WESTERN YELLOWTHROAT 571 



ern California, and through Baja California and western Mexico as 

 far south as Cape San Lucas and Tepic, Nayarit. In California 

 migrants appear in all sections of the State, even up the middle eleva- 

 tions in the mountains. 



Specimens of the western yellowthroat have been taken as far east 

 as Erie, Mich. (Van Tyne, 1944), and Gulfport, Miss. (Burleigh, 

 1944) . 



In Washington, according to correspondence from Samuel F. 

 Eathbun, the western yellowthroat is decidedly localized in its dis- 

 tribution, being restricted to brushy borders of swamps, marshes, 

 lakes, and streams, but very often it is absent from these localities. 

 When seen among the rushes along the edge of some rush-bordered 

 piece of water, climbing actively among the stalks, its actions are 

 reminiscent of those of the tule wrens. 



At Fort Klamath, Oreg., J. C. Merrill (1888) writes: "The habits 

 of the Western Yellow-throat in this vicinity, as regards its favorite 

 resorts, are quite unlike what I have elsewhere observed. Though 

 the numerous streams offer it the same rank undergrowth along their 

 swampy edges that it in other places prefers, yet it is rarely seen in 

 such situations. A few are found among the low willows growing 

 in the marsh, but its favorite haunt, and one in which it is very com- 

 mon, is among the tules in company with Marsh Wrens and Yellow- 

 headed Blackbirds." 



In California, Grinnell and Miller (1944) state that its habitat is 

 in the "low thick tangles of plant growth in or about fresh- or brackish- 

 water marshes and sloughs ; extremely small areas of flooded ground 

 in river bottoms * * * may suffice. Important is continuous 

 cover for concealment in foraging down to the mud or water surfaces. 

 The sphere of activity is within six feet of the water and principally 

 within three feet." 



In Montana, according to A. A. Saunders (1921) the western yellow- 

 throat is — 



a very common summer resident in the western half of the state, east to the 

 western pai't of the prairie region. Apparently rare in the more eastern part 

 of the prairie region, and occuring there only in migration. Breeds throughout 

 the Transition zone, on the prairies, and in the mountain valleys and foothills. 

 Nests in thickets of willow, wild-rose and similar shrubs, in moist places along 

 the streams. The breeding range of the Western Yellowthroat in Montana is 

 almost exactly coincident with that of the MacGillivray Warbler, both being 

 found east of Fergus County and the Musselshell River, but the Yellowthroat 

 is much commoner at low elevations in valleys, and much less common in the 

 mountain foothills. In many localities, however, the two species are found 

 together. 



In Utah where the western yellowthroat is a common resident, ex- 

 cept in the southwestern part of the state, W. H. Behle ( 1944) writes : 



