the tall timbered areas in the wilder valleys along the rivers, or in
the tall trees which fringe the streams in the cañons; but its favorite
haunts are among the smaller growth of trees, on the rough wooded
hillsides, and which covers the slopes and "points" leading up from the
cañons, and the boulder strewn ridges or "divides" which separate the
heads of the creeks. The trees which compose this growth consist chiefly
of mountain cedar (juniper), Spanish or mountain oak, black oak, and
live oak on the higher ground, and live oak and Spanish oak clumps or
thickets on the lower flats among the foothills, interspersed in some
localities with dwarf walnut, pecan and hackberry. All these trees grow
on an average from 10 to 20 feet high, the cedar often forming almost
impenetrable "brakes". Whatever space remains among the oaks and cedars
is generally covered with shin oak brush, which is a characteristic
feature of the region. The cedar or juniper appears to possess some
peculiar attraction for this bird for they are seldom found at any great
distance from cedar localities, and they seem to divide the greater part
of their time between the cedars and Spanish oaks, searching for
Insects, with occasional visits to other oaks, walnuts, etc., but seldom
descending as low as the shin oak brush, which averages four to five
feet. It is quite probable that future observations will show, that some
favorite insect food which comprises a portion of their "bill of fare,"
is found among the cedar foliage.
_Spring._--The golden-cheeked warblers arrive in central Texas about the
middle of March, sometimes a little earlier or later. The adult males
precede the young males and females by about 5 days. Mr. Attwater
(Chapman, 1907) says: "The song of the male is the first unmistakable
notification of its arrival and within a few days it is quite common and
the females are also observed. In the localities described the
Golden-cheeked Warbler is by no means a rare bird, and it is by far the
most abundant of the few Warblers, which breed in the same region."
_Nesting._--W. H. Werner was apparently the first to find the nest of
the golden-cheeked warbler, in Comal County, Tex., in 1878, about which
he wrote to Mr. Brewster (1879): "The four nests that I have found were
similar in construction, and were built in forks of perpendicular limbs
of the _Juniperus virginiana_, from ten to eighteen feet from the
ground. The outside is composed of the inner bark of the above-mentioned
tree, interspersed with spider-webs, well fastened to the limb, and in
color resembling the bark of the tree on which it is built, so that from
a little distance it is difficult to detect the nest." Two of these
nests were examined by Mr. Brewster both so much alike that the
following description of one will suffice:
It is placed in a nearly upright fork of a red cedar, between two stout
branches to which it is firmly attached. Although a large, deep
structure, it by no means belongs to either the bulky, or loosely woven
class of bird domiciles, but is, on the contrary, very closely and
compactly felted. In general character and appearance it closely
resembles the average nest of the Black-throated Green Warbler
(_Dendroica virens_). It is, however, of nearly double the size, in
fact, larger than any Wood Warbler's nest (excepting perhaps that of _D.
coronata_) with which I am acquainted. It measures as follows: external
diameter, 3.50; external depth, 3.45; internal diameter, 1.60; internal
depth, 2.00. The exterior is mainly composed of strips of cedar bark,
with a slight admixture of fine grass-stems, rootlets, and hemp-like
fibres, the whole being kept in place by an occasional wrapping of
spider-webs. The interior is beautifully lined with the hair of
different quadrupeds and numerous feathers; among the latter, several
conspicuous scarlet ones from the Cardinal Grosbeak. The outer surface
of the whole presents a grayish, inconspicuous appearance, and from the
nature of the component materials is well calculated to escape
observation. Indeed, it must depend for concealment upon this protective
coloring, as it is in no way sheltered by any surrounding foliage.
Attwater (Chapman, 1907) says:
Of over fifty nests of this bird which I have examined, most of them
were securely placed in perpendicular forks of the main limbs of cedar
trees, about two-thirds up in the tree; average fifteen feet from the
ground. My highest record is twenty-one feet, and lowest six feet. I
have also found them in similar positions in small black oak, mountain
oak, walnut and pecan trees. * * * The favorite nesting haunts are
isolated patches or clumps of scrubby cedars, with scant foliage, on the
summits of the scarped cañon slopes, and in the thick cedar "brakes." In
cedar the older growth of trees is always selected, and no attempt at
concealment is made. I have never found a nest in a young thrifty cedar
with _thick_ foliage.
