io6 



BIRDS OF AMERICA 



white ; flanks, pale grayish ; under wing-coverts, white 

 tinged with yellow ; lesser wing-coverts, shoulders, 

 lower back, rump, and upper tail-coverts, plain slate- 

 gray; wings (except lesser coverts) and tail, black; 

 middle and greater wing-coverts (except innermost), 

 broadly tipped with white, forming two conspicuous 

 bands ; inner wing quills broadly edged with white 

 (this sometimes tinged with yellow) ; bill, grayish- 

 black ; iris, brown ; legs and feet, light grayish-blue. 

 Young: Crown, hindneck, back, shoulders, lesser wing- 

 coverts, rump, and upper tail-coverts, plain soft brown- 

 ish-gray ; line above the lores, eye ring, chin, throat, 

 and chest, very pale yellow, shading into deeper yellow 

 on cheek and under eye regions, and on lower portion 

 of ear region; rest of under parts, white; wing-quills, 

 tail-feathers, and larger wing-coverts as in adults, 

 but edgings of secondaries, pale yellow. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nest: Pensile, in fork of decidu- 

 ous tree from 5 to 30 feet up. in secluded woods ; 

 constructed of narrow bark strips and grass com- 

 pactly woven and artistically decorated with cocoons, 

 spiders' nests, and lichens firmly tied on with spider- 

 webs. Eggs : 3 to 5, usually 4, pinkish-white, more 

 heavily marked than rest of genus, with umber-brown, 

 sepia, and chestnut. 



Distribution. — Eastern United States and southern 

 British Provinces ; north to Maine. Vermont, northern 

 New York, southern Ontario, southern Quebec, and 

 southern Manitoba west to edge of Great Plains; 

 breeding south to Gulf coast, from northern Florida 

 to southern Texas; in winter from southern Florida 

 and Cuba southward through eastern Mexico and 

 Central America to Colombia ; casual in winter in 

 Cuba and Bahamas. 



Like the Warbling Vireo, the Yellow-throated 

 species is essentially a tree-top bird, but probably 

 it is much the more frequently seen of the two, 

 for the reason that its plumage includes quite 

 strong color contrasts, while the Warbline 



Photo by A. A. Allen 



YELLOW-THROATED VIREO 

 Incubating twenty-five feet from the ground in a chestnut tree 



species' colors are comparatively inconspicuotis. 

 Also like that species, this bird frequently builds 

 in shade trees, and from their topmost branches 

 sends down its characteristic and frequently 

 repeated song, which somewhat resembles that 



of the Red-eyed member of the family. A com- 

 monly expressed distinction between the two 

 utterances is that the quality of the Red-eye's 

 voice is soprano, while that of the Yellow- 

 throat is contralto; but Mr. Mathews defines the 

 difference more accurately by this analysis : " It 

 is nearer the truth to say. rather, that the Yel- 

 low-throat has a violin qtiality to his voice, or 

 better, a reedlike qtiality ; Bradford Torrey calls 

 it an ' organ tone.' At any rate there is no clear 

 whistle to this Vireo's music, and on the con- 

 trary there is to the Red-eye's music. That is 

 the whole matter in a nut-shell ! For the rest I 

 may add that the Yellow-throat's tempo is much 

 slower and that he does not indulge in such an 

 interminable amount of singing!" 



E. H. Eaton records having found this Warbler 

 nesting in Central Park, New York city, and 

 also in shade trees in Rochester, Medina, Canan- 

 daigua, and Buft'alo. and adds this further inter- 

 esting observation : " I have found that in some 

 localities where it was common years ago it has 

 disappeared, and made its appearance in other 

 localities where it was formerly unknown. This 

 shifting of its centers of abundance is difficult 

 to explain, but I have noticed in certain small 

 parks and about many groves and on certain 

 streets where it has been carefully watched, this 

 species has disappeared the next season after it 

 was unsuccessful in rearing its young, due to 

 its having been parasitized by the Cowbird. 

 Probably this catise and other unfavorable cir- 

 cumstances, like the destruction of its brood by 

 Screech Owls or unfavorable weather conditions, 

 left no descendants to repeople the accustomed 

 grove." 



