286 THE BIRDS 
Eggs dull glossy-white, spotted sparingly with reddish- 
brown, four in number. May 15th to 25th seems to be 
the average time for fresh eggs. Size, .65x.50. They do 
not winter with us, arriving about April 19th to 21st, 
and depart the first week in August. They are a most 
retiring bird, and even when with young they are very 
skillful in hiding and keeping out of one’s reach, so 
different from our other warblers, which, when the nest 
is discovered, almost come within hand’s reach and try 
and draw you away from it. My observations lead me 
to believe they raise but a single brood each season. Their 
food consists of numerous insects, spiders, larve, ants, 
‘bugs, caterpillars, ete., placing them in the beneficial list 
ot birds. 
[642]. Vermivora chrysoptera (Linneus). Golden- 
winged Warbler. 
Rawer.—Eastern North America and northern South 
America. Breeds in Alleghenian zone from central 
Minnesota, southern Ontario, and Massachusetts south 
to southern Iowa, northern Illinois, northern Indiana, 
northern New Jersey, and northern Georgia; winters 
from Guatemala to Colombia, and casually in southern 
Mexico; very rare in Florida and southern Georgia; 
accidental in Manitoba and Cuba. 
This warbler arrives in the vicinity of Blacksburg 
about May 5th, where it breeds sparingly, according to 
Professor Smyth, who found young in nest June 5th. 
They migrate southward the latter part of August. They 
are a bird of the mountain regions, and I have never seen 
them even in migration in Tidewater Virginia. The nest 
