WOOD WARBLERS 193 



in the evergreens, and even during migration 

 he is more often found in dark woods than 

 in the open country. As he spends most of 

 his time in the treetops, it is not altogether 

 easy to make his acquaintance, although his 

 beautiful plumage makes him rather a showy 

 bird. It is almost always by tracing a rather 

 shrill song to its source that I find him, not a 

 difficult task as he is a constant singer and his 

 clear notes are distinctly audible. ^'Wee-see- 

 wee-see-wee-see,^^ he sings to his busy mate, who, 

 no doubt, is much cheered by his tuneful effort. 

 He is a willing helper in the many duties of 

 nest building and rearing the young. 



Black, white and orange are the colors of the 

 Blackbumian, so strikingly arranged as to 

 make him one of our most attractive Warblers. 

 The crown, back of the neck and back are black, 

 and the sides are streaked with black. The 

 center of the crown, line over the eye, patch 

 behind the ear coverts, throat and breast are 

 rich orange. The back and tail are streaked 

 with white and there is a white patch on the 

 wings. With the female the orange is much 

 duller, the back is olive-gray, and there is much 

 less white. The nest of fine twigs and grass is 

 placed high above the ground in evergreen 

 trees. The four whitish eggs are spotted and 

 dashed with brown. They range in summer 

 from northern New England to Labrador and 

 winter in the tropics. This bird is about five 

 and one-fourth inches long. 



