Worm-eating Warbler

Table

Worm-eating Warbler – Accepted
1. 18 Sep 1960	HY	Chula Vista SD	1986-044	10	SDNHM 30219
2. 05 Jul 1965	SY	Southeast Farallon I. SF	1986-272	11	CAS 84320
3. 16 Dec 1967	HY	Carmel Highlands MTY	1984-102	9	PGMNH 2343
4. 25 Oct 1969		Pacific Grove MTY	1985-061	10
5. 12 Sep 1971		Otay Mesa SD	1986-138	11
6. 04–06 Jun 1973		Southeast Farallon I. SF	1987-203	14	one of two reported
7. 17–21 Aug 1973		Santee SD	1974-026	3
8. 01 Oct 1973		Pt. Loma SD	1974-021	3
9. 20 Jun 1974		Southeast Farallon I. SF	1987-250	14	ph.
10. 10 Sep 1974		Tijuana R. valley SD	1984-063	9
11. 05 Oct 1975		Pt. Loma SD	1976-108	3
12. 11–13 Oct 1975		Saline Valley INY	1975-041	3
13. 27 Nov 1975		Aguora LA	1976-107	3
14. 16 May 1976		San Nicolas I. VEN	1977-170	4
15. 14–16 May 1977		Yucca Valley SBE	1987-263	14
16. 23 Jun–10 Jul 1977		Ft. Piute SBE	1977-066	4
17. 30 Sep–03 Oct 1977		Santa Barbara SBA	1977-105	4
18. 15–26 Oct 1977		Pt. Loma SD	1977-106	4
19. 29 Dec 1977–18 Mar 1978		Sunny Brae HUM	1978-003	4,14
20. 11–21 Jul 1978		Tilden Regional Park CC	1978-094	5
21. 05–08 Oct 1978		Pt. Reyes MRN	1978-106	5	ph., Roberson (1980)
22. 31 Oct 1978		Merced NWR MER	1986-350	12
23. 04 May 1979		Palomarin MRN	1989-024	16	ph.
24. 03 Jan 1981		Santa Barbara SBA	2005-084	30
25. 20 Sep 1981		Topanga Canyon LA	1982-014	7
26. 04 Oct 1981		Pt. Loma SD	1981-081	7
27. 28–29 Oct 1981		Pt. Reyes MRN	1982-034	8	ph.
28. 05 Nov 1981–21 Mar 1982		Long Beach LA	1982-005	7
and 01–05 Nov 1982	*		2004-541	7,30	AB 37:225
29. 06 Nov 1981		Long Beach LA	1983-137	9
and 05 Nov 1982–09 Mar 1983	*		2004-605	9,30
30. 29 May 1982		Goleta SBA	1982-054	8
31. 09–17 Sep 1982		Goleta SBA	1982-103	8
32. 09 Oct 1982		Sausalito MRN	1982-088	8
33. 03–07 Dec 1982		Lanphere Dunes HUM	1988-138	14	ph.
34. 30 May 1983		Furnace Creek Ranch INY	1983-042	8
35. 15 Oct–18 Dec 1983		Malibu LA	1983-120	9
36. 21 Oct 1983		Santa Clara R. mouth VEN	1994-068	22,28
37. 23 Dec 1983–11 Mar 1984		Goleta SBA	1984-041	9
38. 16 Sep 1984		Pt. Loma SD	1984-238	11
39. 01 Dec 1984		Nojoqui Falls SBA	1985-004	10
40. 21–22 Aug 1985		Goleta SBA	1985-172	11
41. 30 May–01 Jun 1986		Southeast Farallon I. SF	1986-383	12	ph.
42. 12–13 Oct 1986		Southeast Farallon I. SF	1987-205	14	ph.
43. 30 Apr 1987		Morongo Valley SBE	1987-132	12
44. 10 May 1987		Butterbredt Spring KER	1987-133	12	ph.
45. 13 Jun 1987		Southeast Farallon I. SF	1987-149	12	ph.
46. 16 Oct 1987		Southeast Farallon I. SF	1988-010	13	ph.
47. 17 Oct 1987–27 Feb 1988		Pt. Loma SD	1987-298	13
48. 21 Oct 1987–03 Feb 1988		Huntington Beach ORA	1987-294	13	ph., AB 42:138
49. 25 Oct–03 Nov 1987		Carmel R. mouth MTY	1987-264	13
50. 19 Dec 1987–6 Feb 1988		San Luis Obispo SLO	1988-064	13
51. 20 Dec 1987		Malibu LA	1988-107	13
52. 21 Mar–15 Apr 1988		Pacific Grove MTY	1988-109	13
53. 11 May 1988		Irvine ORA	1988-148	13
54. 09 Sep 1988		Pt. Reyes MRN	1988-167	13	ph.
55. 22 Sep 1988		Coronado SD	1989-196	15
56. 02–11 Nov 1988		Oasis MNO	1988-238	13	ph.
57. 03 Dec 1988		Half Moon Bay SM	1988-262	13
58. 02–16 Jan 1989		Pescadero SM	1989-034	15
59. 04 Nov 1989		Pt. Reyes MRN	1989-131	15
60. 25 May 1990		Mojave KER	1990-083	15	ph.
61. 28 Sep–10 Oct 1991		Redondo Beach LA	1992-045	17	ph.
62. 11 Oct 1991		Pt. Loma SD	1992-044	17
63. 07 May 1992		Southeast Farallon I. SF	1992-164	18
