YELLOW PALM WARBLER 455 



the summer in the cold, dank, mossy swamps far away in the north. 

 During its migration, too, it seems attracted to moisture, to wet hol- 

 lows in the woods and to the edges of streams and ponds. I have seen 

 it feeding on the surface of a brook, held up by heavy grass lying along 

 the water. 



The bird is even commoner in the autumn migration but is no more 

 conspicuous, for at this season, September and early October, it is 

 moving southward in company with many other species of migrant 

 warblers. 



Francis H. Allen (MS.) reports an interesting habit of the yellow 

 palm which he noted as he watched two birds catching flies on Ipswich 

 beach, as previously described : "They were very active, running and 

 hopping along over the sand. They progressed both by hopping and 

 by running, as I saw both by watching them and by observing their 

 tracks, but they hopped more than they ran, and they always hopped 

 when they had longish distances to go. I watched them for a long 

 time and was often very near them, even within 8 feet. They did 

 not seem at all afraid of me." 



Voice. — The song of the yellow palm warbler is one of the so-called 

 trills, so common in bird music, a series of short notes rapidly re- 

 peated. Sometimes the notes are inflected slightly, giving them a 

 doubled effect. It is an inconspicuous little song, no loud or accented 

 notes, the tone rather flat, with no ringing quality — a feeble jingle 

 made up of listless notes, usually all on the same pitch and with little 

 musical charm. Walter Faxon used to say that it suggested to him 

 the song of a debilitated chipping sparrow. 



As I have listened to the bird's singing over a series of years I have 

 sometimes noted a variation both in the delivery and quality of the 

 song. There may be a slight swell in the middle, and on one occasion 

 I heard it divided into short sections like the early morning singing 

 of the chipping sparrow. Rarely, the notes are uttered slowly, no 

 faster than a flicker's shouting., and while they are tisually uttered 

 with no suggestion of vigor, occasionally they are given with such a 

 sharp, staccato delivery that they suggest (in the delivery only) the 

 bright song of Wilson's warbler. When the pitch alternates up and 

 down with a hint of rotary effect, as it does in some instances, the song 

 might be confused for a moment with that of a myrtle warbler, sing- 

 ing very listlessly. The palm warbler's call note is feeble, but 

 sharply-cut at the end, suggested by the syllable, ship. 



Aretas A. Saunders (MS.) sends to A. C. Bent this analysis: "The 

 song of the yellow palm warbler is a simple one, consisting of 10 to 

 30 notes in regular, even time, and with only slight changes in pitch. 



