140 



PARULA WARBLER. 



648. Compsothlypis americana. 4 l /2 inches. 



A yellowish brown patch in the middle of the gray 

 back; male, with a chestnut and black patch on the 

 breast; female, without. 



In the summer they are found in wet swamps where 

 the ground is covered with a carpeting of moss which 

 only partially keeps your feet from the water below; 

 the dead trees are covered with a growth of long, 

 drooping moss; the ends of this moss are turned up 

 and formed into a neat cradle within which the young 

 are reared. 



Song. A little lisping trill. 



Nest. A beautiful affair consisting of long, droop- 

 ing moss suspended from dead trees in swamps; eggs 

 white with a wreath of chestnut spots around the large 

 end (.65x.45). 



Range. Breeds in the southern half of the U. S. 

 The Northern Parula (usnea), No. 648a., breeds in the 

 northern half of the U. S. and southern Canada; it is 

 brighter colored than the southern form. Both varie- 

 ties winter fro n the Gulf States southward. 



