The Lucy Warbler 



Rossem, fell the honor of first published record, for he took a specimen, 

 a female, at Mecca on the 29th of March, 191 1, and reported in the Condor 

 for July of the same year. According to Grinnell's recent Distributional 

 List, 1 Frank Stephens took an adult male Lucy Warbler at Silsby in 

 the Imperial Valley on the 8th of April, 1909. This was probably the 

 first specimen ever taken in California, for the Stephens MS before me 

 (doubtless written just previous to the above record) says, "I do not 

 know of any actual captures of this species in California." 



Having settled the "honor to whom honors," it is time to admit 

 that the joke is on us, and that the Lucy Warbler, who was undoubtedly 

 here all the time, has for years been laughing quietly at our expense. 

 The long-established presence of the Warbler is at 

 least as certain as that of the mesquite tree. 

 man is right in saying that this bird ought 

 have been called the Mesquite Warbler, for 

 rarely has a bird become so devoted to a 

 single association. That the relation be- 

 tween tree and bird is an ancient one is 

 evidenced by the gray tone of the bird's 

 plumage, which assimilates so remarkably 

 with the feathery, sky-mixed glaucous of 

 the mesquite leaves. Albeit an active if 

 creature and zealous in song, the Lucy 

 Warbler becomes almost invisible in its 

 habitual setting, and the difficulty of 

 detection is heightened by the bird's 

 instinctive wariness. Again and again 

 I have known a bird which had seemed 

 quite engrossed in song to fall silent at 

 the stir of a footstep a hundred yards 

 away. 



The Lucy Warbler is a loud and in- 

 dustrious singer, but the song has a 

 curious generic quality very difficult to 

 describe. It is Warbler song, rather than 

 the song of the Lucy Warbler. It is, 

 perhaps, most like that of the Pileolated 

 Warbler (Wilsonia pileolata) in quality. 

 After that, it reminds one of the Yellow 

 Warbler's song, having the same viva- 



^'A Distributional List of the Birds of California," p. 145. 

 Published Oct. 21, 1915. 



Taken in Arizona Pliolo by the Author 



A NESTING SITE OF THE LUCY WARBLER 



A NEST IS SUNK INTO A RECESS NEAR THE TOP 

 OF THIS STUMP 



457 



