DUSKY ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER 103 



VERMIVORA CELATA SORDIDA (Townsend) 



DUSKY ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER 



Plate 15 



HABITS 



The subspecific characters of this warbler, as given by the original 

 describer, C. H. Townsend (1890), are: "Adult male: Entire plumage 

 decidedly darker than R. celata lutescens. Feet and bill larger; wings 

 slightly shorter. There is an appearance of grayness about the upper 

 plumage, owing to a leaden tinge on ends of feathers. Throat and 

 under parts slightly streaked." 



The principal breeding range of the dusky warbler is on the Santa 

 Barbara Islands off the coast of southern California, but it has also 

 been known to breed in San Diego and probably breeds farther south 

 in Baja California, and on the Todos Santos Islands, off that coast. 



The dusky orange-crowned warbler was discovered by Dr. Town- 

 send on San Clemente Island January 25, 1889, but it does not seem 

 to be so common there as on some of the other islands. According to 

 A. Brazier Howell (1917) it has been reported from all of the channel 

 islands except San Nicholas, which is too barren for it; and its oc- 

 currence on Santa Barbara Island is doubtful, as this precipitous 

 island is not suited for it. It is probably commonest on Santa Cata- 

 lina Island, "in the darker canyons and on the wooded hillsides." 



J. Stuart Eowley writes to me : "I found that the weekend nearest 

 the 15th of April was the ideal time to hunt nests of this warblers on 

 Catalina Island, and after much hiking about this island I finally 

 located a little ravine, only about a mile or so out of the own of 

 Avalon, where these warblers nested abundantly, due to the little 

 trickle of surface water in the bottom of the ravine. Since most of 

 the ravines here are dry, this one was 'made to order' and I enjoyed 

 the chance to find many nests in the short time allotted to me. 

 Around the middle of April this little ravine fairly trilled with the 

 songs of many males, who were constantly pursuing trespassing in- 

 dividuals out of their nesting territories, only to return and continue 

 their melodic songs." 



Nesting. — Of its nesting habits, J. Stuart Rowley continues: "I 

 have found dusky warblers nesting in every conceivable sort of place, 

 ranging from those placed on the ground in the grass to those placed 

 15 feet up in toyon trees. The usual nesting site here seems to be 

 in a small toyon bush, rather well concealed, but not over 2 to 3 feet 

 from the ground; the nests are made of fibres and grasses and, al- 



