LXXVIII 



PROTHONOTARY WARBLER; GOLDEN SWAMP WAEBLEE 

 637. Protonotaria citrea 



The Prothonotary Warbler is a rather common sum- 

 mer resident in the vicinity of Kansas City, Missouri, 

 but it is rarely seen and recognized by the average bird 

 enthusiast; as its habits and nesting sites are usually 

 away from the easily followed paths. It arrives a few 

 days ahead of most of the Warblers on their northern 

 journey, departing for the South several weeks in ad- 

 vance of the same throng. 



Prothonotary Warblers breed throughout their sum- 

 mer range. Few birds are more universally covered 

 with cadmium yellow plumage than are these six-inch 

 Warblers. They select for their nests abandoned Wood- 

 peckers' holes in dead willows in swampy places. This 

 habit, in itself, aids in identification of these birds. 

 Should you see a little yellow bird collecting food on 

 driftwood and half-sunken rocks in a swamp and carry- 

 ing it into a hole in a dead willow leaning or standing 

 in the water, south of latitude 43 degrees, it would be 

 a safe guess to call it the bird under discussion. They 

 also nest in other localities, such as old cans, auger-holes 

 and trestleworks, usually near the water. 



The love-making of these Warblers is vigorous and 

 hasty and when mated the two are a devoted pair. Their 

 song is sweet, but limited in range. 



Sixty miles south of Kansas City there is a vast 

 tract of bottom land subject to annual overflow. Two 

 hundred acres of this land was made into a permanent 

 swamp when a gun club built a retaining bank to keep 

 the overflow water from draining into the nearby stream. 

 This water has killed all of the trees, many of which 

 are still standing. Probably one-half are willows, the 

 soft wood of which is easily excavated by the Downy, 

 Hairy and other Woodpeckers. The last year's nests are 

 invariably appropriated by the Swamp Warblers, since 



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