56g HISTORY OF THE 



Sp. Chae. ''Male: Upper parts, exclusive of wiug and tail, clear yellow 

 olive greeu; the feathers of the back with hidden streaks of black. Forehead 

 and sides of head and neck, including a superciliary stripe, bright yellow. A 

 dusky line from the bill through the eye, and another below it. Chin, throat 

 and fore part of the breast, extending some distance along on the sides, con- 

 tinuous black; rest of under parts white, tinged with yellow on the breast and 

 flanks. Wings and tail feathers dark brown, edged with bluish gray; two white 

 bands on the wing; the greater part of the three outer tail feathers white. Fer- 

 male: Similar, but duller; the throat yellow; the black of breast much concealed 

 by white edges; the sides streaked with black. The autumnal male has the 

 black of throat and breast obscured by whitish tips. Females are yellowish 

 white beneath, tinged with grayish towards tail." 



Iris dark brown; bill black; legs, feet and claws dusky; bot- 

 toms of feet greenish yellow. 



During the breeding season these sylvan birds inhabit the 

 coniferous forests, from my observation preferring the hilly up- 

 lands; and, in migration, are more common in the groves and 

 trees skirting the streams than in the heavily wooded bottom 

 lands. They live almost wholly in the upper branches of the 

 trees, and seldom alight upon the ground, except in search of 

 material for a nest, or at the water' s edge to bathe. They feed 

 largely upon leaf worms, spiders, beetles and flies, and in their 

 search for the same are in actions much like tlie Yireos, hopping 

 about among the boughs and capturing occasionally in the air — 

 never in the creeping manner of some of the family. 



In the early part of June, 1880, I found them nesting at 

 Digby, Nova Scotia, in the thick growths of hemlock, spruce 

 and pine. I discovered two nests that the birds were building. 

 They were at least thirty feet from the ground. The males 

 were singing in every direction. Tlieir song is quite loud; a 

 pleasing, reed-like chant, the higher notes too shrill to be 

 musicah Their ordinary call note is a common "Chip," or 

 "Tsip." 



Their nests have occasionally been found near the ground, 

 but such finds are exceptional; as a rule, they range from about 

 fifteen to fifty feet from the ground. They are usually built on 



