66 THE BLACK-AND-YELLOW WOOD-WARBLER. 



me. This happened in the neighbourhood of Eastport. By the end of a 

 fortnight, the greater part of them had pushed farther north. I met them 

 wherever I landed in the neighbouring islands, and along the shores of the 

 Bay of Fundy, as well as in the Straits of Canso, the Magdeleine Isles, and 

 Labrador. I have no doubt that the extraordinary congregation which I saw 

 near Eastport, was caused by the foresight of the tiny travellers, aware that 

 they could not at so early a period proceed farther without imminent dan- 

 ger. Many of these birds, however, remain and breed in the State of Maine, 

 and in the British Provinces. 



The Black-and-Yellow Warbler has a clear and sweetly modulated song, 

 surpassing that of many other birds of its tribe. It sings in the interior of 

 the low woods, to which it seems at all times to give a decided preference. 

 Its motions are extremely graceful; its tail is constantly spread as it flits 

 along the branches, or even while it is on the ground, to which it frequently 

 betakes itself, and its wings are usually held in a drooping position, so as to 

 display all the beauty of its plumage. It feeds on insects and their larvae. 

 Now and then it may be seen balancing itself in the air, opposite a cluster of 

 leaves, among which it darts to secure its prey, and not unfrequently it 

 emerges a few feet from among the foliage of a tree or bush, to seize a flut- 

 tering insect. In catching its prey, it does not produce the clicking sound, 

 caused by the sudden meeting of the mandibles, so remarkable in some other 

 species. 



The nest, which is placed deep among the branches of low fir trees, is sup- 

 ported by horizontal twigs, and is constructed of moss and lichens, lined with 

 fibrous roots, and a great quantity of feathers. In one, found in Labrador, 

 in the beginning of July, there were five small eggs, rather more elongated 

 than is usual in the genus. They were white, sprinkled with reddish dots 

 near the larger end. The female, on being disturbed, spread out her wings 

 and tail, fluttered along the branches in the agony of despair, lingered trem- 

 bling about the spot, and returned to the nest while we were only a few 

 yards distant from it. 



During the first days of August, I saw many of the young following their 

 parents, and perceived that some were already on their way southward. 

 While in the Bay of St. George, Newfoundland, I again saw these birds 

 daily, although they became scarcer the longer we remained in the country. 

 I also traced their retrograde flight into Nova Scotia, but on landing in the 

 United Suites lost sight of them. 



This beautiful Warbler is, according to Dr. Richardson, a common bird 

 on the banks of the Saskatchewan river, where it enlivens the thickets of 

 young spruce trees and willows with its agreeable notes. It was not observ- 

 ed by Mr. Townsend on the Rocky Mountains or along the Columbia river. 



