WOOD WARBLERS 
429 
chest with necklace of black streaks; orbital ring white or yellowish; 
crown black, feathers edged with gray; rest of upper parts 
gray. Adult female and young in fall: similar, but black 
replaced by gray tinged with olive. Young female: chest 
markings sometimes obsolete. Young , first plumage : upper 
parts brownish, gray below the surface ; wings with two 
buffy bars; sides of head, throat, and chest buffy brown; 
rest of under parts yellow. Male: length (skins) 4.76-5.17, Fig. 539. 
wing 2.54-2.64,tail 2.15-2.26, bill .40-44. Female: length CanadianWar- 
(skins) 4.57-4.91, wing 2.38-2.54, tail 2.00-2.10, bill .30-.45. bler * 
Distribution. — Breeds in Canadian zone of northeastern North America, 
from Lake Winnipeg, Hudson Bay, southern Labrador, and Newfoundland 
south to southern New England, Wisconsin, and the Alleghanies; casually 
to Colorado ; winters from Mexico south to South America. 
Nest. — In clumps of weeds or tussocks of grass in swampy woods, made 
of leaves and lined with pine needles, rootlets, and horsehair. Eggs: 3 to 
5, white or buffy white, spotted around larger end with reddish brown and 
lilac, usually mixed with a few black specks or pen lines. 
GENUS SETOPHAGA. 
General Characters. — Bill about half as long as head, much depressed, 
broad at base, sharply ridged for basal half or more, straight, decurved at 
tip ; rictal bristles reaching beyond nostrils; wings pointed, tail long and 
fan-shaped, with broad flat feathers widening at ends; feet slender; tarsus 
with scutella distinct. 
KEY TO ADULT MALES. 
1. Under parts mainly white, with orange patches . . ruticilla. p. 429. 
1'. Under parts mainly dark rose red. picta, p. 430. 
687. Setophaga ruticilla {Linn.). American Redstart. 
Adult male. — Black with bluish gloss, except for white belly and 
under tail coverts, and salmon or orange patches on sides of breast, 
wings, and tail. Adult female : black of male replaced by 
grayish olive, and orange by yellow. Immature male: similar 
to female, but smaller, browner, and color patches deeper; 
after first winter plumage interspersed with black feathers. 
Immature female: like adult female, but gray more brownish, 
throat and chest tinged with brownish buff; yellow of breast 
less distinct, and that on wings partly or wholly concealed. 
Young , first plumage: upper parts grayish brown ; under parts grayish 
white, pale gray on chest; breast without yellow; wings and tail like 
older birds, but with two whitish or yellowish bands. Male: length 
(skins) 4.61-5.00, wing 2.40-2.64, tail 2.05-2.28, bill .2S-.35. Female: 
length (skins) 4.41—4.76, wing 2.28-2.60, tail 1.93—2.28, bill .31—.35. 
Distribution. — Breeds from British Columbia and Fort Simpson to the 
Gulf of Mexico and from the Atlantic west regularly to the Great Basin; 
casually to California, Oregon, Arizona, and Lower California; winters 
in the West Indies, and from southern Mexico to northern South Amer¬ 
ica. 
Nest. — Cup-shaped, compact, made largely of plant fibers and strips of 
bark and web, 7 to 30 feet from the ground. Eggs : 3 to 5, white, green¬ 
ish or grayish, spotted chiefly around larger end with brown and lilac. 
Food. — Insects. 
Fig. 540. 
