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.”