Friday 31 October 2014

Re: [Maine-birds] Orange-crowned Warbler

On Oct 31, 2014, at 7:51 AM, panteradeath666 <seanari@live.com> wrote:
A question about their behavior. During fall migration, do they typically forage on the ground and bob their tails?

This combination of behaviors sounds like Palm Warbler, which bob their tails AND frequently forage on the ground. Orange-crowned Warblers are often found in low, weedy vegetation during migration (the kinds of places sparrows like too), but they tend to stay above the ground where they often probe leaf clusters, especially dead leaves harboring invertebrates. They twitch their tails rarely and far less than even a close relative, Nashville Warbler, or another subtle tail-twitcher like Yellow-rumped Warbler. The sharp, pointed bill of Orange-crowned Warbler comes in handy prying open leaves, probing cracks in bark, and gaping open fruits. Here is an example of the latter behavior of a late Orange-crowned foraging on River Grape in Waterville: https://flic.kr/p/iinz3t

Note: I found an error in the Birds of North America account regarding foraging on the ground. The account says Orange-crowned forages in dead leaves on the ground, but it should read "above the ground" (or "dead leaves on the wintering ground"). This comes from a misreading of a short note on foraging behavior here: https://sora.unm.edu/node/130772

Good birding!

Louis Bevier
Fairfield

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