—  -  ltt—is ae tae 
ts | E 
7 4 
MARYLAND YELLOW-THROAT, 171 
about May 1, and its eggs are laid about the 20th of the 
month. They are white, speckled or spotted with cinna- 
mon and reddish brown. 
The Maryland Yellow-throat is an abundant inhabit- 
ant of thickets and bushy undergrowths, readily iden- 
Maryland tified by his black mask and yellow 
Yellow-throat, breast, nervous activity, and character- 
Geothlypis trichas. istic notes. Some birds must be ap- 
Plate LIV. proached with caution, but nothing save 
an actual attack upon his home will cause the Yellow- 
throat to leave its shelter. Hopping from limb to limb, 
he advances to the border of the thicket, then retreats to 
its depths, all the time uttering an impatient chack, chit, 
or pit, and, if forced to fly, he goes only to the next clump 
of bushes. 
The Yellow-throat’s somewhat explosive song is so 
easily set to words and so variable that there are many 
versions of it. It is described as whitititee, whitititee, 
whitititee ; rapity, rapity, rapity, rap, or switch-0-r000-0, 
witch-e-wee-0, witch-e-wee-o. Mr. Burroughs says he has 
heard birds whose notes sounded like the words “ Which 
way, sir?” and I have heard some who seemed to say 
“Wait a minute.” 
To this the Yellow throat sometimes adds a flight 
song, which is a miniature of the Oven-bird’s aérial sere- 
nade. It is generally added to his usual song, and is 
most often heard late in the season at evening, when 
the bird may be seen springing into the air above his 
bushy retreat. 
The Yellow-throat arrives from the South about May 
1, and remains until the middle of October. Late in 
May a bulky nest of grasses, strips of bark, and dead 
leaves, lined with finer materials, is built on or near the 
ground. The three to five eggs are white, rather thinly 
speckled with reddish brown. Often an egg of the Cow- 
