204 



This is included in the Canadian list only on the basis of a few accidental 

 occurrences in the lower Great Lakes region. It is a bird of drowned lands, 

 and of bushes standing in dead water. 



Genera — Helmitheros, Vermivora, and Compsothlypis. 

 Worm-eating Warblers. 



The genus Vermivora is a group of small, slightly built Warblers in 

 which the following characters are most easily recognized. The bill, is 

 small, sharply pointed, almost spine-like, and the culmen line is straight or 

 almost concave rather than convex or slightly arched (Figure 57, p. 27). 

 The tails are solidly coloured and without white spots. 



639. Worm-eating Warbler, fb. — la fatjvette vermivore. Helmitheros vermi- 

 varus. L, 5-51. Dull olive above; head buffy with conspicuously contrasting dark brown 

 lines through the eye and bordering crown. There is little plumage variation. 



Distinctions. The only Warbler with this distinctive dark and buffy head marking. 

 The bill is rather heavy for a Warbler of this genus. 



Field Marks. Too rare in Canada to trust to sight-record for identification. 



Nesting. On the ground; nest of rootlets, leaves, and bark. 



Distribution. Eastern United States; only one record in Canada, in southern Ontario 



A bird of wooded banks or swampy thickets, feeding near the ground. 



641. Blue- winged Warbler, fb. — la fatjvette atjx ailes bletjes. Vermivora pinus. 

 L, 4-80. A green Warbler with yellow forehead, throat, breast, and underparts; a fine black 

 line through eye and blue-grey wings and tail. Two white wing-bars. Female similar 

 but duller. Little plumage variation. 



Distinctions. The bright yellow face and underparts with black eye stripe and blue- 

 grey wings with white bars are distinctive. 



Field Marks. Too rare in Canada to rely on field marks for identification. 



Nesting. On the ground, generally in or at the border of second growth in nest of 

 bark and leaves lined with fine strips of bark and tendrils, firmly wrapped with leaves. 



Distribution. Eastern North America; regularly stopping south of the Canadian 

 border and only accidentally crossing it in southern Ontario. 



Though taken only once in Canada this is a most interesting species as 

 it hybridizes with the next species, the Golden-winged, forming puzzling 

 hybrids that were long regarded as separate species under the names of 

 Lawrence's and Brewster's Warblers. 



642. Golden-winged Warbler, fr. — la fattvette atjx ailes dorees. Vermi- 

 vora chrysoptera. L, 5-10. A blue-grey Warbler; male, white or very light grey below, 

 darkening on the flanks, with yellow cap and wing-patch and black cheeks and throat. 

 Female similar to male but somewhat reduced in brightness and the blacks represented by 

 dark grey. There is little age or seasonal plumage variation. 



Distinctions. The blue-grey body, yellow wing-patch, and black throat and eye- 

 patches are distinctive. 



Field Marks. The above marks are easily recognizable in life. The black throat 

 somewhat suggests the Chickadee but the other marks make it easy to separate them. 



Nesting. On the ground or in bushy fields or second growth in nest much like that of 

 the Blue-winged Warbler. 



Distribution. Eastern United States; regularly crossing our borders only in southern 

 Ontario along lake Erie and the lower corner of lake Huron. 



Usually found in shrubby wastes or the bushy edges of woodland. 

 To be expected only in southern Ontario. 



