THE WARBLERS S9 



Female — ^Either totally lacks black mask or its place is in- 

 dicated by only a dusky tint. She is smaller and duller. 



iJonsre-^T-Eastem North America, west to the Plains; most 

 common east of the Alleghanies. Nests from the Gulf 

 states to Labrador and Manitoba; winters south of Gulf 

 states to Panama. 



Migrations — ^May. September. Common smnmer resi- 

 dent. 



This gay little warbler looks as if he were dressed for ^ 

 masquerade ball with a gray-edged black mask over his 

 face and the sides of his throat, a brownish green coat, and a 

 bright yellow vest. How sharply the inquisitivefellowpeers 

 at you through his mask whenever you pass the damp 

 thicket, bordering the marshy land, where he likes best to 

 live! Andhowquicklyhehopsfromtwigtotwigandfliesfrom 

 one clump of bushes to another clump, in restless, warblei 

 fashion, as he leads you a dance in pursuit. Not for a 

 second does he stop watching you. 



If you come too close, a sharp pit-pit or chocJc is snapped 

 out by the excited bird, whose familiar, oft-repeated, 

 sprightly, waltzing triplet has been too freely translated, 

 he thinks, into, Fol-low-me, fol-low-me, fol-low-me. Pur- 

 suit is the last thing he really desires, and of course he 

 issues no such invitation. What he actually says sounds 

 like Witch-ee-tee, witch-ee-tee, witch-ee-tee. You will surely 

 hear him if you listen in his marshy retreats. He sings al- 

 most all summer and, at evening, adds a flight song to his 

 repertoire. Except when nesting he comes into the gar- 

 den, picks minute insects out of the blossoming shrubbery, 

 hops about on the ground, visits the raspberry tangle, and 

 hides among the bushes along the roadside. Only the 