The male is always to be heard singing in the vicinity of the nest, and
the old nesting localities, and occasionally the same tree is selected
apparently and returned to one year after another.
Nearly all the nests reported by others were in cedars and were similar
in construction to those described. There are five nests of the
golden-cheeked warbler in the Thayer collection in Cambridge, of which
only one was in a cedar; two were in Spanish or mountain oaks and two in
live oaks; four of these had more or less admixture of lichens, mosses,
bits of dry leaves, and plant down in the bases, and feathers of quail,
cardinal and other birds in the linings. The smallest nest in the series
measures externally 2-1/2 inches in diameter and 2 inches in height; it
is very neatly and firmly woven.
_Plumages._--Ridgway (1902) describes the juvenal plumage of the
golden-cheeked warbler as follows: "Pileum, hindneck, back, scapulars,
rump, and upper tail-coverts plain grayish brown or brownish gray; sides
of head, chin, throat, chest, and sides pale brownish gray; rest of
under part white, the breast very indistinctly streaked with pale gray;
wings and tail essentially as in adults, but middle coverts with a
mesial wedge-shaped mark of dusky."
Apparently there is a partial postjuvenal molt early in the summer,
which is similar to that of other wood warblers. This produces the first
winter plumages, in which the sexes are recognizable and much like the
respective adults at that season. In the young male the upper parts are
streaked with olive-green and black, the upper tail coverts are margined
with olive-green and gray, and the white tips of the median wing coverts
have narrow, black shaft streaks instead of the dusky wedges seen in the
juvenal coverts. Ridgway (1902) says of the young female: "Similar to
the adult female but pileum, hindneck, back, scapulars, rump, and upper
tail-coverts plain olive-green, or with very indistinct narrow streaks
of dusky on pileum and back; throat and chest pale grayish (the feathers
dusky beneath surface), the former tinged with yellow anteriorly; sides
and flanks indistinctly streaked with dusky."
I have seen no specimens showing a prenuptial molt, which is probably
finished before the birds arrive in Texas. The first and subsequent
nuptial plumages may be largely produced by wear, as the fall and winter
plumages are much like those of spring birds, but are concealed by the
tips and margins of the feathers. However, it would be strange if there
were no prenuptial molt, especially in young birds. Young birds in
first nuptial plumage can be recognized by the worn and faded wings and
tail.
_Eggs._--Four eggs make up the regular set for the golden-cheeked
warbler, although sometimes only three and very rarely five are found.
They are ovate to short ovate and have only a very slight lustre. They
are white or creamy white, finely speckled and spotted with "bay,"
"auburn," or "chestnut," and occasionally "argus brown," intermingled
with spots of "vinaceous drab," "brownish drab," or "light mouse gray."
They are generally finely marked, but sometimes eggs will have spots
which are large enough to be called blotches, or even a few small
scrawls of very dark brown. The markings are concentrated at the large
end, where frequently a fine wreath is formed, or the speckles may be so
dense as to almost obscure the ground; occasionally the markings are
scattered over the entire egg. The measurements of 50 eggs average
=17.7= by 13.1 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure
=18.9= by 13.0, 17.8 by =13.7=, and =15.6= by =12.4= millimeters
(Harris).
_Young._--We have no information on incubation or on the care and
feeding of the nestlings. Attwater (Chapman, 1907) has this to say:
The young birds out of the nest, which are being fed by the parents late
in April and in May, are from early nests which have escaped destruction
by "northers" on account of their sheltered positions and situations,
and it is possible that then another nest is built and a second brood
reared. * * * During June the family groups wander about together,
chiefly in the cañons and along the lower hillsides, keeping together
till the young are old enough to take care of themselves. While being
fed by the parents the "twittering" of the young birds is continually
heard, with the cautions "tick, tick" alarm notes of the female when
enemies approach. Early in July they begin to scatter, as most of the
young birds are then able to shift for themselves.
_Food._--Very little has been mentioned regarding the food of this wood
warbler beyond the fact that it seems to be mainly, if not wholly,
insectivorous. Mr. Attwater (1892) says: "Upon examining the stomachs of
a number of young birds which were being fed, I found they all contained
(with other insects) a number of small black lice (_Aphis_ sp.) which I
watched the old birds collecting from the green cedar limbs."
