542 LAND BIRDS 



The common note of this species is a high-keyed 

 " tseep." The song is very short, and heard from below 

 is scarcely more musical than that of a grasshopper 

 sparrow. 



669. HERMIT WARBLER. — Dendroica occidentalis. 

 Family : The Wood Warblers. 



Length: 4.70-5.25. 



Adult Male in Spring and Summer : Top and sides of head bright yellow, 

 the occiput, and sometimes the crown, spotted with black ; throat 

 black ; under parts white, sometimes streaked on sides ; nape olire- 

 green streaked with black ; rest of upper parts gray, washed with 

 olive-green and streaked with blapk ; wings and tail black ; two white 

 wing-bands ; tail with the two outer feathers on each side mostly 

 white. 



Adult Female m Spring and Summer : Similar to winter male, but fore- 

 head and crown more or less mixed with yellow ; body more olive ; 

 dusky patch on throat and chest. 



Adult Male in Fall anA Winter : Similar to summer male, but the yel- 

 low of crown and occiput more or less obscured ; black streaks of back 

 mixed with gi'ay, and black throat patch specked with white. 



Adult Female in Fall and Winter : Upper parts olive-gray; crown with 

 traces of yellow ; under parts brownish white. 



Young : Upper parts plain ash-gray ; under parts brownish gray, except 

 that the belly and under tail-coverts are white. 



Geographical Distribution: Western United States, chiefly near Pacific 

 coast ; migrating east to Eocky Mountains, and south in winter to 

 Guatemala. 



California Breeding Range : In Transition zone along the Sierra Nevada 

 from Mt. Shasta to Mt. Whitney. 



Breeding Season : June. 



Nest ; Of fibrous stalks of plants, fine dead twigs, lichens, and pine 

 needles, bound with cobwebs, and woolly materials ; lined with soft 

 inner bark and hair ; placed in coniferous trees, from 25 to 40 feet 

 from the ground. 



Eggs : 3 ; dull white or grayish green, spotted or blotched with lilac, 

 gray, or brown, chiefly around larger end. Size 0.67 X 0.47. 



While a fairly common bird along the lower Sierra 

 Nevada from Mount Shasta southward, the Hermit 



