Conspicuously Yellow and Orange 



into the root crannies of some large tree, where there is much 

 water in the woods. Bits of baric, dead wood, moss, and fine 

 rootlets, all carefully wrapped with leaves, go to make the pretty 

 cradle. Unhappily, the little Canada warblers are often cheated 

 out of their natural rights, like so many other delightful song- 

 birds, by the greedy interloper that the cowbird deposits in their 

 nest. 



Hooded Warbler 



(Sylvania mitrata) Wood Warbler family 



Length— 'j, to 5.75 inches. About an inch shorter than the Eng- 

 lish sparrow. 



Male — Head, neck, chin, and throat black like a hood in mature 

 male specimens only. Hood restricted, or altogether want- 

 ing in female and young. Upper parts rich olive. Forehead, 

 cheeks, and underneath yellow. Some conspicuous white 

 on tail feathers. 



Female — Duller, and with restricted cowl. 



Hange — United States east of Rockies, and from southern Michi- 

 gan and southern New England to West Indies and tropical 

 America, where it winters. Very local. 



Migrations — May. September. Summer resident. 



This beautifully marked, sprightly little warbler might be 

 mistaken in his immaturity for the yellowthroat ; and as it is 

 said to take him nearly three years to grow his hood, with the 

 completed cowl and cape, there is surely sufficient reason here 

 for the despair that often seizes the novice in attempting to distin- 

 guish the perplexing warblers. Like its Southern counterpart, 

 the hooded warbler prefers wet woods and low trees rather than 

 high ones, for much of its food consists of insects attracted by the 

 dampness, and many of them must be taken on the wing. Be- 

 cause of its tireless activity the bird's figure is particularly slender 

 and graceful — a trait, too, to which we owe all the glimpses of it 

 we are likely to get throughout the summer. It has a curious 

 habit of spreading its tail, as if it wished you to take special 

 notice of the white spots that adorn it; not flirting it, as the red- 

 start does his more gorgeous one, but simply opening it like a fan 

 as it flies and darts about. 



Its song, which is particularly sweet and graceful, and with 



195 



