604 



BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER. 



soil"' of the Trairie Warbler is singular, and tiuite uulikt' that of any other nifinlR-r of tlio 



j^ C- • I • 



family, for tlio birds trill a species of musical scale, coinnu'iicinii; low down ;ind asecudiii,u~ 

 rapidly. The notes are indescribalik', lait if once heard will not easily be {or^uotteii. 

 This lav has n pleasing effect when heard on sunny days in early sununer and always forci- 

 bly reminds nte of the pleasant open \'alleys amid the green hills of New England, so tliat 

 when I heard these birds carolling in the gloomy swarnps of Soutliern Florida I could 

 scarcely persuade myself that they were the same species, for it seemed impossible tlnd 

 Prairie Warblers could live hi such places. Those birds which go north migrate in Ajiril, 

 arrivinir in Massachusetts about the middle of May, and depart early in Se|)teiul)er. 



O .1.1- 



The Prairie Warbler is b}' far the most abundant of all the genus on the Bahamas, 

 even as far south as Inaugua.. throughout the winter, remaining as late as the last week 

 in April. They are found everywliere. in pine woods. s^crubLinds, fields, and even amf>ng 

 the mangroves of the little outlying keys. I found them also abundant about Kingston, 

 Jamaica, and a few on Cayman Brae from March 2odto the 28, IS^'S, but these were evi- 

 dently migrating and do not remain long. They begin to sing on the Bahamas aboe.t the 

 20tli of March. 



DEiSIDROICA CAERULESCENS 

 Black-throated Blue Warbler. 



Dciidrocca caerulescens Baird, Review of North American Birds, bsU-t, ls(i. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Sr. Ch. Form, rather slender. Size, moderate. Bill, rather slender. Tail, slightly rounded. Tongue, 

 rather broad, bifid and ciliated for one-fourth of its terminal length. 



Color. Adult male. Above, uniform slaty blue, which is brightest on the head, where the feathers 



show narrow central lines of black. Wings, dark brown, edged 

 on the outer webs with greenish. Inner webs of the secondaries 

 margined with white, which extends to the shaft of the basal 

 third. Primaries, also edged with white on the inner webs, but 

 this color extends entu-ely across the basal third of all the feath- 

 ers excepting the outer, forming a patch upon the wdng tliat is 

 partly concealed by the spurious wing, which is black. Tail, 

 black, with the six outer feathers spotted, terminally on the inner 

 webs with white. The outer webs are edged with slaty. Throat, 

 sides of head, upper part of breast, sides, flanks, and narrow line 

 on forehead, black. Remaining under parts, including under tail 

 and under wing coverts pure ^vhite. 



Adult female. Above, olivaceous green. Wings and tail, 

 brown, edged with olivaceous, which inclines to bluish on the lat- 

 ter. The wings and tail are also marked with white much as in 

 the male, excepting that this color is not as much extended. Beneath, yellowish white, with a superciliary 

 stripe of the same color. Ear coverts and lores, dusky. Adult, in autumn, scarcely difterent fi-om the 

 spring dress. Young male, similar to the adult but the head is washed above with olivaceous, on the black 



Fig. !)4. Head of adult Black- 

 throated Blue Warbler in spring, a, 

 section of primaries of female, showing 

 white at the base, b, outer tail feath- 

 er of male. 



