98 BIRDS OF NEW ENGLAND AND EASTERN NEW YORK 



WARBLERS (PROPERLY WOOD-WARBLERS) : 

 FAMILY MNIOTILTID^! 



The term Warblers is applied in America to a very large 

 family of small birds, many of which live almost wholly in 

 trees. The number of species to be distinguished often dis- 

 courages a beginner, but many are confined almost wholly 

 to certain kinds of country, and much may be done by 

 learning where to expect each one. The males, moreover, 

 are generally brightly marked, often with yellow ; the fe- 

 males and young are harder to distinguish. Half a dozen 

 species occur commonly throughout New York and New 

 England and are easily distinguished, both by their appear- 

 ance and from the kind of country which they prefer ; 

 these are : the Redstart, wherever trees and open spaces are 

 combined, especially near water and often near our houses ; 

 the Northern Yellow-throat, in low bushes in wet places ; 

 the Black and White Warbler, on the trunks of trees in 

 open woodland ; the Oven-bird, on or near the ground in all 

 kinds of woodland ; the Black-throated Green, in evergreens, 

 and the Yellow Warbler, either in the shrubbery near 

 houses, or in the willows along water-courses. The Chestnut- 

 sided Warbler occurs nearly everywhere in New England, 

 being absent only where extensive coniferous forests still 

 exist ; it delights in dry roadside thickets and the second- 

 growth in clearings. The Pine Warbler is common wher- 

 ever pitch pine is abundant ; it breeds also in white pine 

 groves, but is not found in the Canadian Zone. In the 

 spruce forests of northern New England the Myrtle Warbler 

 is abundant, occurring even in the dooryard, if spruce-trees 

 surround the house. In wilder country, where young spruces 

 grow, the Black and Yellow Warbler is common, and on 

 mountains, in stunted spruce, the Black-poll is abundant. 



In southern New York and New England the northern 

 species occur as more or less common migrants in April and 



