280 CANADIAN WARBLER 



mass of drift material in the crotch of a dead limb, and in bunches of 

 nettles, weeds or ferns ; while Silliman 8 writes that the nests are situat- 

 ed in "damp, shaded places, often in a wild blackberry vine and well 

 hidden. They are always placed near the ground, never over five feet 

 above. In one instance the bottom of the nest touched the ground." 

 Emerson 1 , however, records a nest found in blackberry vines eight 

 feet from the ground. 



Nest. — Barlow 2 describes the nest as "made of grasses, fine leaves 

 and material gathered from debris in the creek, while the lining 

 is of fine white rootlets or grass which resembles horse-hair." Silli- 

 man 3 states that "a typical nest of this species has a loose exterior of 

 dry leaves, bark fibers, lichens, weed-stems, roots and a few pieces of 

 straw." 



Eggs. — 3 to 5, usually 4, very rarely 5. Ground color and mark- 

 ings show the same range of variation as in the Pileolated Warbler, 

 only in some extreme examples the markings in the wreath are heavier 

 and more profuse. Size; average about the same, .64x49 ; extremes 

 .71X.50, .61X.51, .62x46. 



Nesting Dates. — Los Angeles, Calif., April 24-May 31 (Grin- 

 nell) ; San Geronimo, Calif., May 1 (Mailliard) ; Tacoma, Wash., 

 June 17, only nest found (Bowles). 



Biographical References 



(1) W. O. Emerson, Black-capped Yellow Warbler [in Calif.], Orn. and 

 061., VI, 1881, 62. (2) C. Barlow, The [Golden] Pileolated Warbler, Nidolo- 

 gist, I, 1893, 44. (3) Silliman, The [Golden] Pileolated Warbler, Nidologist, 

 II, 1894, 28. 



Canadian Warbler 



WILSONIA CANADENSIS (Linn.) PlauXXII 



Distinguishing Characters. — The Canadian Warbler may always be known 

 by its gray upperparts, absence of white on wings or tail, and necklace of spots 

 across the breast. In the adult c? these are black and conspicuous, in the ? 

 and young of both sexes they are dusky and less sharply defined, but I have not 

 seen a specimen in which they were wholly wanting. Length (skin), 500; wing, 

 2.50; tail, 2.20; bill, .40. 



Adult <?, Spring. — Upperparts gray, crown spotted with black, the forehead 

 usually wholly black; line from bill to eye and eye-ring yellow; wings and tail 

 externally the color of the back and without white markings; lores and malar 

 stripe black, running into a band of black spots across the breast ; rest of under- 

 pays yellow, crissum white. 



Adult t$, Fall. — Similar to adult <? in Spring but a faint wash of greenish 

 on back ; black breast-spots narrowly tipped with yellow. 



