WOOD WARBLERS 
347 
FAMILY COMPSOTHLYPIDAE. WOOD WARBLERS 
General Description. Small birds, only one Canadian species being over 6-28 inches 
long and very few over 5-75. They are usually bright-coloured woodland and tree-top 
birds, though a few inhabit the ground and the grass. They are, as a family, difficult 
to diagnose. The genera may be most easily recognized by the bills (Figures 431, 432, 
433), though considerable familiarity with the species is necessary to recognize the generic 
characteristics. 
Figure 431 Figure 432 Figure 433 
Bill of Tennessee Warb- Bill of Myrtle War b- Bill of Water-Thrush; 
ler; natural size ler; natural size. natural size. 
Field Marks. No reliable field marks covering the whole family can be given. How- 
ever, after a little experience with them their small size, bright colours, and sprightly 
actions are easily recognized. They are most likely to be confused with the vireos, but See 
bill, Figure 426 (compare with 431-33). 
Nesting. The nesting habits of the family are various; some build in trees, near the 
ground or well up towards the taller tops, others on the ground or in grass, and some in 
holes in dead stubs. 
Distribution. Most of the Wood Warblers breed in the northern spruce woods beyond 
the limits of general settlement. Some nest in the more cultivated sections and a few in 
our most southern parts. All are migratory and, according to species, spend the winter 
from northern United States south to the Amazon. 
The American Wood Warblers constitute a large family peculiar to 
the Americas. In fact they divide the honours in point of numbers with 
the sparrows. The w'arblers are the delight of amateur bird-observers. 
So small that few but the enthusiast ever see them, but so numerous and 
brilliantly coloured that their discovery opens up a new world of interest to 
the novice. The sexes are usually dissimilar and there is considerable 
seasonal change in plumage. This, multiplied by the large numbers of 
species, makes the task of identifying all of them seem almost hopeless to 
the beginner. It is not, however, as difficult as it seems at first. The spring 
males are usually distinctly marked and as many of them are furnished 
with descriptive names their differentiation is comparatively simple. As 
the females and autumn birds usually retain suggestions of the character- 
istic spring markings of the males the difficulty is really less than is generally 
anticipated. Of course, puzzling specimens occur w T hich give even the 
experts some difficulty, but it is usually an alternative between two species 
which can be settled by giving attention to one or more small details. In 
studying the warblers the observer is advised to become familiar wdth 
the spring males first. When the males of the common species are known, 
quite an easy matter with such strongly characterized forms, most of 
the females are recognized without much difficulty, as they usually carry 
a subdued reflection of their mate’s brighter colour pattern. In the autumn, 
most juveniles resemble the females closely enough to make recognition 
easy. There are thus few plumages besides those of the spring males that 
have to be learned individually. The Canadian warblers represent tw r elve 
genera, seven of which are represented by single species only. Dendroica 
has sixteen species, Vermivora five, and three others are represented by 
three species each. The generic details of the most important will be 
discussed under their proper headings. 
