NATURAL HISTORY OF THE SWAINSON'S WARBLER 41 



ground flora were nettle (Laportea canadensis), mayapple 

 (Podophyllum peltatum), violet {Viola sp.), baneberry {Actaea 

 sp.), and Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides). Twenty 

 exposure meter readings at Swainson's Warbler feeding sites 

 ranged from 50 to 245 footcandles. 



The closest avian associates of the Swainson's Warbler in this 

 habitat are the same as in most Coastal Plain breeding localities : 

 the White-eyed Vireo, the Hooded and Kentucky Warblers, the 

 Cardinal, and the Rufous-sided Towhee. 



Toxaway River Gorge 



Parnell and Quay (1964) found the Swainson's Warbler to be 

 a common summer resident in Toxaway River Gorge, Transyl- 

 vania County, N.C., in the summer of 1961. This section of south- 

 western North Carolina is in the part of the Southern Appala- 

 chians where North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia come 

 together. There are breeding records from the mountains of all 

 three States. 



In Toxaway Gorge, Swainson's Warblers were found at alti- 

 tudes of 1,200 to 2,800 feet. According to Parnell and Quay (1964, 

 p. 144), these birds — 



showed a preference for dense stands of rhododendron, mountain laurel, and 

 dog hobble (Leucothoe editorum) along the narrow riverbottom Pine Flats. 

 The Mixed Mesophytic Coves and Slopes and the Oak Forest were utilized 

 to a lesser degree. 



The Pine Flats are generally more mesic, more mature, and less 

 disturbed than the other habitats. Canopy species are white pine 

 (Pinus strohiis), Virginia pine (Pinus virginiana), hemlock, and 

 tulip poplar. The understory is mainly rhododendron. The Mixed 

 Mesophytic Cove and Slope Forest canopies included such species 

 as red maple, sweet birch (Betula lenta), hemlock, beech, bass- 

 wood (Tilia americana), and tulip poplar. They have poorly de- 

 veloped shrub layers, but local thickets of rhododendron and laurel 

 occur. The sparsity of Swainson's Warblers in this forest type 

 may be due to the poorly developed shrub stratum. The Oak 

 Forest gradually becomes differentiated from the Mixed Meso- 

 phytic type as the sites become drier. Mountain laurel is the main 

 Oak Forest understory species. 



Most of the same avian associates of the Sv/ainson's Warbler as 

 in the Coastal Plain and other localities of the Southern Appala- 

 ' chians are found in Toxaway Gorge. Parnell and Quay (1964, p. 

 145) list the Worm-eating Warbler (Helmitheros vermivorus) as 

 an associate of the Swainson's Warbler. The Worm-eating War- 



