AMERICAN REDSTART. 



687. Setophaga ruticilla. 5^ inches. 



Male, black, orange and white; female, grayish, yel- 

 low and white; it requires two or three years to attain 

 the black plumage of the male, in the intermediate 

 stages they are sometimes strangely mottled. 



In the northeastern half of the United States, these 

 are one of the commonest and most active of the species. 

 Both the males and females seem to be proud of their 

 handsome plumage and are continually spreading and 

 closing their tails. They are equally happy whether in 

 the tree tops or near the ground, and are as often found 

 in the one place as the other. 



Song. '"Che-wee, che-wee, che-wee," very similar to 

 that of the Yellow Warbler and also the Chestnut-sided 

 Warbler. 



Nest. Of plant fibres and grasses in forks of bushes 

 or trees, usually at greater heights than those of the 

 Yellow Warbler; eggs whitish specked with brown. 



Range. N. A., rare west of the Rockies, breeding 

 from North Carolina and Missouri northward; winters 

 south of the U. S, 



