BIRD BIOGRAPHIES 



Like flycatchers, the redstart has bristles at the base of 

 its bill, which makes the capture of a great variety of in- 

 sects an easy matter. It has been named the "flycatcher 

 of the inner treetops, but it is a flycatcher of the bushtops 

 as well." 2 



2. THE BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER 



Length: A little over 5 inches. 



Male: Black crown, with bright orange patch in the center; ir- 

 regular black patch extending from eye, bordered 

 with orange; throat and breast orange, becoming 

 yellowish on belly; back black, streaked with white; 

 sides streaked with black; wings black, with white 

 edges and a large white patch; tail black, most of the 

 feathers nearly all white on inner web. Colors 

 duller in the fall. 



Female: Upper parts grayish-olive, streaked with white; 

 orange parts paler, less white on wings and tail. 



Song: A "thin" warbler-like trill. 



Habitat: Treetops of coniferous forests preferably. 



Range: Breeds from central Canada to northern United States, 

 and in the Alleghany Mts. from Pennsylvania to 

 Georgia; winters in Colombia and Peru. 



THIS brilliant warbler flashes flame as do the oriole 

 and the redstart, and like them, always brings a 

 thrill of pleasure. It remains with us so short a time 

 that its appearance is an event. 



Mr. Forbush tells of going out at daybreak May 11, 

 1900, at Amesbury, Mass., to observe the migrant 

 warblers. He says: "As we walked through the streets 



2 "Useful Birds and Their Protection," by E. H. Forbush, pages 1% and 

 198. 



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