DESCRIPTIVE LIST 283 



4. Wing-bars white. See 9. 



5. Back ashy; whole underparts yellow. Kirtland's Warbler. 



5. Back not ashy. See 6. 



6. Underparts white; crown and wing-patch more or less yellow. Chestnut-sided Warbler. 



6. Underparts more or less yellow. See 7. 



7. Wing-bars and belly yellow. Prairie Warbler. 



7. Wing-bars brownish; tail-spots square, at end of two outer tail-feathers only. See 8. 



8. Adults with entire lower parts bright yellow. Yellow Palm Warbler. 



8. Adults with belly mainly whitish. Palm Warbler. 



9. Rump yellow. See 10. 



9. Rump not yellow. See 11. 



10. Crown, rump, and sides of breast with yellow; throat white. Myrtle Warbler. 

 10. Crown black with a median stripe of orange-brown; an orange-brown ear-spot; bill acute, 

 perceptibly decurved. Cape May Warbler. 



10. Crown ashy; underparts yellow with black streaks; spots at the middle of nearly all the tail- 



feathers. Magnolia Warbler. 



11. Crown with orange or yellow spot; throat orange or yellow. Blackburnian Warbler. 



11. Crown with no orange or yellow. See 12. 



12. White spots at the ends of nearly all the tail-feathers; no definite yellow anywhere. Cerulean 



Warbler. 



12. Spots not at the end of nearly all the tail-feathers. See 13. 



13. Throat black, sometimes obscured by yellow tips to feathers; outer tail-feather white-edged 



externally. Black-throated Green Warbler. 



13. Throat not black. See 14. 



14. With no definite yellow anywhere. See 15. 



14. With some yellow. See 16. 



15. Crown and throat chestnut in spring male; crissum buffy. Bay-breasted Warbler. 



15. Crown black in spring male; crissum white. Black-poll Warbler. 



16. Back and cheeks yellowish olive; tail-spots oblique, at end of two outer tail-feathers only. 



Pine Warbler. 



16. Back ashy blue; cheeks black. See 17. 



17. Superciliary line yellow in front; bill longer than middle toe. Yellow-throated Warbler. 

 17. Superciliary line wholly white; bill not longer than middle toe. Sycamore Warbler. 



The above key should enable the careful student to identify most specimens that come into 

 his hands without great difficulty. It must always be borne in mind, however, that females 

 and autumnal birds as a rule are much more difficult to identify than spring males. The sexes 

 in some species are very dissimilar; in the Black-throated Blue Warbler, for instance, the only 

 point common to both sexes is the white blotch on the bases of the primary quills. In others, 

 however, the sexes are substantially alike, as is the case with the Prairie and Yellow-throated 

 Warblers. In the majority of the species, however, the sexes are decidedly different, and in 

 many the fall plumage differs strikingly from that worn in the spring, in which case it usually 

 is more or less like the spring plumage of the female, but often softer and duller. 



284. Dendroica tigrina (Gmel.}. CAPE MAY WARBLER. 



Description. Olivaceous above, with black streaks; rump and sides of neck bright yellow; 

 underparts yellow, much streaked with black; crown mostly black; ear-coverts orange brown; a 

 white wing-patch. Female duller, with no black or reddish on the head. Extreme measure- 

 ments of 3 specimens from Blantyre and 2 from Raleigh: L., 4.85-5.25; W., 2.40-2.65; T., 1.63- 

 1.95. 



Range. Eastern North America, breeding from northern United States northward; winters 

 in the West Indies. 



Range in North Carolina. A transient in the mountain regions and to some extent in the 

 central portions of the State. 



The Cape May Warbler has so far been recorded in our State from Asheville 

 and Weaverville in Buncombe County; Hendersonville in Henderson County; Blan- 

 tyre in Transylvania County; Andrews in Cherokee County; Morganton in Burke 

 County, and from Raleigh. At the last place it has been taken on April 7 and 

 May 9, 1892, by C. S. Brimley, and in early May, 1909, and late April and early 

 May, 1915, by Bruner, while in the various mountain localities the dates run from 

 April 22 to May 15. Feild reports it tolerably common at Chapel Hill, April 26- 

 May 3, 1909. The only fall record comes from Weaverville, where Cairns observed 



