PROTHONOTARY WARBLER 19 



if he is able. At certain areas in Michigan I have watched these birds battle 

 intermittently for two or three days, usually for the same bird house, one male 

 finally taking possession. In addition I have observed them to drive ofiE House 

 Wrens {Troglodytes aedon), Black-capped Chickadees {Penthestes atricapillus) 

 and Yellow Warblers (Dendroica aestiva). * * * The male Prothonotary 

 Warbler selects the territory, selecting the nesting site before he becomes mated 

 for the first nest, but thereafter both birds inspect the new nest sites. 



On observations made near Knoxville, Tenn., Henry Meyer and 

 Kuth Keed Nevius (1943) found that— 



three males established territories. Male I arrived April 14. By the next day 

 he was singing on an area 550 feet long and for the most part not more than 200 

 feet wide. It included three kinds of habitats: (a) a grassy terrace on which 

 several nesting boxes were located, (b) river banks densely covered with small 

 trees and bushes, and (c) a small open orchard which constituted the connecting 

 link between the terrace and the river bank. Male II arrived on April 18 and 

 occupied a narrow territory along a brook confined by wooded slopes and which 

 contained two lotus ponds. The area was about 400 feet long and 100 feet wide. 

 A nesting box was on a stake above one of the ponds. Male III appeared May 

 5 in the terraced area being claimed by Male I. During the day, the 2 males 

 sang energetically and flew often only a few inches apart. Male I maintained 

 his territory and Male III disappeared. 



There were a number of nesting boxes on the area that the males 

 investigated, carrying nesting material into some of them while they 

 were waiting for the females to arrive. The mate of the first male 

 came on April 20, and — 



on this day this pair communicated by their full call-note. Twice the male 

 was seen pursuing the female rapidly in a small semi-circle and pausing, called 

 a soft, full note which was later heard only when the two sexes were together. 



The mate of Male II came April 22, four days after the latter's arrival. 



Combat with other species found within the territories of these birds was 

 observed. Combat with tlie Bluebird was most frequent but one or more indi- 

 cations of opposition was noticed with the Flicker, Downy Woodpecker, Acadian 

 Flycatcher, Tufted Titmouse, Robin, and Cardinal. 



The males sing persistently and energetically from the time that 

 they arrive on their territories, hoping to attract their mates, but they 

 are not always successful, especially in regions where the species is 

 rare or not very coimnon, and their nest-building brings no occupant. 

 Edward von S. Dingle writes to me that, at Summerton, S. C, a male 

 prothonotary warbler built a nest in a low stub, but no female was 

 ever seen. He sang frequently and remained in the vicinity for 

 several weeks. And Frederic H. Kennard, in far-away Massachusetts, 

 mentions in his notes that he saw one and watched it for several days, 

 June 16-20, 1890. "He sang loudly and clearly and sweetly, and 

 seemed to like a particular place by the side of the river, for when I 

 returned later in the day, he was still there, on the other side of the 

 river." On June 19, he watched him for half an hour. He was 



