626 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE. 



reddish brown. The eggs probably are of about the same size as those 

 of the eastern form which measure .67 by .52 inches. 



While with us during migration this species has only a sharp "chip" 

 or ''chuck" which is, however, quite characteristic. In its summer home 

 it is said to have a pleasant but rather weak trill. 



TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION. 



Adult: Forehead and crown clear chestnut, sharply separated from the color of the 

 hack, which is grayish-olive, indistinctly streaked with brownish; rump and upper tail- 

 coverts usually distinct greenish-yellow; a yellow line from nostril over and behind the 

 eye; sides of head and neck like back; under parts yellow, brightest on throat and breast, 

 fading to yellowish-white on belly, the chin and throat usually unspotted, the breast and 

 sides spotted and streaked with chestnut; under tail-coverts bright yellow; two indistinct 

 grayish wing-bars; two outer pairs of tail-feathers with inner webs white at tips. Sexes 

 alike. 



Length 4.50 to f).")!) inches; wing 2:AF, to 2.65; tail 2.05 to 2.45. 



285. Prairie Warbler. Dendroica discolor {Vieill.). (673) 



Synonyms: Sylvia discolor, Vieill., 1807. — Sylvicola discolor, Jardine, 1832, Aud., 

 1S39. — Dendroica and Dendroeca discolor of most recent authors. — Sylvia minuta, Wilson, 

 1811. 



Fig. 140. 



The male is readily known by the patch of chestnut or l)rick red spots 

 in the middle of the back, and a trace of this is commonly visible in the 

 female. The under parts are rich yellow, the sides with dark streaks. 



Distribution. — Eastern United States to the Plains, breeding from 

 Florida north to Michigan and southern New England. Winters in southern 

 Florida and the West Indies. 



This dainty little warbler appears to be by no means common in Mich- 

 igan, yet it has been found here and there in some numboi's, j)ai'ti('ulai'ly 

 in Ottawa and Montcalm counties by Dr. 

 Morris (libbs, and on Mackinac Island by S. E. 

 White. This latter point would seem to be 

 its northern limit in the state, and it is a singular 

 fact that, although Mr. White states that it 

 was common there in bushy country and that 

 he took many specimens between August 10 

 and September 6 in 1889, 1890 and 1891, it 

 did not appear to be nesting there, and it has 

 not been found there since by any one else. 

 .\h)reover, among the thousands of warblers 

 killed on Spectacle Reef Light, within eighteen '^' 



or twenty miles of Mackinac Island, not a single rig. i40. Prairie Wurijier. From 



f ,1 ,, • • -.^T , 1 1 1 ('oues' Key, .5th (■(!., 190:J. Dana 



specimen ot the ri'aine vVai'hler has ever been Estes & co. 

 found. 



The name "Prairie Warbler" is simply a misnomer, since the bird is 

 rarely seen on the open prairie, and is not known to nest anywhere in 

 the prairie regions of Indiana, Illinois or southern Michigan. On the 

 contrary the bird appears to prefer bushy pastures, recently cleared lands, 

 and sciaibby woods. For this reason the name Red-backed Wai'bicr or 

 even Pasture Warbler would be j)referal)le. 



