Family Mniotiltidcz Panda Warbler 79 



The song is simple and not especially character- 

 istic. Minot represents it by the syllables wee-chee- 

 wee-chee-wee-i-u. He sings from the time of his 

 arrival to his departure, but less frequently after the 

 middle of July. 



32. PARULA WARBLER 



BLUE YELLOW-BACKED WARBLER 



(Compsothlypis ai/iericana.) 



Upper parts in general gray-blue ; back with greenish yellow 

 patch ; wing with two white bars ; tail with white blotches ; 

 throat and forebreast yellow crossed by a band of brown ; re- 

 maining under parts white. Beak long and slender, upper 

 mandible dark, lower one light ; feet horn colored. Bird about 

 half the size of a sparrow. Sexes alike, but coloring of female 

 less pronounced, and brown band sometimes almost wanting. 



ABUNDANT in high, open woods, parks, and gar- 

 dens, where the greenish-gray " moss/' Usnea bar- 

 bulata, or " old man's beard," is found. During 

 migration it is one of the most numerous of all 

 the warblers, and it is abundant, though local, all 

 through the summer. It comes to us in May, and 

 disappears in September. The nest is globular, 

 with an entrance on the side, and is almost always 

 built in a bunch of Usnea. It is usually placed in 

 the woods, twenty or more feet from the ground, 

 at the end of a bough. 



