BIRDS OF KAXtiAS. 555 



HABITAT. Eastern North America; west to the base of the 

 Rocky Mountains; breeding from the northern United States to 

 Hudson's Bay and Great Slave Lake; south in winter to the 

 Bahamas, Cuba, eastern Mexico and southern Central America. 



Sp. CHAR. Crown plaiu grayish, without yellow spot. Adult male: Top of 

 head plain bluish gray, lighter around border (the superciliary region whitish); 

 lores and ear coverts deep black; back black, sometimes mixed with yellowish 

 olive green; wings black, with a large white patch covering both rows of cov- 

 erts; lower parts rich gamboge yellow, the chest and sides boldly striped with 

 deep black. Adult female: Similar to male, but colors duller, the back mainly 

 (sometimes entirely) olive green; wing coverts with two separated white bands; 

 streaks on lower parts narrower, etc. Autumnal plumage: Above, olive, be- 

 coming grayish ou head, and greenish on back; throat pale grayish; no streaks 

 across chest. Young: Above, dull brown, very indistinctly clouded with darker; 

 wings dusky, with two pale, dingy yellowish or yellowish-white bands across 

 tips of coverts; chest smoky brown, indistinctly streaked with lighter; chin and 

 throat lighter brownish; rest of lower parts pale sulphur yellow, broadly streaked 

 with dusky, except on belly and under tail coverts. (Ridgicay.) 



Stretch of 

 Length. wing. Wing. Tail. Tarsus. Bill. 



Male 4.85 7.50 2.40 2.00 .70 .38 



Female... 4.75 7.15 2.25 1.90 .70 .38 



Iris dark brown; bill black, with under sometimes pale at 

 base; legs, feet and claws dusky; bottoms of feet dull greenish 

 yellow. 



These handsome Warblers are decidedly the most showy of 

 the family, and they are evidently aware of the fact, and proud 

 of their rich, varied plumage, as they make the greatest display 

 possible of the same, moving nimbly and gracefully about, with 

 outspread tail and partially closed wings, not only in courtship, 

 but in their search among the foliage for insect life. During 

 migration, they stop to rest and feed in the groves, gardens and 

 orchards, seldom in the deep woods. At such times they move 

 silently along, only uttering their ordinary and rather ringing 

 "Chip," reserving their song for their breeding grounds; at least 

 I have never heard one sing far south of its summer home. I 

 do not think the birds are abundant anywhere. In the spring 

 and early summer of 1880, I found them quite common in Nova 

 Scotia and New Brunswick, where they seemed to prefer for 

 their haunts the thick growths of small spruce and hemlock. 

 They make their presence known by their song, which is shrill, 



