260 SINGING BIRDS. 



GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER. 

 Helminthophila chrysoptera. 



Char. Male : above, bluish gray, sometimes tinged with olive ; 

 crown bright yellow; side o£ head yellowish white, with broad patch of 

 black from bill through eyes; wings with large patch of bright yellow; 

 blotches on tail white; beneath, white tinged with yellow; throat black; 

 sides tinged with gray. Female : similar, but colors duller; patch from 

 bill through eyes, grayish. Length about 5 inches. 



Nest. Amid a tuft of long grass, in moist meadow or damp margin of 

 woods ; constructed of shreds of bark, roots, etc., lined with fine grass. 



Eggs. 4-6; white spotted with brown and lilac; 0.65 X 0.50. 



This scarce species appears only a few days in Pennsylvania 

 about the last of April or beginning of May. It darts actively 

 through the leafy branches, and like the Titmouse examines the 

 stems for insects, and often walks with the head downwards ; 

 its notes and actions are also a good deal similar, in common 

 with the Worm-eating Warbler. I have never yet seen it in 

 Massachusetts, and if it really does proceed north to breed, it 

 must follow a western route. 



The Golden-wing still remains a somewhat "scarce" bird, but it 

 occurs regularly in Connecticut and southern Massachusetts, and 

 in some few localities is often quite numerous. Its general breeding 

 area lies north of latitude 40°, though nests have been found among 

 the hills of Georgia and North Carolina. To the westward it breeds 

 in Ohio, southern Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, and in the 

 vicinity of London, Ontario, where Saunders reports it quite com- 

 mon. It winters south to Central America. 



Note. — Two variations from the type, Brewster's Warbler 

 (//■. leucobronchialis) and Lawrence's Warbler {H. lawrencei) 

 are still placed on the " hypothetical list " by conservative writers. 

 Both birds are supposed to be either hybrids between H. pinus and 

 H. chrysoptera., or color phases. Lawrence's Warbler is rather 

 rare, though it occurs regularly in Connecticut, but Brewster's 

 Warbler is not uncommon in the Connecticut valley, and has been 

 traced south to Virginia and west to Michigan. 



