ufj? Harbirr 5 



coming obscured by dusky on breast and belly, brightening again on under-tail 

 coverts. Adult male with a black mask, bordered by grayish. 



Hooded Warbler. Upper parts "olive. Wing without bars. Outer tail feathers 

 with white more developed than in other species, giving the appearance of white 

 sides to the tail, when it is spread. Face and underparts yellow. In the adult male 

 the face and forehead are yellow, surrounded by a broad black area, which comprises 

 the crown, throat and upper breast. This hood is more or less imperfect in the young 

 male, and more or less indicated, though not conspicuous in the female. 



Wilson's Warbler. The adult spring male has yellow forehead, face and under- 

 parts. green upperparts, wings and tail, and a conspicuous black cap. The black cap 

 is more or less obscured or wanting in females and young, 



Canadian Warbler. Upper parts, wings and tail gray. Lores, eye-ring, and 

 underparts yellow, a black necklace of spots across the breast. Females and voung 

 have the gray duller, yellow paler, and necklace more restricted and obscure, though 

 seldom or never absent. 



American Redstart. Adult male black. Lower breast and belly white. Sides of 

 base of tail, sides o( breast, and band on wing orange. Females and young above 

 grayish olive-green, grayer on the head, below whitish, the orange of the male re- 

 placed by vellow. 



The predominating lights in the woods and thickets where Warblers 

 are fonnd, are greens and yellows. The predominating colors in the plum- 

 ages of these birds, taken as a whole, are greens and yellows. It therefore 

 follows that in the main their colors harmonize with their surroundings, 

 and render them inconspicnons. However there is another obviously possible 

 explanation of this general reproduction in color of surroundings. Most 

 colors are chemically deteriorated by light, and evidently the action of the 

 absorbed light would be greater than of the reflected light. Green reflects 

 green lights and absorbs red lights (which is what makes it green); it would 

 therefore be the most permanent and useful color in green lights. 



If we examine our species to see how far close relationship brings 

 about similarity of plumage, we are struck by the fact that in the main it 

 does not. Yellow, Blue-winged, and Wilson's Warblers, which are, perhaps 

 the three yellowest birds, are classified at the three poles of the group. A 

 closer view shows a strong undercurrent of phylogenic resemblances in the 

 secondary colors well illustrated by contrasting the Blackboll and Baybreast, 

 which are closely allied species. In high male plumage the wings with 

 their bars, streaked backs, and pattern of the colors are similar, but the pri- 

 mary colors are entirely different, making an entirely different looking bird. 

 The Blackpoll has a black cap, the Baybreast a chestnut one ; the Black- 

 poll white on the side of the head, the Baybreast black ; the Blackpoll 

 beautifully white underparts, the Baybreast chestnut ; and the area on the 

 side of the neck where in the Blackpoll black and white streaking incon- 

 spicuously links the colors of the rest of the bird, is occupied in the Bay- 

 breast by a diagnostic cross buff blotch. In the females of the two species, 

 the differences are much faded, the resemblances stronger, and the young 

 are very difficult to distinguish. The whitish wing-bars occurring in these 



