320 BULLETIN 2 03, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



interested in watching me as I was in observing him. Seemingly he was desirous 

 of assisting me to describe his song in my note-book, by very obligingly repeating 

 it frequently for my special benefit. 



Mr. Werner told Mr. Brewster (1879) that "their habits were 

 similar to those of D. virens; they were very active, always on the 

 alert for insects, examining almost every limb, and now and then 

 darting after them while on the wing." 



Voice. — The song evidently bears a resemblance to that of the black- 

 throated green warbler in quality. Mr. Werner wrote it tsrr weasy- 

 weasy tweah^ and referred to the notes as soft. Mr. Attwater wrote 

 to Dr. Chapman (1907) : "It would be difficult to describe the Golden- 

 cheek's song with any real satisfaction. It varies somewhat, being 

 uttered much more rapidly by some individuals than by others. At 

 a distance only the louder parts are heard, so that it sounds quite 

 different than when heard at close quarters. The hurried song might 

 be given as tweah^ tweak., twee-sy., with some individuals introducing 

 an extra note or two, and the slower or more deliberate style twee-ah., 

 eseah^ eachy. After the young leave the nests the males gradually 

 stop singing, and at this period sometimes only use a part of the 

 regular song." 



George Finlay Simmons (1925) describes the song as "ventrilo- 

 quistic, elusive, seeming to come from here, there, everywhere; ter- 

 wih-zeee-e-e-e., chy., the first, second, and fourth notes short and soft, 

 the third longest, most distinct, and with the shrill buzzing z-z-z-z 

 quality of the Black-throated Green Warbler's song. * * * g^ng 

 by male from conspicuous perch atop a small tree near nest and hidden 

 female ; heard commonly in spring in the Golden-cheek habitat ; males 

 gradually stop singing when young have left nest. Call, chirping in 

 migration; female, a soft, scolding check., check., check or tick., tide, 

 uttered slowly, a note at a time." 



Enemies. — According to Dr. Friedmann (1929) , the golden-cheeked 

 warbler is "apparently a rather rare victim of the Dwarf Cowbird." 

 He mentions only three authentic cases. 



Field marks. — The golden-cheeked warbler might at first glance be 

 mistaken for a black-throated green warbler, but the upper parts in 

 the adult male are deep black from crown to tail, instead of olive- 

 green, and the under parts, except for the black throat, are white and 

 not tinged with yellow. The female differs from the eastern bird in 

 the same way. 



Fall. — Golden-cheeked warblers do not remain on their breeding 

 grounds very long and leave for their winter resorts in Mexico and 

 Central America before the end of summer. Mr. Attwater told Dr. 

 Chapman (1907) that "early in July they begin to scatter, as most of 

 the young birds are then able to shift for themselves. By the middle 



