Conspicuously Yellow and Orange 



Pine Warbler 



(Dendroica vigorsii) Wood Warbler family 



Called also: PlNE-CREEPlNG WARBLER 



Length — 5.5 to 6 inches. A trifle smaller than the English spar- 

 row. 



Male — Yellowish olive above; clear yellow below, shading to 

 grayish white, with obscure dark streaks on side of breast. 

 Two whitish wing-bars ; two outer tail feathers partly white. 



Female — Duller ; grayish white only faintly tinged with yellow 

 underneath. 



Range — North America, east of the Rockies; north to Manitoba, 

 and south to Florida and the Bahamas. Winters from south- 

 ern Illinois southward. 



Migrations — March or April. October or later. Common sum- 

 mer resident. 



The pine warbler closely presses the myrtle warbler for the 

 first place in the ranks of the family migrants, but as the latter 

 bird often stays north all winter, it is usually given the palm. 

 Here is a warbler, let it be recorded, that is fittingly named, for 

 it is a denizen of pine woods only; most common in the long 

 stretches of pine forests at the south and in New York and New 

 England, and correspondingly uncommon wherever the woods- 

 man's axe has laid the pine trees low throughout its range. Its 

 "simple, sweet, and drowsy song," writes Mr. Parkhurst, is 

 always associated "with the smell of pines on a sultry day." It 

 recalls that of the junco and the social sparrow or chippy. 



Creeping over the bark of trees and peering into every crevice 

 like a nuthatch; running along the limbs, not often hopping ner- 

 vously or flitting like the warblers; darting into the air for a pass- 

 ing insect, or descending to the ground to feed on seeds and 

 berries, the pine warbler has, by a curious combination, the 

 movements that seem to characterize several different birds. 



It is one of the largest and hardiest members of its family, 

 but not remarkable for its beauty. It is a sociable traveller, cheer- 

 fully escorting other warblers northward, and welcoming to its 

 band both the yellow redpolls and the myrtle warblers. These 

 birds are very often seen together in the pine and other evergreen 

 trees in our lawns and in the large city parks. 



