Plate 38 – Kentucky Warbler

Alexander Wilson (1766-1813) named the Kentucky warbler after counting a large number of the species in Kentucky. The most anyone in Kentucky has since reported on Cornell’s eBird system is 36 (see Checklist S24140158). John James Audubon noted in Birds of America that the Kentucky warbler “abounds” in Louisiana. If 75 could be considered “abounds,” then that is the most that is likely to be seen today in Louisiana (see eBird Checklist S26254933). Audubon never observed the Kentucky warbler “fly farther than a few yards at a time” through tall grass, thickets, and bushes, or possibly into a Cucumber-tree, like the one Joseph Mason drew as a perch for the Kentucky warbler in Birds of America. With the aid of radar and other modern electronic devices, scientists have since discovered that many birds that fly only short distances during the daytime have the ability during migration to fly extraordinarily long distances during the night time. Mankind filling the skies with city lights instead of letting the stars shine bright by which to navigate has created for birds yet one more reason for their decline in numbers.