BIRDS OF THE WEST 79 



648. PARULA WARBLER. Compsothylpis Americana. Warbler 

 size. Slaty-blue above with a light olivie patch on the back. Yellow 

 below growing lighter towards tail. Wings have white spots. 



673. PRAIRIE WARBLER. Dendroica discolor. Warbler size. 

 Olive above, spotted with red. Yellow beneath. Wings barred with 

 yellow. Sides black, starting from eye. 



636. BLACK AND WHITE CREEPING WARBLER. Mniotilta 

 varia. Warbler size. Black and white stripes above. White ieye-ring. 

 Black and white stripes beneath. Points faded black. Creeps about 

 trees much as woodpeckers do. 



674. OVENBIRD. Seiurus aurocapillus. See thrushes. Actually 

 a warbler, but resembles thrushes more. 



661. BLACK POLL WARBLER. Dendroica striata. Warbler 

 size. Black crown. Olive and black above, lighter towards tail. White 

 with black stripes below. 



YELLOW WARBLER. 



If you see a bird a little smaller than the English sparrow, 

 trimmer, neater and better dressed, with olive coat and yellow 

 vest, no matter what stripes, dots, collars and neckties he may 

 wear, you are quite safe in calling it a warbler. 



Sparrow, swallow, finch, thrush and many other names are 

 like Smith, Jones, Brown and Robinson, the names of families, 

 and to merely call a bird a warbler is not enough to mark him. 



The month of May is the warbler's month and so is Septem- 

 ber, for in those months we see most of them in migration. Active 

 and nervous little birds, they flit about the tips of the branches 

 up-side-down or down-side-up, restlessly searching for the tiny 

 eggs, bugs or seeds upon which they live. 



A good type is the yellow warbler, the sprite that many of 

 you know as the wild canary. It is a dear little bird and I will 

 tell you some of its good qualities. It is pretty, industrious and 

 domestic. It sings sweetly, builds skillfully and makes the 

 world better for having lived. What more could you ask of a 

 little bird? 



All birds have strong likes and dislikes. Each tree-nesting 

 bird has its favorite tree. The waxwing loves the cedar ; the cross- 

 bill, the pine; the flicker, the chestnut or the apple in the east, 

 the cottonwood in the west; the oriole loves the elm; the yellow 

 warbler, well, it likes the one that the Irishman wanted to be 



