April 



tarian), the warblers chiefly insectivorous. For 

 this reason finches are not so migratory as war- 

 blers, whose resources of food are almost en- 

 tirely swept away by cold weather, so that there 

 is only one warbler (the yellow-rump) that can be 

 found in the Northern States during the winter. 



The scientific designation of the w^arblers as 

 sylvicolidce (living in the woods), although not 

 profoundly descriptive, is not misleading, and 

 points to an evident characteristic of the class. 

 They are more retiring than many other species, 

 and are found in woods and groves rather than 

 by the wayside or in the open pasture. 



In this region the finch and warbler families 

 are equally represented by about forty species in 

 each. Throughout North America there are 

 twice as many finches as warblers, one hun- 

 dred and twenty-three to sixty- two, and in the 

 world five hundred species of finches (the largest 

 of all families), and upward of one hundred 

 species of warblers. 



These points of comparison touch upon the 

 most important aspects in the life-history of the 

 two families. . 



The first week in the month brought the first 

 warbler of the season, viz.: the pine-creeper, 



109 



