Conspicuously Yellow and Orange 



trip in the autumn. The position of the white mari<s on the tail 

 feathers of this warbler, however, is the clue by which it may be 

 identified at any season or any stage of its growth. If the white 

 bar runs across the middle of the warbler's tail, you can be sure 

 of the identity of the bird. A nervous and restless hunter, it 

 nevertheless seems less shy than many of its kin. Another pleas- 

 ing characteristic is that it brings back with it in October the loud, 

 clear, rapid whistle with which it has entertained its nesting mate 

 in the Canada woods through the summer. 



Mourning Warbler 



(Geothlypis Philadelphia) Wood Warbler family 



Called also : MOURNING GROUND WARBLER 



Length—^ to 5.6 inches. About an inch smaller than the English 

 sparrow. 



Male — Gray head and throat; the breast gray; the feathers with 

 black edges that make them look crinkled, like crape. The 

 black markings converge into a spot on upper breast. Upper 

 parts, except head, olive. Underneath rich yellow. 



Female — Similar, but duller; throat and breast buff and dusky 

 where the male is black. Back olive-green. 



Range — "Eastern North America; breeds from eastern Nebraska, 

 northern New York, and Nova Scotia northward, and south- 

 ward along the Alleghanies to Pennsylvania. Winters in 

 the tropics." — Chapman. 



Migrations — May. September. Spring and autumn migrant. 



Since Audubon met with but one of these birds in his inces- 

 sant trampings, and Wilson secured only an immature, imper- 

 fectly marked specimen for his collection, the novice may feel no 

 disappointment if he fails to make the acquaintance of this "gay 

 and agreeable widow." And yet the shy and wary bird is not 

 unknown in Central Park, New York City. Even where its 

 clear, whistled song strikes the ear with a startling novelty that 

 invites to instant pursuit of the singer, you may look long and 

 diligently through the undergrowth without finding it. Dr. 

 Merriam says the whistle resembles the syllables " true, true, 

 true, tru, too, the voice rising on the first three syllables and 

 falling on the last two." In the nesting season this song is 



198 



