58G 



BAY-BREASTED WARBLER. 



plentiful, while it is extremely doubtful if tliey could lia\e iirocuied any fresli wiiter froui 

 natural scources until they came to Middle Bright, where there was a small o])er: spriiiir. 

 Tliese facts accounted for the evident haste of the birds to reach some more fertile section. 



While migrating the llight of these little warblers was comparati\-ely slow, but sti-ady, 

 that is when the members of a certain Hock had chosen to ily at a certain ele\ation a!io\e 

 the water, thev kept this course for a longdistance, the tendency however, being to fill 

 towards the surface, but when well down they would rise siuudtaneously a few feet and 

 thus I'eturn to their original level. 



As an observer ofipiite a wide experience, I have of coui'se seen a great many Black- 

 polled Warblers but I think, without the slighte-st exaggeration, that I can attirni tliat I 

 saw more birds of this species in the few days when they wei'e passing Leaf Key than I 

 ever saw liefoi-e during all of my previous observations. This was on but one little spot 

 out of a wide belt which must have been covered hy their migrations. Iltiw vast then 

 must have been the inimber-^ which during the three or four days swept across tlie Carri- 

 bean Sea from South America ! This is a rather late migrant in spring in Massachusetts, 

 but those which passed Leaf Key lirst would have but little over two weeks to trav<d 

 across the thousand miles of land which lay l)etween them ai:d any portion of New 

 England. 



DEKDICICA CASTANHA. 

 Bay-breasted Warbler. 



Plato XXATAduU luak^ in Spring. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Sp. Ch. Form an J size, about that of the Black-polled Warbler. Spots on tail confined to two feath- 

 ers. Color. Adult male. Above, greenish buft', shaded with black. Top of head dark chestnut, with 

 forehead, and broad line through eye, black, Patch behind this, on neck, buff. Wings, brown, edged with 

 greenish. Upper coverts, black, edged with greenish, and both rows are broadly tipped with buffy white. 

 Tail, also brown, edged with ashy; the outer terminal white spot is a little over .(10 long and the inner is 

 about half its size, both quite touch the vein, and both terminate in a slightly diagonal line basally, 



while there is a considerable colored area at tip, ( See Fig. IJO. ) 

 Beneath, including under wing and tail coverts, buff, with throat, 

 upper part, sides and flanks, chestnut, a little paler than that on 

 top of head. Iris, bill and feet brown. Adult female, quite 

 similar to that of the Black-polled, but always in the spring shows 

 more traces of the chestnut below, as does always the autumnal 

 adult male. Young birds are somewhat dii^cult to distinguish 

 from those of D, striata, but they always have the buff under tail 

 coverts. 



Fig. 90. 



A 



A, 



outer tail feather of 

 Bay-breasted Warbler, b, same of 

 Yellow-throated, c, same of Black- 

 burnian. 



OBSERVATIONS. 



Known from the closely allied Black-polled, as given above, 

 and by the peculiar form of the white spot on outer tail, (See Figs. 

 88 and 90.) Occurs in summer from Nortiiern New England, 

 northward ; winters south of our hmits. 



