MAGNOLIA WARBLER (Dendroica 

 magnolia) 



Range: Breeds in Canadian and upper Tran- 

 sition Zones from southwestern Mackenzie, 

 southern Keewatin, northern Quebec, and New- 

 foundland south to central Alberta, southern 

 Saskatchewan. Minnesota, northern Michigan, 

 and northern ^Massachusetts, and in the moun- 

 tains of West Virginia. ^Maryland, Pennsylva- 

 nia, and New York ; winters from southern 

 Mexico (Puebla and Chiapas) to Panama. 



The magnolia, or l>lack and yellow warbler, 

 as I like best to call it, is one of our most 

 beautiful warblers, and fortunately, being one 

 of the commonest of the tribe, is easily met 

 with by any one willing to take a little pains. 

 When busy at its self-imposed task of_ hunting 

 insects — and when is it not busy — it is by no 

 means shy, and may be watched at close range 

 with or without the aid of a field glass. When- 

 ever or however met, the sight of a full-plu- 

 maged male resplendent in the gold and black 

 livery of spring. is worth a long journey. 



The bird ranges over much of eastern North 

 America as far west as the Plains, and toward 

 the north reaches the Mackenzie region. In 

 the mountains it breeds here and there as far 

 south as Maryland. In migration the magnolia 

 shows no preference for special localities, but 

 occurs in upland woods and lowland shrubbery 

 where is promised a good harvest of insects. 

 Like so many of its fellows, it finds rich hunt- 

 ing grounds in gray birches, and few large 

 companies of warblers traverse gray birch 

 woods without their complement of these beau- 

 tiful and sprightly wood nymphs. The mag- 

 nolia warbler is a versatile, though scarcely an 

 accomplished, songster, and phrases its song in 

 a number of difl^'erent ways. Many of its nests 

 have been found in the northern woods, some 

 of them in small tirs or spruces only a few feet 

 from the ground. 



BLACK-POLL WARBLER (Dendroica 

 striata) 



Range : Breeds in Hudsonian and Canadian 

 Zones from limit of trees in northwestern 

 Alaska, northern Mackenzie, central Keewatin, 

 northern Ungava, and Newfoundland south to 

 central British Columbia, Manitoba, Michigan, 

 northern Maine, and mountains of Vermont 

 and New Hampshire; winters from Guiana 

 and Venezuela to Brazil. 



The Mack-poll is one of our commonest 

 warblers, in both spring and fall, and probably 

 heads the warbler list in point of numbers. So 

 far as superficial observations go. the bird 

 would seem to be no spryer, no more indus- 

 trious, and no more adept in hunting food than 

 its compeers; but for some reason or other, 

 possilily greater adaptability, it seems to have 

 succeeded beyond most of its kind in extending 

 its breeding range and in nniltiplying. It is a 

 late migrant, both spring and fall, and when 

 the hordes of black-polls put in an appearance. 



especially in the vernal season, one may know 

 that the end of the migrating season is at 

 hand. A laggard in sprmg, it is also a loiterer 

 in fall, and occasionally a flock of black-polls 

 will linger in some sheltered valley where food 

 is abundant till long after others of the family 

 have passed southward. 



The bird nests chiefly in the far north, 

 though it summers as far south as the Adiron- 

 dacks. As it winters in South America, there 

 are thus at least 5,000 miles between its ex- 

 treme northern and southern habitats. Chap- 

 man notes that it is one of the very few war- 

 blers that migrate directly across the West In- 

 dies from South America to Florida. It makes 

 its appearance in the Gulf States about the 

 last of April. As pointed out by Professor 

 Cooke, the black-poll is "one of the greatest 

 travelers among the warblers. The shortest 

 journey that any black-poll performs is 3.500 

 miles, while those that nest in Alaska have 

 7.000 miles to travel to their probable winter 

 home in Brazil." One can only wonder that 

 so small a bird has the requisite courage and 

 strength to undertake twice a year such a vast 

 journey, every stage of which is compassed by 

 dangers of one sort or another. 



BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER 



(Dendroica fusca) 



Range : Breeds in lower Canadian and upper 

 Transition Zones from Manitoba, southern 

 Keewatin, central Ontario, Quebec, and Cape 

 Breton Island to central Minnesota, Wiscon- 

 sin, northern Michigan. Massachusetts, and 

 Connecticut, and in the Alleghenies from Penn- 

 sylvania to Georgia and South Carolina : win- 

 ters from Colombia to central Peru and less 

 commonly north to Yucatan. 



The Blackburnian, one of the gems of the 

 warbler tribe, has a rather wide range in east- 

 ern North America, extending west as far as 

 the Plains and north to Manitoba. Apparently 

 it is nowhere, at least in migration, an abun- 

 dant warbler, and there are few field observers 

 so seasoned to the sight of its beautiful colors 

 as not to be thrilled by sight of the bird. In 

 migration its habits offer nothing peculiar. In 

 the Atlantic States in September careful scru- 

 tiny of a migrating band of warblers and other 

 birds will often reveal the presence of one or 

 perhaps half a dozen Blackburnians. About 

 Mount Monadnock. Gerald Thayer finds it a 

 '"very common sunnner resident. It is one of 

 the four deep-wood warblers of this region, 

 the other three being the black-throated blue, 

 the Northern parula, and the Canada." 



The Blackburnian favors very big trees, par- 

 ticularlv hemlocks, and spends most of its life 

 high above the ground. As Thayer says, the 

 Blackburnian is the "preeminent forest warbler 

 of the group, the lover of deep mixed growth 

 and the upper branches of the biggest conifers." 

 The bird has a thin, shrill voice and utters at 

 least two snngs or variations which some think 

 resemble the black-throated green's. Whatever 

 the tree selected, be it a hemlock or a deciduous 

 tree, the nest is placed well up am<ing the 

 branches and well out toward the end. where 

 it is safe from all enemies that do not possess 

 winjjs. 



•^1 



