132 
THE CONDOR 
VOL. VI 
ly fitted in her nest making a dark and well- protected home. For some reason the 
nest did not contain the full complement of eggs, but on June 2, the day I found 
the nest, it held one half-grown bird and an addled egg. 
Dr. Cooper speaks of this orange-crowned warbler as an abundant and com- 
mon resident of California near the coast and found in summer througout the 
vSierra Nevada. In March they begin to sing their simple trill, which is rather 
musical and audible for a long distance. 
I have found this warbler quite abundant throughout the western part of 
Oregon, where they begin nesting in the latter part of May and the first of 
June. Over on the Oregon coast the nesting season is always a little later. 
There amid the continued roar of the breakers, within a few yards of the 
ocean beach, I found a lutescent warbler sitting on five eggs, the first of last July. 
This nest was also placed above the ground in a bush two feet up. So it is not 
rare in this locality to find the lutescent warbler nesting above ground. 
This warbler is not showy like some of its cousins, but in harmony with 
LUTESCENT WARBLER AND YOUNG 
its shy disposition it carries its brighter colors beneath the outer surface. 
The distinguishing feature that ornithologists have selected in identifying this 
feathered mite is the patch of pale orange hidden by the grayish tips of the 
cap feathers. But it is seldom that this hidden crown of gold is seen in the live bird. 
If you want to see it you will have to take the time and patience to cultivate the 
owner’s acquaintance. 
One generally has to force his friendship upon a bird by lying around the 
nesting site for hours at a time. That is the way I had to do with “Lutie.” Some- 
times you are accepted without much hesitation but often you are regarded with 
continued suspicion. It all depends upon the bird. The first day I found the 
lutescent warbler’s nest I sat down fifteen feet away and it was almost an hour be- 
fore the mother would return to the nest and feed her young. Fifty yards down 
the hillside a bush-tit had hung her nest. I was examining the nest when the parents 
came with food. I sat down five feet away and in exactly three minutes by the 
watch one of the parents entered and fed the young. 
“Lutie” became quite tame after I had visited her for two or three days. She 
