THE YELLOW WARBLER. 223 



case of the Red-wings, the marking varies very considerably 

 in different sets. I have seen the young abroad in Nova 

 Scotia by the 7th of June. 



The Rusty Grakle is a little more than 9.00 long, 

 and some 14.50 in extent. Male, in spring, glossy black, 

 some of the feathers, especially underneath, edged with a 

 rusty-brown; female, slaty or rusty-brown above, rusty and 

 grayish mixed below, with a pale stripe above the eye. 



The young birds are quite brown in their first dress, and 

 in all stages the species is characterized by the milk-white 

 iris, noticeable at quite a distance. In the Rocky Moun- 

 tain and California regions this species is replaced by 

 Brewer's Blackbird, or the Blue-headed Grakle {Scolecophagus 

 cyanocephahts)^ a bird of very similar habits. The two species 

 generally mingle in their southern migration along the in- 

 terior. 



THE YELLOW WARBLER. 



In the last week of April or the first week of May, as the 

 warm currents of a spring atmosphere are wooing into 

 activity every germ of field and forest, the Yellow Warbler 

 {Dendrxca cestiva) reaches us in immense numbers. You 

 may find it in the forest, in thickets and slashings, quite 

 as numerous in the orchard, and in the shrubbery about 

 the garden and the front-yard, but most especially does 

 it love the willows by the brook, with the yellow spray of 

 which its golden tints are particularly in harmony. 



In dress and in song it is equally conspicuous. About 

 the size of the Chipping Sparrow, some 5 inches long, 

 greenish-yellow above, and golden-yellow streaked with 

 red beneath, it is unmistakable to the eye as it moves 

 among the opening leaves and blossoms. In this locality, 

 we have no other really yellow bird except the male Gold- 

 finch, and he is readily distinguished by his black crown, 



