FAMILY MnlotlltldK. 



suggestive of the Black Poll's, I am told, but I 

 would gladly have bought a ticket to hear it." 



Yellow This is one of our commonest Warblers, 



and itj i8 often but most mistakenly, 

 called a " Wild Canary." Such an egre- 

 L. 5. 10 inches gious error of popular indiscrimination, 

 May sth however, needs no comment. The pre- 



vailing color of this species is yellow throughout; 

 bright on the crown, greenish on the back, and brown- 

 ish on the tail; under parts bright yellow marked with 

 burnt sienna or chestnut streaks from the throat down- 

 ward. Female dull green-yellow; tail brown-yellow. 

 Nest built of fine grasses, plant fibre, and fern down, 

 lined with the down and sometimes horse hairs; it is 

 generally located in a Y branch of a shrub or tree on 

 a lawn or in an orchard, usually near the ground, or at 

 most not more than fifteen feet from it. One of the 

 most interesting instances of bird-nesting I have ever 

 known was that of a Yellow Warbler who had chosen an 

 upper branch of a Scotch rosebush for her dwelling, and 

 had arranged the nest in such a position that eventually 

 a large cluster of the yellow roses bloomed directly over 

 her head, thus effectually shielding her from observation 

 more by a condition of analogous coloring than by 

 actual interposition. The little eggs were greenish or 

 bluish white strongly marked with cinnamon brown. 

 This Warbler is distributed through North America ex- 

 cepting the southwestern part. It winters in Central 

 and the northern portion of South America. 



There are several types of the Yellow Warbler's song, 

 two of which are extremely common. Here is one: 



* * \ 



The notes are all of equal value, the interval is approxi- 

 mately a third between the fourth and fifth notes, and 

 the seventh (the last note) slides downward (by a slur) 

 apparently another third. The bird sings in presto time, 

 and his tones are clearly and loudly lisped at the very top 

 of the keyboard and perhaps three notes higher. Here 

 is the musical notation: 



174 



