IfiC BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. 



Qeothlypis formosa (Wils.) 



KENTUCKY WABBLES. 



Sulrin formosa Wll.s. Am. Urn. lii.lXll.85.pl. aVllK. :'.— .\f D. Orn. UinK i KM I'". ii :« 



— NuTT. Man. i.lSf2.3;i!l. 

 Muioiliorlen fonno.tn Aui). Syniip. 1SBI.50; 15. Am. ii.KHl.l'.i.pl. H. 

 Opnroritin fo/-iiio.«ii» Baiiiu. B. N. Am. I85X,247; Cat. N. Am. B. \K». No. 175; Kcviow, 



18«5.21».-('ouES.K<y.lt(7i;.10fi: t'iK-ik List.lK;:i, No. %: M cd. isa. N». 140; B. K. W. 



ISTJ.TJ: B. Col. Val. 1878. ■.W.-W. B. & R. Hist. N. Am. B. 1, IKTl. 2S3, pi. 15. flB- 3.- 



IllDow. Nom. N. Am. B. 1881. No. 119. 



II. IB. Enstorn United Slatos.cliii'lly wcattotbe Allcelinnics; north to ConnoctleutVul- 

 l.-y. soutliorn Now York, Mii'hieiin. and Wisconsin; wrsl tn Kansas. Indian Territory. 

 Texas, etc.; breeds throughout its United States rango. Winters in Mexieo and Central 

 Aniorlea, south to Panama; Cuba. 



"8p. Chak. Adult inale. Uiipor parts and sides dark olive-green. Crown nnd sides of 

 the head.ineludinua trianKular pateh from behind the eye down the side of the neek, 

 blaek, the feathers of the erowu uarmvly lunulated at tips with dark ash. A line from 

 nostrils over the eye and eneirelinc it (e.\oept anteriorly), with the entire under parts, 

 bright yellow. No white on the tail. Female similar, with less blaek on the head. 

 Lent'lh. 5 inches; wIuk. 2.fl5; t«il.2.25. 



"The adults In autumn are exactly the same ns in sprinR." {Ifial. X. Am. B.) 

 f'imt phimnge. Remises, rectrices. primary eoverts, and alula) as In the adult. Pileum 

 and back dull raw-umber brown, tiniiod with rusty on the back and scapulars; throat, 

 juculwm. breast, and sides pale grayish fulvous, the abdomen and erissum paler and 

 sliuhlly tinged with yellow. -Vo umrking.i of anu sort ahoiit the head. 



The beautiful Kentucky Warbler is one of the most abundant of 

 birds in the rich woods of southern Illinois. As far north as 

 Wabash, Lawi-ence, and Richland counties, it is even more abundant 

 than the Golden-crowned Thrush, though the two usually inhabit 

 different locations, the latter preferring, as a rule, the dryer upland 

 woods, while the present species is most abundant in the rich woods 

 of the bottom-lands. In its manners it is almost a counterpart of 

 the Golden-cro\\Tied Thrush, but is altogether a more conspicuous 

 bird, both on account of its brilliant plumage and the fact that it 

 is more active, the males being, during the breeding season, very 

 pugnacious, and continually chasing one anotlier about the woods. 

 It lives altogether near the ground; making its artfully concealed 

 nest among the low herbage and feeding in the undergrowth, the 

 male uttering his pretty song from some old log or low bush. His 

 song recalls that of the Cardinal, but is much weaker; and the 

 ordinary note is a soft jtchip, somewhat like the common call of the 

 Pewee (Sayornis phcfhe.) Considering its great abundance, the nest 

 of this species is extraordinarily difficult to find ; at least this has 

 been the writer's experience, and he has come to the conclusion that 



