574 



PASSERIFORMES 



CHAP. 



FIG. 139. Black-and-White Warbler. 

 varia. x ^. 



Mniotilta 



olive-green, grey, or slaty-blue, with yellow or rarely orange under 

 parts ; chestnut marks, white wing-bands, and the like, occasionally 



relieving the plumage. 

 The head is often 

 particularly dark or 

 streaky. Mniotilta ex- 

 hibits black and white 

 stripes ; Ergaticus shews 

 chiefly crimson and 

 white ; Granatellus is 

 grey, black, and white 

 above, but red and white 

 with black collar below. 

 Setophaga, the " Ameri- 

 can Redstart," is mainly 

 red and black, or red 

 and plumbeous ; Cardel- 

 lina is grey, black, and 

 white with crimson 

 cheeks and throat ; Siurus has olive-brown upper, and whitish 

 under parts, with dusky striations. The bill is black or brown, 

 commonly with pinkish, yellowish, or bluish mandible. 



These active, restless, and often shy birds either seek their 

 food, consisting chiefly of insects and their larvae, worms, 

 spiders, and even molluscs, upon the ground or upon the bark of 

 trees. Many forms resemble Tits in their actions ; Mniotilta and 

 others ascend the trunks spirally like Creepers ; Setophaga and 

 its allies and exceptionally Dendroeca sally after insects like 

 Flycatchers ; D. palmarum and Siurus run along with the tail 

 in motion, the former recalling a Titlark, the latter gaining, from 

 its appearance and habit of wading, the name of Water-Thrush. 

 The flight is usually swift, easy, and graceful, yet brief and 

 frequently undulating ; Myiodioctes and Setophaga flit about alter- 

 nately opening and closing the rectrices. Fruits, including conifer- 

 and grass-seeds, vary the diet. Small parties collect in winter. A 

 few species, such as Basileuterus, Setophaga, Myiodioctes, and Siurus 

 have fine clear songs, but the usual utterances are feeble warbles, 

 sweet whistles, reiterated " chirrups," or mournful trills. The 

 majority build their cup-shaped nests in trees, bushes, and thickets 

 generally, Dendroeca in some districts choosing a fir ; they are 



