| Prothonotary warbler | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Female | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Parulidae |
| Genus: | Protonotaria Baird, 1858 |
| Species: | P. citrea |
| Binomial name | |
| Protonotaria citrea (Boddaert, 1783) | |
 | |
| Range ofP. citrea Breeding range Wintering range | |
Theprothonotary warbler (Protonotaria citrea) is a smallsongbird of theNew World warbler family. It is named for its plumage, which resembles the yellow robes once worn by papal clerks (namedprothonotaries) in theRoman Catholic Church.
The prothonotary warbler is the only member of thegenusProtonotaria and the only eastern warbler that nests in natural or artificial cavities.
These warblers often move with quick, jerky, movements and will even crawl upside down on sticks or trees. During the spring they are often seen in wetlands gathering nesting material, or food, for their mate.
The prothonotary warbler was described by the French polymathGeorges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in 1779 in hisHistoire Naturelle des Oiseaux from a specimen collected inLouisiana. Buffon coined the French nameLe figuier protonotaire.[2] The bird was also illustrated in a hand-coloured plate engraved byFrançois-Nicolas Martinet in thePlanches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle, which was produced under the supervision ofEdme-Louis Daubenton to accompany Buffon's text.[3] Neither the plate caption nor Buffon's description included a scientific name but in 1783 the Dutch naturalistPieter Boddaert coined thebinomial nameMotacilla citrea in his catalogue of thePlanches Enluminées.[4] The prothonotary warbler is now the only species placed in thegenusProtonotaria that was introduced in 1858 by the American naturalistSpencer Baird.[5][6][7] The species ismonotypic, nosubspecies are recognised.[7]
The genus name is fromLate Latinprotonotarius, meaning "prothonotary", a notary attached to the Byzantine court who wore golden-yellow robes. The specificcitrea is from Latincitreus meaning the colour "citrine".[8] It was once known as the golden swamp warbler.[9]
Amolecular phylogenetic study of the family Parulidae published in 2010 found that the prothonotary warbler was asister species toSwainson's warbler (Limnothlypis swainsonii).[10]
The prothonotary warbler is 13 cm (5.1 in) long, weighs a mean 14.3 g (0.50 oz),[11] and has a wingspan of 22 cm (8.75 in).[12] It has an olive-coloured back with blue-grey wings and tail, yellow underparts, a relatively long pointed bill, and black legs. The adult male has a bright orange-yellow head. Females and immature birds are duller and have a yellow head. In flight from below, the short, wide tail has a distinctive two-toned pattern, white at the base and dark at the tip.[13]
The prothonotary warbler mostly breeds inhardwoodswamps in extreme southeasternOntario and the easternUnited States. However, it may nest near other bodies of water such as creeks, streams, ponds, and swimming pools.
The habitat of the warblers during migration is not well known. However, they are particularly prominent inBelize during spring migration.[14]
The warblerswinter in theWest Indies,Central America and northernSouth America, primarily in mangrove swamps.[15][14]
It is a rare vagrant to parts of the western United States,[16] most notably California.
The prothonotary warbler is the only eastern warbler that nests in natural or artificial cavities, sometimes using olddowny woodpecker holes. The male often builds several incomplete, unusednests in his territory; the female builds the real nest and lays 3–7 eggs.[17]
The preferredforaging habitat is dense, woody streams, where the prothonotary warbler forages actively in low foliage, mainly forinsects andsnails.[17]
The song of this bird is a simple, loud, ringingsweet-sweet-sweet-sweet-sweet. The call is a loud, dry chip, like that of ahooded warbler. Its flight call is a loudseeep.[18]
Prothonotary warblers are declining in numbers due to loss of habitat. They also experienceparasitism by thebrown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater), and are outcompeted for nest sites by thehouse wren (Troglodytes aedon).[19] The warblers are listed asendangered inCanada, with approximately 30 individuals estimated to breed in Ontario as of 2008.[20] The species persists in protected environments such asSouth Carolina'sFrancis Beidler Forest, which is currently home to more than 2,000 pairs, the densest known population.[21]
John James Audubon's painting of a prothonotary warbler is the third plate inThe Birds of America.[22]
The warbler has also been mentioned several times in literature. First, the warbler is mentioned inA Sand County Almanac byAldo Leopold as the "jewel of my disease-riddenwoodlot", "as proof that dead trees are transmuted into living animals, and vice versa. When you doubt the wisdom of this arrangement, take a look at the prothonotary."[23] Second, Kurt Vonnegut described the warbler as "the only birds that are housebroken in captivity" in his novel,Jailbird.[citation needed]
The prothonotary warbler became known to a wider audience in the 1940s as the bird that established a connection betweenWhittaker Chambers andAlger Hiss in front of theHouse Un-American Activities Committee.
On August 3, 1948, in a hearing before the committee, Chambers accused Hiss of being a communist spy who sought to infiltrate the U.S. government. Two days later, Hiss testified before the committee and claimed, among other things, that Chambers' allegations were false and that he did not know Chambers.
However, future U.S. president,Richard Nixon, who was then a freshman congressman on the committee, became convinced that Hiss had committedperjury at the hearing.[24] To verify this suspicion, the committee had Chambers appear before it again on August 7, 1948, to testify about his relationship with Hiss. At that hearing, Chambers testified that Hiss enjoyedbird-watching, and once bragged to Chambers about seeing a prothonotary warbler along thePotomac River. When Hiss appeared before the committee again, he haphazardly confirmed spotting a prothonotary warbler on the Potomac, causing many members of the committee to become convinced of the pair's acquaintance.[25][26][27] Ultimately, the Hiss-Chambers hearing led, in part, to Nixon's political rise.[14]
.jpg)
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
| National | |
|---|---|
| Other | |
