Crescent-Chested Warbler in Arizona a First for the United States

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Crescent-chested Warbler in Arizona A first for the United States

Daniel R. Heathcote and Kenn Kaufman HILEBIRDING alone atGarden Can- yon in the HuachucaMountains, CochiscCounty, Arizona, at about9:00 a.m. MST on September3, 1983, Heath- cote discovered a warbler that he could not identify.Being familiar with almost all of the North American warblers, he realizedimmediately that this bird must be somethingunusual; its combination of brightyellow throat and breast, gray, un- markedwings, and gray head with bold white superciliumruled out every warbler speciesknown to occurin the area. The warblerwas very cooperative, foraging in a limitedarea for 15 minutesand affording excellent views, sometimes from as close as two meters. The observation ended when the mystery bird chasedaway a female Black-throated Gray Warbler (Dendroica nigrescens) that had beenforaging in the samearea. Alter unsuccessfullyattempting to re- locate the bird, Heathcote wrote a de- Crescent-chestedWarbler, Garden Canyon, Huachuca Mountains, Arizona, SeptemberI 1, taileddescription of it and then droveto 1983. Photo/Sherman Suter. the NatureConservancy's Ramsey Can- yon Preserve,a few milesaway. There, therecord might be doomed to hypotheti- parison. It was similar to a Nashville consultationof a Mexican field guide cal status.Determined to give it another Warblerin shape,giving the impression (Petersonand Chalif 1973) revealed that chancewe returnedto Garden Canyon of being slightly short-tailedor small- the bird was a Crescent-chested Warbler earlyon September6. andon thisdate we headedproportionately, the latterimpres- (ParMa superciliosa,formerly classified were more fortunate. Kaufman found the sionpossibly enhanced by thevery finely in the genusVermiw•ra), a speciesnew Crescent-chested Warbler at 6:50 a.m., pointed bill. not only for Arizonabut for the United andthe authors,joined by SharonGold- General impression:In casual views, States. wasscr, watched the bird for more than thebird appeared neither brightly colored The Arizona birders were alerted--not five minutesbefore losingsight of it. We nor stronglypatterned. At any distance an easytask in the midstof a LaborDay sawit againbriefly at 8:25 a.m. Thistime the most noticeable feature was the dis- weekend--and early on September4. it eludedus quickly. but it now seemedto tinct white supcrcilium. about 30 observers, including the au- be associatingwith a large flock of Bri- Plumage: The forehead, crown, and thom, arrivedat GardenCanyon to seek dled Titmice (Parus wollweberi) and oth- car covertswere medium gray with a the warbler. On this day, however, the er birds. Following the flock, Heathcote slightlybluish tinge. The Ioral area was bird provedelusive. At about8:10 a.m., relocated the warbler at 8:50 a.m., and slightlydarker gray, especiallyat the up- Kaufmanheard a chip notethat aroused tbr the next 45 minutes, Goldwasser, per edge where it met the beginningsof his suspicion;pursuing it, he and Phil Robert T. Smith and the authors had the the supercilium.The pure white supercil- Norton had a brief but excellent view of bird under almost continuous observa- ium was sharply contrastingand con- the Crescent-chested Warbler. Other ob- tion, partof the time at very closerange. spicuous,running back well pastthe pos- serverswere summoned, but as the first The followingdescription is compiled terior edge of the ear coverts, becoming ones arrived, the bird flew. Much to ev- from our field notes, taken during and broaderbehind the eye and then narrow- eryone'sdismay, the bird could not be immediatelyafter observation(Heath- ing again rearward. Sometimes the relocated.Although many searchedfor coteon September3 and6, Kaufmanon supcrciliumappeared to end in a narrow mostof theday, the warblerwas not seen September6 and 1I). point. but sometimesit appearedmore againon the4th, andthere were no defi- Size and shape: A medium-sizedto truncated,probably depending on the ar- nite sightingson the 5th. smallwarbler, the bird appearedvirtually rangementof individualfeathers. A very At thispoint the unsuccessfulsearch- the same size as a Nashville Warbler narrowwhite crescentbordering the low- emwere losing hope, and it appearedthat (Vermivora ruficapilla} in direct corn- eredgeof theeye was visibleonly at very

