HOODED WARBLER 623 



it is louder and less sparrowlike, and has a ring at the end which the 

 cardinal's note lacks. From the note of the Louisiana waterthrush 

 it may be separated by the fact that it is not so loud. And it may 

 be told from the chipmunk's chip because of its more even spacing, 

 and its more usual ring, which the chipmunk's note lacks. 



"During May and June the hooded warbler is one of the most 

 consistent singers of the woods which he frequents. He is one of 

 the last to stop at night as darkness comes on, sometimes continuing 

 longer than the wood thrush, the scarlet tanager or the wood pewee." 



Field marks. — The adult male hooded warbler is unmistakable, 

 with its black hood and throat surrounding its bright yellow cheeks 

 in marked contrast with its olive-green black and yellow under parts. 

 There are no white wing-bars, but the outer tail feathers are largely 

 white and are almost constantly displayed. The fully adult female 

 is often much like the male in general appearance, as noted under 

 Plumages, but young birds are mainly plain olive above and yellow 

 below. The seasonal plumages are not strikingly different. The song 

 is quite distinctive. 



Enemies. — Dr. Friedmann (1929) says that this warbler is a rather 

 uncommon victim of the cowbird; he had only ten records. 



Harold S. Peters (1936) lists one louse, two bird-flies, and one 

 tick as external parasites on the hooded warbler. Dr. Williams (MS.) 

 says: "The raccoon, skunlr, opossum, red squirrel, and pilot black- 

 snake are all regular prowlers throughout the areas where the hooded 

 warbler nests. The barred owl and the blue jay have young to feed 

 while the warblers are incubating their eggs and feeding their own 

 young in the nest. The cowbird is a frequent visitor to hooded 

 warblers' nests, slightly over 50 percent of nests found with eggs or 

 young containing from one to three cowbird's eggs or young." 



Winter. — Dr. Skutch contributes the following: "Very rarely 

 recorded in southern Central America, the hooded warbler is one of 

 the less abundant winter residents in the lowlands of Honduras and 

 Guatemala. In northern Central America it is found on both the 

 Caribbean and Pacific sides of the mountains, and in midwinter 

 ranges upward to at least 3,000 feet above sea level. On September 

 28, 1933, I met a male on the Sierra de Tecpan at an altitude of 8,500 

 feet; but he was obviously a transient and did not linger; nor have 

 I any other record of the species at so high an altitude. The hooded 

 warbler frequents low, moist thickets and second-growth woodland, 

 and like practically all birds of similar habitat, is found singly rather 

 than in flocks. Wearing his bright nuptial attire through the year, 

 the male hooded warbler is always a delightful bird to meet amid 

 the low second-growth, and is sufficiently rare to make the encounter 

 a memorable event. The birds arrive in Guatemala in September 

 and remain until early April. 



