WOOD WARBLERS. 



373 



-throat is 

 g is quite 



\T. Ad. — 

 ; line from 

 itc; throat, 

 lit yellow ; 

 ayish. L., 

 roin N., -41. 

 d States ; 

 ,'rn Miniie- 

 winters in 



R., A pi. 29 



lion S. R., 

 ige, rather 



rse grasses, 

 in a crotch 

 !ckle(l and 



form the 

 1 frankly 

 ■itcniiif? to 

 are cer- 

 nethod in 



d by one 

 1 as many 

 m in the 

 ky notes 

 brmance 

 een you ; 

 wn, who 

 pu' a shy, 

 come his 



Fig. 108.) 

 d behind 

 uter tail- 

 bill with 

 on head 

 :>iMiilar to 

 id. 9 , but 



with no black on the head or breast. L., 5-67 ; W., 2-58; T., 2-30; B. from 

 N., -SI. 



Range. — Eastern United States; breeds as far north as southern Michigan 

 and southern Connecticut, and winters in ('eiitial America. 



Washington, rare T. V., may breed; May 1 to 30; Aug. 15 to Sept. 15. 

 Sing Sing, rare S. R., to Sept. 1. 



AVjf^, of leaves, strips of bark, and rootlets, lined with fine gra.sses and 

 rootlets, in the crotch of a bush or sapling, about four feet up. 7^/1/"' *'"^'' ^o 

 tive, white or creamy white, rather thinly s}>eckled or spotted with rufous or 

 rufous- brown, generally in a wreath at the larger end, -71 x '53. 



This beautiful bird is a lover of well- watered, rather densely grown 

 woods. It is a bird of the lower growth rather than the trees, but is 

 not a thicket-haunter, and its habit of Hitting restlessly from bush to 

 bush renders it easily observed. When on the wing its white outer 

 tail-feathers are conspicuously displayed, and, with the striking nuirk- 

 ings of the head, make an excellent field maik. 



The song of the Hooded Warbler is sweet ami graceful. It is sub- 

 ject to much variation, but as a rule consists of eight or nine notes. 

 To my ear the bird seems to say, "You must come to the woods, or 

 you won't see me." 



Its call-note is a sharp, characteristic cheep, frequently uttered when 

 the bird is anxious for the safety of its nest or yning, a»id accompanied 

 by a flit of the tail, wiiich reveals the white outer tail-feathers. 



686. Sylvania pusilla ( WUx.). Wilson's W.Mtiu.KR (Fig. 107.) 

 Ad. (J. — Forehead yellow, crown black; rest of the upper parts, wings, and 

 tail bright olive-green; no wing-bars or tail-patches ; uiuler parts bright yel- 

 low; bill with bristles at its base. Ad. 9. -Similar, but generally without 

 the black cap. //«. — Similar, but without black cap. L., r)-00; W., '2'21 ; T., 

 203 ; B. from N,, -25. 



Ji'ange. — I^lortli America; breeds from British Columbia, Minnesota, and 

 Nova Scotia northward; winters in Central .\meriea. 



Washington, rather common T. V., May s to •J3 ; .\ng. 2S to Sept. !."». 

 Sing Sing, tolerably eo nmon T. V., May 1» to 3(i; .\ug. 10 to Sept. 'J. Cam- 

 bridge, common T. V'., May 12 to 2.'); Sept. 1 to 20. 



A''.< of leaves and ixrasses, lined with tine grasses and hairs, on the ground. 

 Eggs, four to five, white, speckled with cinnamon-rufous and lavender-gray, 

 •51) X •48 (Davie). 



The IJIack-cap frequents the lower woo,lliiiid growth, and is gen- 

 erally found near water. Like other members of this genus, it has 

 decided talents as a flycatcher, and cafitures much of its prey on the 

 wing, darting out into tiie air, but does not, like a true Flycatcher, 

 return to the same percli. 



Its song is compared by Minot to that of the Redstart or Yellow 

 Warbler, while Nuttall writes it " '/.s/i-'M-'M-'/s/jea," and to Goss it 

 sounds like *'2ee-2ec-2fe-2ee-e." 



