468 WOOD WARBLERS 



in calling him eccentric, but that there is method in his madness no 

 one who studies him closely can doubt. 



Is the odd jumble of whistles, chucks, and caws uttered by one 

 bird in that copse yonder, or by half a dozen different birds in as many 

 places? Approach cautiously, and perhaps you may see him in the 

 air a bunch of feathers twitched downward by the queer, jerky notes 

 which animate it. One might suppose so peculiar a performance would 

 occupy his entire attention, but nevertheless he has seen you; in an 

 instant his manner changes, and the happy-go-lucky clown, who a 

 moment before was turning aerial somersaults, has become a shy, 

 suspicious haunter of the depths of the thicket, whence will come his 

 querulous chut, chut as long as your presence annoys him. 



684. Wilsonia citrina (Gmel.\ HOODED WARBLER. (Fig. 129.) 

 Ad. cf. Forehead and cheeks bright yellow; crown black, connected behind 

 with the black throat; upperparts, wings, and tail olive-green; outer tail- 

 feathers with inner vane mostly white; breast and belly yellow; bill with 

 evident bristles at its base. Ad. 9 . Similar, but with the black hood usually 

 developed as a narrow line on the nape and crown, and a blackish wash on 

 the throat or chest. Im. cf . Similar to ad. <?, but the black feathers with 

 yellow tips. Im. 9. Similar to ad. 9, but with no black on the head or 

 breast. L., 5'67; W., 2'58; T., 2'30; B. from N., '31. 



Range. E. U. S. Breeds in Carolinian and Austroriparian faunas 

 from se. Nebr., s. Iowa, sw. Mich., cen. N. Y., and the lower Conn. Valley 

 s. to La., Ala., and Ga.; winters from Vera Cruz to Panama; occasional in 

 the Bahamas, Cuba, and Jamaica; casual n. to Wise., Mich., Ont., and 

 Mass. 



Washington, locally common S. R., Apl. 19-Oct. 1. Ossining, rare S. R., 

 to Sept. 1. N. Ohio, rare, May 8, 9, 12 and 22. 



Nest, of leaves, strips of bark, and rootlets, lined with fine grasses and 

 rootlets, in the crotch of a bush or sapling, about four feet up. Eggs, 4-5, 

 white or creamy white, rather thinly speckled or spotted with rufous or 

 rufous-brown, generally in a wreath at the larger end, '71 x '53, Date, 

 Charleston, S. C., Apl. 30, inc. adv.; Saybrook, Conn., May 26; Kalamazoo 

 Co., Mich., June 10. 



This beautiful bird is a lover of well-watered, rather densely grown 

 woods. It is a bird of the lower growth rather than the trees, but is not 

 a thicket-haunter, and its habit of flitting restlessly from bush to 

 bush renders it easily observed. When on the wing its white outer 

 tail-feathers are conspicuously displayed, and, with the striking mark- 

 ings of the head, make an excellent field-mark. 



The song of the Hooded Warbler is sweet and graceful. It is sub- 

 ject to much variation, but as a rule consists of eight or nine notes. 

 To my ear the bird seems to say, "You must come to the woods, or 

 you won't see me." Its call-note is a sharp, characteristic cheep, fre- 

 frequently uttered when the bird is anxious for the safety of its nest or 

 young, and accompanied by a flit of the tail, which reveals the white 

 outer tail-feathers. 



685. Wilsonia pusilla pusilla (Wils.). WILSON'S WARBLER. (Fig. 

 128.) Ad. &. Forehead yellow, crown black; rest of the upperparts, wings 

 and tail bright olive-green; no wing-bars nor tail-patches; underparts bright 



