l68 HERMIT WARBLER 



A Hermit Warbler was noted at Burrard Inlet, British Columbia, 

 April 20, 1885. 



Fall Migration. — In the fall the species has been noted as late as 

 September 22, in Arizona, and October 9, in California. 



The Bird and its Haunts. — Of this beautiful Warbler as it is 

 found in California Walter Fisher writes: "I have observed this 

 Warbler among dense conifers and in open glades of young black oaks 

 in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. But it is preeminently a bird of 

 the coniferous forests although it may wander longer or shorter 

 distances from them. The yellow sides of the head, sharply con- 

 trasted with the black throat and that with the white underparts, 

 form a combination of markings which render confusion of this species 

 with any other well nigh impossible. The song is also different from 

 that of any other Warbler of the region, and has been translated by 

 the words seegle-seegle-zeegle, seek. It is not loud, yet carries for a 

 considerable distance. 



"Hermit Warblers are not so abundant in a region as the Calaveras 

 and Audubon may be, but sometimes in the late summer, migrations of 

 young take place at comparatively high altitudes in the Sierra Nevada. 

 During these 'waves' young birds are abundant among Murray pines, 

 from about 6,000 to 8,000 feet, and they move along silently except for 

 an occasional cheep, as they search among cones and needles for their 

 food." {Fisher, MS.) 



At Beaverton, Oregon, A. W. Anthony reports this bird not rare 

 in second growth firs ; and about Tacoma, Washington, Bowles^ 

 records it as a regular but far from common summer resident. It 

 frequents the tops of the giant firs, where at a height of from two to 

 three hundred feet from the ground, it is studied with difficulty amid 

 the dense vegetation. 'About the middle of July both young and old 

 assemble in good sized flocks and frequent the water holes in the 

 smaller growths of timber. At such times I have never seen them 

 associating with any other kinds of birds." 



Song. — Barlow^ records the call-note of this species, as it was 

 heard by him in the Sierras of Eldorado County, Calif., as a weak 

 tseet, while the song though not loud "would penetrate through the 

 woods quite a distance and very much resembled tsit, tsit, tsit, tsit, 

 chee chee chee, the first four syllables being uttered with a gradual 

 and uniform speed, ending quickly with the chee chee chee. It was 

 quite distinct from any of the other Warbler songs, and wherever 

 it was heard the little musician was usually traced to some pine tree 

 where he would be found nervously hopping about." 



