CAPE MAY WARBLER 221 



breast or Blackburnian. In these respects it resembles the song of 

 Protonotaria but the tone or quality is more wiry and, indeed, very 

 close to that of MniotiltaP 



Field marks. — The adult male Cape May vrarbler should be un- 

 mistakable in his brilliant spring plumage, with his black cap, chestnut 

 cheeks, white lesser wing coverts, and bright yellow breast conspicu- 

 ously streaked with black. 



The female lacks the black cap and chestnut cheeks ; her breast is 

 pale yellow streaked with pale dusky; and all her colors are duller. 

 Young birds are much like the female, but are still duller in coloration. 

 See descriptions of other plumages. The tail-tilting habit is quite 

 pronounced. 



Fall. — The fall migration starts in August and is prolonged through 

 September, or even into October or a little later. The birds are 

 numerically more abundant in the fall because of the large families 

 of young, but they are less conspicuous wliile the foliage is still on the 

 trees and while they are clad in dull autumn and immature plumages. 

 Deciduous woods seem to be their favorite haunts at this season. The 

 migration route is a reversal of the spring route, the main flight being 

 between the Mississippi and the Alleghenies. 



In this area, the birds are often excessively abundant, as shown by 

 the accounts in the preceding paragraphs under food. They are 

 common in Florida on migration on their way to the Bahamas and 

 West Indies. C. J. Maynard (1896) writes: 



"They were very abundant at Key West in November, frequenting 

 the gardens near the houses' where they were searching among the 

 tropical trees and shrubs for inescts. The birds were very unsuspi- 

 cious, often clinging to branches which overhung the sidewalks within 

 a few feet of the passengers. They appeared to prefer the inhabited 

 portion of the Key, for I rarely found them in wooded districts. The 

 majority left the island before the first of December, but a few re- 

 mained all winter." 



'Winter. — Maynard (1896) says: "These birds are also common on 

 all of the northern Bahamas which I have visited, occurring in the 

 thickets about gardens as well as in the dense scrub. I found them 

 abundant on Inagua in February, 1888. Here they were feeding upon 

 the juices of a large tubular flower of a peculiar species of vine, in 

 company with the Bahama Honey Creeper and the Lyre-tailed 

 Hummingbird." 



In Cuba, according to Dr. Barbour (1923), "a few arrive from time 

 to time during the autumn, but in February they become really com- 

 mon ; they stay until May. They are great flower feeders and haunt 

 aloes and the majagua tree when it is in bloom. Many may be seen 



