174 



THE LUTESCENT WARBLER. 



as ihis one is, tiiere are only two wliich do not Ijoast a conspicnons area of 

 this fashionable shade. And of all yellows, yellow-green, as represented by 

 the back of this bird, is the commonest, — so common, indeed, as to merit 

 the facetious epithet "nniseum color." It is all very well in the case of the 

 male, for he comes back (to Seattle) during the first week in April, before 

 tlie leaves are fully out; and he is so full of confidence at this season that 

 he poses quite demurely among the swelling buds of alder, maple, and 

 willow. He is proud oi his full crown-patch of pale orange, contrasting 

 as it does with the dull yellowish green of the upperparts and the bright 



greenish yellow of 

 tlie underparts, — 

 and he lets you get 

 a good view of it at 

 twenty yards with 

 I he glasses. Besides 

 that, he must stop 

 now and then to 

 \'ent his feelings in 

 song. But the case 

 nf the female is al- 

 most hopeless — for 

 the novice. 



The song of the 

 Lutescent Warbler 

 ap]:)ears Xo ha\e been 

 very largely over- 

 looked, but it was 

 not the bird's fault. 

 While waiting for 

 his tardy mate, he 

 has rehearsed diligently from the taller bushes of the thicket, or else from 

 some higher vantage point of maple, dogwood, or fir tree. The burden is 

 intended for fairy ears, but he that hath ears to hear let him hear a curious 

 vowel scale, an inspirated rattle or trill, which descends and ends in a simple 

 warble of several notes. The trill, brief as it is, has three qualities of change 

 which make it quite unique. At the opening the notes are full and slow, 

 but in the instant necessary to the entire recital the pace accelerates, the 

 ])itch rises slightly, and the component notes decrease in volume, or size. 

 At the climax the tension breaks une.xpectedlv in the gentle, musical cadence 

 of the concluding phrases, whose notes much resemble certain of the Yellow 

 Warbler's. The opening trill carries to a considerable distance, but the 

 sweetness of the closing warble is lost to any but near listeners. The whole 



'J,tl.-i-ii m Vi,-L 



Photo by Bohliiuin 

 A HUNGRY CHICK. 



LUTESCENT WARBLER, EEMALE AND YOUNG. 



