MAGNOLIA WARBLER (Dendroica 
magnolia) 
Range: Breeds in Canadian and upper Tran- 
sition Zones from southwestern Mackenzie, 
southern Keewatin, northern Quebec, and New- 
foundland south to central Alberta, southern 
Saskatchewan, Minnesota, northern Michigan, 
anc northern Massachusetts, and in the moun- 
tains of West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylva- 
nia, and New York; winters from southern 
Mexico (Puebla and Chiapas) to Panama. 
The magnolia, or black and yellow warbler, 
as I like best to call it, is one of our most 
beautiful warblers, and fortunately, being one 
of the commonest of the tribe, is easily met 
with by any one willing to take a little pains. 
When busy at its self-imposed task of hunting 
insects—and when is it not busy—it is by no 
means shy, and may be watched at close range 
with or without the aid of a field glass. When- 
ever or however met, the sight of a full-plu- 
maged male resplendent in the gold and black 
livery of spring is worth a long journey. 
The bird ranges over much of eastern North 
America as far west as the Plains, and toward 
the north reaches the Mackenzie region. In 
the mountains it breeds here and there as far 
south as Maryland. In migration the magnolia 
shows no preference for special localities, but 
occurs in upland woods and lowland shrubbery 
where is promised a good harvest of insects. 
Like so many of its fellows, it finds rich hunt- 
ing grounds in gray birches, and few large 
comparies of warblers traverse gray birch 
woods without their complement of these beau- 
tiful and sprightly wood nymphs. The mag- 
nolia warbler is a versatile, though scarcely an 
accomplished, songster, and phrases its song in 
a number of different ways. Many of its nests 
have been found in the northern woods, some 
of them in small firs or spruces only a few feet 
from the ground. 
BLACK-POLL WARBLER (Dendroica 
striata) 
Range: Breeds in Hudsonian and Canadian 
Zones from limit of trees in northwestern 
Alaska, northern Mackenzie, central Keewatin, 
northern Ungava, and Newfoundland south to 
central British Columbia, Manitoba, Michigan, 
northern Maine, and mountains of Vermont 
and New Hampshire; winters from Guiana 
and Venezuela to Brazil. 
The black-poll is one of our commonest 
warblers, in both spring and fall, and probably 
heads the warbler list in point of numbers. So 
far as superficial observations go. the bird 
would seem to be no spryer, no more indus- 
trious, and no more adept in hunting food than 
its compeers; but for some reason or other. 
possibly greater adaptability, it seems to have 
succeeded beyond most of its kind in extending 
its breeding range and in multiplying. It is a 
late migrant, both spring and fall, and when 
the hordes of black-polls put in an appearance, 
91 
especially in the vernal season, one may know 
that the end of the migrating season is at 
hand. A laggard in spring, it is also a loiterer 
in fall, and occasionally a flock of black-polls 
will linger in some sheltered valley where food 
is abundant till long after others of the family 
have passed southward. 
The bird nests chiefly in the far north, 
though it summers as far south as the Adiron- 
dacks. As it winters in South America, there 
are thus at least 5,000 miles between its ex- 
treme northern and southern habitats. Chap- 
man notes that it is one of the very few war- 
blers that migrate directly across the West In- 
dies from South America to Florida. It makes 
its appearance in the Gulf States about the 
last of April. As pointed out by Professor 
Cooke, the black-poll is “one of the greatest 
travelers among the warblers. The shortest 
journey that any black-poll performs is 3,500 
miles, while those that nest in Alaska have 
7,000 "miles to travel to their probable winter 
home in Brazil.” One can only wonder that 
so small a bird has the requisite courage and 
strength to undertake twice a year such a vast 
journey, every stage of which is compassed by 
dangers of one sort or another. 
BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER 
(Dendroica fusca) 
Range: Breeds in lower Canadian and upper 
Transition Zones from Manitoba, southern 
Keewatin, central Ontario, Quebec, and Cape 
Breton Island to central Minnesota, Wiscon- 
sin, northern Michigan, Massachusetts, and 
Connecticut, and in the Alleghenies from Penn- 
sylvania to Georgia and South Carolina; win- 
ters “from Colombia to central Peru and less 
commonly north to Yucatan. 
The Blackburnian, one of the gems of the 
warbler tribe, has a rather wide range in east- 
ern North America, extending west as far as 
the Plains and north to Manitoba. Apparently 
it is nowhere, at least in migration, an abun- 
dant warbler,’‘and there are few field observers 
so seasoned to the sight of its beautiful colors 
as not to be thrilled by sight of the bird. In 
migration its habits offer nothing peculiar. In 
the Atlantic States in September careful scru- 
tiny of a migrating band of warblers and other 
birds will often reveal the presence of one or 
perhaps half a dozen Blackburnians. About 
Mount Monadnock, Gerald Thayer finds it a 
“very common summer resident. It is one of 
the four deep-wood warblers of this region, 
the other three being the black-throated blue, 
the Northern parula, and the Canada.” 
The Blackburnian favors very big trees, par- 
ticularly hemlocks, and spends most of its life 
high above the ground, As Thayer says, the 
Blackburnian is the “preéminent forest warbler 
of the group, the lover of deep mixed growth 
and the upper branches of the biggest conifers.” 
The bird has a thin, shrill voice and utters at 
least two songs or variations which some think 
resemble the black-throated green’s. Whatever 
the tree selected. be it a hemlock or a deciduous 
tree, the nest is placed well up among the 
branches and well out toward the end, where 
it is safe from all enemies that do not possess 
wings. 
