BIRDS OF DURHAM AND VICINITY. 
91 
it comes to us only in the fall, the season of silence when the eye is 
almost unaided by the ear, and so many birds pass unheeded. It is 
to be distinguished from the Maryland Yellow-throat by its white eye 
ring, and by the sides of its breast, which are heavily shaded with 
olive. September 23 and October 11 are the earliest and latest dates 
on which it has come to my notice. 
Geothlypis Philadelphia. Mourning Warbler. 679. 
The Mourning Warbler is a migrant so rare that very few observers 
ever see one. I have never seen one living. Miss Mary Calef of 
Exeter has shown me the skin of a male caught there by a cat some- 
time during the first week in June, 1900, which is the only evidence 
of its presence that I have been able to find. 
Geothlypis trichas. Maryland Yellow-throat. 681. 
Of all the warblers found here, none are so numerous as the Mary- 
land Yellow-throat. There is hardly an alder run or a briar patch 
that does not harbor at least one of these little pessimists. They love 
a water-course for its insects and sheltering tangles, and go where you 
will in this region of creeks and brooks the fussy challenge and black 
mask of the Yellow-throat is sure to greet you. As one regards the 
little imp scolding vociferously at being interrupted, it almost seems 
as if he would not look on the bright side of life, even if he had to close 
his eyes to avoid it. But when, all undisturbed, he feels an impulse 
to sing and rises to some half-prominent twig to utter his ciieerful 
little song, he seems quite a different bird. It is surprising to note 
the variations in this song in different localities. The voice is always 
the same, but the composition and accent is sometimes unrecogniz- 
able. My earliest spring record for this species is May ri. They 
are abundant up to the middle of September, and sometimes linger 
till October i. Of two stomachs of this species, one taken August 30 
and the other September 24, neither contained any vegetable matter. 
Their contents included spiders, dipterous larvae, coleoptera, hymen- 
optera, and hemiptera. The nest is usually placed near water in a tuft 
of grass. It is hard to find, unless the bird is seen carrying material 
for its construction or to feed her young. 
I once saw a Maryland Yellow-throat which I thought was amply 
justified in complaining of its lot. 
It was an immature male which I found spending the winter at 
Plymouth, Mass. I was surprised to hear the familiar plaint, one 
