©onspicuously Yellow and Orange you ie : Bays 
Wilson’s Warbler 
(Sylvania pusilla) Wood Warbler family — 
Called also: BLACKCAP; GREEN BLACK-CAPPED war 
BLER ; WILSON’S FLYCATCHER wi 
Length—4.75 to 5 inches. About an inch and a half shorter than 
the English sparrow. 
Male—Black cap ; yellow forehead ; all other upper parts olives 
green ; rich yellow underneath. 
Female—Lacks the black cap. 
Range—North America, from Alaska and Nova Scotia to Pana 
Winters south of Gulf States. Nests chiefly north of the 
United States. 
Migrations—May. September. Spring and autumn migrant. 
To see this strikingly marked little bird one must be on the 
sharp lookout for it during the latter half of May, or at the season — Bee ‘ 
of apple bloom, and the early part of September. It passes north- = 
ward with an almost scornful rapidity. Audubon mentions hav- 
ing seen it in Maine at the end of October, but this specimen = 
surely must have been an exceptional laggard. ‘aan 
In common with several others of its family, it is exceedingly - a 
expert in catching insects on the wing ; but it may beknownas 
no true flycatcher from the conspicuous rich yellow ofits under = 
parts, and also from its habit of returning from a midair sally toa 
different perch from the one it left to pursue its dinner. A true 
flycatcher usually returns to its old perch after each hunt. 
To indulge in this aérial chase with success, these warblers 
select for their home and hunting ground some low woodland 
growth where a sluggish stream attracts myriads of insects to 
the boggy neighborhood. Here they build their nest in low 
bushes or upon the ground. Four or five grayish eggs, sprinkled 
with cinnamon-colored spots in a circle around the larger end, 3 
are laid in the grassy cradle in June. Mr. H. D. Minotfoundone ~~ 
of these nests on Pike’s Peak at an altitude of 11,000 feet, almost  — 
at the limit of vegetation. The same authority compares the 
bird’s song to that of the redstart and the yellow warbler. 
