BIRDS OF NEW YORK 459 



which are very few, range between April 30 and May 14. The last appear- 

 ance in the fall is usually between the 1st and 8th of September. In the 

 vicinity of New York Chapman gives September 20 to 30. 



Haunts and habits. The Hooded warbler prefers a deciduous forest 

 although mixed woodlands are frequently occupied in central and western 

 New York. The preferred growth is beech, maple, cherry and hornbeam, 

 or oak, chestnut, hickory and sassafras, or oak and laurel, and if the wood- 

 land is rich and well watered it is all the more attractive to this beautiful 

 warbler — not open woodland, but rather mature forest, with a considerable 

 growth of saplings and underbrush of moderate height. The males are 

 frequently seen above the line of undergrowth in the lower branches of 

 the taller trees, singing their songs throughout the breeding season. 



This song is well characterized by Chapman in his " Warblers of North 

 America " as distinguished by an " easy, sliding gracefulness. To my 

 ear the words ' You must come to the woods or you won't see me,' uttered 

 quickly and made to run one into the other, exactly fit the bird's more 

 prolonged vocal efforts though they are far from agreeing with the attempts 

 at syllabication of others. The call is a high, sharp chip, easily recognized 

 after it has been learned." Allison says the usual note is clear and nervous, 

 but not a metallic chirp. " There are two common songs, both uttered 

 on every possible occasion in spring when the woods are ringing with them. 

 The most frequent is a short one of four syllables ' se-whit, se-wheer '; a longer 

 song may be rendered ' Whee-whee-whee-a-wheer,' accented as marked. A 

 sharp or very clear-cut chirt is sometimes to be heard late in the evening, 

 about dusk." Bicknell agrees with Allison and other observers in noting 

 two distinct songs of this warbler. He has heard the song as late as July 

 1 to 15 and occasionally again during the fourth week of August. The song 

 of this warbler is one of the few which the author can hear with perfect 

 distinctness and enjoy. While the song of the Chestnut-sided warbler 

 is audible to him only for a distance of 5 or 6 rods, and the song of the 

 Blackpoll is utterly inaudible even at a distance of 3 rods, the song of 

 the Hooded warbler can be heard almost throughout the forest for a dis- 