Volume39, NumberI 9 closerange A short,narrow, poorly de- Orange-crownedWarbler but softer, documentationfile, •n the Departmentof finedand pale median stripe on the fore- more s•bflant and shghtly more full- Ecologyand Evolutionary B•ology at the head, which we never saw in the field, toned.No otherwarbler present in Gar- Universityof Arizona in Tucson. was visible in a coupleof photographs. denCanyon had a similarnote, but some The photographsand detailed descrip- The blue-grayof the ear covertsfaded a callsof the BridledTitmouse were quite tion establish this as the first documented httleto a dullerand slightly paler gray on close. record of the Crescent-chested Warbler the sideof the neck;this gray extended Actions: Rather deliberate for a war- in the United States.However, we know ventrallyvery slightlyat the baseof the bler, the bird sometimesremained in one of oneprevious probable sighting, that of throat,notching into the yellow of the tree for more than ten minutes, often for- a singlebird seenby DonaldJ. LaFon- underpartsat the approximatedivision agingon a singlebranch for a minuteor taine and T.W. Thormin on May 10, between throat and breast. The throat and more at a time. Sometimes it was seen to 1970, nearFalcon Dam in extremesouth- breastwere fairly bright yellow. At its hangupside down while examiningthe ern Texas.Although the recordwas nev- greatestextent, the yellow came down undersidesof leaves. Once (in alarm?), er verified, the brief details with the re- thebreast to a pointeven with the greater whenresponding to owl calls,it wasseen port in Birding (Tucker 1971) suggest w•ngcoverts; so that when the bird faced to flick the wingsand tail repeatedly,but that the identification was correct. Inter- theobserver the lower edge of the yellow this was not usual behavior. estingly,the Texas bird (like the one •n had a double-rounded look. Most of the Age and sex:There is a broadtendency Arizona) was describedas lackingthe underpartswere dull white, smudged for the "chestcrescent" of this speciesto "crescent"on the breastthat gives th•s with pale gray on the undertailcoverts be morefully developedon malesthan on speciesits English name. and somewhaton the breastjust below females; so the Garden Canyon bird, the yellowarea. Sometimes the division lacking this mark altogether,was very N NORTHEASTERNMexico, the Cres- betweenthe yellow andwhite on the un- likely a female. Although it may have cent-chestedWarbler is found qmte derpartsseemed sharply demarcated, but beena youngbird in first basicplumage, closeto theTexas border. It is fairlycom- sometimesit appeared more evenly it wascertainly not in juvenalplumage, mon in the Sierra Picachos,a range •n blended,probably depending on the whichis markedin this speciesby pale northernNuevo Le6n within sight of Fal- rangementof feathers and/or on light wing-barsand a brownishcast to the up- con Dam (J.C. Arvin, pets. corem), conditions. The bird lacked the chestnut- perparts.However, most warblerswear which lends plausibilityto the Texas colored crescenton the chest, but some- juvenal plumagefor only a very short sightingmentioned above. But the north- times, at closerange, there appearedto time, and seldom wander far before the em limits of the species'range in north- be a hint of orangeor a pale wash of post-juvenalmolt. westernMexico are not known in detail, mfous across the breast. There was also a chieflybecause the mountainsalong the frontand limited suffusionof