172 BULLETIN 2 03, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



comes to us in the most friendly and confiding manner to build its 

 cozy nest and rear its little golden family in the lilac bush under our 

 window or in the climbing rambler over our porch. Nor does it mind 

 our company in the least as we watch its home life almost within 

 arm's reach. I have sat for an hour within a few feet of a pair of 

 these lovely birds and watched them building their nest. The many 

 fine photographs that I have received show that it is an easy subject 

 for close-up pictures ; the near presence of the camera does not seem 

 to disturb them in their feeding routine. Many intimate home-life 

 studies have been very successful, for they are brave and devoted 

 parents. Robie W. Tufts (1927) has had a male yellow warbler come 

 at least twice to feed a brood of young that he was holding in his 

 hand, and once he even wiped his bill on his thumb. It is such dis- 

 plays of confidence that endear us to the little golden gem. 



Voice. — Aretas A. Saunders contributes the following study of the 

 song of this warbler: "The song of the yellow warbler is a bright, 

 sweet and musical refrain of about 8 notes. My records show that 

 the number varies from 5 to 15 and averages Si/o. The songs are quite 

 variable in form, so much so that it is the quality, rather than the 

 form, that makes the song recognizable. This quality is difficult to 

 describe, yet that quality, after a little familiarity, is easily recog- 

 nized; the tones, though musical and pleasing, are not quite clear, 

 but slightly sibilant. 



"Two forms of the song are fairly typical, but there are a number 

 of others that vary so much that they are quite unlike either of these. 

 The most common form begins with four or five notes of even time, 

 and all on the same pitch. These are followed by two or three more 

 rapid notes on a different pitch, usually lower ; and the song is ended 

 by one or two notes back on the original pitch and time. Such a 

 song, in its simplest form, might be written see see see see tititi see. 

 Of my 87 records, 45 may be classed as this form. 



"The second form begins in the same manner, but has all the notes 

 of equal time, and the last three or four successively lower in pitch. 

 I have records of 24 such songs. There remain in my records 18 

 songs so variable that they belong to neither of these forms, and yet 

 no two of them are similar in form. A number of songs of the differ- 

 ent forms begin with slurred notes, the slurs being about equally up 

 or down in pitch. 



"Songs vary from ll^ to 2 seconds in length, averaging about 1% 

 seconds. The pitch varies from A " " to D " " ', only three and a 

 half tones altogether. Single songs vary from one to two and a 

 half tones in range of pitch, averaging about one and a half tones. 

 Individual birds may sing as many as three different songs, and some- 

 times sing two different songs in regular alternation. 



