YELLOW OR ORANGE CONSPICUOUS 553 



ing on whirring wings to pick one from the under side of 

 a leaf so swiftly the eye can scarcely follow him. His 

 song reminds one of the tinkle of a brooklet in its merry, 

 rather metallic melody, and is a distinct note in the med- 

 ley of spring music. 



Like his Eastern relative, the Wilson warbler, the 

 Pileolated builds his nest close to the ground in a 

 swampy willow thicket, 

 and is not infrequently a 

 victim to the marsh rats 

 and snakes. The first 

 brood is usually hatched 

 early in May, and is fed 

 by regurgitation by both 

 parents until four or five 

 days old, when the usual 

 food of small insects and 

 little green 

 worms is given 

 to them in the 

 fresh state. As 

 soon as their 

 nursery days are 

 over, the male 

 takes entire charge of the nestlings, feeding them for ten 

 days or two weeks longer. 



For the second brood a locality slightly higher up the 

 mountain may be chosen, but oftener the little mother 

 builds her second nest within a hundred yards of the 

 first, commencing it alone, while the male is still occu- 



685 a. Pileolated Warbleb. 



' His song_ reminds one of the tinkle of a brooklet." 