olive gray Sonora-Chihuahuaborder are relatively at the sidesof theupper breast. The upper HENTHE Crescent-chested Warbler inaccessibleand have not been thorough- back, scapulars,lower back, and mmp was first seenon September3 and ly exploredby ornithologists.The spe- werea fairly brightolive green, blending 4, and during the first observationon cies has been found at least as far north as smoothlyinto gray on the lower nape.. September6, it was either aloneor loose- the regioneast of Tezopaco,Sonora, a The uppertailcoverts were olive-green ly associatedwith a few other warblers little over 200 miles south of the Arizona l•e the rump. There was somegray in such as Nashville, Wilson's (Wilsonia border(S.M. Russell,fide G. Monson) the scapularswhere they met the wings. pusilia), or Black-throatedGray. In all It maywell occurregularly farther north The tail wasnoticeably notched, medium subsequentobservations, however, it Observers should watch for it in southern gray above and pale gray below, with was associatedwith a large flock of Bri- Arizona and elsewhere near the Mexican very narrow white edging to the inner dledTitmice and other birds that ranged border. websof theouter rectrices, visible only at up anddown the canyonover a distance very closerange. The wingswere medi- of at least one-half a kilometer. This /i• THISmanuscript neared completion, um graywith a slightbluish tinge, virtu- flock spent much time in the mixed we learned of the remarkable second ally unmarked.A pale mark on the lead- standsof oak (Quercus),Arizona Syca- chapterin Arizona'sexperience with th•s ing edgenear the bend of the wing was more(Platanus wrightii), juniper(Juni- species.On April 28, 1984, Jerry Bock sometimesvisible; a similar mark occUrs perus),Arizona Walnut (Juglansmajor) discovered a Crescent-chested Warbler •n on the Orange-crownedWarbler (Verrni- andother trees along and near the stream, RamseyCanyon of the HuachucaMoun- vora celata). On the left wing therewere but it also moved into the scattered oaks tains,only a few miles from the site of a coupleof verysmall whitish spots in the high on the adjacentgrassy hillsides. our observationsin GardenCanyon. Be- areaof thelesser coverts, possibly owing Like the titmice, the Crescent-chested causethe bird was found on sensitivepri- to missingfeathers. Warblerwas seen foraging in all thetree vate land, its presencewas not widely Soft parts: The bill was moderately specieshere named. publicized;but continuedobservation re- deepat thebase (for a warbler),tapering The last sightingsof the warblerwere vealedthat two birds, evidentlya mated to a very fine needlepoint. The upper on September15, and intensivesearch- pair, were presentat leastuntil May 17 mandiblewas solidblack or blackish, the ing on September17 and 18 failed to turn and possiblyinto June. Most intrigmng lower mandiblepale at the base(yellow- it up. During its stay, the bird was seen was the reportby Tom Gatz and Marty p•nk)with a darktip. The eyeswere dark. by dozensof observers;good photo- Jakle, who watched the birds for an hour The legs and feet were dull yellow- graphs were obtained by John Saba, on May 16: both membersof the pmr orange. Sherman Suter and others. Some of these were seenforaging for insectsand then Voice:The call notewas a ratherquiet photographshave been depositedin the carryingthe insectsup the hillside, as •f schipor ship, vaguelyreminiscent of the ArizonaBird Committee'sphotographic to feed youngbirds.