64. 07 May 1992		Huntington Beach ORA	1992-239	18
65. 19 May 1992		vic. Big Pine INY	1992-193	18	ph.
66. 24 May 1992		Butterbredt Spring KER	1992-142	18
67. 31 May–02 Jun 1992		Pt. Reyes MRN	1992-183	18
68. 06–07 Jun 1992	SY	Southeast Farallon I. SF	1992-165	18	ph.
69. 17 Jun–06 Sep 1992		Coyote Creek near Alviso SCL	1993-069	18	ph.
70. 28 Jun 1992		Montaña de Oro State Park SLO	1992-222	18
71. 16 Aug 1993		Carpinteria SBA	1993-129	19
72. 21 Aug 1993		Lake Palmdale LA	1993-128	19
73. 01 Jan–12 Mar 1994		Santa Barbara SBA	1994-013	20
and 24 Oct 1994–18 Mar 1995			1995-034	20
74. 14 May 1994		Scotty’s Castle INY	1994-090	20
75. 18 Jul 1994		Twentynine Palms SBE	1994-148	20	ph.
76. 21–24 Sep 1994	AHY	Southeast Farallon I. SF	1994-195	20	Fig. 274, ph.
77. 15–16 Oct 1994		Wilmington LA	1995-026	20
78. 01–06 Nov 1994		Westminster ORA	1994-166	20
79. 24–25 Jun 1995		Hunter Mtn. INY	2004-040	29
80. 15–16 Sep 1995		Bodega Bay SON	1995-094	21
81. 12 Oct 1995		Pt. Loma SD	1996-057	22
82. 26 Oct 1995	HY	Monterey MTY	1996-001	21	PGMNH 2320A
83. 19 Nov 1995–23 Mar 1996		Golden Gate Park SF	1996-013	21
84. 06 Dec 1995		Pebble Beach MTY	1996-018	21	ph.
85. 05 Nov 1996		Vandenberg Air Force Base SBA	1997-024	23
86. 23 Nov 1996–30 Jan 1997		San Pedro LA	1997-025	24
87. 30 Oct 1997–28 Feb 1998		Westminster ORA	1997-179	23
88. 18 Oct 1998–31 Jan 1999		Irvine ORA	1998-176	28
89. 16 Oct 1999–26 Mar 2000		Huntington Beach ORA	1999-190	25	video
90. 02 Jan–16 Mar 2000		Huntington Beach ORA	2000-070	26
91. 26 Dec 2000		Montecito SBA	2001-065	26
92. 22–25 Apr 2001		Butterbredt Spring KER	2001-101	27	ph.
93. 19–20 Sep 2001		Big Sur R. mouth MTY	2001-186	27	ph.
94. 30 Nov 2001–12 Jan 2002		Goleta SBA	2001-207	27
95. 26 Sep–25 Nov 2002		Carpinteria SBA	2002-179	28
96. 17–20 May 2003		Butterbredt Spring KER	2003-050	29
97. 12–28 Oct 2003		Galileo Hill KER	2003-168	29	Fig. 410, ph.
Worm-eating Warbler – Not accepted, identification not established
05 Jun 1973		Southeast Farallon I. SF	1987-204	16,30	see table entry 6
14–15 Sep 1975		Mad R. mouth HUM	1986-349	14
28 May 1981		Southeast Farallon I. SF	1988-022	16
12 Oct 1981		Pacific Grove MTY	1982-093	8
01 Nov 1981		vic. Figueroa Mtn. SBA	1982-010	7
26 May 1992		Redondo Beach LA	1992-192	20
29 Sep 1996		Wilmington LA	1996-174	23
06–25 Jan 1997		Ventura VEN	1997-085	24
20 Apr 1999		Butterbredt Spring KER	1999-089	25
14 Oct 2000		Cosumnes R. Preserve SAC	2000-128	26
Worm-eating Warbler – Not submitted/reviewed
21 Oct 1972		Pacific Grove MTY	1996-065	14,25,30	record never completed CBRC review
30 Oct–06 Nov 1975		Riverside RIV		14	AB 30:129
26 May 1981		Oasis MNO		14	AB 35:864
27 May 1985		Pt. Loma SD		14	Unitt (2004)
09 Jun 1987		Samoa Peninsula HUM		14	Harris (2006)
21 Oct 1990		Pt. Loma SD			AB 45:153
19 Oct 1993		San Pedro LA			AB 48:154; photographed
29 Jun–02 Jul 1995		Fairhaven HUM			Harris (2006)
26 Aug–01 Sep 1995		Fairhaven HUM			Harris (2006)
06 Oct 1996		Big Sur R. mouth MTY			Roberson (2002); ph., banded
16 Nov 1998		Moss Landing MTY			Roberson (2002)
10 Sep 2000		O’Neil Forebay MER			Central Valley Bird Club Bull. 5:13
26 Dec 2000		Pismo Beach SLO			NAB 55:229
18–26 May 2002		Morongo Valley SBE			NAB 56:358
27 Nov 2002		Arcata HUM			Harris (2006)
10 Jun 2003		Pt. Reyes MRN			NAB 57:542

