PARULA WARBLER. 35& 



The Tennessee WarVjler breeds in the Hudson's Bay Territory, 

 where it is by no means rare, but the line of its migration seems to 

 be along the Mississippi Valley, so that in the east it is seldom seen. 

 I have only met with it twice, once in spring and once in fall. It is 

 proVjable that a few visit us with the migratory birds every season, 

 but like one or two other species, it may owe its safety to its plain 

 attire, being allowed to pass where one of moi-e gaudy plumage 

 would be stopped. 



Genus COMPSOTHLYPIS Cabanis. 

 COMPSOTHLYPIS AMERICANA (Linn.). 



267. Parula Warbler. (648) 



Mah ill spriiii/: — Above, bhie, back with a golden-brown patch, throat and 

 breast yellow, with a rich brown or blackish patch, the forniei- sometimes 

 extending along the sides ; belly, eyelids, two wing bars and several tail 

 spots, white ; lores, black ; upper mandible, black ; lower, flesh-colored. 

 Female in .sprituj: — With the blue less bright, back and throat patches not 

 so well defined. Youiuj: — With these patches obscure or wanting, but always 

 recognizable by the other marks and verj' small size. Length, 4|-4| ; wing, 

 24; tail, If. ' 



Hab. — Eastern tJnited States, west to the Plains, north to Canada, and 

 south, in winter, to the West Indies and Central America. 



Nest, globular, with a hole in the side, suspended from the end of a bough, 

 often twenty feet or more from the ground, composed of hanging mosses, so as 

 often to look like an excavation made in the side of a bunch of moss. 



Eggs, four or five, creamy-white, with spots of lilac and brown. 



This small and neatly dressed species is very common during the 

 spring migration, when it may be seen in the tops of the tallest trees, 

 often hanging back dowuwaixl like a Titmouse, searching for insects 

 among the opening leaves. In winter it withdraws entirely from 

 Canada, and even from the United States, great numbers being at 

 that season observed in the West Indies. 



On the return trip in spring a few pairs stop by the way, but the 

 majority pass on still fai'ther north to breed. I have not heard of 

 the nest being found in Ontario, but I have the impression that this 

 and many others of the same family will yet be found breeding in 

 the picturesque District of Muskoka, between Georgian Bay and the 

 Ottawa River. 



