PROTHONOTARV WARBLER. 355 



Ijriiigs it down he must notice pai'ticularly the spot where it fell and 

 u;et there as quickly as he can, for if the bird is only wounded it maj^ 

 flutter away and hide itself, and even if it falls dead it may be 

 covered with a leaf anrl not seen again, unless the spot where it fell 

 is carefully marked. 



All seasons have their attractions, l)ut the month of May above 

 all others is enjoyed l)y the collector, and bright and rare are the 

 feathered o-ems he then brinc's from the woods to enrich his cabinet. 



Genus PROTONOTARIA Baird. 



PROTONOTARIA CITREA (Bodd.) Bd. 



262. Prothonotary Warbler. (637) 



(irolden yellow, paler on the bellj', changing to olivaceous on the back, 

 thence to bluish ashy on the rump, wings and tail ; most of the tail feathers 

 largely white on the inner wel)S ; bill, Idack. Length, jI^ ; wing, 2^-3 ; tail, 2^. 



Hab. — South Atlantic and (xulf States, north to Ohio, Illinois, Missouri and 

 Kansas. Accidental in Maine and New Brunswick. 



Nest, in a hole in a tree or stump, lined with moss, leaves and grass. If the 

 hole is too deep at first, it is filled to within four or five inches of the top. 



Eggs, five or six, creamy-white or buff, spotted with rich chestnut-red. 



The only record I have of this species in Ontario is that of a 

 female taken by K. C. Mcll wraith, which was reported at the time 

 in the Auk as follows : " While collecting Warblers near Hamilton, 

 on the morning of the 23rd of May, 1888, I met a group which had 

 evidently just arrived from -some favored point in the 8outh, their 

 plumage being particularly fresh and bright, and such rare species as 

 the Mourning and Connecticut Warblers and the Green Black-cap 

 being conspicuous. Presentl}' I noticed, on a willow overhanging 

 the water, one which seemed to be a compromise l^etween the Sum- 

 mer Yellow Bird and the Yellow-throated Vireo. On picking it up, 

 T was greatly pleased to find I had got a specimen of the Protho- 

 notary Warbler — a female in the ordinaiy plumage of the season. 



" It is the first record of the species for Ontario, and the second 

 for Canada, the first being that of a specimen which was found at 

 St. Stephens, New Brunswick, by Mr. Boardman, in October, 1862." 



Along the Atlantic coast it is rare or accidental, throughout the 

 •Gulf States it is common, but its centre of abundance in the breeding 



