Connecticut Warbler {oporomis agUis) 



Range: Breeds in Canadian Zone from ^Manitoba to central Minnesota and 

 northern Michigan ; winters in South America, probably in Colombia and Brazil. 



Discovered by Wilson in Connecticut early in the last century, the Con- 

 necticut warbler remained almost unknown for many years until, September 7, 

 1870, I found it numerous in the fresh pond swamps of Cambridge. The bird 

 thus rediscovered rapidly came into the limelight, and there are few eastern ob- 

 servers of the present day who are not tolerably familiar with the appearance and 

 habits of this warbler. In fall it is common throughout eastern United States in 

 low, swampy thickets. It habitually feeds on the ground, and is so silent and shy 

 as easily to escape the notice even of one on the lookout for it, especially as its 

 single chirp of alarm is infrequently uttered. In fact, the only way to be sure 

 that one or more Connecticut warblers are not concealed in the shrubbery of a 

 suspected locality is to beat over it systematically, not once, but many times. 



When started, the warbler flies noiselessly to the nearest shaded perch, and 

 there sits motionless, watching the intruder, till it decides either to renew its 

 interrupted search for food or to seek some distant place, far from the danger of 

 intrusion. Under such circumstances its motions are highly suggestive of the 

 staid and quiet thrushes, and in no respect similar to the sprightly warblers. The 

 Connecticut is one of the few species that for some reason choose distinct routes 

 of migration, as in spring it passes up the Mississippi Valley instead of through 

 the Atlantic Coast States, which form its southern route in fall. The bird is 

 known to breed in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Manitoba, and elsewhere 

 in the north. The only nest so far found, however, appears to be one discovered 

 by Seton in IManitoba. As was to be expected, it was on the ground. 



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