82 BIRDS OF ARKANSAS. 



Maryland Yellowthroat. Geothlypis trichas trichas. 



This little warbler is one of the commonest of our small birds and 

 inhabits a variety of situations, including open swamps, marshy 

 fields, brier patches, and brushy clearings. It is found all over the 

 State — in timbered bottoms, on prairies, and in the valleys among 

 the mountains. The average date of arrival in spring at Helena is 

 April 11 and the earliest record April 4. In fall most of the birds 

 pass south in late September or October. The species is recorded as a 

 breeder at Clinton, Helena, Stuttgart, Wilmot, Camden, Mena, 

 Chester, Pettigrew, Conway, Mammoth Spring, and other places. 

 Specimens have been examined from Stuttgart, Wilmot, Mena, and 

 Chester, and all prove referable to the typical form. At Turrell, 

 May 7, I found a nest with 5 eggs on the slope of a railroad embank- 

 ment within 10 feet of the track. The yellowthroat is a decidedly 

 useful bird on the farm, feeding upon many injurious insects, such 

 as leafhoppers, grasshoppers, cankerworms, and other caterpillars, 

 beetles, moths, etc. 



Yellow-breasted Chat. Icteria virens. 



This bird, the largest member of the warbler family, is a common 

 and generally distributed summer resident, occurring in suitable 

 situations from the Mississippi bottoms to the tops of the highest 

 mountains. The average date of arrival in spring at Helena is April 

 20 (earliest record, April 7). After the breeding season the birds 

 quickly desert their summer homes, and by the middle of September 

 practically all have left for the south. The last one seen at Delight 

 was noted September 10. The species is recorded as a breeder at 

 Mammoth Spring, Clinton, Newport, Helena, Stuttgart, Wilmot, 

 Delight, Rich Mountain (base to summit), Pettigrew, Cotter, and 

 other places. At McGehee, May 16, I found in a bunch of weeds 

 a nest containing 3 eggs of the chat and one of the cowbird. 



The chat is a lover of thickets and bushy pastures, where its 

 curious whistling song may be heard at almost any hour of the 

 day or night. Although usually shy, it occasionally launches into 

 the air and, with legs dangling and wings raised high above the 

 body, pours forth a medley of erratic notes. It is largely insectiv- 

 orous, and has been known to feed on tent caterpillars, wasps, and 

 beetles. In addition, it takes some vegetable food, as wild berries 

 and seeds. 



Hooded Warbler. Wilsonia citrina. 



This brilliant little bird is a locally common summer resident, 

 living in heavy bottom-land timber grown up to cane thickets, as well 

 as in the drier brushy timber tracts on the mountain sides. I found 

 it common on Rich Mountain nearly to the summit, and in a deep 



