384 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



"dzt," similar to that of the Black and white warbler, uttered at all times 

 and seasons (Allison). The alarm note is a quickly repeated chip. 



The nesting site is on the ground, usually on the steep side of a ravine 

 or near the edge of a swamp or stream at the foot of a bush or by the side 

 of a mossy log or at the edge of a stone amid the ferns, berry bushes or 

 Solomon's seal. The nest is composed of leaves, grasses, strips of bark, 

 rootlets, usually lined with fine grass and hair or with the stems of maple 

 seed or the stalks of hair moss. The eggs are 5 in number, white in- ground 

 color more or less profusely marked with spots of brown, reddish and lilac 

 tending to form wreaths near the larger end, but in many cases rather 

 evenly distributed. They are rounded oval in shape but usually more 

 pointed than those of the Black and white warbler. The average size 

 is .69 by .53 inches. The nesting dates for southeastern New York are 

 from May 20 to June 5 and June 17. 



Vermivora pinus (Linnaeus) 

 Blue-winged Warbler 



Plate 93 



Certhia pinus Linnaeus. Syst. Nat. Ed. 12. 1766. 1:187 

 Vermivora solitaria DeKay. Zool. N. Y. 1844. pt 2, p. 83, f]g. 125 

 Vermivora pinus, A. O. U. Check List. Ed. 3. 1910. p. 306. No. 641 

 vermivora, worm-eating; pinus, a pine tree 



Description. Upper parts mostly olive green; the forehead, crown and 

 under parts yellow; wings and tail bluish gray, the wings with two conspicuous 

 white bars, and 3 outer tail feathers with white spots on their inner webs; 

 a black line from the base of the bill through the eye. Female and young: 

 Very similar to the adult male, but the crown and under parts not so 

 bright yellow and the eye streak dusky instead of black. 



Length 4.85 inches; extent 7.3; bill .45; wing 2.45; tail 1.9; tarsus .67. 



Distribution. Breeds in eastern North America from southeastern 

 Minnesota, southern Michigan, Connecticut and Massachusetts southward 

 to Missouri, Kentucky and Delaware; winters from southern Mexico to 

 Colombia. In New York it is a common summer resident in the coastal 

 district, especially in western and northern Long Island and the lower 



