70 80ME CANADIAN BIllDS. 



displaying a jet l)lack shield of velvet richness, covering throat 

 and breast, and sot in a frame of deep yellow — a perfect gem. On 

 taking tlie bird in iny liand I saw that the yellow extended to the 

 sides of the liead, and tliat towards the belly it faded to yellowish 

 white. The upper parts were of bright olive, and the feathers lay 

 smooth and firm over a graceful form. On the wings were two 

 bars of white, and the same color was conspicucnis on the outer tail 

 feathers. The bird was of slender buikl, and less than five inches 

 in extreme length. It was a male of the present species, and I 

 afterwards learned that in autinnn his tliroat loses the bhick shield, 

 and bears plumes of ricli yellow and black, and that the female and 

 young wear similar costumes to uhat worn by the male in autiunn. 



These birds are very common, aye, abundant all over the Eastern 

 Provinces, though Mr. Mcllwraith has seen them near Hamilt(jn in 

 the spring and autumn only. Their favorite haunts are the pine 

 trees that grow near the settlements— not in the dee[)er forests, 

 but in the copse back of the buckwheat patch or in the pasture. 

 They enter our southern border late in April or in early May, 

 and gradually spread northward — small detachments being left 

 by the way. During August and September they move southward 

 and wander as far as the West Indies and Central America before 

 finally settling down for the winter months. 



When pines are not at hand these warblers will build in 

 the branch of any coniferous tree, though I have usually found 

 the nest in a spruce or pine. It is often about thirty feet 

 from the ground, and lodged in the crotch between two branches. 

 The workmanship of the structure is good, resulting in a pretty 

 nest, graceful in form, compact and firm. The materials used 

 are bits of twigs, dried grass and shreds of bark for the exterior 

 walls, and hair, feathers and plant down for lining. The eggs — 

 three or four in number — are white, with a creamy buff tinge, and 

 wreathed near the larger end with spots of brown and lilac. 



You rarely see these birds on the ground — never, in fact, unless 

 you chance to catch one bathing or foraging for nest-building stuff 

 — for their food is the small insects that are found on the trees, and 

 being domestic in their tastes, fond of their homes, and fond also of 

 the shelter and privacy which the leaf-covered branches afibrd, they 

 seldom roam. If you find one in a grove to-day you are almost 



