Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Nesting success of Kentucky and Hooded Warblers in bottomland forests of South Carolina

Formally Refereed

Abstract

We studied the nesting success of Kentucky Warblers (Oporornis formosus) and Hooded Warblers (Wilsonia citrina) in 15 bottomland hardwood forests on the Savannah River Site, South Carolina, during 1993-1994. The Mayfield success rate for Kentucky Warbler nests (N = 26) and Hooded Warblers nests (N = 33) was 34.7% and 28.7%, respectively. The daily survival rate for Kentucky Warbler nests (0.952, SE = 0.018) did not differ (P = 0.157) from that for Hooded Warbler nests (0.941, SE = 0.014). Successful Kentucky Warbler pairs fledged more (P < 0.001) young (3.7, SE = 0.2) than Hooded Warbler pairs (2.7, SE = 0.2). Hatch-year birds comprised a greater (P < 0.01) proportion of captured individuals for Kentucky Warblers (hatch-year:after-hatch-year = 2.2) than for Hooded Warblers (hatch-year:after-hatch-year = 0.4), possibly reflecting the greater number of young produced per successful nest for the former, and suggesting differences in post-fledging survival or in fledgling behavior between the species.

Citation

Sargent, Robert A; Kilgo, John C.; Chapman, Brian R. Miller, Karl V. 1997. Nesting success of Kentucky and Hooded Warblers in bottomland forests of South Carolina. The Wilson Bulletin. 109 (2): 233-238 pp.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/60230