90 



LUTESCENT WARBLER 



Average measurements of the three forms, given by Oberholser are as 

 follows : 



Wing. Tail. Exposed Tarsus. 



culmen. 



H. c. celata 2.42 1.93 .38 .69 



H. c. orestera 2.49 1.98 .40 .72 



H. c. lutes cens 2.34 1.84 .38 .69 



General Distribution. — Rocky Mountain region west to the 

 Sierras. 



Summer Range. — Breeds in the mountains from Arizona (Mt. 

 Graham), southern California (Panamint Mts.), north to British 

 Columbia. 



Winter Range. — Southward to Lower California and southern 

 Mexico. In migration casually eastward to Minnesota (Ft. Snelling) 

 and Pennsylvania (Williamsport), (cf. Oberholser) . 



LuTESCENT Warbler 



HELMINTHOPHILA CELATA LUTESCENS (Ridgw.) 



SuhspeciHc Characters. — Similar to H. c. orestera, but smaller and decid- 

 edly yellower. In life, breeding birds impress one as being yellow rather than 

 olive-green birds ; the underparts being strong, if somewhat dusky, yellow. 



Nestling. — Brownish olive above ; dusky yellow-olive below ; wing-coverts 

 with ochraceous tips forming two bars. 



General Distribution. — Pacific Coast region. 

 Summer Range. — Mountains of southern California (Los 

 Angeles Co.) north through the Sierras and coast ranges to Cook 

 Inlet, Alaska. 



Winter Range. — From southern California and Arizona south- 

 ward into Mexico. 



The Bird and its Haunts. — Compared with our eastern Orange- 

 crown, the Pacific coast form is distinctly a yellow bird, and is con- 

 sequently much more conspicuous than true celata. Walter Fisher 

 (MS.) contributes the following sketch of it in its haunts: "Chaparral 

 hillsides and brushy open woods are the favorite haunts of the Lutes- 

 cent Warbler. Its nest is built on or near the ground, usually in 

 a bramble tangle or under a rooty bank, and the bird itself hunts near 

 the ground, flitting here and there through the miniature jungle of 

 wild lilacs, baccharis and hazel bushes. Its dull greenish color har- 

 monizes with the dusty summer foliage of our California chaparral, 

 and with the fallen leaves and tangle of stems that constitute its normal 

 background. It impresses one chiefly by its lack of any distinctive 

 markings, and the young of the year, particularly, approach that tint 



