648 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE. 



at the larger end with reddish-brown, Hlac-gray, and usually a few pen- 

 scratches of black. They average .70 by .53 inches. 



TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION. 



Adult male: Forehead and sides of head, including eye-region and ear-coverts, bright 

 yellow; rest of head and neck deep black; rest of uijper parts bright olive-green; rest of 

 under parts bright yellow, paler on under tail-coverts; wings unmarked; outer three pairs 

 of tail-feathers with most of inner webs white. Female similar, but with mucli less black, 

 the throat often entirely yellow, the black "hood" usually obscured more or less above 

 by greenish tips of the feathers, sometimes lacking altogether. 



Length 5 to 5.70 inches; wing 2.50 to 2.75; tail 2.20 to 2.40. 



296. Wilson's Black-cap. Wilsonia pusilla pusilla (Wilson). (685) 



Synonyms: Wilson's Flycatcher, Wilson's Flycatcliing Warbler, Wilson's Black- 

 capped Flycatching Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, Black-capped Flycatcliing Warbler, 

 Black-capped Warbler, Blackcap. — Muscicapa pusilla, Wils., 1811. — Wilsonia pusilla, 

 Bonap., 1838, A. O. U. Committee, 1899. — Sylvania pusilla, Nutt., 1840. — Myiodioctes 

 pusillus, Baird, 1845, and many other writers. 



Mainly yellow, brightest and clearest below, more greenish or decidedly 

 olive-green above, the crown with a satiny l^lack patch which is always 

 present in the adult male, but of which there may be only traces in the female 

 and young. There are stiff bristles about the "base of the bill as in typical 

 flycatchers. 



Distribution. — Eastern North America, west to and including the Rocky 

 Mountains, north to Labrador, Hudson Bay Territory and Alaska. Breeds 

 chiefly north of the United States, migrating south to eastern Mexico 

 and Central America. 



Wilson's Blackcap seems to be a rare warbler over most of Michigan, 

 but occurs during migration in small numliers everywhere. It would 

 seem to be least common in the southeastern part of the state, where 

 several good observers have failed to find it at all and few have ever found 

 it abundant. In the central part of the state and along the Lake IMichigan 

 border it is less uncommon, yet it is eveiywhere regarded as "one of the 

 rarer warblers. 



It is one of the latest species to arrive from the south, reaching our 

 southern counties from the 10th to the 20th of May, in average seasons, 

 and passing rapidly northward to its nesting grounds beyond our limits. 

 While with us it frequents shrubbery and the lower branches of trees, 

 being rarely seen at any height and most often among blossoming shrubs 

 within five or six feet of the ground. It is by no means shy and usually 

 permits a close approach, so that identification is possible without shooting. 

 Occasionally it is seen in little parties of three to six, but is more often 

 found singly or in pairs, or perhaps most often associated with the Canadian 

 Warbler, Blackpoll, Mourning Warbler, and other late migrants. A 

 specimen was killed on Spectacle Reef Light, Lake Huron, June 2, 1889, 

 and another August 23, 1887, while one struck Big Sable Light, Lake 

 Superior June 6, 1894. Dr. Gibbs records one taken in Kalamazoo county, 

 May 16, 1875, and another September 9, 1877, and Leon J. Cole took 

 specimens at Spring Lake, Ottawa county, August 24, 1896. Other 

 records are Grand Rapids, May 19 and 22, 1890 (S. E. White); W^ayne 

 county May 20, 1905 (P. A. Taverner) ; Mackinac Island, August 26 and 

 30, 1889 (S. E. White); Ingham county, May 18, 1900 (W. T. Shaw). At 

 Ann Arbor N. A. Wood saw fifteen or more on May 28, 1907, and in Wayne 



