TOWNSEND'S WARBLER 287 



Behavior. — A marked characteristic of Townsend's warblers is their 

 fondness for the tree tops, especially on their breeding grounds and to 

 some extent at other seasons. In the coniferous forests which they 

 frequent in summer, they confine their activities almost entirely to 

 the tops of the tallest fir trees, where they travel rapidly, stopping 

 only long enough to glean their food and then hastening onward, re- 

 turning, perhaps, over the same trees in their active restless foraging. 



Later in the summer and as migration time draws near, they are 

 frequently seen at lower levels, among deciduous trees and in second 

 growth woods, often in association with kniglets, chickadees, other 

 warblers, and juncos. 



Voice. — Mrs. Allen (MS.) renders the song as a '"''loeazy weazy 

 weazy weazy tweea, rising in spirals, and the call-note a soft chip., not 

 so metallic as the lutescent's, and less emphatic than the Audubon's." 

 According to Rathbun (MS.), "its song is heard during May and 

 June quite persistently under all climatic conditions." Dr. Merrill 

 (1898) says that the song, as he heard it in Idaho, "usually consists 

 of five notes, dee dee dee — de de., all, especially the first three, uttered 

 in the peculiar harsh drawl of D. virens. Later in the season this 

 song changes somewhat." This second song was heard in low second 

 growth. Mr. Rathbun also refers in his notes to a different song, 

 heard in some young second growth; the bird was "singing softly 

 as if to itself, this being a much more finished performance than the 

 ordinary song, although identical in construction, the distinction be- 

 ing an elaboration of the song in full in softer tones." Ralph Hoff- 

 mann (1927) found the song of Townsend's warbler difficult to dis- 

 tinguish from that of the black-throated gray warbler. "The Town- 

 send Warbler's song has less of the drawling inflection in the open- 

 ing notes than the Black-throated Gray's and often ends with a pro- 

 longed ee-zee. A song noted by the writer in the Olympics in western 

 Washington was transcribed as a hoarse swee swee swee zee.'''' 



Field marks. — The adult male Townsend's warbler is distinctively 

 marked, having the crown, cheeks, and throat black, with bright yel- 

 low spaces between these areas, and an olive-green back and bright 

 yellow breast, both streaked with black; it has two prominent white 

 wing bars and considerable white on the outer tail feathers. The 

 female has a similar pattern, but the colors are much duller and she 

 has no black throat. Young and adults in the fall are much like the 

 adult female in spring, but are more or less clouded with brownish. 

 There is no other western warbler that is much like it. 



Fall. — Theed Pearse tells me that he has seen Townsend's warblers 

 on migration through Vancouver Island, British Columbia, as early 

 as August 13 and as late as October 9, but gives no winter records. 

 Rathburn gives me two winter records for the vicinity of Seattle, 



