i6o 



BIRDS OF AMERICA 



tail-coverts, paler yellow; rest of under parts, pale 

 buffy, becoming light buffy grayish-brown on sides and 

 flanks; edge of wing, yellow; bill, black; iris, brown; 

 legs and feet, flesh color. Advlt Fem.\le: Head 

 without any black or gray; crown, grayish-olive, the 

 forehead or front of crown (sometimes both) tingcl 

 with cinnamon-brown ; sides of head, similar in color 

 to crown, but paler, especially above and around eye ; 

 yellow of under parts, paler and duller than in the 

 male, sometimes distinct only on under tail-coverts ; 

 otiierwise similar in coloration to the adult male. 



Nest and Eggs. — Xest: Placed close to ground but 

 raised clear by a platform of dried grass and leaves, 

 and usually in damp locations and carefully hidden 

 beneath a tussock or patch of briers ; large and bulky 

 for size of bird; composed of coarse grass, leaves, root- 

 lets, lined with finer grass, and a few hairs. Eggs : 

 3 to 5. commonly 4, shiny white, specked and blotched 

 with chestnut, purplish-black, brown, and a few spots 

 of lilac. 



Distribution. — Eastern North America ; breeds from 

 North Dakota, northern Minnesota, northern Ontario, 

 and southern Labrador south to central Te.xas. northern 

 parts of the Gulf States, and Virginia ; winters from 

 North Carolina and Louisiana to Florida, the Bahamas, 

 Cuba. Jamaica. Guatemala, and Costa Rica. 



One who has ears to hear what the birds say 

 is in no danger of remaining long unaware of the 

 existence of the beautiful little Warbler, the 

 Maryland Yellow-throat; for his curiously 

 rhythmical cry of " Witchery, zvitchcry. witch- 

 ery, WITCHERY," with uniformly increasing 

 emphasis, is one of the characteristic wood 

 sounds during the bird's sojourn in its northern 

 range. And the male bird is both picturesque 



Phutu by A. A. Allen 



MALE MARYLAND YELLOW-THROAT 

 Approaching his nest and open-mouthed young 



and conspicuous, \vith his bright yellow waist- 

 coat, and the black mask drawn over his eyes, 

 suggesting the villain, which he most certainly is 

 not. On the contrar\', besides being both hand- 

 some and amiable, he is one of the most indtis- 

 trious and useful of the useful \\'arbler family. 

 The Yellow-throat's movements and manners 

 are characteristic of his kind, wliich is to sav, 

 he is a restless and rather timid bird, and much 

 given to darting about hither and thither. But 

 his timidity is less pronounced than that of many 

 other members of his species which pass their 

 time almost wholly in the tree-tops, thereby tax- 

 ing the patience — not to sav the eyesight — of 



MARYLAND YELLOW-THROAT (nat. 

 Courtesy of Am. 



