PRAIRIE WARBLER, 63 



the trees over in search of the insects which live in 

 crevices of the bark. 



The nest is built at the end of a branch, where it 

 is concealed by a tuft of pine needles. Four white 

 eggs are laid, speckled with purple and brown. Al- 

 though but few of these Warblers nest in this vicinity 

 they are very common in early autumn, from the first 

 of August to about the end of September. Their 

 song is a clear, musical trill, resembling that of the 

 Chipping Sparrow. 



Prairie Warbler: Dendroica discolor. 



Length less than 5 inches. 



Upper parts olive-green; a broken patch of chestnut-red 

 on the back; wing-bars yellowish, a yellow line over the 

 eye, white patches on the tail. 



Under parts bright yellow, the sides streaked with black. 



Resident (very common) from April 20 to September, 

 winters in southern Florida and the West Indies. 



The Prairie is much like the Pine Warbler, but he 

 is smaller and his sides are streaked with black. The 

 reddish patch on his back if it can be seen iden- 

 tifies him surely. His chosen haunts are wild, bushy 

 fields and thickets of young evergreens. His song is 

 a sweet zee-ing run up the scale, and may always be 

 heard in the Zoo in May and June. He is an expert 

 fly-catcher and his food is largely winged insects. 



The nest is likely to be in a briary bush or small 

 evergreen, and the eggs, 3 to 6, are white, spotted 

 with reddish-brown. 