_Behavior._--Mr. Attwater wrote to Dr. Chapman (1907):
Like most of the same sex of other Warblers, the female of this species
is very shy, and seldom noticed except when an intruder disturbs the
nest or when feeding the young after leaving it, but the male
Golden-cheeked Warbler is by no means a shy bird. He keeps continually
flying from tree to tree in search of insects, and on fine days uttering
his song at short intervals from early dawn until after sundown, and
before nest building begins shows little alarm upon being approached. I
have stood under a tree a number of times within five or six feet of a
wandering male Golden-cheek, which appeared as pleased and interested
in watching _me_ as I was in observing him. Seemingly he was desirous of
assisting me to describe his song in my note-book, by very obligingly
repeating it frequently for my special benefit.
Mr. Werner told Mr. Brewster (1879) that "their habits were similar to
those of _D. virens_; they were very active, always on the alert for
insects, examining almost every limb, and now and then darting after
them while on the wing."
_Voice._--The song evidently bears a resemblance to that of the
black-throated green warbler in quality. Mr. Werner wrote it _tsrr
weasy-weasy tweah_, and referred to the notes as soft. Mr. Attwater
wrote to Dr. Chapman (1907): "It would be difficult to describe the
Golden-cheek's song with any real satisfaction. It varies somewhat,
being uttered much more rapidly by some individuals than by others. At a
distance only the louder parts are heard, so that it sounds quite
different than when heard at close quarters. The hurried song might be
given as _tweah, tweak, twee-sy_, with some individuals introducing an
extra note or two, and the slower or more deliberate style _twee-ah,
eseah, eachy_. After the young leave the nests the males gradually stop
singing, and at this period sometimes only use a part of the regular
song."
George Finlay Simmons (1925) describes the song as "ventriloquistic,
elusive, seeming to come from here, there, everywhere;
_ter-wih-zeee-e-e-e, chy_, the first, second, and fourth notes short and
soft, the third longest, most distinct, and with the shrill buzzing
_z-z-z-z_ quality of the Black-throated Green Warbler's song. * * * Sung
by male from conspicuous perch atop a small tree near nest and hidden
female; heard commonly in spring in the Golden-cheek habitat; males
gradually stop singing when young have left nest. Call, chirping in
migration; female, a soft, scolding _check, check, check_ or _tick,
tick_, uttered slowly, a note at a time."
_Enemies._--According to Dr. Friedmann (1929), the golden-cheeked
warbler is "apparently a rather rare victim of the Dwarf Cowbird." He
mentions only three authentic cases.
_Field marks._--The golden-cheeked warbler might at first glance be
mistaken for a black-throated green warbler, but the upper parts in the
adult male are deep black from crown to tail, instead of olive-green,
and the under parts, except for the black throat, are white and not
tinged with yellow. The female differs from the eastern bird in the same
way.
_Fall._--Golden-cheeked warblers do not remain on their breeding grounds
very long and leave for their winter resorts in Mexico and Central
America before the end of summer. Mr. Attwater told Dr. Chapman (1907)
that "early in July they begin to scatter, as most of the young birds
are then able to shift for themselves. By the middle of July most of
the old males have stopped singing, and by the end of July old and young
have disappeared from their usual haunts. I have noticed a few
stragglers during the first two weeks in August, and all probably leave
before September first."
DISTRIBUTION
_Range._--Texas to Nicaragua.
_Breeding range._--During the breeding season the golden-cheeked warbler
is confined to a few counties in south central Texas: =North= to Kerr
(Ingram and Kerrville) and Travis (Austin) Counties; =south= to Bexar
(San Antonio) and Medina (Castroville) Counties; and =west= to Real
County (West Frio Canyon). It is probably not so narrowly confined as
the definite records indicate. It has been recorded in summer, but with
no indication of breeding, at Waco, Hunt, and Commerce.
_Winter range._--Little is known of the golden-cheeked warbler in
winter. At that season it has been found at Teziutlán, western Veracruz;
Tactic, central Guatemala; and Matagalpa, central northern Nicaragua. On
November 23, 1939, and January 8, 1940, a male was observed on the
island of St. Croix, Virgin Islands. It has been observed in Tamaulipas
and Nuevo León in March, probably on migration.
_Migration._--The golden-cheeked warbler is an early migrant both in
spring and fall. It has arrived at Kerrville, Tex., as early as March 5,
and the majority of the birds have left by the middle of July; latest,
Ingram, August 18.
_Egg dates._--Texas: 29 records, April 1 to June 27; 10 records, April
11 to 24; 10 records, May 18 to 28 (Harris).
