78 BIRDS OF ARKANSAS. 



Myrtle Warbler. Dendroica coronata. 



The myrtle warbler is the hardiest of the warblers and the only one 

 which winters in the Middle States. Its summer home is from the 

 northern United States northward nearly to the Arctic Ocean. It 

 occurs as an abundant migrant and winter resident, arriving from the 

 north in October and departing in the spring in early May (latest date 

 seen at Helena, May 12) . It was abundant at Stuttgart in November 

 (HoUister) and at Van Buren between November 25 and January 7 

 (Hanna). It has been observed in migration at Clinton, Lake City, 

 and Delight. This bird owes its common name to its fondness for the 

 berries of the wax myrtle (Myrica cerifera) and related species, which 

 in some regions furnish its principal winter food. In the Mississippi 

 Valley, however, it is said to feed extensively on berries of the poison 

 ivy and to some extent on red cedar berries. It consumes also many 

 insects. 



Magnolia Warbler. Dendroica magnolia. 



The magnoUa or black-and-yellow warbler is a common migrant 

 in Arkansas, passing north in May on the way to its summer home 

 ia Canada and retyrning in September and early October. It has 

 been observed at Helena between May 1 and 19, at Lake City May 

 2, and at TurreU May 9. It is probably rare in the western part of 

 the State, but three were seen by Mr. Savage at Dehght on April 29, 

 1911. 



Cerulean Warbler. Dendroica cerulea. 



The cerulean warbler is a common summer resident in nearly all 

 wooded parts of the State. Its distribution is apparently limited 

 only by the occurrence of heavy deciduous woodland, for the bird 

 is equally common in the river bottoms of the Mississippi and on 

 the slopes of the mountains. Its favorite haunts are in the tops of 

 the tallest trees, and except for its song its presence would rarely be 

 detected. At Kich Mountain, May 23 to 28, it was singing almost 

 constantly, and ranged nearly or quite to 2,500 feet altitude. In the 

 Ozark hills about Pettigrew it was noted occasionally, but the tim- 

 ber there is not sufficiently dense to prove very attractive to this 

 bird. I observed the species frequently in the Sunken Lands at 

 Lake City and Walker Lake, and less commonly at Mammoth Spring, 

 Conway, Wilmot, Camden, Womble, Chester, and Cotter. The 

 average date of arrival of this bird at Helena is April 7 and the earliest 

 record March 27. 



Chestnut-sided Warbler. Dendroica pensylvanica. 



This species breeds from Iron County, Mo., and Illinois north- 

 ward and eastward, mainly in the Transition zone. It is a regular 

 and not uncommon transient visitant, passing north in early May and 



