Yellow Warbler 55 



branch and from twig to twig in a never-ending 

 search for small insects. As well try to catch 

 a weasel asleep as a warbler at rest. People 

 who live in the tropics, even for a little while, 

 soon become lazy. Not so the warblers, whose 

 energy, like a steam engine's, seems to be in- 

 creased by heat . Of course they do not undertake 

 long journeys merely for pleasure, as wealthy 

 human tourists do. They must migrate to find 

 food ; and as insects are most plentiful in warm 

 weather, you see why these atoms of animation 

 keep in perpetual motion. They are among the 

 last migrants to come north in the spring and 

 among the first to leave in the autumn because 

 insects don't hatch out in cool weather, and 

 the birds must always be sure of plenty to eat. 

 Travelling as they do, chiefly by night, they are 

 killed in numbers against the lighthouses and 

 electric light towers which especially fascinate 

 these poor little victims. 



Who first misled us by calling these birds 

 warblers? The truth is there is not one really 

 fine singer, like a thrush, in the whole family. 

 The yellow-breasted chat has remarkable vocal 

 ability, but he is not a real musician like the 

 mockingbird, who also likes to have fun with 

 his voice. The warblers, as a rule, have weak, 

 squeaky, or wiry songs and lisping tseep call 

 notes, neither of which ought to be called a 

 warble. The yellow warbler sings as acceptably 