DENDROICA OCCIDENTALIS (Townsend)
HERMIT WARBLER
PLATE 39
HABITS
This well-marked wood warbler lives in summer in the high coniferous
forests of the west, from British Columbia southward to the southern
Sierra Nevadas in California, and spends the winter in Mexico and
Central America. This is another of those species discovered by J. K.
Townsend along the Columbia River, of which he wrote to Audubon (1841):
"I shot this pair of birds near Fort Vancouver, on the 28th of May,
1835. I found them flitting among the pine trees in the depth of a
forest. They were actively engaged in searching for insects, and were
frequently seen hanging from the twigs like Titmice. Their note was
uttered at distant intervals, and resembled very much that of the
Black-throated Blue Warbler, _Sylvia canadensis_."
In northwestern Washington the hermit warbler is not common and is
decidedly local in its summer haunts, being regularly found in certain
favored regions and entirely absent in other somewhat similar
localities. It is partial to a certain type of coniferous forest, and
when one learns to recognize the proper environment he is quite likely
to find it. D. E. Drown and S. F. Rathbun showed me some typical haunts
of this warbler near Tacoma, where J. H. Bowles has found it nesting.
This is level land covered with a more or less open growth of firs and
cedars, the largest trees, giant Douglas firs, are somewhat scattered
and tower above the rest of the forest, some reaching a height of 200
feet or more. As the warblers spend most of their time in the tops of
these great trees and are very active, it is difficult to identify them
even with a good glass, and still more difficult to follow them to their
nests.
Chester Barlow (1901) says that in the central Sierra Nevada, in
California, "the hermit warbler is pre-eminently a frequenter of the
conifers, although it feeds in the bushes and black oaks in common with
other species." In the Yosemite region, according to Grinnell and Storer
(1924), "the Hermit Warbler is a bird of the coniferous forests at
middle altitudes. Pines and firs afford it suitable forage range and
safe nesting sites. The birds keep fairly well up in the trees, most
often at 20 to 50 feet from the ground. The Hermit may thus be found in
close association with the Audubon Warbler, although the latter ranges
to a much greater altitude in the mountains."
_Spring._--Dr. Chapman (1907), outlining the migration of the hermit
warbler, says that it "enters the United States in April being reported
from Oracle, Arizona, April 12, 1899, and the Huachuca Mountains,
Arizona, April 9, 1902. Records of the earliest birds seen in California
are Campo, April 27, 1877, and Julian, April 25, 1884. A Hermit Warbler
was noted at Burrard Inlet, British Columbia, April 20, 1885." Swarth
(1904) says that the first arrivals in the Huachucas "appeared in the
very highest parts of the mountains, but a little later they could be
found in all parts of the range, and on April 17, 1902, I saw a few in
some willows near the San Pedro River." Mrs. Amelia S. Allen's notes
from the San Francisco Bay region, give dates of arrival from April 24
to May 10. In northwestern Washington, according to Bowles (1906), "the
hermits make their first appearance early in May and the fact is only to
be known thru their notes; for they frequent the tops of the giant firs
which cover large sections of our flat prairie country."
_Nesting._--The first undoubted nests of the hermit warbler were found
by C. A. Allen in Blue Cañon, California, two in 1886 and one about
eight years previously, about which he wrote to William Brewster (1887):
"All three nests were similarly placed;--in 'pitch pines,' from
twenty-five to forty feet above the ground, on thick, scraggy limbs,
where they were so well concealed that it would have been impossible to
find them except by watching the birds, as was done in each instance."
One of these nests held two eggs on June 4, but they were destroyed
before they could be collected; the other two nests contained three
young each. One of the nests with three young was sent to Brewster, who
writes:
The nest with young, taken June 7, 1886, is now before me. It is
composed of the fibrous stalks of herbaceous plants, fine dead twigs,
lichens (_Evernia vulpina_), and a little cotton twine, and is lined
with soft inner bark of some coniferous tree and fine long hairs,
apparently from the tail of a squirrel. The bright, yellow _Evernia_,
sprinkled rather plentifully about the rim, gives a touch of color to
the otherwise cold, gray tone of the exterior and contrasts agreeably
with the warm, reddish-brown lining. Although the materials are coarse
and wadded, rather than woven, together, the general effect of this nest
is neat and tasteful. It does not resemble any other Warbler's nest that
I have seen, but rather recalls the nest of some Fringilline bird, being
perhaps most like that of the Lark Finch. It measures externally 4.50
inches in width by 2 inches in depth. The cavity is 1.25 inches deep by
2.50 inches wide at the top. The walls at the rim average nearly an inch
in thickness.
