420 WOOD WARBLERS 



unci tail duller, wing- bands narrower. Adult male in fall and winter : 

 like summer male, but feathers of black throat patch edged with white or 

 yellowish. Young male in Jirst fall and ivinter : like adult fall male, but 

 upper parts streaked with olive green and black, upper tail coverts edg-ed 

 with olive green and gray, wings and tail duller, wing bars with black 

 shaft streaks. Young female in Jirst fall and winter : like adult female, 

 but upper parts plain olive green, or indistinctly streaked ; throat and 

 chest grayish, throat tinged with yellow ; sides and flanks indistinctly 

 streaked with dusky. Young, frst plumage : upper parts grayish brown 

 or brownish gray ; sides of head, throat, chest, and sides pale brownish 

 gray ; rest of under parts whitish, breast indistinctly streaked ; wings and 

 tail like adults, but wing coverts with dark mesial wedge-shaped marks. 

 Male : length (skins) 4.61-4.84. wing 2.45-2.58, tail 2.04-2.15, bill .:](5- 

 .40. Female : length (skins) 4.57-4.92, wing 2.28-2.43, tail 1.87-2.05, bill 

 .38-.42. 



Rejnarls. — The black eye line through the bright yellow cheeks marks 

 both sexes of the golden-cheeked warbler. 



Distribution. — From western, central, and southern Texas south to 

 Guatemala. 



Nest. — Usually in red cedars, 10 to 20 feet from the ground, between 

 upright branches ; made of strips of inner cedar bark fastened Avith web 

 and lined with hair and feathers. Eggs : 3 or 4, white, spotted with red- 

 dish brown, sometimes mixed with lavender. 



The golden-cheeked warbler is said to be common among the juni- 

 pers or 'cedar brakes,' as they are called locally, in central Texas. 

 It is said to be always on the alert for insects, hunting over the 

 branches and occasionally darting out for a passing insect. The 

 song of the male is given as tserr iceasy-iceasy tweali. 



667. Dendroica virens (Gmel.). Black-throated Green War- 

 bler. 

 Adult male in spring and summer. — Throat and chest black, sides 

 streaked witli black ; rest of under ]mrts white or yellowish 

 white ; forehead sometimes with yellow spot ; sides of head 

 bright yellow, olive streak through eye ; upper parts bright olive 

 green ; back sometimes narrowly streaked with black ; wings 

 with two M'hite bars, tail with inner webs of two outer feath- 

 Fis?. 530. ers mainly white. Adult female in spring and summer : similar 

 to male, but black of throat and chest obscured by yellowish, and whitish 

 tips to feathers. Young male in first fall and winter : like adult female, 

 but olive green of upper parts and yellow of sides of head brighter, and 

 under parts yellower. Male: length (skins) 4.33-4.72, wing 2.40-2.52, 

 tail 1.77-1.03", bill .35-.39. Female: length (skins) 4.10-4.53, wing 2.28- 

 2.40, tail 1.77-1.85, bill .35-.43. 



Eemarhs. — The bright olive green upper parts and whitish belly dis- 

 tinguish virens in all plumages. 



Distribution. — Breeds in Transition and Canadian zones from Hudson 

 Bay to northern Illinois and Connecticut, and along the Alleghanies south 

 to South Carolina ; migrates to Cuba and through western Texas and 

 Mexico to Central America and Panama. 



Nest. — In coniferous trees, usually at considerable height, made of strips 

 of bark, plant stems, leaves, twigs, and feathers, lined with hair and plant 

 down. Eggs : usually 4, white or creamy, spotted with reddish brown and 

 lilac gray, mixed with a few darker specks. 

 Food, — Largely leaf worms, spiders, beetles, and flies. 



