BIRD BIOGRAPHIES 



GROUP THREE— THE BLACK, WHITE, AND 

 YELLOW WARBLERS 



1. THE MYRTLE WARBLER 



OR 

 YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER 



Length: A little over 51/2 inches, one of the larger warblers. 



Male: The grayish upper parts, white under parts, (both 

 streaked with black), and the black cheeks of the 

 Myrtle Warbler remind one of the Black and White 

 Creeping Warbler. Its four patches of yellow, — on 

 the crown, rump, and on each side are distinctive. 

 The wings and tail are brownish-gray; wings, with 

 two white bars; tail with graduated patches of white 

 near end of outside feathers; white throat and belly. 



Female: Browner above; breast less heavily streaked with 

 black. 



Notes: The notes and song of this warbler are described by 

 Mr. Forbush as follows: "The Myrtle Warbler has 

 a variety of notes, but the one usually uttered spring 

 and fall is a soft chirp or chup, which, at a little dis- 

 tance, exactly resembles the sound produced by a 

 large drop of water as it strikes the ground or leaf- 

 mold. These sounds are so similar that after 

 storms in the woods I have often found it diflicult to 

 distinguish the note of this warbler from the splash 

 of the large drops that were still falling from the 

 trees. The song is a rather weak warble, very 

 sweet, and often of long duration. ... It has quite 

 as many variations as the song of any warbler that I 

 now recall." ^ 



Range: Breeds in the forest-belt of Canada and Alaska, south 

 to Minnesota, Michigan, New Hampshire, Maine, 



1 "Useful Birds and Their Protection," E. H. Forbush, page 202. 



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