112 OLIVE WARBLER 



Song. — "A liquid, quirt, quirt, quirt, in a descending scale." 

 (Price^). The call-note of the Olive Warbler as I heard at Las Vigas, 

 Vera Cruz, Mexico, late in April when the birds were feeding young 

 out of the nest, is a rapid whistled peto closely resembling the call of 

 the Tufted Titmouse. 



Nesting Site. — Our knowledge of the nesting habits of this species 

 is based on the studies of Price and Howard in the mountains of 

 southern Arizona, where four nests have been found in pines saddled 

 on a limb from thirty to fifty feet from the ground, and in a red fir 

 in the fork of a large limb about thirty feet up. 



Nest. — "The nests are very beautiful affailrs and are built very 

 much like those of the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, and are composed of 

 bits of moss, lichens, fir blossoms and spider webs with a lining of fine 

 rootlets." {Howard".) 



Eggs. — 4. "The eggs are ovate in shape, the shell is fine grained 

 and without lustre. The ground color is sage green and the eggs 

 are heavily blotched and spotted, especially about the larger end, 

 with clove and sepia brown, and lighter shades of drab and 

 olive gray. They bear no resemblance to the known eggs of any of 

 our Warblers. They measure .6SX.49, .65X.49, .6SX.48, .63X.48." 

 (Price.) (Figs. 37,38, Childs Coll.) 



Nesting Date. — Huachuca Mts., Arizona, June 12 {Howard). 



Biographical References 

 (i) Wm. Brewster, On a Collection of Birds lately made by Mr. F. Ste- 

 phens in Arizona, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club, VII, 1882, 135. (2) W. W. Price, Nest 

 and Eggs of the Olive Warbler, Auk, XII, 1895, if. (3) O. W. Howard, 

 Summer Resident Warblers of Arizona, Bull. Cooper Orn. Club (^Condor), 

 I, 1899, 37- 



Genus DENDROICA Gray 



This, the largest genus of the family, contains the true Wood 

 Warblers. Among so many species there is, as might be expected, 

 much variation and the extremes in Dendroicfi, could one dispose 

 of the intermediates, might readily be placed, in different genera. 

 As a whole, however, Dendroica may be known by its com- 

 paratively short (except in D. dominica) rounded, notched bill with 

 slightly curved culmen, and short, but evident" rictal bristles. The 

 wing is generally less than .80 inches longer than the tail; the four 

 outer primaries are of about equal length. The. tarsus is longer than 

 the middle toe and nail, the nail of the hind-toe is nearly as long as 

 the toe. 



