316 RED-POLL WARBLER 



bled icit-che-ry that it is a surprise when he sud- 

 denly vaults into mid air with an ecstatic love-song. 

 It breaks away from his stereotyped notes so 

 comjiletely that it comes as an outpouring of long- 

 pent-up feeling, and raises him from the rank of 

 a prosaic hunter after worms to that of an im- 

 passioned musician and lover. In domestic rela- 

 tions, few birds are more affectionate than the 

 Yellow-throat, Mr. Chamberlain tells us. The 

 male carries food most assiduously to his mate at 

 the nest, caressing her, singing for her diversion, 

 and o'uardino- her from disturbance. If the nest 

 is approached, he " alternately scolds and pleads 

 with marked emphasis of displeasure and anx- 

 iety." The nest is a bulk}^ but comfortable abode 

 made of loosely woven strips of bark, grasses, and 

 dead leaves, sometimes roofing the top ; and the 

 eggs are white, speckled thinly at the larger end. 



Red-poll Warbler : Dendroica palmarum hypochrysea. 



Crown chestnut ; back brownish green ; under parts entirely 

 bright yellow. Young and adult, in winter, cap concealed or 

 wanting-. Length, about 5^ inches. 



Geographic Distribution. — Eastern North America east of 

 the mountains ; breeds from Maine northward east of Hudson 

 Bay ; migrates southward through the Atlantic states, and 

 winters in the Gulf states. 



In the spring migration the Red-poll is often 

 seen on the ground or on fences or bushes in 

 company with Yellow-rumps, Pine Warblers, and 

 Chipping Sparrows. It is common in Central 



