Contents 



Page 



Introduction 1 



Methods 2 



Acknowledgements 3 



History 5 



Distribution 13 



Breeding Range 13 



Atlantic Coastal Plain 13 



Gulf Coastal Plain 15 



Southern Appalachians 17 



Ozark Mountains 19 



Piedmont Province 19 



Extralimital records (United States) 19 



Winter Range 20 



Cuba 20 



Jamaica 20 



Swan Islands 20 



Mexico 21 



British Honduras 21 



Migration 22 



Spring 22 



Fall 23 



Ecological Relations 25 



Coastal Plain 26 



Ocmulgee River floodplain forest in Georgia 30 



The Great Dismal Swamp 33 



Bayou Boeuf Swamp, La., and Monkey John 



Swamp, S.C. 35 



Western Kentucky 36 



Southern Appalachians 36 



Allegheny Plateau in West Virginia 39 



Toxaway River Gorge 41 



Description 43 



Size 43 



Distinguishing characters 44 



Adult plumage 44 



Juvenile plumage 45 



Geographic variation 45 



Molting 45 



Breeding Biology 46 



Territorial behavior . 46 



Arrival on the breeding grounds 46 



Homing 46 



Territories 47 



iii 



