SVLVICOLID.E-TIIK WAKIJLKUS. 209 



sippi. Dr. Wnodhoiise states that it is ('(nuinoii in Texas and New Mexico. 

 It was nnt, liowever, met with by any other of the <iovernnu'nt exjtlorin^ 

 parties. Dr. (leriianh tnimd it (piite eoninion in Northern (leor^ia, w' L-re it 

 remains all tiie ^.i^tc-i- and where it breeds vervearlv in the season. On the 

 V.hh of Ajtril he found a nest nf the.se birds with nearly fulI-.i;i-own younj;. 

 It has not been foinid in Maine l»y I'rofe.-^sor N'errill nor In' Mr. Tx^ardman, 

 nor in Nova Scotia by Lieutenant lUand. Mr. Allen has found it l>reedinu 

 aljundantly in the western part of Massachusetts, where it is om; of tlie 

 earliest Wtirblers to arrive, and where V remains until Uct(»ber. In ISCd 

 they were abundant in the pint; woods near Sprinutield as early as April 4, 

 although the ^rround at tliat lime was covered with snow. J)urinn tiie last 

 weeks of April and the early jiart of May they fre«[uent the o])en iields, 

 obtaining much of their food from the ground in comi>any with I), pul- 

 manoii, the habits of whicli, at this time, it clo.sely folli>w.s. Liiter in the 

 season they retire to the pine forests, where they remain almost exclusively 

 throughout the summer, chietly on the to[ts of the tallest trees. For a few 

 weeks preceding the tiisi of October they again c»»me about the orchards and 

 fields. In its winter migrations it does uotai)i)ear to leave this country, and 

 has not been found in any of the West India Islands, in Mexico, nor in South 

 or Central America. It breeds sjtaringly in Southern Illinois. 



Mr. dones found tluise birds numerous in Hernnida late in September, but 

 they all disappeared a few weeks later. Dr. IJryant found them at Inagua, 

 liahamas. 



Wilson first noticed this Warbler in tlie pine woods of the Southern 

 States, where he found it resident all the year. He describes it as running 

 along the bark of pine-trees, though occasionally alighting and feeding on 

 the ground. When distinbed, it always Hies \\\> and clings to the trunk-^ of 

 trees. The farther south, the more numerous he found it. Its }»rincipal food 

 is the seeds of the S»)uthern pitch-pine and various kinds of insects. It was 

 associated in tK»cks of thirty in the de]>ths of the pine barrens, easily recog- 

 nized by their manner of rising from the ground and alighting on the trunks 

 of trees. 



Audubon also sj)eaks of this liird as the most al)undant of its tribe. He 

 met with them on the sandy barrens of Kast Florida on the St. rlohn's L'iver 

 earlv in February, at which i)eriod thev already had nests. In their habits 

 he regarded them as (^uite chjsely allied to the Creepers, ascending the 

 trunks and larger branches of trees, hopping along the bark searching for 

 concealed larva\ At one moment it moyes sideways along a branch a few 

 steps, then stops and moves in another direction, carefully examining each 

 twig. It is active and restless, generally searching for insects among the 

 leayes and blossoms of the pine, or in the creyices of the bark, but occasion- 

 ally pui'suing them on the wing. It is found exclusiyely in low lands, uever 

 in mountainous districts, and chietiy near the sea. 



Its nest is usually placed at consideiable height, sometimes fifty feet or 



