WARBLERS 



119 



LUCY'S WARBLER 

 Vermivora lucias (./. G". Cooper) 



A II. U. Number 1.43 



General Description. — Length, 4I2 inches. Upper 

 parts, gray ; under parts, whitish. Bill, shorter than 

 head, narrowly wedge-shaped, the tip very acute ; 

 wings, moderately long; tail, about 3/i length of wing, 

 even or nearly even, the feathers narrow. 



Color. — Adult M.\i.e : Above, plain iiwiisr-gray; 

 crown, chestnut, the feathers tipped (except in worn 

 plumage) with gray: upper tail-coverts, bright chest- 

 nut; lores, eye-ring, and entire under parts, white tinged 

 with pale brownish gray laterally and also tinged with 

 buff, especially on chest ; bill, dusky horn color ; iris, 

 brown; legs and feet, dusky. .Adult Fem.-\le: .Similar 

 to the male and not always distinguishable, but usually 

 with the chestnut crown-patch more restricted (rarely 



obsolete) and chestnut of botli crown-patcli and upper 

 tail-coverts lighter or less intense. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nest: Usually m deserted Wood- 

 pecker holes, behind loose bark of trees, in the giant 

 cactus, or under roots along stream banks, sometimes 

 in knot-holes or any sort of crevice, from 2 to 20 feet 

 above ground; constructed of fine grass, leaves, and 

 rootlets, and lined with horse-hair and feathers. Eggs : 

 3 to 5. white or creamy, handsomely wreathed around 

 large end with cliestnut and umber. 



Distribution. — Southwestern United States and 

 Mexico; breeds in Santa Clara valley. Utah, and 

 .Arizona; winters in western Mexico south to 

 Jalisco. 



R. I. Brasher 



LUCY'S WARBLER (i nat. sizel 

 A little-known Warbler of the souttiwestern United States and Me 



The comparatively little known Lucy's 

 Warbler frequents chiefly willow and mesquite 

 thickets in river bottoms and in generally unin- 

 hal:)ited regions. According to one observer 

 ( .Stevens ) the specimens he saw " although active 

 and restless were not at all shy," to which he 

 adds that the birds " were continually in motion, 

 flying from tree to tree, and occasionally visiting 

 some low brush in the vicinit\'." Dr. Gambel, 



who observed the bird on .Santa Catalina Island 

 said its song resembled the syllables cr-r.r,r.r- 

 shc-up in the form of a low, sweet trill. 



Mr. Finley found this Warbler quite abundant 

 in the mesquite a few miles south of Tucson. He 

 found several nests one afternoon, each of which 

 was built in behind a chunk of loose bark on the 

 side of a tree about three or four feet from the 

 ground. 



