DESCRIPTIVE LIST 273 



The name "Warbler" comes from their general resemblance to the warblers of 

 Europe, whose places they take in this country, and not from any especial musical 

 ability of their own. Although many of them sing pleasingly, the songs as a rule 

 are little more than simple trills. 



The males of many species are brightly colored and beautifully marked. The 

 sexes are often quite unlike in coloration, and the variations due to age and season 

 are also striking. 



The technical points which distinguish them are the possession of nine developed 

 primaries ; a slender bill not decidedly hooked at tip ; inner secondaries not length- 

 ened; hind toe not long nor straight. 



The genera are numerous, and all those found in North America are represented 

 in North Carolina. 



KEY TO GENERA 



1. Bill depressed, broader than deep at base, notched and slightly hooked, with strong rictal 

 bristles. Length 5.50 or less. See 2. 



1. Bill not depressed or hooked. Rictal bristles, if present, short. See 3. 



2. Tail blotched with yellow or orange red. Setophaga. 



2. Tail blotched with white or not at all. Wilsonia. 



3. Bill stout, much compressed; length 7 or more. Icteria. 



3. Bill rather slender, little compressed; length less than 6.50. See 4. 



4. Hind toe with claw very long, as long as tarsus in front. Color black-and-white, striped; 



no yellow. Mniotilta. 



4. Hind toe with claw much shorter than naked portion of tarsus in front. See 5. 



5. Middle toe with claw not shorter than tarsus. No wing-bars. See 6. 



5. Middle toe with claw decidedly shorter than naked portion of tarsus in front, or else wing- 



bars present. See 8. 



6. Tail-feathers blotched with white. Protonotaria. 



6. Tail-feathers unblotched. See 7. 



7. Bill much compressed; top of head plain brown. Helinaia. 



7. Bill slightly compressed; top of head with two black stripes, separated by a broader one of 



buff. Helmitheros. 



8. Gape without bristles; bill very acute, scarcely notched. Tail-feathers plain or blotched 



with white. Vermivora. 



8. Gape with bristles. See 9. 



9. Tail blotched with white or with the inner webs bright yellow. See 10. 

 9. Tail without white or bright yellow. See 11. 



10. Hind toe evidently longer than its claw; bill acute, not notched. Compsothlypis. 



10. Hind toe scarcely longer than its claw; bill mostly not very acute, and with a slight notch 



near tip. Dendroica. 



11. Lower parts much streaked. Seiurus. 



11. Lower parts not streaked. See 12. 



12. Tail not shorter than wings, its feathers not half hidden by the coverts. Geothlypis. 



12. Tail shorter than wing, its feathers half hidden by the coverts; at least posterior underparts 

 bright yellow. Oporornis. 



Genus Mniotilta (Vieill.) 



272. Mniotilta varia (Linn.). BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER. 



Description. Black and white, streaked everywhere. Wing-bars and spots on inner web of 

 two outer tail-feathers, white. Female is duller and more grayish with less black streaking below. 

 Extreme measurements of 95 Raleigh specimens: L., 4.85-5.46; W., 2.46-2.90; T., 1.75-2.15. 



Range. Eastern North America in summer, wintering in the Gulf States and southward. 



Range in North Carolina. Whole State in summer, breeding everywhere. 



The Black- and- White Warbler, sometimes called the Black-and- White Creeper 

 on account of its movements, is a common summer visitor in all portions 

 of our State, arriving about the end of March and leaving in October. Its favorite 

 haunts are mixed woods, particularly where there are sloping hillsides, in which 



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