WESTERN BIRDS Warbler 



GENUS DENDROICA: MYRTLE OR 

 YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER. 



Myrtle Warbler: Dendroica corondta. 

 FAMILY— WOOD WARBLERS. 



The Myrtle or Yellow-rumped Warbler is a familiar 

 summer resident of the extreme northern and eastern 

 United States, wintering from Kansas, the Ohio Valley, 

 and New Jersey, south, and being so abundant in every 

 woodland patch during migrations as to be a well-known 

 species. On the western coast the bird nests in parts 

 of Washington and appears as a winter visitant or mi- 

 grant farther south. 



This bird is somewhat larger than many of the Warb- 

 lers, being five and one-half inches long, and is extremely 

 handsome in his make-up. The prevailing upper parts 

 of the male in summer plumage are a blue-gray striped 

 with black; the tail is black with white markings on 

 the three outer pairs of feathers which are conspicuous 

 in flight; the side of the head, the chest and the mark- 

 ings on the white belly are black; two wing bars and 

 the throat are white, but the thing which makes the bird 

 beautiful and conspicuous is its yellow markings which 

 occur in spots on rump, crown, and each side of breast. 

 The plumage of the female is duller with the yellow spots 

 restricted and the winter plumage of both birds is enough 

 different to confuse many bird students. The blue- 

 gray back becomes dull with a brownish cast, the black 

 breast-patch is lacking, as are also most of the yellow 

 spots. The plumage differs in individuals, and where 

 you sometimes see one that has a yellow crown and a 

 suggestion of color on the breast, quite often both these 

 patches are obscured. However, the rump seems always 

 to remain yellow and that, with the white wing and tail 



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