I3« 



BIRDS OF AMERICA 



white on inner web near the tip, and fifth sometimes 

 witli a white edging to the inner web; exposed portion 

 of middle wing-coverts and innermost greater coverts, 

 wliite, forming a conspicuous patch on wing, the outer- 

 most greater coverts, black, broadly tipped with white 

 and narrowly edged with olive-grayish, these edgings 

 broader and paler (sometimes white) on innermost; 

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

 brown. Adult Female: Above, grayish-olive; crown, 

 streaked with black with a central spot of pale yellow ; 

 back, broadly streaked with black, the outsiile row of 

 shoulder-feathers with outer webs mostly very pale 

 buffy-grayish or grayish-buffy, forming two broad 

 stripes when feathers are properly arranged ; upper 

 tail-coverts, black, margined with brownish-gray ; wings 

 and tail, as in adult male but general color much duller 

 blackish, the lateral tail-feathers less extensively white 

 and the white on greater wing-coverts usually not 

 joining that on middle coverts, the white thus usually 

 forming two broad bars instead of a single large patch; 

 broad stripe over eye joining a patch on side of neck, 

 pale yellow; sides of head and lores, grayish-olive; 

 chin, throat, and chest, deep chrome-yellow ; rest of 



under part.^, dull yellowish-white, more strongly tinged 

 with yellowish on breast, the under tail-coverts, more 

 nearly white, the longest sometimes with a narrow 

 center streak of dusky ; sides and flanks streaked with 

 dusky ; bill, iris, etc., as in adult male. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nest: An elegant, compact struc- 

 ture of cat-tail down, hemlock twigs, fine grasses, root- 

 lets, and strips of bark and lined with horse-hair and 

 line lichens; placed almost always in a conifer, spruce 

 or hemlock preferred, usually at great height, in one 

 instance 84 feet. Eccs : Usually 4, grayish or bluish- 

 white, blotched and speckled with cinnamon and olive- 

 brown. 



Distribution. — Eastern North America and northern 

 South America ; breeds from Manitoba, southern 

 Keewatin, central Ontario, Quebec, and Cape Breton 

 Island to central Minnesota, Wisconsin, northern 

 Michigan, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, and in the 

 Alleghenies from Pennsylvania to Georgia and South 

 Carolina ; winters from Colombia to central Peru and 

 less commonly north to Yucatan ; in migration to 

 Nebraska. Texas, and Kansas, straggling to Utah, New 

 Mexico, and the Bahamas. 



" Torch-bird," Mrs. Mabel Osgood W'rigiit 

 says, would be a good name for this almost daz- 

 zlingly brilliant fellow, and Mr. Parkhurst thii-ks 

 he " might properly be named the conflagration 

 warbler," and continues : "Called, prosily enough, 

 from its discoverer, Blackburn, the name is saved 

 to poetry by the significant play upon words : 

 for while a part of the plumage is black as coal, 

 the crown, sides of face, throat and breast are of 

 a most vivid flame color — a most astoni.shing 

 combination of orange, black and white, and 

 arranged in such abrupt juxtaposition that, in 

 seeing it for the first time, one will unquestion- 

 ably pronounce it the most gloriotis of all the 

 Warblers. Its own color ought to suffice to 

 keep it comfortable in the Arctic Zone." ( The 

 Birds' Calendar). "The orange-throated warbler 

 would seem to be his right name, his character- 

 istic cognomen," says Mr. Burroughs; "but no. 

 he is doomed to wear the name of some dis- 

 coverer, perhaps the first who robbed his nest 



(jr rifled him of his mate — Blackburn; hence 

 Blackburnian W arbler. The burn seems appro- 

 priate enough, for in these dark evergreens his 

 throat and breast show like flame." 



These are characteristic expressions of the 

 wonder and delight which are inspired by the 

 appearance of this gaudy little sprite of the deep 

 forest. For it is in such growths, and especially 

 in the big conifers, that the bird is most likely to 

 be seen, and frequently in the company of the 

 Northern Parula, Canada, and Black-throated 

 Blue W^arblers, all beautiful little creatures, but 

 none so positively gay in apparel as the Black- 

 burnian. Though not really timid, the bird's 

 characteristic movements are quick and nervotis. 

 like those of ttiost of its kind. Like theirs, too. 

 its song is thin and essentially sibilant in its 

 quality. Wee, see, see, see, si, si, si, Mr. Hoff- 

 mann renders one common versiott of it, while to 

 Mr. Torrev another phrase sounded like sillnp. 

 .r.illiip. sillnp. 



YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER 

 Dendroica dominica dominica i Liinurus) 



\ < I r, XumlxT 1.1. I 



Other Names. — Yellow-throated Creeper; Domin- 

 ican Yellow-throat. 



General Description. — Length. 5)4 inches. Upper 

 parts, gray ; under parts, yellow and white. Bill, 

 shorter than head, slender, tapering gradually to the 



tip; win.gs. long and pointed; tail, even or nearly even. 

 Color. — .Xdclt M.\le: Forehead (sometimes crown 

 also, especially side portions), lores, below eyes, and 

 greater part of sides of head, black; back of head, 

 hindneck. back, shoulders, rutnp. and upper tail-coverts. 



