>i A Brewster on Sivainson's Warbler. [January 



takes an easier posture, but rarely moves on his perch. If desir- 

 ous of changing his position he flies from branch to branch 

 instead of hopping through tbe twigs in the manner of most 

 Warblers. Under the influence of excitement or jealousy he 

 sometimes jets his tail, droops his wings, and raises the feathers 

 of the crown in a loose crest, but the tail is never jerked like that 

 of a Geothlypis, or wagged like that of a Slums. On the con- 

 trary, his movements are all deliberate and composed, his disposi- 

 tion sedentary and phlegmatic.) At the height of the mating 

 season the males do occasionally show some spirit, chasing one 

 another among the trees, or even attacking larger birds ; but these 

 lapses, like their song periods, seem to form comparatively rare 

 breaks in a life which, for the most part, is passed in profound 

 quiet and seclusion. 



In these, as well as other characteristics, he is the very counter- 

 part of the Connecticut Warbler, as I have observed the latter in 

 the swamps about Cambridge. In none of them does he bear 

 the least resemblance to the Worm-eating Warbler, with which . 

 he has been so closely associated by ornithologists. The Worm- 

 eater is an active, restless bird, spending much of its time wind- 

 ing about the trunks and branches of trees in the manner of 

 Mniotilta. Moreover, it breeds by preference, if not invariably, 

 in dry situations, such as tracts of oak scrub, on the steep sides 

 of elevated ravines or mountain slopes — precisely such ground, in 

 short, as is resorted to by the Ovenbird {Siurits auricafillus) . 

 Systematists may make light of such considerations, but H. 

 szvai'nsonihas, in addition, certain structural affinities with Oflor- 

 ornis to which I shall presently call attention. 



Judging by my personal experience, Swainson's Warbler is at 

 all times a singularly unsuspicious bird. If singing he may 

 be usually approached within a few yards, even though the crash- 

 ing that inevitably marks your every movement among the thickly- 

 growing canes has long ago alarmed and silenced the other song- 

 sters of the swamp. When flushed from the ground he flies in 

 silence to the nearest low branch, whence he regards yoti with a 

 half-timid, half-wondering expression, precisely like that of the 

 Connecticut Warbler under similar conditions. You may startle 

 him by an unexpected or threatening motion, for the tamest birds 

 are subject to sudden panic ; but ordinarily, if once distinctly seen 

 he is certainly yours — barring a miss or some other accident. 



