CANADIAN WARBLER. 227 



The Edmundston birds were seen in early June, and those secured 

 proved to be males. As they sang with great frequency, they were 

 easily discovered, and were invariably found amid the top branches 

 of high spruce and fir trees on the crest of a hill. We were anxious 

 to obtain a nest, and of course hunted through these high branches, 

 little thinking that this coterie of Benedicts were making holiday 

 while their industrious but neglected spouses were attending to 

 housekeeping affairs down yonder in the valley. We learned the 

 song, however, and discovered that its theme resembled somewhat 

 the simple lay of the Nashville, though the voice is neither so 

 full nor so sweet, recalling rather the thin, wiry tones of the Black 

 and White Creeper. 



CANADIAN WARBLER. 



Sylvania canadensis. 



Char. Male : above, bluish ash ; crown marked with black ; line 

 from bill around the eyes, yellow ; line from beneath the eyes to sides of 

 breast black ; under parts yellow spotted with black, the spots forming a 

 line or crescent across the breast; throat unspotted. Female and young: 

 similar but lacking black on head ; crescent on breast less distinct. 

 Length 5 to 5^ inches. 



Nest. On the ground, sometimes near border of a stream or by a moist 

 meadow, placed on side of mound or among upturned roots of a tree ; com- 

 posed of grass and stems, lined with hair. 



Eggs. 4-5 ; white or creamy, spotted, chiefly around the larger end, 

 with brown and lilac ; 0.70 X 0.50. 



This is a rare summer species in the Atlantic States, appear- 

 ing singly, and for a few days only, on the passage north or 

 south in the spring or autumn. These birds breed in Canada 

 and Labrador, and are more abundant in mountainous interior, 

 — the route by which they principally migrate. They winter 

 in the tropical regions, are then silent, and, like the rest of 

 their tribe, very active in darting through the branches after 

 insects. 



Audubon found this species breeding in the Great Pine 

 Forest of the Pokono in Pennsylvania, as well as in Maine, the 

 British Provinces, and Labrador. They have a short, unattrac- 

 tive note in the spring, and in the mountains where they dwell 

 they have a predilection for the shady borders of streams where 

 laurels grow. 



