FreeLists / tn-bird / [TN-Bird] Worm-eating Warbler distraction display

["m dehart" <parula6@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

While walking up a small hollow/ravine deep in the wilds of Hickman County 
today, I noticed a movement on the rocky dry creekbed before me. It was a 
Worm-eating Warbler about 6 feet away, dragging a wing and seeming to stumble 
about in a markedly showy , hey-look-at-me fashion. She (I presume it was the 
female) also quivered the whole while. It reminded me instantly of a Killdeer's 
display near the nest. I had no idea these birds, or any warbler for that 
matter, engaged in this sort of behavior. Anybody else ever seen this?
Needless to say, I backed carefully out of the area. Interestingly, she gave no 
alarm calls or chip notes or anything -- the whole affair was silent (well, 
except for the tanager duo overhead, one Summer and one Scarlet, both notifying 
the world of my presence). When I looked back she had stopped quivering and was 
standing silently on a rock, watching me go.

Marty DeHart
Bon Aqua, TN
Hickman Co.Get more from the Web.  FREE MSN Explorer download : 
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