94 BULLETIN 203, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



pastures, almost the only sound is the ticking of the falling leaves 

 as they hit against the branches ; and mistiness is all about us. Several 

 seasons may pass before we hear its sharp chij), which stands out 

 clearly from the gentle voice of the late-lingering myrtle warblers, 

 and see it flitting all alone among the twigs, or on the ground — a 

 lonely, dark, obscure little bird, darker and more deliberate than the 

 kinglets. It is strange that a Vermivora should linger here with 

 winter so near at hand, but indeed there is evidence which leads us 

 to believe that a few of these warblers may attempt to spend the 

 winter in the southern part of this region, and should any one of 

 them withstand the cold season, it may furnish, when it moves north- 

 wards towards its breeding ground, one of the exceedingly rare 

 instances of the occurrence of the bird on the northern Atlantic 

 coast in spring." 



Winter, — The principal winter home of the orange-crowned warbler 

 seems to be in the southern Atlantic and Gulf States. Of its occur- 

 rence in coastal South Carolina, Arthur T. Wayne (1910) writes: 



My earliest date for its arrival is October 30, 1897, but it is never abundant 

 until the middle of November, remaining until the second v\reek in April. It 

 is capable of enduring intense cold. I have seen numbers of these highly 

 interesting birds near Charleston when the thermometer ranged as low as 8° 

 above zero and it is always more active and hence oftener seen when the weather 

 is cold and cloudy. 



The Orange-crowned Warbler inhabits thickets of lavender and myrtle bushes 

 as well as oak scrub, and its center of abundance is on the coast islands, the 

 greater part of which is veritable jungle, in v/hich it particularly delights. Its 

 only note while it sojourns here is a chip or cheep which very closely resembles 

 the note of the Field Sparrow in winter. 



Dr. Chapman (1907) says: "During the winter I have found the 

 Orange-crowned Warbler a not uncommon inhabitant of the live-oaks 

 in middle Florida where its sharp chip soon becomes recognizable. 

 In Mississippi, at this season, Allison (MS.) says that 'its favorite 

 haunts are usually wooded yards or parks, where the evergreen live 

 oak and magnolia can be found : I have seen it most conunonly among 

 the small trees on the border of rich mixed woods, above an under- 

 growth of switch cane. Coniferous trees it seems not to care for, 

 though I have seen it in the cypress swamps.' " 



DISTRIBUTION 



Range. — From Alaska and northern Canada to Guatemala. 



Breeding range. — The orange-crowned warbler breeds north to 

 northcentral Alaska (Kobuk River and Fort Yukon; a specimen has 

 been collected near Point Barrow) ; northern and western Mackenzie 

 (Fort McPherson, Fort Anderson, Lake Hardisty, and Hill Island 

 Lake) ; northern Saskatchewan (near Sand Point, Lake Athabaska) ; 



