98 PKOTHOXOTAKY WAKBLEK. 



PROTHONOTARY WARBLER. 



Protonotaria citrea. 



Plate X, Fig. 1, male. 



Size, large, 5.30 to 5.50. Yellow beneath and on head; 

 golden olive on back. Much white on tail. A common sum- 

 mer resident in the south ; accidental in New England. 



Adui.t Male. Head, neck and under parts, excepting under tail 

 coverts, which are white, rich yellow, (varying from lemon to cadmium) 

 brighest anteriorly, Above, golden olive. Wings, rump and tail, bluish 

 gray ; a greater portion of the inner webs of all the tail feathers, except- 

 ing central pair, white. 



Adult Female. Much paler, with the greenish of the back extend- 

 ing over top of head, and the flanks and abdomen are whitish. 



Young. Similar to the adult female, but even duller, and there are 

 two indistinct wing bars. 



Nestlings. Have the yellow replaced by olive, with the wings and 

 tail as in the young. 



Comparisons. Distinguished at once by the prominent orange yel- 

 low color and large size. 



Dimensions. Length, 5.40; stretch, 8.80; wing, 2.85; tail, 2.00; bill, 

 .55 ; tarsus, .65. 



Nests and Eggs. Nests placed in holes in stumps or trees, com- 

 posed of mosses, grasses, leaves, straw, etc., lined with liner grasses and 

 hair. Eggs, five or six in number, rarely seven and very rarely eight, el- 

 liptical or rounded oval, sometimes nearly spherical, creamy white, heavi- 

 ly and thickly spotted and blotched with dark reddish brown, purple and 

 lilac, the spots being often nearly confluent on the larger end. Dimen- 

 sions, .72 by .55. 



General Habits. As my experience with this beauti- 

 ful bird has been very limited, for I have met with it only once, 

 on the Island of Eleuthera, Bahamas, I can add but little to 

 its history. It is said to inhabit swamps, but the one I obtained 

 was feeding in an orange tree on high ground. 



