Vol. XXIII 

 1906 



Wood, Autumn Warbler Hunting, 21 



caw, a jay scream, or a squirrel chatter, and then comes a long 

 interval of silence, unless your ear has become trained to detect 

 the warblers, which are more or less abundant in every woods of 

 reasonable size at this time of year. As a rule the earlier birds are 

 silent as they rest and feed among the branches but utter one or 

 several distinct peeps as they fly from twig to twig or tree to tree. 

 They are an active and restless lot, and it is easier to get their loca- 

 tion and direction of travel than to see them in the thick foliage. 

 Knowing the woods well, I seldom tried to detect them in the 

 dense foliage of beeches, maples, and similar trees, but made sure 

 of the course they were taking and went ahead to the first tree 

 with few leaves. There are many butternut trees in the P. C. 49 

 woods and no bird can pass through one of these without discovery. 

 One of the best places was a dead ash standing between some 

 beeches and a maple covered with a thick growth of grape vines. 

 When passing this point about half of the birds would pause in 

 this tree, not long enough for positive identification but giving 

 ample time for a quick shot. It is best to keep as much as possible 

 along the leeward side of the woods, as the wind will convey sounds 

 from a considerable distance. I was once fifty feet to windward 

 of a large company and only discovered them by seeing a bird. It 

 is surprising what a long distance a warbler can be seen when not 

 under cover. Few birds are so active, and a quick motion in- 

 stantly catches the eye. In hunting certain woodland birds I 

 have been most successful by quietly remaining an hour or more 

 in each favorable place but this does not apply to the warblers. 

 You must keep constantly moving, with frequent pauses to listen 

 and look around. Every flock of chickadees or kinglets should 

 be examined for they attract many warblers but travel too slowly 

 and fhe warblers soon disappear ahead. When I first started to 

 collect, many birds were lost by waiting for a better shot. Later 

 I shot at the flash of a wing or a suspicious movement among the 

 leaves, but this is not a method to be recommended, as birds not 

 wanted are frequently secured, especially the vireos. Only one 

 Yellow-throated Vireo (Vireo flavijrons) came to grief, but the 

 Red-eyes (V. olivaceus) were constantly getting into trouble. They 

 were very common during September, and the last specimens 

 were secured October 12 and 15. The Blue-headed Vireo (F. 



