Widmann (1897), observing a singing male for 8 hours, says that “the bird kept singing nearly all the time at the rate of ten times a minute with the regularity of clockwork, and its sharp, rattling notes reminded me strongly of an alarm-clock. In this regard it recalls one of the performances of Parula, whose rattle is of the same length and quality, except that it has a certain rise at the end, by which it is easily distinguished.”
Wayne (1910) heard one singing exactly like a prothonotary warbler, this song lasting for more than 20 minutes. And Howell (1924) mentions two Bachman’s warblers, observed in Alabama, that “had the habit of singing on the wing, the song being delivered just before the bird alighted on a perch after a short flight.”
Field marks.—[Author’s Note: Under certain circumstances Bachman’s warbler might be mistaken for a black-throated green warbler, but, fortunately, the two species do not frequent similar habitats at the same seasons. Mr. Brewster (1891) calls attention to the difficulty of distinguishing it from the parula warbler, when the two are seen against the sky in a lofty tree-top; at such times—
the chestnut throat-markings of the Parula showed quite as dark and distinct as the black cravat of the Bachman’s Warbler.
The latter bird, however, was the larger or rather plumper-looking of the two, and if the upper side of the wings could be seen the absence of the white bars which are so conspicuous on the wings of the Parula Warbler was quickly noticed. * * * Of course it is only the male Bachman’s Warbler which can be confounded with the Parula, for the female—setting aside occasional individuals which have black on the throat—is most like the Orange-crowned Warbler. * * * Both sexes of Bachman’s Warbler habitually carry the feathers of the crown a little raised, giving the head a fluffy appearance.]
Fall.—[Author’s Note: Wayne (1925) says: “The Bachman’s Warbler has left South Carolina before the advent of August; the latest date I have is a young male taken by me on July 16, 1919.” But he records a specimen which struck the lighthouse on Tybee Island, Ga., on September 23, 1924; he thought that this bird might have come from somewhere in the Mississippi Valley region, where the species breeds much later than in South Carolina. Atkins sent the following notes to W. E. D. Scott (1890):
Key West, Florida, 1889. First arrival from north, July 17, one adult male and one young female. Next observed July 23, three birds. Not seen again until July 31, though I was watching for them almost continually; three birds again on this date. August 4, found them more common perhaps a dozen birds in all were seen. From this time till August 25 inclusive, I found them regularly in small numbers. On August 8, 11, and 25 they were most abundant, particularly so on the first-named date, when as many as twenty-five or thirty birds were seen. After the 11th there was a decline in the numbers until the 25th, when they were again almost as numerous as on the 8th, but none were observed after the 25th.
Bachman’s warbler is said to spend the winter in western Cuba and the Isle of Pines, migrating through Florida and the Keys.]
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