Chester Barlow (1901), who has had considerable experience with the
nesting of the hermit warbler in the central Sierra Nevada, refers to
the records up to that time as follows:
On June 10, 1896, Mr. R. H. Beck collected a nest and four eggs from a
limb of a yellow pine 40 feet up, near the American River at 3,500 feet
altitude. The nest was reached by means of a ladder carried a long
distance up the mountain. (See _Nidologist_, IV, p. 79). On June 14,
1898, I had the good fortune to discover a nest opposite the station at
Fyffe, it being built at the end of a small limb of a yellow pine 45
feet up. The nest was located by searching at random and contained four
eggs about one-fourth incubated. This nest was described at length in
_The Auk_ (XVI, pp. 156-161.) * * * While walking through the timber at
Fyffe on June 8, 1899, Mr. H. W. Carriger came upon a nest of this
species but 2-1/2 feet up in a cedar sapling. It contained four eggs,
advanced in incubation. (See CONDOR I, pp. 59-60). A nest containing
young about four days old found by Mr. Price's assistant at Fyffe on
June 11, 1897, was placed twelve feet up near the top of a small cedar,
next to the trunk and well concealed. Thus it is probable that Fyffe has
afforded more nesting records of this species than has any other part of
the state.
Of the nest described in _The Auk_, Barlow (1899) says:
The nest was 45 feet from the ground in a yellow pine, built four feet
from the trunk of the tree on an upcurved limb 18 inches from the end.
* * * The nest is not fastened to the limb, resting merely upon the limb
and pine needles and is wider at the bottom than at the top, its base
measuring four inches one way and three inches the other. It is very
prettily constructed, the bottom layer being of light grayish weed
stems, bleached pine needles and other light materials held securely
together by cobwebs and wooly substances. The nest cavity is lined with
strips of red cedar bark (_Libocedrus_) and the ends, instead of being
woven smoothly, project out of the nest. The inner lining is of a fine
brownish fiber resembling shreds of soap-root. The composition of the
nest gives it a very pretty effect.
J. H. Bowles (1906) found a nest in northwestern Washington on June 11,
1905, "in a grove of young hundred-foot firs near a small swamp." The
female sat so close that he was obliged to lift her from the nest with
his hand--
and she then flew only a few feet where she remained chipping and
spreading her wings and tail. * * * The nest was placed twenty feet from
the ground in a young fir, and was securely saddled on a good sized limb
at a distance of six feet from the trunk of the tree. It is a compact
structure composed externally of small dead fir twigs, various kinds of
dry moss, and down from the cottonwood flowers, showing a strong outward
resemblance to nests of _D. auduboni_. But here the likeness between the
two is at an end; for the lining consists of fine dried grasses, and
horsehair, with only a single feather from the wing of a western
bluebird. The measurements are, externally, four inches in diameter and
two and three-quarters inches deep; internally, two inches in diameter
by one and a quarter inches deep.
A nest in the Thayer collection in Cambridge was collected by O. W.
Howard "70 feet above ground, near the end of a limb of a yellow pine,
in a bunch of needles," in Tulare County, Calif. Gordon W. Gullion tells
me of an Oregon nest that was "about 125 feet above the ground."
_Eggs._--The hermit warbler lays 3, 4, or 5 eggs to a set; 5 are
apparently not rare. Bowles (1906) says of his 5 eggs: "They have a
rather dull white ground with the slightest suggestion of flesh color,
heavily blotched and spotted with varying shades of red, brown and
lavender. * * * I think they may be considered the handsomest of all the
warblers' eggs." The 4 eggs in the Thayer collection in Cambridge are
ovate, with a very slight lustre. They are creamy white, finely speckled
and spotted with "chestnut" and "auburn," with intermingling spots of
"light brownish drab." The markings are concentrated at the large end,
forming a broad, loose wreath. The measurements of 50 eggs average 17.0
by 13.1 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure =18.0=
by 13.4, 17.0 by =13.7=, =15.2= by 12.7, and 16.3 by =11.8= millimeters
(Harris).
_Young._--We have no information on the incubation of the eggs, nor on
the care and development of the young.