WARBLERS. 129 



lilac and three shades of a beautiful, bright, but peculiar 

 brown. 



c. The Black and Yellow Warblers perhaps are, with the 

 exception of the Blackburnian Warblers, the handsomest of 

 their family, and therefore it is to be regretted that they are in 

 Massachusetts only for a short time in the latter part of May, 

 being even then not common. They arrive here about the 

 middle or twentieth of that month, and linger for a few days ; 

 but, after having passed the summer in the woods of Canada, 

 northern New Hampshire, and Maine, they return to the 

 South by an inland route, avoiding this State, or at least the 

 eastern part of it. Whilst here, they frequent woods, trees, 

 and shrubbery of various kinds, particularly spruces, gener- 

 ally in pairs or singly. They do not exhibit so many traits of 

 the Flycatchers as several other Warblers do, but usually catch 

 insects in the air only as they move from one tree to another. 

 They generally alight among the lower branches, to which 

 chiefly they confine themselves, and among which, as well as 

 about the blossoms, they industriously search for insects and 

 their eggs. 



d. The song of the Black and Yellow Warblers is sweet 

 and musical. It is sometimes rather soft, vividly recalling the 

 song of the Yellowbird (and allied songs), and less so that 

 of the " Yellow-rump," being to a certain extent like both. 

 At other times, it is louder, and again like that of the Yellow- 

 bird (Z>. cestwa), with additional musical notes. The ordi- 

 nary notes of these birds are a tsip., a cry of tsip-tsip-tsip, a 

 soft and loud chip, a chick or chink like that of the Eose- 

 breasted Grosbeak, and an ank, which recalls the similar note 

 of the " Golden Robin." Unfortunately, of all these numer- 

 ous sounds not one is distinctively characteristic of these 

 Warblers, who are somewhat shy; but fortunately, on the 

 other hand, bright colors cannot always be concealed. 



This species is the last of the twelve DendroicoB who inva- 

 riably visit Massachusetts every year, and five of whom com- 

 monly breed here. The birds of this genus (JDendroica) are 

 in many ways the most charming members of the feathered 

 creation, being prettily and brightly colored, and extremely 