Figures

Figure 274. Southeast Farallon Is- land accounts for more records of eastern warblers than does any other place in California. The Magnolia Warbler (probable first- fall male, left) is a rare, regular fall and very rare spring transient in the state; its CBRC review period was fleeting. Much rarer is the Worm-eating Warbler (1994-195, adult, right), which has nonethe- less occurred nearly 100 times in the state, mostly in fall. This way- ward duo made its way into the island’s mist nets on 21 September 1994 (Peter Pyle).

Figure 409. Distribution of 97 Worm-eating Warblers accepted through 2003. In a familiar pattern, most come from the southern and central coast, including concentrations at Southeast Farallon Island and Pt. Loma, San Diego County. Only two records come from the state’s northern third, both from the Humboldt County coast during late fall/winter.

Figure 410. In California, Worm-eating Warblers are found more often in October than during any other month, almost always along the coast. This bird—photographed far from the ocean at Galileo Hill during a prolonged migratory stopover that lasted from 12 to 28 October 2003—was the first to be found in well-worked Kern County during fall (2003-168; Bob Steele).

Figure 411. Half of California’s 97 accepted records of the Worm-eating Warbler involve fall vagrants, peaking in October. About one-quarter of the records involve spring vagrants, peaking in May. About one-fifth of the records involve wintering birds. Four records involve definite or potential oversummering.

Worm-eating Warbler

WORM-EATING WARBLER Helmitheros vermivorum (Gmelin, 1789)

Accepted: 97 (91%)	Treated in Appendix H: no
Not accepted: 10	CBRC review: all records
Not submitted/reviewed: 16	Large color image: see Figures

This warbler’s breeding range forms a swath from southeastern Texas and northern Missouri northeastward through the Appalachian Mts. to central Massachusetts; small, isolated populations exist as far north as southern Wisconsin and as far south as northwestern Florida. Wintering grounds include the Atlantic slope of Middle America from southern Tamaulipas to central Panama, as well as the northern West Indies and Bermuda. The species winters rarely in peninsular Florida and casually elsewhere in the southern United States. Vagrant records extend northward to Newfoundland in the East and to southern Manitoba in the continent’s interior. The species occurs casually during migration and winter across the West, primarily along the Pacific coast between southern Oregon and Baja California Sur. Southerly vagrants have reached Nayarit, the Lesser Antilles, and Venezuela.

California’s first Worm-eating Warbler was a first-fall male found dead on 18 September 1960 in Chula Vista, San Diego County (Huey 1961). This warbler occurs primarily along the state’s southern and central coast and very seldom in the northern third (Figure 409). In the following seasonal breakdown we treat birds recorded into December or early January as likely fall vagrants if they were repeatedly searched for without success later in the season; otherwise we treat them as individuals probably attempting to overwinter. Under this approach, about half of the state’s records (48 of 97) involve likely fall vagrants, with bracketing dates of 16 August and 3 January; 22 of these 48 records are from October (Figure 411). About one record in five (20 of 97) involves a bird known or likely to have overwintered in a coastal area, with bracketing dates of 15 October and 15 April. All but two such records—from Sunny Brae, Humboldt County, 29 December 1977–18 March 1978, and Pescadero, San Mateo County, 2–16 January 1989—come from Monterey County southward, and three birds returned in successive years. The last item is somewhat unusual for an eastern passerine (for example, the CBRC has not endorsed any of the state’s many wintering Pine Warblers as a returning bird). Most vagrant songbird species that exhibit winter-site philopatry in California originate in Middle America or the Southwest; examples include the Greater Pewee, Thick-billed Kingbird, Grace’s Warbler, Painted Redstart, and Hepatic Tanager.

About one-quarter of all records (25 of 97) are of spring vagrants, with bracketing dates of 22 April and 5 July; 16 of these 25 records are from May. Seven spring vagrants and one summering bird were recorded in 1992 as part of an unprecedented inpouring to California of species that breed, at least partly, in the Southeast (Patten and Marantz 1996; see the Kentucky Warbler account).

Four records involve definite or potential oversummering: Ft. Piute, San Bernardino County, 23 June–10 July 1977; Tilden Regional Park, Contra Costa County, 11–21 July 1978; Coyote Creek near Alviso, Santa Clara County, 17 June–6 September 1992; and Twentynine Palms, San Bernardino County, 18 July 1994.

[SWAINSON’S WARBLER Limnothlypis swainsonii (Audubon, 1834) – see hypothetical section]