WARBLERS 301 



BLACK-POLL WARBLER : Dendroica striata 

 (J. R. Forster). 



State records. — The black-poll warbler is one of the greatest 

 travelers of any of our small land birds. Its summer home 

 is mainly in Canada and Alaska as far as the limit of trees 

 and its winter home in northern South America. Says 

 Professor Cooke: "The shortest journey that any black-poll 

 performs is 3,500 miles, whMe those that nest in Alaska have 

 7,000 miles to travel to their probable home in Brazil."$ 

 Passing northward from South America by way of the Lesser 

 Antilles, the Bahamas, and Florida, the black-polls avoid the 

 Gulf coast almost entirely and most of them pass to the east- 

 ward of Alabama or fly directly over the State. The bird is 

 occasionally seen in spring in the northern half of the State, 

 but there is no record of its occurrence in autumn. 



It is one of the latest migrants to arrive, and is rarely seen 

 before the last of April. Dr. Avery records one seen at 

 Greensboro, April 23 (1893), and another May 5 (1889). At 

 Shelby, the first was neted April 27 and the last May 12 

 (1898). In the region about Mount Weogufka, Saunders 

 found it uncommon, first seen April 28 and last seen May 14 

 (1908).* Holt observed one at Barachias, April 22 (1913). 

 On Sand Mountain, Graves reports it arriving April 27 (1913 

 and 1914) and common May 9 (1913). At Muscle Shoals, we 

 observed single birds April 22, 23 and 24 and several April 25, 

 1914. 



General habits. — This warbler is very leisurely in its move- 

 ments and its song is one of the faintest and least musical of 

 any of its tribe. The bird is, however, not shy and its notes 

 are characteristic, so it is easily recognized. The song is a 

 monotonous series of faint, lisping, staccato notes of equal 

 length, resembling the syllables tsit-tsit-tsit-tsit-tsit-tsit, 

 usually rendered with a crescendo and diminuendo effect. 



In its summer home in the North the black-poll is a dweller 

 in stunted spruce woods, but in migration it frequents all 

 kinds of woodland as well as orchards and city parks, and ac- 

 cording to Brewster is "often seen flitting along fences and 



, tCooke W. W., in Chapman, Warblers of North Amer., p. 15, 1907. 

 •Saunders, A. A., The Ank, vol. 25, p. 422, 1908. 



