EASTERN YELLOW WARBLER 175 



Fall. — The striking feature of the fall migration of the eastern yel- 

 low warbler is its earliness. The birds begin to move away from their 

 nesting haunts as soon as the young are able to take care of themselves, 

 and the southward migration is well under way before midsummer. 

 Smith (1943) says that, in Vermont, "during many seasons, the spe- 

 cies is not seen later than July. Departure dates for local summer 

 residents range from July 15 to the 30th. Later records occur between 

 August 18 and September 9th." These later records are probably for 

 birds from farther north. There seems to be a wide spread between 

 the times that the earliest and latest birds leave. 



Dr. L. H. Walkinshaw writes to me : "To me it is interesting how 

 soon after nesting has been completed these warblers disappear. 

 After July 10, it is very hard to find one of the species here in Michi- 

 gan, and after August 10, almost impossible. It does stay some in 

 certain good feeding areas, but the majority have left long before 

 August." According to Milton B, Trautman (1940), the migration 

 in Ohio begins early in July, reaches its height during the first half 

 of August, and only stragglers are seen after September 10. 



Arthur T. Wayne (1910) says that, in South Carolina — 



the Yellow Warbler is positively uncommon during the spring migrations, 

 but exceedingly abundant in summer and autumn. * * * By July 4, the 

 return migration takes place and a few young birds arrive, but it is not until 

 the 10th or loth that they are common. * * * The habits of the birds are 

 entirely changed, however, in summer and autumn, for then they frequent the 

 cotton fields, as well as lands which have been planted with peas for forage. 

 It is also not unusual in autumn to see as many as twenty or more of these 

 little birds far out in the salt marshes, where they find food in abundance. The 

 species is so very abundant in late summer and autumn that it is not unusual 

 to encounter hundreds of individuals in a few hours on plantations or in close 

 proximity to salt water. 



Prof. W. TV. Cooke (1904) writes : "Though in migration the yellow 

 warbler occurs in Florida as far south as Key West and is sometimes 

 fairly common in northern Florida, the numbers that migrate through 

 the southern part of the State must be very small, for not a bird pass- 

 ing north or south has been reported from any of the Florida light- 

 houses. The migration route of the yellow warblers that breed near 

 the Atlantic coast is evidently southwest to northern Georgia and 

 Alabama, and then across the Gulf of Mexico." 



Perhaps the main flight from Florida and the other Gulf States is 

 across the Gulf to Yucatan and then down through Central to South 

 America, for there seem to be no records for Cuba for the eastern 

 yellow warbler. There is a regular migration along the coast of 

 Texas. Dickey and van Kossem (1938) say that "the eastern yellow 

 warbler migrates through El Salvador in fair numbers, but no speci- 

 mens were taken at any time during the winter. In the fall, particu- 



