404 WOOD WARBLERS 



the summer it stays almost wholly in the underbrush, where it keeps 

 continually on the move, uttering a quick chirp as it goes. 



During the migrations, Mr. Aiken reports, it has been found 

 among cottonwoods and willows bordering streams, and often among 

 the pines. He says : ' ' The male is very musical during the nesting 

 season, uttering his sweet little ditty continually as he skips through 

 the bushes in search of his morning repast ; or, having satisfied his 

 appetite, he mounts to the top of some tree in the neighborhood 

 of his nest, and repeats at regular intervals a song of remarkable 

 fullness for a bird of such minute proportions." 



645 a. Helminthophila rubricapilla gutturalis (Eidgw.). 



CALAVERAS WARBLER. 



Adult male. Under parts bright yellow ; upper part of head gray, with 

 conspicuous white orbital ring- and chestnut 

 crown patch, but feathers tipped with gray ; 

 back olive green, brightening to yellowish 

 green on rump and upper tail coverts ; wings 

 and tail unmarked. Adult female : similar, 

 but duller, and crown with little if any chest- 

 nut. Young: throat, chest, and under tail 

 coverts dull yellowish ; belly buff y brown ; 

 upper parts brownish gray, becoming olive 

 gray on rump. Male: length (skins) 4.05- 



4.75, wing 2.32-2.46, tail 1.70-1.88, bill .37-.40. Female: length (skins) 

 3.85-4.10, wing 2.12-2.19, tail 1.53-1.62, bill .34-.3S. 



Remarks. The sharply contrasting yellow throat and gray sides of 

 head make a striking field character. 



Distribution. Breeds on mountains in Transition and Canadian zones 

 from the Pacific coast of North America eastward during migrations to 

 the Rocky Mountains and central Texas, and from British Columbia south 

 to Lower California and northern Mexico. 



Nest. On or near the ground, made of weed stems, grasses, and bark, 

 lined with soap-root fiber. Eggs : usually 5, creamy white, spotted with 

 reddish brown mixed with lavender in wreath around larger end. 



In California the Calaveras warbler is often met with in the 

 chaparral. It looks up at you shyly as it clings to the stalk of a 

 bush, and you have barely time to note how the dark sides of its 

 throat contrast with its yellow body before it has hopped off to a 

 twig and is making its way through its dense little forest. In the 

 breeding season, at Fort Klamath, Oregon, Dr. Merrill says, it hunts 

 mostly among the aspens, though flying up occasionally into the 

 pines. He compares its song, which is loud and constant, to that of 

 the yellow warbler. 



646. Helminthophila celata (Say). ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER. 

 Adult male. Upper parts dull olive green, brighter on rump ; some- 

 times tinged with gray, especially on head ; crown with dull orange patch 

 concealed except in worn midsummer plumage by grayish olive tips to 

 feathers ; orbital ring and superciliary yellow ; under parts dull yellowish, 



