Dusky, Gray, and Slate-colored 



dainty, gentle, aristocratic-looking birds, a trifle heavy and indo- 

 lent, perhaps, when walking on the ground or perching; but as 

 they fly in compact squads just above the tree-tops their flight is 

 exceedingly swift and graceful. 



Bay-breasted Warbler 



(Dendroica castajiea) Wood Warbler family 



Length— 'j,. 2^ to 5.75 inches. A little smaller than the English 

 sparrow. 



Male— Crov^w, chin, throat, upper breast, and sides dull chest- 

 nut. Forehead, sides of head, and cheeks black. Above 

 olive-gray, streaked with black. Underneath buffy. Two 

 white wing-bars. Outer tail quills with white patches on 

 tips. Cream-white patch on either side of neck. 



Female — Has more greenish-olive above. 



j'?^/?^^— Eastern North America, from Hudson's Bay to Central 

 America. Nests north of the United States. Winters in 

 tropical limit of range. 



Migrations— }Aixy . September. Rare migrant. 



The chestnut breast of this capricious little visitor makes him 

 look like a diminutive robin. In spring, when these warblers 

 are said to take a more easterly route than the one they choose in 

 autumn to return by to Central America, they may be so sud- 

 denly abundant that the fresh green trees and shrubbery of the 

 garden will contain a dozen of the busy little hunters. Another 

 season they may pass northward either by another route or leave 

 your garden unvisited; and perhaps the people in the very next 

 town may be counting your rare bird common, while it is simply 

 perverse. 



Whether common or rare, before your acquaintance has had 

 time to ripen into friendship, away go the freaky little creatures 

 to nest in the tree-tops of the Canadian coniferous forests. 



Chestnut-sided Warbler 



( Dendroica pennsylvanica) Wood Warbler family 



Called also: BLOODY-SIDED WARBLER 



Length — About 5 inches. Over an inch shorter than the English 



sparrow. 

 Male — Top of head and streaks in wings yellow. A black line 



90 