10 AmericanB•rds, Spring 1985 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS museum specimens for us, and John M•ffhn, Boston Saba, Sherman Suter, and Richard K. TUCKER, J.A. 1971. M•scellaneous notes Bowers for their efforts to obtain docu- Birding 3: 27. E("Smitty")WOULD likeSmithto andthank SharonR.T. mentaryphotographs. Goldwasserfor assistancein the field, 400 Frederick St, Gale Mortson, John C. Arvin, and Janet LITERATURE CITED Hanover, PA 17331 (Heathcote), Witzeman for information on the war- PETERSON, R.T. and E.L. CHALIF. 1973. and 950 Third Ave , bler'srange, Jori L. Dunnfor examining A field guideto Mexicanbirds. Houghton New York,NY 10022 (Kaufman)

A sight record of the Crescent-chested Warbler from lowland Sonora

Scott B. Terrill

the generalshape differed somewhat,in of regular dispersalor migration, al- HE(ParulaCRESCENT-CHESTED superciliosa)is a speciesWARBLERof that the bird appearedslightly smaller, thoughit doesnot revealthe proportion humidmountain forests, including pine- perhaps longer-billed, with a more of the populationthat disperses,nor the oak and broadleaf dominated associ- roundedbreast and a moreslimly tapered distanceinvolved. Finally, the subspe- ations of Mexico and Central America posterior.The entire head and nape ap- cies V. s. sodalis, which breeds in north- (AmericanOrnithologists' Union 1983). pearedgray, broken only by a highlycon- westernMexico, hasbeen regarded as a Althoughit is generallyconsidered a resi- trastingwhite superciliumthat widened partialmigrant by Miller et al. (1957) dentthroughout its range,a recentrecord posteriorly.The wings were dark, con- The Rio Yaqui flows out of the Sierra for Arizona (Heathcote and Kaufman, trastingwith a bright greenupper back. Madre Occidental at its northern tenm- this issue)and the sightrecord reported No wingbarswere evident. The throat, nus.It is notunreasonable to suggestthat here indicatethat this little-knownspe- upper breast, and upper sides were this individual warbler followed the n- ciesmay at leastoccasionally wander or bright,clear yellow with a small, ovoid, parianhabitat downstream. Winter con- disperseoutside its known range. reddishsmudge on the upperbreast. The ditionscan be quite intolerablefor an in- On December 24, 1977, I observeda rest of the underpartswere white. The sectivorous bird in the northern Sierra Crescent-chestedWarbler in ripman underside of the tail showed a fair amount Madre. Further, it is not unreasonableto habitatalong the Rio Yaqui at Highway of white. The uppersurface of the tail expect future occurrencesin lowland 15 in Sonora,Mexico. The bird was feed- was not seen well. areas,especially in this.type of situation, ing with a mixedflock in the middleand Theoccurrence of thisspecies in Sono- thatis, in riparianareas along rivers that uppercanopy of cottonwood(Populus) ra waspredicted by Sutton(1951), but to flow out of highmountains, especially at and willow (Salix). The flock included date, very few records exist for this thenorthern end of therange of theCres- Yellow-rumped Warblers (Dendroica Mexican state. Further, this speciesis cent-chested Warbler. coronata), Orange-crownedWarblers typicallyfound at muchhigher elevations (Vermivoracelata), Black-throatedGray than this near sea-level occurrence Warblers(Dendroica nigrescens), a Wil- (4,000 to 11,000 feet; Skutch 1979, Bin- LITERATURE CITED son'sWarbler (Wilsonia pusilia), Ruby- ford 1968); this sightrecord may repre- AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGISTS' UNION crownedKinglets (Regulus calendula), a sent a new low-elevation occurrence as 1983. Check-list of North American birds Blue-grayGnatcatcher (Polioptila caeru- well. Sixth ed. Allen Press, Inc., Lawrence, lea), and a Solitary Vireo (Vireo solitar- Basedupon other observations during Kansas. lUS) the winter months, this occurrenceis not BINFORD, L. C. 1968.A preliminarysurvey of the avifauna of the Mexican state of When first glimpsed,the bird was in entirelyout of characterfor thisspecies in Oaxaca. Vol. 2. Ph.D. diss., Louisiana the upper canopy, and a ventral view northwesternMexico. Winteringindivid- StateUniv., BatonRouge, Louisiana. broughtto mind a NorthernParula (Par- uals are often found in numbers in flocks MILLER, A. H., H. FRIEDMAN, L. GRIS- ula americana)or a Tropical Parula (P. with other wood warblers, especially COM, and R. T. MOORE. 1957. Distri- ptttayumi). The former speciesoccurs with North Americanmigrants that win- butional check-list of the birds of Mexico sporadicallyin Sonora,while the latteris ter in Mexico. Relativelylarge numbers Part2. Pacific CoastAvifauna 33:1-436 SUTTON, G. M. 1951. Mexican birds: first relativelycommon in southernSonora. of Crescent-chested Warblers have been impressions.Univ. of Oklahoma Press, However, when this bird was seen more foundwithin a singleflock in the broad- Norman, Oklahoma. clearly, a bold white superciliumwas leaf forest of the Rancho Liebre Bar- evident.This characteristicis lackingin ranca,Sinoloa, during the non-breeding Departmentof BiologicalSciences, theother two membersof thisgenus. The season(Terrill pers.obs. ;G. Rosenberg, State Universityof bird's overallsize appearedclose to that K. Rosenbergpers. comm.). This phe- New Yorkat Albany, of nearbyOrange-crowned Warblers, but nomenonmay be interpretedas evidence Albany, NY 12222

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