WOOD WARBLERS 429 



chest with necklace of black streaks; orbital ring white or yellowish; 



crown black, feathers edged with gray ; rest of upper parts 



gray. Adult female and young in fall : similar, but black 



replaced by gray tinged with olive. Young female : chest 



markings sometimes obsolete. Young, first plumage : upper 



parts brownish, gray below the surface ; wings with two 



buffy bars ; sides of head, throat, and chest buffy brown ; 



rest of under parts yellow. Male: length (skins) 4.76-5.17, Fig. 539. 



wing 2.54-2.64, tail 2.15-2.26, bill .40-44. Female: length Canadian War- ' 



(skins) 4.57-4.91, wing 2.38-2.54, tail 2.00-2.10, bill .S9-.45. bler ' 



Distribution. Breeds in Canadian zone of northeastern North America, 

 from Lake Winnipeg, Hudson Bay, southern Labrador, and Newfoundland 

 south to southern New England, Wisconsin, and the Alleghanies ; casually 

 to Colorado ; winters from Mexico south to South America. 



Nest. In clumps of weeds or tussocks of grass in swampy woods, made 

 of leaves and lined with pine needles, rootlets, and horsehair. Eggs : 3 to 

 5, white or buffy white, spotted around larger end with reddish brown and 

 lilac, usually mixed with a few black specks or pen lines. 



GENUS SETOPHAGA. 



General Characters. Bill about half as long as head, much depressed, 

 broad at base, sharply ridged for basal half or more, straight, decurved at 

 tip ; rictal bristles reaching beyond nostrils ; wings pointed, vail long and 

 fan-shaped, with broad flat feathers widening at ends ; feet slender ; tarsus 

 with scutella distinct. 



KEY TO ADULT MALES. 



1. Under parts mainly white, with orange patches . . ruticilla. p. 429. 

 1'. Under parts mainly dark rose red picta, p. 430. 



687. Setophaga ruticilla (Linn.). AMERICAN REDSTART. 



Adult male. Black with bluish gloss, except for white belly and 

 under tail coverts, and salmon or orange patches on sides of breast, 

 wings, and tail. Adult female : black of male replaced by 

 grayish olive, and orang'e by yellow. Immature male : similar 

 to female, but smaller, browner, and color patches deeper ; 

 after first winter plumage interspersed with black feathers. 

 Immature female : like adult female, but gray more brownish, 

 throat and chest tinged with brownish buff ; yellow of breast 

 less distinct, and that on wings partly or wholly concealed. 

 Young, first plumage : upper parts grayish brown ; under parts grayish 

 white, pale gray on chest ; breast without yellow ; wings and tail like 

 older birds, but with two whitish or yellowish bands. Male : length 

 (skins) 4.61-5.00, wing 2.40-2.64, tail 2.05-2.28, bill .28-35. Female: 

 length (skins) 4.41-4.76, wing 2.28-2.60, tail 1.93-2.28, bill .31-.35. 



Distribution. Breeds from British Columbia and Fort Simpson to the 

 Gulf of Mexico and from the Atlantic west regularly to the Great Basin ; 

 casually to California, Oregon, Arizona, and Lower California ; winters 

 in the West Indies, and from southern Mexico to northern South Amer- 

 ica. 



Nest. Cup-shaped, compact, made largely of plant fibers and strips of 

 bark and web, 7 to 30 feet from the ground. Eggs : 3 to 5, white, green- 

 ish or grayish, spotted chiefly around larger end with brown and lilac. 



Food. Insects. 



