628 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE. 



white spots on the tail-feathers, is diagnostic. The olive back and the 

 heavily spotted breast and sides give it the appearance of a small thrush, 

 but in reality it is a large warbler. 



Distribution. — Eastern North America, north to Hudson Bay Territory 

 and Alaska, breeding from Kansas, the Ohio Valley and Virginia north- 

 ward. In winter Florida, the West Indies, southern Mexico and Central 

 America to Panama. 



The Ovenbird is a common summer resident of our woodlands throughout 

 the state. It may be absent from certain restricted regions, but we have 

 never visited a place in the state where 



it was not found, and it is reported as - Si=~ --- ^^g^ 



common by almost all our corre- . ^^^ ; £^^=5?- =.:v; ~ - ^^^ 



spondents. According to Peet it is a ^^-~-V 



rather scarce resident on Isle Royale. ^ "^ ' 



It arrives from the south rather early, 

 Mr. Trombley of Petersburg, ]\Ionroe ^ssr^"^"*"-'" 



county, recording the earliest on April ,^^ ' ^ 



"2:2, 1891, while in 1888 the first was seen ' ^'"^ ~ .. . . 

 on May 9. At Ann Arbor Mr. Norman 

 A. Wood gives the average date of first 

 arrival for twenty-five years as the first 

 week in May, the earliest being April 28, 

 1 900 and the latest May 1 1 , 1 90 1 . Most 

 of the bh-ds move southward in Septem- ^\^^rS^ :,S^S^^^^'^^^ 

 ber, mainly during the latter halt, but Biowu & co. 

 a few linger into October. 



Its ringing song of "teacher, teacher, teacher" so well described by 

 Burroughs, is not always given immediately on arrival, but within a few 

 days if the weather be fair the woods are echoing with it. The bird often 

 sings from the ground or from a stick, stump or stone, but usually from 

 a jjranch of a tree at some little height above the surface, though seldom 

 from the top of a tree or from any lofty perch. It spends most of its time 

 running about on the ground, where it gathers almost all its food, and it 

 has a habit when moderately disturbed of walking lengthwise along a 

 branch with a deliberate slow step, like a chicken, often jetting the tail 

 in the manner of the Hermit Thrush, but with less energy than its near 

 relative the Water-thrush. 



The nest is built late iri May or early in June, in the middle counties, 

 and is a beautiful structure, being sunken somewhat in the ground and 

 carefully roofed over with leaves and grasses, in the manner of an old- 

 fashioned oven, whence the bird gets the name of Ovenbird. So cleverly 

 is the nest concealed that it is rarely found except by flushing the bird, 

 and in order to do this one must step very close to the nest. Even then 

 the owner usually attempts to lead the enemy away by feigning injury, 

 and often succeeds. In spite of its good concealment the Cowbird appears 

 to find the nest easily, and in many localities it is a rare thing to find a 

 nest free from one or more eggs of this parasite. The Ovenbird suffers 

 much from sc^uirrels, skunks, weasels, snakes and other prowlers, so that 

 the first nest is often broken up and the bird compelled to lay a second 

 or even a third time. Doubtless this accounts for the fact that young, 

 or even eggs, may frequently be found late in July or occasionally in August, 

 for we do not think the l)ird rears two broods as a rule. 



Aside from the so-called song of "teacher, teacher, teacher" this l)ii(l 



