RED-FACED WARBLER 603 



"The postjuvenal body plumage is apparently identical with that 

 of the adult. The juvenal remiges and rectrices are retained through 

 the following breeding season. There is no evidence of more than 

 one molt a year." 



In El Salvador, they found the fan-tailed warbler a — 



fairly common resident of the foottiills and mountains in the Arid Lower Trop- 

 ical Zone. Although found from elevations varying from 200 to 3,500 feet, the 

 species is relatively rare below 500 feet. 



"Rock warbler" would be a name fully as appropriate as fan-tailed warbler, 

 for throughout its El Salvador range this species is an inhabitant of rocky 

 ravines and jungle-covered lava flows. In addition there appear to be other 

 requirements such as thin undergrowth beneath tall forest so that, although the 

 species has a wide range, the distribution is necessarily spotty in character. 



The general appearance of this warbler is very similar to that of a redstart — 

 a resemblance due in no small measure to the continual nervous fanning of the 

 tail. Living as these birds do in heavily shaded situations among dark rocks, 

 they would be nearly invisible were it not for this curious habit. In life the 

 brightly colored underparts are not often noticeable, and the tail movement, in 

 which the white terminal spots are alternately flashed out and concealed, is 

 the most betraying character. When this bird works over rocks and through 

 leaf litter, it has, except for the tail movements, no jerky motions. The birds 

 steal about quickly, taking full advantage of all cover. They do not hop like 

 thrushes and most sparrows, but walk after the manner of larks and the North 

 American oven-birds. 



Rocks being their preference these warblers are never found on the flat por- 

 tions of the coastal plain, although they descend to very low levels where there 

 are old lava flows. The deep, gloomy ravines so numerous on the Golinas de 

 JucuarSn and Volcfin de Conchagua, provide an ideal environment, and fan- 

 tailed warblers are perhaps more common in these two localities than in any 

 others. 



Ten stomachs examined contained insects exclusively. 



DISTRIBUTIOlSr 



The fan-tailed warbler is a resident species ranging south from 

 southern Sonora (Guirocoba) ; southern Chihuahua (Hacienda de 

 San Rafael) ; and southern Tamaulipas; south through the Isthmus 

 of Tehuantepec to southwestern Guatemala and Nicaragua. It is 

 accidental in northern Baja California (Santo Domingo). 



CARDELLINA RUBRIFRONS (Girand) 



RED-FACED WARBLER 



Plate 72 



HABITS 



This well-marked and striking species is a Mexican bird that has 

 extended its range into southern Arizona and southwestern New Mex- 

 ico. Since the bird is common in the mountains of Mexico, it is not sur- 



