WARBLERS 



151 



may attract the I'rairic Warblers. In very 

 scattered numbers they may be fonnd from New 

 Jersey and New York to Kansas and Nebraska, 

 but only in the bushes and not on the prairie 

 grasslands. They are distinctly birds of the 

 hillsides. Their chestnut niarkins^s on the back 

 are excellent distinguishing characteristics. P.et- 

 ter yet is the peculiar song consisting of a thin 

 wiry, lisping trill that can be confused with the 

 song of no other bird. Dr. Elliott Cones in 

 Birds of the Nortliivcst gave an interesting ac- 

 count of his bird trips near \\'ashington in his 

 college days. The Prairie \\'arbler was one of 

 his earliest acquaintances. " Ten to one we 



wiiuld not see the little creatures at first ; but 

 presentK, from the \ery nt-arest iuni|ier would 

 come the well-known sounds. A curious song, 

 if song it can be called — as much like a mouse 

 complaining of the toothaclie as anything else 

 I can liken it to — it is simply indescribable. 

 Then prrhajis the fpiaint ])erf()rnier would dart 

 out into the air, turn a somersault after a pass- 

 ing midge, get right side uj). and into the shrub- 

 lierv again in an instant : or if we kept still, with 

 wide-open eyes, we would --ee him perched on 

 a sprav, settled firmlv on his legs, with his beak 

 straight up in the air, the throat swelling, and 

 hear the curious musician." 



OVEN-BIRD 



Seiurus aurocapillus 1 Liiiii(i-ii.\ 



A II. n. .Vuml.cr 1.-4 See Color I'l.itt- 



Other Names. — Golden-crowned Thrnsli ; Teacher: 

 Niglitingale ; Wood Wagtail: Golden-crowned Wag- 

 tail ; Golden-crowned Accentor. 



General Description. — Length. 6'j inches. Upper 

 part.s, olive: under parts, white with black spots. Bill, 

 shorter than head, slender, tapering gradually to the 

 tip : wings, long and pointed ; tail, even or slightly 

 notched. 



Color. — Adults (sexes alike): Crown with tico 

 iiarrozi' lateral stripes of black inclosin</ a much broader 

 center stripe of taiviiy. the feathers of the latter tipped 

 with pale olive, especially on back pf head which is 

 sometimes uniform light olive; over eye, light grayish- 

 olive fading into a lighter hue of the same on sides of 

 head : rest of upper parts, plain dull olive-green, the 

 inner webs of wing- and tail-feathers, grayish-brown : 



a wliitisb eye-ring: lores, grayish-white or dull whitisli ; 

 cheeks and under parts, white, the chest and sides 

 heavily streaked with black, the flanks more narrowly 

 and less distinctly streaked: a dusky streak below 

 cheeks ; under wing-coverts, pale olive-yellow : bill, 

 dark brown, much paler below ; iris, brown ; legs and 

 feet, pale flesh color in life. 



Nest and Eggs, — Nest : Imbedded in ground in 

 dry woods: of dried grass, artfully arched over with 

 dead leaves and so perfectly blending with its surround- 

 ings as to be rarely discovered unless the bird is scared 

 from the nest. Eggs : 3 to 6, glossy white marked by 

 specks and spots scattered over entire surface usually 

 more thickly around larger end. 



Distribution. — Eastern Xortb .America; north to 

 Xo\a Scotia, .'\nticosti Island. Labrador (?), southern 



Drawing by R. I. Brasher 



OVEN-BIRD iS nat. size) 

 The precision cf this bird's gait approaches the u 



