FAMILY Mniotiltidz. 
sound exactly like, Quirp! chuck! cop! chack! charr! 
etc. These it is risky to place on the staff lest one 
should be led to think they were really musical tones. 
They are simply indescribable noises, that is all. Mr. 
Scott’s remarks on the subject are quite to the point; he 
says, ‘‘such a mixture of curious notes is poured out as 
has no kind of parallel in our bird acquaintance. This 
is no soft melody that one has to be near to hear, but a 
series of loud, jerky, detached notes, now whistles, now 
chucks, and again croaks and chuckles that defy imita- 
tion, musical or otherwise.” I might add that the bird 
frequently gives a number of clear whistles of accurate 
pitch; but these, though I place them on the staff, must 
prove to be such fragmentary bits of the song: that it 
would be useless to depend upon them for purposes of 
identification. The fact is the Chat may be considered 
a mere chatterer whose flippant conversation is carried 
on inaseries of grotesque syllables alternating witha 
few clearly whistled staccato tones, thus: 
Hooded The Hooded Warbler, who in effect of 
ae aad coloring is almost exactly the reverse of 
ee the Maryland Yellow-throat, is so con- 
L. 5.60inches Spicuously marked that he can not fail 
May 15th to attract attention. His general appear- 
ance, in character at least, is so similar to that of the 
other bird that one is surprised to find the ornithologist’s 
classification separates them by interposing the Chat. 
This Warbler’s colors are yellow and olive accented by a 
jet black hood over the head, throat, and neck. Fore- 
head and cheeks bright yellow; crown black with a 
bandlike connection at the neck with the black throat; 
upper parts including the wings and tail olive green; no 
wing-bars; the inner vanes of the outer tail feathers pale 
204 
