Warbler WESTERN BIRDS 



Warblers by their form, actions, and notes, but which 

 the novice might easily find difficult in identifying. 



They are fond of chaparral hillsides and brushy open 

 woods, where they place their nest on or near the ground 

 in some tangled growth, or under a rooty bank, using 

 grasses and dry leaves with finer material, and some- 

 times hair, for the lining. 



Like most members of their family, these birds keep 

 up a thin call note as they flit about. Warblers are not 

 really musicians, but one learns to know the notes which, 

 though weak and thin, belong unmistakably to the Wood 

 Warblers. 



According to Dawson, in his "Birds of Washington," 

 the song of the Lutescent Warbler seems to have been 

 largely overlooked, although it was not the fault of the 

 bird. "While waiting for his tardy mate, he has re- 

 hearsed diligently from the taller bushes of the thicket, 

 or else from some higher vantage point of maple, dog- 

 wood, or fir tree. The burden is intended for fairy 

 ears, but he that hath ears to hear let him hear a curious 

 vowel scale, an inspired rattle or trill, which descends 

 and ends in a simple warble of several notes. The trill, 

 brief as it is, has three qualities of change which make 

 it quite unique. At the opening the notes are full and 

 slow but in the instant necessary to the entire recital, 

 the pace accelerates, the pitch rises slightly, and the 

 component notes decrease in volume, or size. At the 

 climax the tension breaks unexpectedly in the gentle, 

 musical cadence of the concluding phrases, whose notes 

 much resemble certain of the Yellow Warbler's. The 

 opening trill carries to a considerable distance, but the 

 sweetness of the closing warble is lost to any but near 

 listeners." 



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