200 
IOWA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE 
One nest is built for the rearing of the brood, and while the eggs are being 
laid and hatched, the male builds from four to seven dummy nests near the 
real one in more conspicuous places to delude the molester. Their stay here 
is from early May until September. 
Short-Mlled Marsh Wren. The short-billed marsh wren is much rarer than 
the long-billed species, erratic in its habits, some years being found in several 
marshes about Des Moines, and other years in none of them. Their habits and 
all are identical with the long-billed except that they are shyer. 
Black and White Warhler. This alert little fellow is only spasmodically 
common in Polk county, some years being very rare indeed. His arrival from 
Central America is about May first and his departure for the south again is 
about September first. His habits are so like those of the downy woodpecker, 
as he rambles around over the trunks of the trees in search of larvae, that you 
may easily mistake him for the downy. His nest is hidden very adroitly in a 
stump or on the ground, and is one of the most difficult to find. 
Yellow Warhler. From their winter home in northern South America, these 
little fellows arrive about May first to stay until September. They are very 
sociable and confiding, feeling as much at home in the trees by the house as 
in seclusion. 
This is the little warbler who always baffles the lazy cowbird, when her nest 
is victimized, by building a second story over the unwelcome egg, leaving it in 
the one below. 
The yellow warblers, like ail other warblers, feed entirely on insects, and 
are of invaluable aid to the farmer and fruit raiser. 
Chestnut-Sided War'bler. A shy little bird, of a retiring disposition, the 
chestnut-sided v/arbler is not well knov\^n in Iowa. It is not found here in great 
numbers, but in the spring may be found often in company with the redstarts 
feeding industriously on the insects in the orchards and gardens. When the 
nesting season arrives, they retire to the seclusion of the woods and are very 
seldom seen or heard. From May to September is their season in central Iowa. 
Prairie War'bler. The prairie warbler is probably the smallest warbler that 
nests here, and has a quaint and curious song, for which it is most noted. 
Found usually in shrub dotted pastures or brushy light woods it builds an 
elaborate and beautiful nest in a small tree or low bush. 
Ovenhird: Golden Crowned Thrush. To come to know the Ovenbird is one 
of the greatest feats of the nature student, for while not rare in Polk county 
it is one of the most shy birds we have. A bird of the deep quiet woods, his 
wild defiant call of “Teacher, teacher, teacher,” is in keeping with his life of 
untamed freedom. His love song, melodious beyond description, is seldom 
heard by human ear, while his nest, that little hut of dead leaves and grasses 
with the door at the side, though widely famed, is seldom found. His season 
with us is from May to October. 
Maryland Yellow-Throat. One of the merriest, most bewitching of our ground 
warblers, the Maryland yellow-throat can be found in old brushy pastures or 
near willow-edged swamps at nearly any time during the summer. 
From his arrival in May until his departure for the Gulf states, in Septem- 
ber, his song may be heard and his happy, roguish face seen by the earnest 
seeker. His nest is large and deep, sometimes partly roofed over, made of 
broad grasses and put either on the ground or in a bushy tangle. 
