riiij,"--iieckfci killdecr wades in tlic sliallow water and makes odd tracks in the mud. 



Small tisli and plentiful and varied insect life draw many birds to the 

 repons of brooks, creeks and rivers. 



Phoebes, pevvees and black-capped warblers and other flycatchers ccuiie for 

 the insects, while here the bijf, ungainly looking kingfisher finds conditions just to 

 his liking: a home in the bank, food in the stream and a look-out station in snag 

 or upturned root. A fisherman of ancient fame is he, with most commendable 

 ])atience. 



To thorn bushes and thickets of wild crab apple and plum we turn to watcii 

 catbirds, thrashers, chats and shy cuckoos glide among the thorn-set branches. 



While birds of almost every common kind stop occasionally on the forest 

 borders, we do not see many in the denser parts. Owls, hawks and crows break 

 the silence, and redstarts, jays and tanagers make gleams of color in the more 

 open spaces. 



But it needs no wandering to put us in touch with the birds. Lo, they come 

 to our abodes. Wrens and blue birds and robins, vireocs, pewees and martins, 

 cardinals and swifts, will be joyous neighbors to us all summer long, and from 

 roof, porch, chimney, barn rafters or orchard shade will gladden us with their 

 presence and song. 



"Where can man wander, or where can he dwell, 



Beautiful birds, that ye come not as well?" 



The i)oet is right ; birds, joy-givers, are everywhere. 



The Parula Warbler (Compsothlypis ameriama) 

 By Gerard Alan Abbott 



Length: A] 2 inches. Similar tt) northern I'arula Warbler. 



The range of the Parula Warbler is eastern North America, lireeding from 

 t!ie Gulf to Canada, and wintering in Florida and south. 



The head and throat of this warbler is deep bluish gray, becoming much 

 blacker on the breast. This appearance has suggested the name parula warbler. 

 Parula Warblers have been subdivided and are described as northern parula and 

 the parula. As usual, we find the larger or hardier bird visits the more rigorous 

 climates, as the northern parula, inhabiting the states bordering the Great Lakes 

 and New luigalnd, is slightly larger than the parula which may be found south 

 of the Ohio River, ranging from the Atlantic coast to Texas. Both varieties are 

 frequently called the blue yellow-backed warbler. 



The food consists of spiders, small insects, including flies and various other 

 winged forms, and caterpillars, which they are very industrious in gathering from 

 underneath leaves and inconspicuous branches of the trees they frequent. Like 

 otTier warblers, they are highly useful to horticulture. 



Aside from the cerulean warbler probably no other member of this family 



534 



