198 Sketches of Some Co7nmon Birds. 



Ocean; while it is no less numerous in the parched valleys 

 of California and Arizona than ia the humid districts of 

 the Atlantic water-shed. It breeds from the Grulf north- 

 ward throughout its range, and winters southward from 

 our southern border to northern South America, avoiding 

 the West Indies. 



On its movement to its summer home it enters the 

 United States on or after March 1st, and arrives in cen- 

 tral Illinois about the middle of April. The unfolding 

 buds of the soft maples and the expanding blossoms of 

 the fruit trees in our gardens mark the time of its appear- 

 ance. During the remaining days of April it revels amid 

 the resplendent glories of the new wealth of unfolding 

 life, trilling its rattling love-lays and selecting the site for 

 its summer home. As it gleans among the buds for insects 

 and larv83, its yellow plumage blends with the delicate 

 tints of the blossoms in orchards and gardens, rendering 

 it rather difficult to observe in its dark green setting of 

 foliage. It is seeu to best advantage when it flashes 

 through the air like a wind-driven leaf of gold, and after 

 it has alighted on a convenient perch it can be examined 

 in detail. 



Once a little yellow warbler darted swiftly into a 

 small plum bush within ten feet of the spot where I was 

 sitting, and I could plainly note the bright yellow of its 

 under parts, with streaks of chestnut scarcely perceptible, 

 and the greenish olive of its back. The yellow of its 

 attire is not nearly so bright and striking as that of the 

 goldfinch, with which the yellow warbler is so frequently 

 confounded. The color of the goldfinch is a bright lemon, 

 quite different from the true olive yellow of the real warb- 

 ler. The male goldfinch in his summer garb can always 

 be identified by his jet cap and wings. There is a proba- 

 bility of mistaking the yellow warbler for the female gold- 

 finch and the female Maryland yellow-throat, any of these 

 common species being popularly known as "yellowbird " 

 and "wild canary." However, the stocky and robust 

 form of the Maryland yellow-throat, and the recollection 

 that the yellow of its under parts is brightest on the throat, 

 will serve to identify it to boys and girls with bright eyes 

 and ready memories. The female goldfinch has the same 



