VIRGINIA'S WARBLER 119 



readily approached and observed as they busily search for food for 

 their young family." 



Dr. William T. Shaw, who collected a specimen of this warbler in 

 northwestern Washington, says in his notes : "This warbler, a singing 

 male, was noticeably a percher upon high, isolated cedar poles when 

 singing, having three or four favorite ones in his territory, which was 

 a hillside grown to a height of about 15 feet with second-growth 

 deciduous trees, following fire. He sang from a height of from 30 

 to 40 feet up near the top of these old widely-scattered, fire-blasted, 

 weather-bleached trees, clearly out in the open and isolated from 

 green sheltering foliage beneath him, in such a location as one is 

 accustomed to seeing lazuli buntings perch when they sing." Dr. 

 Shaw thought the first part of the song suggested that of Macgilli- 

 vray's warbler, and the latter notes reminded him of "those heard 

 among the inspirational notes in the song of the lazuli bunting." 



The Bowles brothers (1906) say that, in the spring, the males have 

 at times a very pleasing habit while singing, "that of hovering thru 

 the air for a distance of fifteen or twenty yards. The manner of 

 flying at these times is verj' slow and closely resembles that of one 

 of the marsh wrens, but the beak is turned upwards and the feathers 

 on the swelling throat separate until it seems almost certain that the 

 bird will sing himself into some serious bodily mishap." 



VERMIVORA VIRGINIAE (Baird) 



VIRGINIA'S WARBLER 



Plate 18 



HABITS 



This warbler was discovered by Dr. W. W. Anderson, at Fort Burg- 

 wyn, New Mexico, and was described by Baird, in a footnote in The 

 Birds of North America, by Baird, Cassin, and Lawrence ( 1860) . The 

 footnote occurs under the explanation of plates in the second volume. 

 The warbler was named for Mrs. Virginia Anderson, wife of the 

 discoverer. 



Its range during the breeding season covers portions of Nevada, 

 Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico, mainly in the mountain 

 regions, and it retires to Mexico for the winter. It seems to be more 

 abundant in Colorado than elsewhere, breeding from the foothills, 

 where it is a characteristic bird and perhaps the most abundant of the 

 wood warblers, up to 7,500 to 8,000 feet in the mountains. On the 

 spring migration, it is abundant along the valley streams, among the 



