316 BED-POLL WARBLER 



bled wit-che-ry that it is a surprise when he sud- 

 denly vaults into mid air with an ecstatic love-song. 

 It breaks away from his stereotyped notes so 

 completely that it comes as an outpouring of long- 

 pent-up feeling, and raises him from the rank of 

 a prosaic hunter after worms to that of an im- 

 passioned musician and lover. In domestic rela- 

 tions, few birds are more affectionate than the 

 Yellow-throat, Mr. Chamberlain tells us. The 

 male carries food most assiduously to his mate at 

 the nest, caressing her, singing for her diversion, 

 and guarding her from disturbance. If the nest 

 is approached, he " alternately scolds and pleads 

 with marked emphasis of displeasure and anx- 

 iety." The nest is a bulky but comfortable abode 

 made of loosely woven strips of bark, grasses, and 

 dead leaves, sometimes roofing the top ; and the 

 eggs are white, speckled thinly at the larger end. 



Red-poll Warbler : Dendrolca palmarum hypochrysea. 



Crown chestnut ; back brownish green ; under parts entirely 

 bright yellow. Young and adult, in winter, cap concealed or 

 wanting. Length, about 5 inches. 



GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION. Eastern North America east of 

 the mountains ; breeds from Maine northward east of Hudson 

 Bay ; migrates southward through the Atlantic states, and 

 winters in the Gulf states. 



In the spring migration the Red-poll is often 

 seen on the ground or on fences or bushes in 

 company with Yellow-rumps, Pine Warblers, and 

 Chipping Sparrows. It is common in Central 



