MARYLAND YELLOW-THROAT 



By T. GILBERT PEARSON 



^i)t Rational Busiotiation of Hububon Societies! 



EDUCATIONAL LEAFLET NO. 107 



The Maryland Yellow- throat is a lover of thickets and rarely is seen far 

 from the shelter of low, tangled growth. In the bushes and weeds skirting a 

 ditch-bank or tiny brook winding its way across a field or meadow; in the 

 covering briars of old fence-rows; or in the growth-bordered swamp you may 

 look for this little haunter of the shadows. It cares not at all for tall trees, 

 and the open places so beloved by Meadowlarks and Vesper Sparrows do not 

 attract it. Like all of the Warbler family, to which it belongs, this bird feeds 

 mostly upon insects. It is known to consume many leaf-hoppers, an insect 

 which in some places is very numerous and feeds on grass that the farmer would 

 like to have left for his cow. In fruit orchards, to which the Yellow-throat 

 sometimes wanders, it has been found by Forbush to be very fond of canker- 

 worms, and in the nesting season will travel long distances to get these dainty 

 morsels for its young. Mr. Forbush says also : 



''Since one of these birds was seen to eat fifty-two caterpillars of the gipsy 

 moth in a few minutes, it seems probable it may well be ranked among the 

 official enemies of this pest. Case-bearers, leaf-rollers, and many other de- 

 structive caterpillars are greedily devoured, and it also catches and eats both 

 butterflies and moths in considerable numbers." 



It is known to eat plant-lice that take the nourishment from the leaves. 

 It likes flies and beetles. When grain in the field has grown high enough to 

 offer shelter, the Yellow-throat will appear and hunt the live-long day for 

 insects that infest the crop. 



When cold weather approaches, this insect-loving Warbler flies away to 

 regions where the frost has not played such sad havoc with its food. Down in 

 the southern states you may find it in winter. In the coast region of North 

 Carolina, southward to Florida and Louisiana, is where it then spends many 

 months. Some individuals, also, may be found at this season in the Bahama 

 Islands, Cuba, Jamaica, and Central America. 



Mr. W. W. Cooke, a great authority on bird migration, some years ago 

 prepared a table from the records he had received showing the average date 

 when the bird arrives at different points on its northern journey in spring. 

 Some of these are as follows: Raleigh, N. C, March 30; Washington, D. C, 

 April 21; Beaver, Pa., May 4; Germantown, Pa., April 29; Englewood, N. J., 

 May 4; Boston, Mass., May 7; Southern Maine, May 14; and St. John, 

 N. B., May 18. 



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