588 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE. 



The bird is equally rare in the territory adjoining Michigan. In Indiana 

 Butler states that it is the rarest bird of its genus, known only as a migrant, 

 often entirely wanting for years together, and rarely seen in any numbers. 

 In nineteen years in Franklin county he has found it but four times (Birds 

 of Indiana, 1897, 1035). In Wisconsin, according to Kumlien and HolUster, 

 it is nowhere abundant, but seems considerably more common in the 

 western part of the state. In Ontario it is also far from common; 

 Mcllwraith (1894) records five specimens, and a few more have been seen 

 since. 



As already stated it is not known to nest in Michigan and its summer 

 home is in the far north, even well into the Arctic Circle. The nest and 

 eggs are almost precisely Hke those of the other members of the genus, 

 and the eggs average .63 by .49 inches. 



Seton Thompson states that the song is much like that of the Chipping 

 Sparrow, but more musical and in a higher key. So far as we are aware 

 it has not been heard to sing while with us during migration, its only note 

 being the sharp "tsip" common to a majority of the warblers. 



TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION. 



Similar to the Naslnille AVarblcr, but the crown patch brownish orange instead of chest- 

 nut, and the remainder of tlic ui)i)("r ])arts olive-green without any bluish-ash; under parts 

 from chin to under tail-coverts yellowish-olive, more dusky on the sides; no evident eye- 

 ring. Young similar, but duller and without any crown patch or with only a trace. Of 

 the same size as the Nashville. 



268. Tennessee Warbler. Vermivora peregrina {Wilmn). (647) 



Synonyms: Tennessee Swamp Warbler. — Sylvia peregrina, Wilson, 1811, Bonap., 

 Nutt., Aud. — Vermivora peregrina, Sw. & Rich., 1831. — Helminthophaga peregrina, 

 Baird, 1858, and most other writers until 1882. — Helminthophila peregrina, Ridgw., 

 1882, and most subsequent authors. 



Very similar to the Nashville, but the crown without any colored patch, 

 the back and rump bright olive-green, and the under parts white or Avhitish, 

 without spots or streaks, and at most with only a tinge of yellow. 



Distribution. — Eastern North America, breeding from northern New 

 York and northern New England northward to Hudson Bay Territory; 

 in winter, south through eastern Mexico to Costa Rica and Colombia. 



This is a warbler which occurs in variable numbers in different years 

 and which must be considered a migrant only, at least for the greater 

 part of the state. Occasionally it appears in considerable numbers, especi- 

 ally in the fall, when it is seen in small flocks of a dozen or more individuals, 

 and these are met with frequently and for several days in succession, 

 ordinarily in late August or early September. Again for a year or two 

 few will be seen either in spring or fall, and apparently it is always much less 

 common in spring. It has been reported in the fall from all parts of the 

 state. 



It is rather late in its arrival from the south, coming from the 10th to 

 the 15th of May, in the neighl^orhood of Detroit, and from the 20th to the 

 30th in the northern part of the state. The records of specimens killed 

 on Spectacle Reef Light, are May 23, 1897, May 28, 1892, September 5 

 and September 29, 1889, September 29, 1887 and October 3, 1893. Mr. 

 J. Claire Wood states that in Wayne county "not even a straggler was 

 seen in 1904, but it was the most common species in 1905 from August 



