AMERICAN AVARBLEUS. 39 



la;icl, then contained two thousand birds, and, aocordinf:^ to what I saw at that 

 time, this is an under estimate, we should have had the enormous number ot 

 7,600,000 Black-polled Warblers living, and on their way north at eight o'clock 

 in the morning of April 23. 1H84. I can find no good reason why these numheis 

 should have at all diminished since that time, hence, if that was a fair approxi- 

 mate estimate of their numbers then, it will answer for an approximate estimate 

 todav. 



BLACKBUKNTAN WARBLER. 



Deiidroica blackburniae. 



Plate IV, Fig. 2, male ; Fig. 3, female. 



Size, 4,75 to 5.30. Throat and upp^r brer.st, bright or- 

 ange. Above, black; conspicuous white spot on wing. Mi- 

 grates through southern to breed in northern New England. 

 Rather uncommon in eastern Massachusetts. 



Male. Above and on sides of head, black, streaked with yellowish- white 

 on back. Spot on top of head, line over eye, throat and upper breast, bright or- 

 ange. Remainin'T under parts, yellowish. Streakings on sides, black. The 

 two wing bars are fused into a white patch. Spot on outer tail feather extending 

 to base. ( See fig, 27, c ). 



Female. Brownish above, with the edges of the feathervS dull orange. 

 The orange markings of the male are repeated, but are much paler, and the streak- 

 ings eneath are dusky. Wing bars, two. Tail spots as in the male. 



Young. Similar to the female but rather duller, and the light streakings 

 above are more extended. 



Dimensions. Length, 4.75 : stretch, 7. 7o ; wing, 2;6o : tail, 1.80; bill, 

 .40 ; tarsus, .70. 



Comparisons. The aduH males may be known by the orange throat and 

 and black back, and in other stages by the resemblance to this. 



Nests and Eggs. Nests, placed in low evergreens, rather bulky, com- 

 posed of downy material, moss, etc., lined with feathers, lichens and horse hairs. 

 Eggs, three or four, pale greenish-white, spotted and blotched, usually around 

 the large end, with brown of varying shades and lilac. Dimensions, 45 by .65. 



General Habits. Although there is scarcely a migrat- 

 ing season in spring, in the neighborhood of Boston, when 

 some Blackburnians are not seen, it is only during exception- 



