442 Birds of Colorado 



Genus PROTONOTARIA. 



Bill large and stout, rather wedge-shaped, culmen slightly decurved ; 

 rictal bristles very short, hardly visible ; wing rather pointed, the 

 three outer primaries subequal, and much longer than the short, square 

 tail ; hind toe short but stout ; plumage yellow and slaty-blue. 



Only one species. 



Prothonotary Warbler. Protonotaria citrea. 

 A.O.U. Checklist no 637— Colorado Record— Felger 07, p. 342. 



Description. — ^Male — Head and neck all round bright yellow ; centre 

 of the back yellowish-olive ; wings, rump and tail dark slaty-grey ; 

 wing and tail-feathers, except the central pair, white on the inner web, 

 the tail-feathers tipped with darker ; below bright yellow, becoming 

 white on the under tail-coverts; iris brown, bill black, legs dusky. 

 Length 4-90 ; wing 2-80 ; tail 1-75 ; culmen -50 ; tarsus -70. 



The male in winter has a paler bill. The female is slightly smaller — 

 wing 2-75 — and duller in colour. 



Distribution. — Breeding in the low-lying districts of the eastern 

 United States from Minnesota and Virginia southwards to the Gulf 

 states ; south in winter via Yucatan to Nicaragua and Venezuela. 



A rare straggler in Colorado — Felger has examined and identified 

 three examples shot by B. G. Voigt, one between Palmer Lake and 

 MonuLment, the others on the Arkansas River near Pueblo. These 

 examples had the pale bills characteristic of the fall and winter plmnage, 

 and were probably taken in the fall, but the date appears to be uncertain. 

 They constitute the only records. 



Habits. — The Prothonotary Warbler is always asso- 

 ciated with heavily timbered country, and slow, sluggish 

 streams or swamps ; an abundance of willows also seems 

 to be very essential. The nest is usually placed in a 

 hole in a tree trunk, often the deserted one of a Downy 

 Woodpecker or Chickadee, and as a rule not very high 

 from the ground, and near water ; the nest is made up 

 of straws, strips of bark and moss, feathers or hair being 

 rarely used ; the eggs, usually six in number, are rich 

 creamy-white to buffy, very heavily blotched and 

 spotted with various shades of browTi, and measure 

 •70 X -57. 



