132 



BIRDS OF AMERICA 



jonn bluish slate-gray, margined laterally by a white 

 streak beginning on upper eyelid and extending over 

 ear region ; a white spot on lower eyelid ; forehead, 

 lores, space below eyes, sides of head, sides of neck, 

 back, and shoulders, uniform deep black, the last 

 sometimes margined with olive-grayish ; rump, clear 

 lemon-yellow, the upper portion streaked with black 

 and sometimes partly olive-greenish ; upper tail-coverts, 

 black; tail, black, the outer webs of feathers edged with 

 gray, their inner webs (except middle pair) crossed 

 in middle portion by a broad band of white, about one- 

 half inch wide; wings, black, the middle and greater 

 coverts broadly margined and tipped zoith white, form- 

 ing a targe and conspicuous patch, the wing quills and 

 primary coverts, narrowly edged with gray ; under 

 parts, except under tail-coverts, rich lemon-yellow, the 

 chest, sides, and flanks, very broadly streaked with 

 black — these black markings sometimes confluent on the 

 chest; under tail-coverts and under wing-coverts, 

 white; bill, black; iris, brown; legs and feet, dusky- 

 brown. Adult Female: Much duller in color than 

 the male ; gray of crown and hindneck duller, passing 

 into dull olive-greenish on back, where usually blotched 

 or spotted with black, rarely mostly black ; lower rump 

 crossed by a band ot olive-yellow; upper tail-coverts, 



black centrally margmed with slate-gray ; tail as in 

 male but black duller ; wmgs, duller black than in male, 

 with less of white on middle and greater coverts; sides 

 of head sometimes as in adult male, usually duller in 

 color, sometimes with olive-grayish replacing black ; 

 under parts paler and duller yellow than in male, with 

 chest and sides less heavily marked with black. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nest : Generally in a hemlock 

 from 4 to 15 feet up; put together in a slovenly manner 

 and made of twigs, grass, weed stalks, or fine rootlets, 

 but always plentifully lined with horse-hair whenever 

 obtainable (in its absence fine black roots are utilized). 

 Eggs : 4, rarely 5, creamy-white, boldly blotched with 

 shades of chestnut, brown, and a few lilac spots. 



Distribution. — Eastern North America, north to 

 Anticosti Island, Magdalen Islands, southern shores of 

 Hudson Bay, and in the interior to the Great Slave 

 Lake district ; breeding southward to northern and 

 western Massachusetts, mountains of Pennsylvania, 

 northern Michigan, Manitoba, etc.; west to eastern base 

 of Rocky Mountains, casually to California and British 

 Columbia ; southward in migration through more south- 

 ern United States east of Rocky Mountains ; in winter, 

 Bahamas, Cuba, Haiti, and Porto Rico, and through 

 eastern Mexico and Central America to Panama. 



" Black and Yellow Warbler," the name for- 

 merly applied to the Magnolia Warbler, had the 

 advantage of being colorably descriptive, but the 

 disadvantage of being equally accurate in that 

 respect as applied to no less than three other 

 species of the same group, the Prairie, the 

 Canada, and the Cape May Warblers. Hence the 

 change to the popular specific name. Magnolia, 

 was well-considered. 



The species is one of the handsomest of a 

 family famous for the beauty of so many of its 

 members. The contrast between its character- 

 istic colors, black, yellow, and white (the white 

 wing-bars being very plainly marked) makes it 

 conspicuous, despite its small size, rapid move- 



ments, and fondness for dense spruce foliage 

 in which a neutral-colored bird might easily be 

 overlooked. The bird is also likely to be found 

 in spring in willow thickets near water, while in 

 autumn it shows a liking for scrub-oak and birch 

 timber, especially on hillsides. In its movements, 

 it is quick and fidgety, and it has a trick of partly 

 spreading its tail, thereby showing the character- 

 istic white-banded feathers. 



No two writers agree as to the song of this 

 bird. This difference of opinion would indicate 

 that the Magnolia has a greater variety of notes 

 than any other Warbler. Each observer likens 

 its song to that of another bird, and this Warbler 

 seems to have no song peculiar to itself. 



CERULEAN WARBLER 

 Dendroica cerulea ( U'ilson) 



A. (1. U. Number 65) 



Other Names. — Blue Warbler: Azure Warbler. 



General Description. — Length, 414 inches. Upper 

 parts, grayish-blue and black ; under parts, white. Bill, 

 shorter than head, slender, tapering gradually to the 

 tip ; wings, long and pointed ; tail, even or nearly so. 



Color. — Adult M.\le: Above, grayish-blue, brighter 

 on crozvn, ivhere approaching azure; sides of back part 

 of crown and back of head streaked with black, some- 

 times sufifused into patches ; back and shoulders. 



See Color ri.ite 94 



streaked with black; upper tail-coverts, black margined 

 with grayish-blue ; wings and tail, black margined with 

 grayish-blue edgings, the middle and greater coverts, 

 broadly tipped with white, forming two conspicuous 

 bands; the inner web of tail-feathers with a patch of 

 white near the tip. largest on outermost ; sides of head, 

 grayish-blue, relieved by a streak of dusky behind eye, 

 this often margined above by a streak of white: cheeks 

 and under parts, white, the sides and flanks broadly 



