196 SPRING AT THE CAPITAL. 



ently catch a glimpse of the bird as he 

 jumps up from the ground to take an insect 

 or worm from the under side of a leaf. This 

 is his characteristic movement. He belongs 

 to the class of ground warblers, and his 

 range is very low indeed, lower than that of 

 any other species with which I am acquainted. 

 He is on the ground nearly all the time, mov- 

 ing rapidly along, taking spiders and bugs, 

 overturning leaves, peeping under sticks and 

 into crevices, and every now and then leap- 

 ing up eight or ten inches, to take his game 

 from beneath some overhanging leaf or 

 branch. Thus each species has its range 

 more or less marked. Draw a line three 

 feet from the ground, and you mark the 

 usual limit of the Kentucky warbler's quest 

 for food. Six or eight feet higher bounds 

 the usual range of such birds as the worm- 

 eating warbler, the mourning ground war- 

 bler, the Maryland yellow-throat. The lower 

 branches of the higher growths, and the 

 higher branches of the lower growths, are 

 plainly preferred by the black-throated blue- 

 backed warbler, in those localities where he 

 is found. The thrushes feed mostly on and 

 near the ground, while some of the vireos 

 and the true flycatchers explore the highest 



