Audubon's Warbler 453 



Audubon's Warbler. Dendroica auduboni. 



A.O.U. Checklist no 656— Colorado Records— Allen 72, pp. 148, 

 155, 162 ; Aiken 72, p. 197 ; Trippe 74, p. 232 ; Henshaw 75, p. 196 

 Brewer 77, p. 394 ; Scott 79, p. 92 ; Minot 80, p. 227 ; Tresz 81, p. 285 

 Drew 81, p. 88 ; Allen & Brewster 83, p. 158 ; Beckham 85, p. 141 

 87, p. 125 ; Stone 84, p. 20 ; W. G. Smith 88, p. 114 ; Morrison 88, p. 72 

 Kellogg 90, p. 89 ; Lowe 92, p. 101 ; 94, p. 269 ; McGregor 97, p. 39 

 Cooke 97, pp. 18, 115, 219 ; Dille 03, p. 74 ; Henderson 03, p. 237 

 09, p. 239 ; Cooke 04, pp. 18, 64 ; Warren 06, p. 24 ; 08, p. 24 ; 09, 

 p. 17 ; Chapman 07, p. 147 ; Rockwell 08, p. 176. 



Description. — Male — Closely resembling the Myrtle- Warbler in most 

 respects, but with the throat yellow, not white, with a larger subter- 

 niinal spot on four of the outer tail-feathers ; the sides of the face more 

 blueish and less black, and with a less conspicuoas white eyebrow ; 

 iris brown, bill black, legs dark brown. Length 5-0 ; wing 3-1 ; tail 

 2-25 ; culmen -40 ; tarsus -75. 



The males in autumn, the females and young birds resemble similar 

 stages in the Myrtle, but the throat is always at least tinged with 

 yellow, except in the birds of the year. These are always distinguish- 

 able by the larger amount of white to the tail-feathers. 



Distribution. — Audubon's Warbler replaces the Myrtle in the western 

 part of America, breeding at high altitudes in the Rockies from British 

 Columbia and Alberta south to southern California and northern New 

 Mexico ; it winters in California and western Mexico south to Guatemala. 

 Audubon's Warbler is one of the commonest spring migrants in 

 Colorado, arriving from the south at the end of April — April 16th in 

 El Paso CO. (Aiken), Loveland, April 19th-24th (W. G. Smith)— and 

 slowly moving up in the mountains where it nests in June or July ; 

 it gradually descends again in Augast and September, and leaves the 

 State in October — Pueblo, October 24th (Beckham), is the latest date 

 recorded. 



On the western slope in Mesa co. it is very common, breeding in 

 heavy coniferous timber from 8,000 to 10,000 feet. It arrives in May — 

 earliest date May 7th — -and begins to go south late in August. 



It has been recorded breeding in Estes Park 8,000 feet (W. G. Smith), 

 Idaho Springs (Trippe), Georgetown (Keyser), near Breckenridge 

 (Carter apud Brewer), Twin Lakes (Scott), Pikes Peak and Divide 

 (Aiken), and San Juan co. (Drew), and on migration in Baca co., May 

 2nd-15th, and Bedrock, Montrose co., April 20th (Warren), and along 

 the foothills of the range everyivhere. 



Habits. — ^Audubon's Warbler is generally found in 

 the cotton-woods and thickets along the river valleys 



