GREEN, GREENISH GRAY, AND OLIVE 455 



so. It is much the best songster of all the vireos, and 

 its melody has a clear, liquid quality, at times melting 

 with a tenderness strangely in contrast with its abrupt 

 motions. Rarely does it wander higher than the tops 

 of the scrubby growth of the rocky hillsides, and it 

 comes fearlessly into view. The basket-shaped nest is 

 swung from a mesquite or thorn bush usually within 

 five feet of the ground, and, except for the overhanging 

 leaves that shelter it from the sun, there is nothing to 

 conceal it from the observation of every passer. 



646a. LUTESCENT WARBLER.— Vermivora 

 celaia lutescens. 



Family : The Wood Warblers. 



Length: 4.20-4.45. 



Adult Mode: Upper parts bright olive-green, brighter on rump; some- 

 times tinged with gray, especially on head ; orange crown patch 

 concealed by grayish olive tips of feathers, except in midsummer 

 plumage ; eye-ring and superciliary yellow ; under parts bright green- 

 ish yellow, streaked with d ull olive. 



Adult Female: Crown patch duller and sometimes obsolete. 



Young : In first plumage ; upper parts olive-green ; wing-bars paler or 

 buffy ; under parts buffy, shaded with olive on chest, sides, and flanks. 



Geographical Distribution: Pacific coast from Alaska to the mountains 

 of Lower California and Western Mexico in winter; migrates east- 

 ward to Colorado, Arizona, etc. 



California Breeding Range: Southward along the Pacific Coast Range to 

 the mountains of Southern California. 



Breeding Season: May 15 to June 15. 



Nest : On the ground, often concealed by tall grass or bushes ; composed 

 of diT grasses, rootlets, and moss ; lined with a. few horsehairs and 

 fine fibres. 



Eggs : 4 or 5 ; white or creamy, finely speckled with purplish gray and 

 cinnamon-brown, chiefly at the larger end. Size 0.65 X 0.46. 



With the spring sunshine comes the Lutescent War- 

 bler on his way from the south to the mountain ranges 



