136 LIFE-IIISTORIKS OF IURDS 



Its llight is short and gracefully undulating. 



The song of this Warbler is lacking in compass 

 and variety, although, far from disagreable. Mr. 

 Nuttall characterizes it at times as approximating 

 the simpler trills of the canary, but, ordinarily, a 

 reverberating, gently-increasing or murmuring 

 sound resembling cr-r-rrrrr-ah. In the spring- 

 time it sounds like twe-twe-tw-tiv-tiv-tw-tw and 

 sometimes like tsh-tsh-tsh-pw-tw-tw-tw uttered with 

 an agreeable cadence. The note of the female is 

 said to resemble that of Mniotilta varia. 



Its food consists of insects in their various de- 

 velopmental stages. Early in the spring many 

 coleoptera are eagerly devoured. We have iclenti 

 fied in our examinations remains of B&strichus 

 pini, Cratonychus cinereus, C. pertinax, Cymindi* 

 viridipennis, Platynus cupripenitis, besides the hy- 

 menopterous forms of Formica sanguinea, F. suit 

 terranca, and others. Later, the larvae and ova 

 of Anisopteryx vcrnaia, Clisiqcampa Americana, 

 Citheronia regalis, Eacles imperialis, besides many 

 mature forms oi our early Noctuidce and Tineidct, 

 and earthworms. In the autumn the berries of 

 Juniperus Virginiana, Cornus canadensis, and the 

 seeds of various species of Pinus. 



Its most northern breeding-quarters are proba- 

 bly in Massachusetts, where it has been found to 

 be very abundant, particularly in the western pan, 

 by Mr. Allen; and in the east as high up as Lynn, 

 by George O, Welch, Esq. There is good reason 

 to suppose that it breeds in New Jersey, since the 



