50 



THE YELLOW-POLL WOOD-WARBLER. 



-V-Sylvicola .estiva, Gmel. 

 PLATE LXXXVIII.— Males. 



As soon as the welcome note of the Purple Martin is heard in spring, on 

 its return to the United States, which, in Louisiana, sometimes takes place 

 early in March, the little Warbler here presented to your inspection follows, 

 and is seen gaily moving from tree to tree, feeding on the smaller insects, 

 and tuning its pipe, which, however, is not the most melodious. It ap- 

 proaches the gardens and orange-groves, and again flies off to the willows, 

 along the margins of the pools and lagoons. Its sojourn is of short duration 

 in Louisiana, for it moves gradually eastward as the season advances. Its 

 migration, in as far as I have been able to ascertain, is principally performed 

 during the night. I have observed many in the course of one day in a place, 

 which, next day, if the weather had become warm, scarcely contained a sin- 

 gle individual. I have seen many of these birds, as well as their nests, on 

 the Genessee river; but in the States of New York, Connecticut, Pennsylva- 

 nia, Maryland, and Virginia, they may be found in every orchard and gar- 

 den, and even in the streets, among the foliage of our trees. 



The males chase each other with great courage, and fight for a few mo- 

 ments, to establish their claim to any particular spot or tree, after which they 

 are seen climbing up and down among the twigs and smaller branches, look- 

 ing keenly among the leaves and blossoms for insects. Careless of the pre- 

 sence of man, the Blue-eyed Warbler is easily approached. The same care- 

 lessness makes it build its little nest almost alwa} r s within reach. The parents 

 are very assiduous in the discharge of their duties. They construct a nest 

 about the middle of May, in the forked branches of a small tree, often within 

 a few paces of a house. The nest is strongly fastened to the twigs, is formed 

 externally of hemp, flax, or woolly substances, and is well lined with differ- 

 ent kinds of hair, intermixed with softer materials. It breeds twice during 

 the summer, and returns southward in the beginning of autumn, in small 

 parties, shifting chiefly by night. During the breeding-season, this little 

 bird, when approached, shews great anxiety for the preservation of its eggs 

 or young, and tries, with all the artifices employed by many other species, 

 to entice the aggressor away from its nest. They are seen, on their return 

 to the south, passing through Louisiana in October. 



Its migrations northward are almost as wonderful as those of several other 



