YELLOW OR ORANGE CONSPICUOUS 547 



crown sometimes washed with reddish brown, tail with greenish; 



under parts yellowish white. 

 Young : Similar to adult male, but black mask less distinct. 

 Geographical Distribution : Pacific coast from British Columbia to Lower 



California; east to the Cascades and Sierra Nevada ; south in winter 



through Lower California and Mexico. 

 California Breeding Range : Iu the San Diegan district, northwest to 



Santa Barbara, and possibly northward. 

 Breeding Season : May and June. 



Nest : On or near the ground, among weed stalks ; cup-shaped ; of grass. 

 Eggs : 4 ; white, finely speckled with brown. 



Mingling with the song of the yellow-headed black- 

 birds and the tinkling music -of the marsh wrens, the 

 clear "wichity, wichity, wichity," of the Yellow-throat 

 rings from lowland marsh in the warm May sunshine, 

 telling the world that spring and nesting time have 

 come. If you follow the song to its source, you may 

 catch a glimpse of a black-masked little head, flanked by 

 bright yellow, peeking at you with bewitching curiosity, 

 — curiosity mixed with fear, however ; for, as soon as 

 discovered, the head is quickly withdrawn, and only a 

 moving of the leaves tells where the singer has hidden 

 himself. But you have seen enough to make you curious 

 in your turn, and to induce you to attempt to pursue the 

 fascinating flash of yellow and green. In a moment more 

 you see him again, a small greenish bird scrambling for 

 dear life through the tules or underbrush, turning his odd 

 little face constantly to keep watch of you, or flying over 

 a small open space to dive hurriedly into the shelter of 

 the thicket. From clump to clump he flits until, when 

 he has led you far enough from his nest, he dodges down 

 to the thickest tangle of marsh grass and hunts for his 

 dinner of insects while you hunt in vain for him. With 



