BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER. 



Blackburnian 

 Warbler 



Dendroica 

 blackbumice 

 L. 5.35 Inches 

 May i 5 th 



This may be justly considered the most 

 beautifully colored bird belonging to the 

 Family of Warblers, and it certainly can 

 not be counted an uncommon one.* Mid- 

 dle of the head, a band over each eye 

 extending well back, a patch behind the black ear- 

 coverts, the throat, and breast, all brilliant cadmium 

 orange; the rest of the head and the back black, the back 

 streaked with cream white; wings black with white 

 coverts forming a conspicuous patch; the inner vanes of 

 most of the tail feathers white; the outer vane of the 

 outer tail feather white at the base ; under parts yellow 

 white-tinged ; sides streaked with black. Female marked 

 like the male, but the orange extremely dull, and the 

 upper parts gray olive streaked with dull white. Nest 

 from ten to thirty (sometimes more) feet above the 

 ground in evergreen-trees; it is built of fine twigs and 

 grasses, and lined with moss, tendrils, fine rootlets, etc. 

 Egg gray or pearl white thickly speckled with cinna- 

 mon brown and olive. The bird is found throughout 

 eastern North America; it breeds from Minnesota and 

 Maine north to Labrador, and south along the Allegha- 

 nies to South Carolina; it winters in the tropics. It 

 prefers the coniferous woods where hemlock and spruce 

 are plenty. 



The song of the Blackburnian Warbler is a distinctly 

 characteristic one; there are about three double chirps, 

 succeeded by as many ascending notes with a distinct 

 overtone, thus: 



Vivace. 



2.i Hup. zillup.zillup, zip- zip-Zip. 



The tone of voice is wiry and thin, and the delivery is 

 rapid. It would be difficult to get this song confused 

 with that of any other Warbler, if strict attention is paid 

 to its dual character. Mr. Torrey describes the song by 

 the syllables " zillup, zillup, zillup, zip, zip, zip" which, 



* Mr. Ned Dearborn reports seeing not less than six in the same 

 tree at once, in the vicinity of Durham, N. H. 



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