402 LAND BIRDS 



Voung Male: Similar to adult winter male, but upper parts browner, 

 crown brownish gray, except in front and sides ; streaks on back 

 and upper tail-coverts concealed ; black of throat with white tips to 

 feathers ; under parts yellowish. 



young Female : Entire upper parts brownish gray, crown bordered with 

 dusky ; under parts brownish. 



Geographical Distribution: In mountainous parts of Western United 

 States, from Rockies to Pacific ; north as far as British Columbia ; 

 south in winter to Mexico. 



California Breeding Range : Along the Sierra Nevada from San Bernar- 

 dino mountains to Shasta County. 



Breeding Season ; May and June. 



iVest: Compact and cup-shaped ; built of gray plant fibres ; lined with 

 hair or feathers ; placed in thickets or scrub oaks, or in pines, from 4 

 to 20 feet from the ground. 



Eggs : 3 or 4 ; white, dotted with reddish brown and purple, chiefly at 

 the larger end. Size 0.66 X 0.52. 



Among the junipers of the San Bernardino mountains 

 the Black-throated Gray Warbler makes his summer 

 home. The green caterpillars, which some birds refuse 

 and which on some trees seem to be poisonous, are his 

 favorite food. His simple, rather thin little song comes 

 from the sparse stunted growth of the foot-hills where he 

 is busily at work hunting for his dinner, but the bird 

 himself keeps behind the foliage and will not make 

 friends. He seems to be more indifferent than shy, and 

 to prefer the quiet of the thicket rather than gay dashes 

 out into the sunlight. You may know him by the yellow 

 spot in front of and just above the eye. Farther north 

 this species is fo\ind frequenting the oak trees almost 

 exclusively, though the nest is usually in a manzanita or 

 hazel bush. In the spring these oaks are particularly 

 infested with the green caterpillars, and the Warblers 

 never seem to tire of devouring the pests. They lean 

 away over to peer under every leaf, or reach up to the 



