80 BIRDS OF ARKANSAS. 



Pine Warbler. Dendroica vigorsi. 



The pine warbler, as its name implies, is an inhabitant of pine 

 timber, and indeed is practically confined in the breeding season to 

 regions in which considerable tracts of pine occur. Although partly 

 migratory, the species occurs throughout the year in Arkansas. The 

 more northern breeding birds move south in winter and occupy, in 

 company with their southern breeding relatives, the pine forests of 

 the Southern States. I found this warbler abundant in the breeding 

 season near Delight, fairly common near Womble, and rather uncom- 

 mon at Mena, Pettigrew, Eldorado, and Camden. It has been re- 

 ported as breeding in the hills west of Newport. This is one of the 

 few birds that lives exclusively in pine trees, and as it feeds to a large 

 extent on the insects infesting those trees, it is considered a valuable 

 species. Its food in winter includes, besides insects, a considerable 

 amount of vegetable matter, such as dogwood and sumac berries 

 and pine seeds. 



[Palm Warbler. Dendroica palmarum. 



The palm or red-poll warbler is a common transient visitant in the Mississippi 

 Valley and breeds in Canada and northern Minnesota. It is one of the earliest war- 

 blers to migrate, passing north through Missouri from early April to the middle of May 

 and returning during October. It should be found regularly in Arkansas.] 



Prairie Warbler. Dendroica discolor. 



This warbler is a fairly common summer resident, arriving from 

 the south about the middle of April and remaining until the middle 

 of September. Its name is rather inappropriate, since the bird is not 

 found in prairie regions, but makes its home usually in brushy clear- 

 ings among second-growth sprouts. It was noted at Helena between 

 April 22 and 27, 1904, but apparently is not a regular breeder in the 

 eastern part of the State. It is a common summer resident at De- 

 light (where it arrived April 9, 1911), and I noted several at Mena 

 and Rich Mountain. It breeds also in small numbers at Chester, 

 Pettigrew, Conway, and Mammoth Spring. 



Ovenbird. Seiurus aurocapillus . 



The ovenbird, so named from the fancied resemblance of its domed 

 nest to an old-fashioned oven, is one of the ground warblers and a 

 dweller in deciduous woodland. It occurs commonly as a migrant, 

 but as a breeder only in the mountains and foothills of the northern 

 and western parts of the State. It is reported as a fairly common 

 summer resident at Clinton, where it arrived from the south on April 

 24. I found it very common and breeding both on Rich Mountain 

 and in the Ozark hills around Pettigrew. A migrant was observed 

 at Turrell on May 9 and at Helena the species has been noted a few 

 times between May 1 and 19. 



