584 



BLACK-P( )LLED WAIUILEI!. 



Fig. 88. Head of Adult male. 

 Black-polled Warbler and outer tail 

 feather in spring. 



All the tail feathers are also more or less edged with white on the inner, and with slaty on the outer wehs. 

 Sides of liead and lower portions of body, incduding under tail c ivei-ts and under wing e'.iverts, white, with 



black maxillary sti-ipes. 8i les an 1 H.mks. well streaked wit!i 

 black. 



Adult female in spring, like the male in general cnlnralinn. 

 The tup of the head is olivaceous, streaked with black. 'J here is 

 a greater suft'usion of olivaceous over the back, feuer s]i'its be- 

 neath, wdiere the wdiite is tinged with buft". Ad\dt male in au- 

 tumn, somewdiat similar to the female in spring, but the tip if 

 the head has fewer streaks, there are also nnt as many black 

 stripes beneath. The autumnal female resembles the male, but 

 has the top of the head unspotted. The young of both se.xes in 

 autumn are olivaceous green above, streaked on the back and some- 

 times on the head with black. The sides of the head and entire 

 under parts are greenish, varying with individuals in intensity, and nmre or less stivaked with dusky on the 

 sides. Nestling plumage, simikir, but paler and with each feather having a central sput nf black <>v dusky. 

 In all stages, the irides are brown and the bill dark brown, lighter at the base of the 1 iwer mandible. The 

 feet of the adult birds are pale brown, but in younger stages of plumage they arc darker. 



OBSERVATIONS. 

 In the adult stages this is a well marked species and will nnt be cunfoundeil with any ntlua-, but the 

 young in autumn closely resemble D. castanea in the same stages. 'J hey may be distinj;uished by the 

 absence of any dark streaks beneath in castanea and by the pure white under tail diverts of striata, even 

 ■when there are no traces of chestnut to be seen in castanea. The under tail c^iverts of castanea are always 

 tinged with buff, and the white spots on the tail are of a different form, ( See Figs. 8S and :)(). ) A young 

 female taken in autumn, in Newtonville, shows an inclination to assume a superciliary stripe. (See Fig. SI) ), 

 which probably indicates a reversion toward some ancestral tyi*. DistribiUed during the breeding season 

 throughout Eastern North America from Northern New England to the Arctic Ocean, and west to the 

 Rocky Mountains. In migrating they pass through the eastern section of the United States, Bahamas, and 

 some other of the West Indies, wintering in South America. Although abundant in Florida during the 

 spring migration, I have never seen it there in autumn or winter. 



DIMENSIONS. 



Average measurements of twenty-si.\ specimens. Length, oAi : stretch, S.S.'i ; wing, L'.flii ; tail, '2.02 ; 

 bill, .')! ; tarsus, .66. Longest specimen, o.7."J ; greatest e.xtentof wings, :i.7U: longest wing, o.lU ; tail, 2.10 : 

 bill, .75 ; tarsus, .75. Shortest specimen, 5.35 ; smallest e.xtent of wings, S-32 : shortest wing, 2.45 . tail, 

 L80 ; bill, .45 : tarsus, M^j. 



DESCRIPTION OF NESTS AND EGGS. 

 Nests, placed in trees ; composed of small twigs and grasses, mixed with black, hair-like lichens. It is 

 very bulky. Dimensions ; external diameter, 4 inches, internal, 2 : external depth, 2.50 inches, internal, 1.50. 

 Eggs, four in number, oval in form, pure white in color spotted and dotted with lilac and umber, the sjiots 

 becoming more confluent on the larger end. Dimensions from ;67 by .52 to .75 by.58. 



HABITS. 

 In April when tlie great magnolia is in full lilooni the Black-polled Warblers may bo 

 found in Florida. Later, in Ma}', when all the apple orchards of New England are s)iow\' 

 with blossoms, the same birds appear and linger a time, then depart for the North, arri\'- 

 ing in the British Provinces and Labrador when nature has assumed her most festive 

 garb. Thus, in all their long passage from the South to their summer home, they revel 



