“In the evening, foraging over the ground as they went, the Audubon warblers and bluebirds would go together to bathe in one of the rivulets that flowed through the pastures. After splashing vigorously in the shallow water they would fly up together into the raijón bushes, shake the drops from their feathers, sometimes wipe their wet faces against the branches, and put their plumage in order again. The last Audubon warbler that I saw in the spring was a lone female, who foraged in company with a pair of the resident bluebirds in the open pasture. She must have appreciated the companionship of the bluebirds more than ever, after all of her own kind had departed for more northerly regions.
“Guatemalan dates are: Sierra de Tecpán, January 16 to April 23, 1933; Sierra Cuchumatanes, September 13, 1934; Chichicastenango (Griscom), November 16.”
DISTRIBUTION
Range.—Western North America from central British Columbia to Guatemala.
Breeding range.—Audubon’s warbler breeds north to central British Columbia (Hazelton, Fort St. James, and Nukko Lake) and central western Alberta (Smoky River). East to southwestern Alberta (Smoky River, Jasper Park, Banff National Park, and Crowsnest Lake); casually to southwestern Saskatchewan (Cypress Hills); western Montana (Fortine, Teton County, Bozeman, and Fort Custer); western South Dakota (Harding County and the Black Hills); northwestern Nebraska (Warbonnet Canyon, Sioux County); central Colorado (Estes Park, Gold Hill, Colorado Springs, Wet Mountains, and Fort Garland); central New Mexico (Taos, Ruidoso, and Cloudcroft); western Texas (Guadalupe Mountains); and western Chihuahua (Pinos Altos); in migration much farther east. South to central western Chihuahua (Pinos Altos); southeastern to north-central Arizona (Huachuca Mountains, Santa Catalina Mountains, Flagstaff, and Grand Canyon); southwestern Utah (Zion National Park); southern Nevada (Charleston Mountains); central southern California (San Bernardino Mountains and the Santa Rosa Mountains); and northern Baja California (Sierra San Pedro Mártir). West to northern Baja California (Sierra San Pedro Mártir); southwestern California (San Jacinto Mountains and Mount Wilson); central eastern California (Yosemite Valley and Big Trees); western California (Diablo, Mount Tamalpais, Fort Ross, and Trinity Mountains); western Oregon (Coos Bay, Eugene, Corvallis, and Netarts); western Washington (Cape Disappointment, Shelton, and the San Juan Islands); and western British Columbia (Cowichan Lake and Port Hardy, Vancouver Island; and Hazelton).
Winter range.—The Audubon warbler is found in winter north to southwestern British Columbia (Comox and Chilliwack). East to southwestern British Columbia (Chilliwack); central Washington (Yakima); occasionally eastern Washington (Cheney); northeastern Oregon, casually (Pendleton and Legrande); central California (Marysville and Fresno); casually to southwestern Utah (St. George and Zion National Park); central Arizona (Fort Mojave, Fort Verde, Salt River National Wildlife Refuge, and Tombstone); southern Texas (El Paso, rarely Knickerbocker, and Brownsville); Tamaulipas (Matamoros and Victoria); western Veracruz (Orizaba); and central Guatemala (San Jerónimo). South to Guatemala (San Jerónimo, Tecpán, and San Lucas); casual or accidental south to central Costa Rica (Juan Viñas). West to western Guatemala (San Lucas and Totonicapán); Oaxaca (Parada); Guerrero (Chilpancingo and Coyuca); western Jalisco (Tonila); Nayarit (Tepic); southern Sinaloa (Mazatlán); western Baja California (Santa Margarita and Natividad Islands); and the west coast of the United States to southwestern British Columbia (Comox).
The preceding range is for the species as a whole of which two subspecies or geographic races are recognized. The Pacific Audubon’s warbler (D. a. auduboni) breeds south to southern California, central Arizona, and New Mexico; the black-fronted Audubon’s warbler (D. a. nigrifrons) breeds from the Huachuca Mountains, Ariz., through the mountains to southwestern Chihuahua.
Migration.—Late dates of spring departure from the winter range are: Guatemala—Tecpán, April 23. Sonora—Moctezuma, May 23. Texas—Marathon, May 18. Kansas—Fort Wallace, May 27. Arizona—Prescott, May 19. California—Fresno, May 3.