THE BLACK-AND- YELLOW WARBLER. 329 



I cannot always see maculosa as early as this, but may find 

 it quite common about the 18th or 20th of this genial month 

 of May. Emitting a soft note, e-a, e-a, probably a faint echo 

 of its alarm note in breeding tim&s—cree-e-e-e-e-ep, long 

 drawn and like that of the Vireos— it keeps to the lower 

 story of the woods, and is not at all shy, thus giving me a 

 good opportunity to note its manners as it is gleaning dili- 

 gently. As it peers gracefully among the tender foliage 

 who can fail to admire its gentleness and beauty? Among 

 the smallest (4.25 long and 8.10 in extent) and the most deli- 

 cately formed of its genus, its color is really brilliant. 

 Crown ashy-blue, margined on the sides with white; fore- 

 head, cheeks, back, wings and tail, black or blackish; throat, 

 rump and under parts, bright lemon-yellow, the latter 

 heavily blotched and streaked with jet-black; lower eye- 

 lids, wing-coverts and large central patch on the inner web 

 of most of the tail-feathers, pure white; thus giving a striking 

 effect as the tail spreads in its various flitting motions— 

 this little beauty would do justice to the tropics. The 

 female is less brilliant, and not so distinctly marked. But, 

 excepting its sojourn in winter, which extends entirely south 

 of the United States, this is especially a northern bird, 

 breeding from Northern New England to Hudson's Bay. 



Mr. C. J. Maynard describes a nest, taken at Umbagog 

 the second week in June, 1870, as follows: "It was placed 

 on the forked branch of a low spruce, about three feet from 

 the ground, on a rising piece of land, leading from a wood- 

 path. The nest, which contained four eggs, was con- 

 structed of dry grass, spruce twigs, roots, etc., and was 

 lined with fine black roots, the whole being a coarse struct- 

 ure for so dainty looking a Warbler. The eggs were more 

 spherical than any Warbler's I have ever seen. The ground 

 color is a creamy-white, blotched sparingly over with large 



