Z\)c Warbler 103 



for ornament, shade or wind-breaks, and in thes^ trees the Grackle loves to 

 build its nest. The nest is a rather bulky affair, well made and substantial, 

 and the dark-colored eggs are four to six in number. The note of the Pur- 

 ple Grackle, which is frequently heard about their favorite nesting trees at 

 breeding time, is rather coarse and harsh, yet to me it has a wild sort of 

 charm that I delight to hear, and I often wish there were suitable trees on 

 my lawn for them to build in, as I should be glad to have a colony near me. 



The Yellow Warbler 



{Dendroica cestiva) 



OF ALL the delightful little birds that nest and sing about the homes of 

 the suburban residents of Greater New York, none is more delightful 

 or more beloved than this beautiful Warbler, a superb mite of golden sun- 

 light that flits about the green foliage of trees and shrubbery uttering its de- 

 lightful high-pitched notes from morning until night, and next to the Hum- 

 mingbird he builds the most beautiful and fairy-like nest of all birds found 

 in the New England and Middle States. This truly golden bird comes each 

 spring with the golden blooms of the Narcissus and his presence is an- 

 nounced by his golden notes heard early some morning as the balmy zephyrs 

 waft them in through the windows of our sleeping rooms. On these happy 

 occasions I always regret that I cannot in some way make the birds under- 

 stand how glad I am to welcome them back. 



The Yellow Warbler is a common bird in and about villages and su- 

 burban homes where there is a quantity of trees and shrubbery. Through 

 the entire spring, summer and until fall is well advanced the yards, orchards 

 and "waste places" are "made gay " by his presence. It is the " wild Ca- 

 nary " or " Yellow-bird " of the country side and this name is stretched to an 

 extent sufficient to include some others Warblers and the American Gold- 

 finch. 



The bird arrives early in May, and during the earlier weeks of its stay it is 

 omnipresent: — at once the most familiar and abundant of its group. So com- 

 mon is it at times that I have counted eighteen individuals feeding in a small 

 orchard. Here its food consists very largely of Jarvse of the apple codling moth 

 and other fruit destroying worms. While a few remain to breed in the or- 

 chards, shade trees and shrubbery about the towns, by far the greater num- 

 ber withdraw to the seclusion of thicket swamps, where they breed common- 

 ly in the elder bushes, swamp rose, blackberry, alders and willows abound- 

 ing in such places. 



The nest is a marvel of architecture. It is more often built of time-sil- 

 vered, hoary plant fibres than other material ; this is lined with down gath- 

 ered from the growing fern fronds, the cat-tails or other pappus producing 



