FAMILY Mniotiltid2. 
the songs of the Wood Pewee and the Maryland Yellow- | 
throat; but I am-not sure that every Kentucky Warbler 
sings that way, some may leave it out, and if Mr. Chap- 
man’s syllabic form is taken literally then his Tur-dle, 
tur-dle, tur-dle, is evidence that it sometimes 7s left out. 
That sort of variation is characteristic of the Warblers’ 
songs. The differentiations may be easy to define but are 
difficult to encompass—they are so manifold. For example, 
one cannot be sure whether the next Kentucky Warbler’s 
dissyllables will ascend or descend the scale, but they are 
musical enough for one to recognize the direction instantly, 
and at times the intervals are considerable; but in the case 
of the Maryland Yellow-throat some of the songs are so 
absolutely devoid of definite pitch that there is no cer- 
tainty of anything beyond rhythm. Not so the Kentucky 
Warbler, and Bradford Torrey expresses quite my own 
admiration of him in these almost unmeasured terms: 
‘‘When all is said, the Kentucky, with its beauty and its 
song, is the star of the family, as far as eastern Tennessee 
is concerned.”’ Or, I would like to add, any other State 
in the Union, for not one of his congeners is able to give 
us such satisfying musical intervals—and that is precisely 
where the beauty of his song lies. This bird has one habit 
in common with the Ovenbird, instead of hopping he 
walks. He has a decided preference for damp woodlands 
where there is a dense growth of underbrush, or of over- 
grown clearings; there his voice will be heard with all the 
clear, ringing quality of the Carolina Wren’s singing. 
iy nes This Warbler bears a very misleading 
Opordrnis aeilig LBMe it breeds in northwestern Canada and 
L.s.so inches Winters in South America. It migrates 
September to northward mostly through the Mississippi 
October sth Valley and in the fall passes commonly 
southward east of the Alleghanies and _ rarely 
westward of them. During the middle and the third 
week of September, Mr. Eaton reports that it is by no 
means rare in the southern migration across New York 
State. Mr. Horace W. Wright in his Birds of Jefferson, 
N. H., reports seventeen birds observed,in that region 
304 
