26 Bird Studies. 



He showed them how to kill and tear apart the grasshopper placed in the 

 cage for food, how to moisten the fragments in the water cup, and generally 

 fed the small birds and looked after them before attending to his own wants. 

 He grew very tame, was allowed the freedom of the room, and would often 

 leave his cage in the evening, after the lamps were lighted, to catch the dif- 

 ferent insects attracted through the open windows by the light. He would 

 hop about the table at which we were sitting and catch such prey as suited 

 him best. He began to sing softly but very charmingly when about six 

 months old. 



Early in May the flood-tide of migrants returning from the South to the 



points where they breed, is swelled by the Wood Warblers. Of these, con- 



Black-poll War- spicuous in our gardens and orchards is the Black-poll 



bier. Warbler. A leisurely bird in its movements and occupy- 



Dendroica striata (Forst.). ing a very considerable time in passing by to its northern 



breeding-place, it is to be seen in numbers after the first week in May, until 



the beginning of the second week in June. 



The adult male bird has a black cap and white sides to his head, remind- 

 ing one of a Chickadee. The back and rump are gray, streaked with black. 

 The under parts are white, becoming grayish on the flanks and sides, which 

 are streaked with black. The throat is bounded by black streaks, converg- 

 ing to the chin. There are two white bars on the wing. The inner side of 

 the outer tail feathers have more or less white at the tips. The female is quite 

 different, being olive green, streaked with dusky above and having the under 

 parts yellowish white, with sides streaked obscurely with dusky. The wings 

 and tail are similar to those of the male bird. In the fall the adults of both 

 sexes are similar to the females in spring, but are brighter olive green 

 above and below. The striping below on the sides is very obscure if at all ap- 

 parent. The immature birds of both sexes are brighter olive green above 

 than the adult female, the streaks are indistinct, the lower parts are brighter 

 olive green with the streaks almost obscured. The feathers below the tail are 

 white. The birds are about five inches and a half long. 



These birds are found in Eastern and Northern North America. They 

 breed from Northern New England, north to Greenland and Alaska. They 

 winter in Northern South America. 



They breed in coniferous trees, generally not more than eight feet from 

 the ground. The nest is of moss and rootlets, having a lining of fine grasses. 



