _virens_. The breeding
records for the Dismal Swamp (Virginia) and two localities in North
Carolina, concern young birds only.
_Plumages._--Data available are not sufficient for a detailed
description of the plumages but they are probably the same as those of
_virens_.
_Food._--No positive information on the food of _waynei_ exists, as far
as I can ascertain, except that in July 1939, G. H. Jensen examined the
stomach contents of a single specimen secured by Howell and Burleigh at
Murrells Inlet, S. C., June 5, 1932. It was full and contained 100
percent animal matter, consisting of 3 Lepidoptera larvae, 98 percent; 1
_Formica_ sp., 2 percent. That the race is insectivorous goes without
saying, but more than that remains to be worked out. Howell (1932) cites
Barrows as saying that _virens_ consumes plant lice, span-worms, and
leaf-rollers together with berries of poison ivy. Probably _waynei_
indulges similar tastes.
_Behavior._--Wayne's warbler is essentially a high-ranging bird. It
spends much of its time amid the topmost branches of cypress, magnolia,
gum, and other swamp trees, rarely descending to even mid-sections of
this characteristic growth while feeding. Highly restless and
exceedingly active in movements, it is constantly on the go and, as a
consequence, is rather difficult to see and study satisfactorily, the
oft-repeated song being the best indication of its whereabouts. As might
be supposed, the female is even more elusive, and flits about like some
swamp wraith, silent and mysterious. The failure of as keen an observer
as Wayne to locate the nests of building females gives an idea of its
secretiveness.
In these respects it differs materially from _virens_, at least in my
experience with that race, which is frequency found at rather low
elevations. Doubtless the type of growth is responsible, for _virens_ is
a spruce-balsam-hemlock dweller, and these evergreens are dense trees
with branches often beginning only a few feet from the ground, so that
it can be seen and watched rather easily.
While several authors have referred to _virens_ as a tame bird, the same
cannot be said for _waynei_. In years of experience with the latter, I
have always found it shy and retiring. Singing freely enough if unaware
of observation, it often ceases when it detects an intruder, and since
the song is one of the surest means of locating it, great care has to be
taken in moving about, particularly near the nest.
The nest is impossible to find without watching the female, for it is
more often than not completely invisible from the ground. _D. v. waynei_
is found in the same habitat with yellow-throated and parula warblers,
but, unlike them, never utilizes the hanging clumps of Spanish moss
(_Tillandsia_) in which they invariably nest. I have climbed a tall
cypress and collected a nest and eggs of _D. d. dominica_ while _waynei_
was singing in the near vicinity. The preference of _waynei_ for heavy,
old-growth swamp forests is so marked that if this timber is cut out,
the bird disappears from the area completely, even though other growth
is left standing. In the South Carolina Low Country, this characteristic
is shared by both Bachman's and Swainson's warblers, both of which nest
in heavy swamps.
_Voice._--Though it was the cuckoo which Bryant characterized as "a
wandering voice," he might well have written the words with respect to
this tiny warbler for the bird is heard far more readily than it is
seen. As a songster it is all but indefatigable. Perhaps this is because
the depths of the cypress swamps and the old "backwaters" are cooler
than the surrounding highlands, but no matter how warm the day, or close
the atmosphere, the constantly reiterated, seven-note song resounds
through the air most of the day. The ornithologists I have guided to the
haunts of _waynei_ all agree that the song is very close to that of
_virens_. Perhaps it is a shade more deliberate and studied, as might be
expected of a southerner! However, to all intents and purposes, it is
the same song. I am inclined to describe it as slower and more
pronounced, but after all the difference is minor.
Arthur H. Howell (1932) describes the song of _virens_ as "a drowsy,
drawled ditty of four or five notes, _wee-wee-wee-su-see_, the next to
last note on a lower pitch and the final one distinctly higher." This
portrays quite well the song of _waynei_, except for the number of
notes, which are much oftener seven than less, the first five being
exactly alike, the sixth descending, and the seventh ascending.
Frank M. Chapman (1907), quoting Gerald Thayer, says of _virens_ that
"most of the individuals in a region sing nearly alike ... but about one
in forty does queer tricks with its voice. Among the commonest of these
tricks is the introduction into all parts of the song of a pronounced
quaver or tremulo.... The song is sometimes disguised almost past
recognition." He states further that the "deliberate song of five
(sometimes six or eight) notes, is the one usually described in books."
I have never noted any "quaver or tremulo" in the song. It may occur,
but in the scores of times I have heard the song it has not taken place.
Nor can I recall any song of eight notes. Occasionally, _waynei_ will
utter only five notes, but this is the marked exception and not the
rule. Certainly, individuals in a given region sing exactly alike, and
indeed, all the specimens I ever heard sounded alike, except for the
occasional slight variation in number of notes.
_Fall._--The length of stay of _waynei_ in its summer range has not yet
been determined with certainty. Few departure dates have been recorded,
but in all probability the bird is a rather early migrant. Occurrence of
the song decreases markedly after the nesting season, making the birds'
movements much more difficult to trace. It will be recalled that young
were noted flying on May twenty-fourth, in the Dismal Swamp of Virginia.
South Carolina birds were seen to fly "a few feet" on April
twenty-eighth, almost a month earlier. The North Carolina records show
that young were noted "in June", probably early in the month. That
multiple broods are raised is also something of an open question, though
it seems that in South Carolina two are raised. Henry H. Kopman (1904)
states that on July 30, 1897, he took one at Beauvoir, Miss., on the
Gulf coast, and later comments (1905) that "Professor Cooke [W. W.] is
inclined to think" that the Beauvoir bird was a stray. Probably it was a
stray, and in view of what we know today, the chances are that the bird
was a specimen of _waynei_. Many of the birds of course linger much
later than that; on September 29, 1935, Earle R. Greene [MS.] noted one
at Lake Mattamuskeet, N.C. This is doubtless a rather late date and may
be taken as about the limit of its stay along the Atlantic coast.
Enough remains to be learned about this most interesting race to keep
students busy. The highly attractive type of habitat, the marked
isolation of nesting pairs even in a restricted range, the active
character and handsome appearance of the bird itself, all these combine
to render Wayne's warbler distinctive and appealing.
DENDROICA CHRYSOPARIA Sclater and Salvin
GOLDEN-CHEEKED WARBLER
HABITS
This elegant warbler is confined in the breeding season to a very narrow
range in south-central Texas, the timbered parts of the "Edwards
Plateau" region. It has been reported as breeding in Bandera, Bexar,
Comal, Concho, Kendall, Kerr, and Tom Green Counties, and rarely north
to Bosque and McLennan Counties. It winters in the highlands of southern
Mexico and Guatemala.
The golden-cheeked warbler was entirely unknown to early American
ornithologists. William Brewster (1879) gives the following brief
account of its early history: "The original specimens were procured by
Mr. Salvin in Vera Paz, Guatemala. Since that time, with the exception
of a male obtained by Mr. Dresser, near San Antonio, Texas, about 1864,
no additional ones have apparently been taken. The specimen mentioned by
Mr. Purdie was taken by George H. Ragsdale in Bosque County, Texas,
April, 1878." The bird is now well known in the limited region outlined
above, and many specimens of the birds, their nests, and their eggs have
found their way into collections.
The first comprehensive account of its habits was given to Dr. Chapman
(1907) by H. P. Attwater, of San Antonio, Tex. He says of its summer
haunts in the counties named above: