406 WOOD WARBLERS 



647. Helminthophila peregrina (Wils.). Tennessee War- 

 bler. 



Adult male. — Crown and hind neck dark gray ; rest of upper parts olive 

 green, brightest on rump ; loral streak dark gray bordered. by white above ; 

 wings and tail unmarked, tail gray, feathers with outer webs edged with 

 olive green, inner webs with white, outside feather usually with a white 

 spot. Adult female : similar, but gray of head more or less mixed with 

 green, and superciliary and under parts lightly washed with olive yellow. 

 Young male injirst autumn: upper parts olive green, including crown and 

 hind neck ; under parts strongly tinged with olive yellow except for white 

 belly and under wing and tail coverts. Young female in first autumn: like 

 young males, but yellow brighter. Male : length (skins) 4.05-4.70, wing 

 2.46-2.67, tail 1.61-1.81, bill .Zl-M. Female: length (skins) 4.20-4.70, 

 wing 2.30-2.40, tail 1..54-1.67, bill .37-.40. 



Distribution. — Breeds from Alaska, British Columbia, Great Slave Lake, 

 and Hudson Bay south to the northern United States ; migrates mainly 

 through the Mississippi Valley south to Cuba and northern South America ; 

 accidental in southern California. 



Nest. — On or near the ground, made largely of grass, leaves, and moss, 

 sometimes with hair lining. Eggs : 4 or 5, white, spotted with reddish 

 brown around the larger end. 



Food. — Winged insects, caterpillars, and other leaf -eating insects. 



The Tennessee warbler is a rare migrant in the eastern part of 

 Colorado, passing north the latter half of May. In Kansas, Colonel 

 Goss says, it is found in low bushes, in tall weeds, about gardens 

 and orchards, along banks of streams, and the edges of woodland. 



GENUS COMPSOTHLYPIS. 



General Characters. — Bill much shorter than head, narrowly wedge- 

 shaped and acute, but distinctly curved, at least toward tip ; rictal bristles 

 distinct ; wing tip decidedly shorter than tarsus ; tarsus decidedly less 

 than one third as long as wing, its scales indistinct. 



KEY TO SPECIES. 



1. Eyelids white usneae, p. 406. 



r. Eyelids dusky. Lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas, nigrilora, p. 407. 



648a. Compsothlypis americana usneae Brewster. Northern 

 Pakula Wakbler. 

 Adult male. — Sides of head and upper parts bluish gray, with triangular 

 olive green jjatch on hack ; wings with two white bars, tail with 

 "^H^^^ white spots on inner w ebs of two outer feathers ; throat and 

 '>^|^^fe^ breast yellow, chest more or less tinged with orange brown., and 

 ^^^^^ often crossed by blackish band ; feathers sometimes tipped 

 T^^s-" \\\t\\ chestnut ; eyelids white ; lores black. Adult female : 



Fig. 504. similar, but colors duller, less pronounced. Young in first 

 autumn : whole upper parts tinged with olive green, under 

 parts pale yellow. Young : yellow of under parts replaced by grayish, 

 chin tinged with vellow ; upper parts gravish, more olive on back. Male : 

 length (skins) 3.82-4.45, wing 2.24-2.48. tail 1.5-5-1.77, bill .35-.43. Fe- 

 male: length (skins) 3.66-4.18, wing 2.13-2.34, tail 1.52-1.65, bill .35-.41. 

 Distribution. — Breeds chiefly in Canadian zone north of 41°, but locally 



