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Historic Status

Although most observers of birds in nineteenth-century Massachusetts described the Worm-eating Warbler as an accidental visitor from the south, the 1839 report prepared for the state legislature claimed that the bird “arrives from the south late in the spring, and retreats early, before the northern storms. It was not known to breed in this State until a nest was discovered in Cambridge by Mr. Rotch, who gave a specimen of the eggs to Dr. Brewer” (Peabody 1839). The loss of forest cover probably caused its near extirpation from the state, a trend that was reversed in the twentieth century as agricultural land succeeded back to forest. A singing male in Mount Washington brought suspicion of breeding in 1923, and by the 1930s nesting was authenticated in Berkshire County (Petersen & Meservey 2003). Nonetheless, breeding records in the state remained sparse for the next few decades.

Atlas 1 Distribution

A discreet bird in both plumage and voice, the Worm-eating Warbler was Confirmed in 6 blocks in Atlas 1. Dry rocky slopes with a good covering of leaf litter are the preferred haunts of the Worm-eating Warbler, and two such sites in Southwick established the species’ presence in the Berkshire Transition zone. Two more Confirmations in the Connecticut River Valley weighted Worm-eating Warbler’s distribution toward the western part of the state, although two Confirmations from Weston and Dover hinted at a broader distribution in Massachusetts than expected for this species. These isolated breeding Confirmations foreshadowed a more generous distribution during Atlas 2.

Atlas 2 Distribution and Change

With their long (for a warbler), pointed bills, Worm-eating Warblers specialize in prying open curled leaves to eat the insect larvae within. Such larvae may have been in ready supply during the inter-Atlas period because the Worm-eating Warbler increased considerably by the time of Atlas 2, from 6 total records in Atlas 1 to 49 in Atlas 2. Even though Atlas 2 had one fewer Confirmation than Atlas 1, Worm-eating Warblers were discovered all across the state. The Connecticut River Valley and Lower Worcester Plateau seemed to be particularly favored regions, and the southern Coastal Plains, particularly Norfolk County, also showed a fair presence of breeding Worm-eating Warblers.

Atlas 1 Map

Atlas 2 Map

Atlas Change Map