THi Iflii! iilillllillliliillllllillllllllil!;'!'!^''! ^!in?;!l:iii!l]1ii;iili!l!!!l!il ERS • ' '': •''■ '■- ' ■imn FOR THE PEOPLE FOR EDVCATION FORSCIENCE \ LIBRARY OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY THE WARBLERS OF NORTH AMERICA By FRANK M. CHAPMAN, Associate Curator of Mammalogy and Ornithology in the American Museum of Natural History. BIRD STUDIES WITH A CAMERA, with introductory Chapters on tbe Outfit and Methods of the Bird Photographer- Illustrated with over loo Photographs from Nature by the Author. i2mo. Cloth, $1.75. HANDBOOK OP BIRDS , OB- EASTERN NORTH AMERICA. With Keys to the Species, Descriptions of their Plumages, Nests, etc., and their Distribution and Migrations. With over 200 Illustrations. l2mo. Library Edition, $3.00. Pocket Edition, flexible covers, $3.50. BIRD-LIFE. A Guide to the Study of Our Commoa Birds. Popular Edition in colors, $2.00 net ; post- age 1 8 cents additional. THE WARBLERS OP NORTH AMERICA. With Contributions from other Ornithologists and 24 full-page Colored Plates illustrating every Species, from Drawings by L. A. Fuertes and B. Horsfall, and Half-tones of Nests and Eggs. 8vo. Cloth, $3.00 net ; postage 20 cents additional. D. APPLETON AND COMPANY. NEW YORK. / 4 ^^^^j^i^,,^^ -nM--^ \Y^o^. I<1^5 Plate I 1. Yellow Warbler, Male. 2. Yellow Warbler. Female. 3. Mangrove Warbler, Male. 4. Mangrove Warbler, Female. 5. Prairie Warbler, Male. 6. Prairie Warbler, Female. (one-half natural size.' THE WARBLERS OF NORTH AMERICA BY FRANK M. CHAPMAN WITH THE COOPERATION OF OTHER ORNITHOLOGISTS friTH TfVENTT-FOUR FULL-PAGE COLORED PLATES, ILLUSTRATING EVERT SPECIES, FROM DRAfVINGS BY LOUIS AGASSIZ FUERTES AND BRUCE HORSFALL, AND HALF-TONES OF NESTS AND EGGS NEW YORK D. APPLETON & COMPANY 1907 Copyright, igoj, By Frank M. Chapman All rights reserved Published, March, igoj PREFACE THE WARBLERS have been described as "our most beautiful, most abundant, and least known birds." The knowledge that at certain seasons our woods, and even the trees of our larger city parks are thronged with an innumerable host of birds, the bril- liancy of whose plumage rivals that of many tropical species, comes to the bird student with the force of a surprising discovery. One never forgets one's first Warbler ! Highly migratory, the extended journeys of Warblers are never- theless performed with regularity which makes their appearance in the spring a fixed calendar event. The very essence of the season is in their flitting forms and lisping voices ; without them May would seem a dreary month and the migration of birds lose half its charm. But these dainty, fascinating sprites of the tree-tops are elusive. Years of observation may be required to add to one's list of field acquaintances the last of the thirty-odd species which, in eastern North America, may be found at a single locality. In this quest the field-glass student is handicapped. The small size of Warblers, their activity, the nature of their haunts, their rapid journeys, marked seasonal changes in plumage, and the general resem- blance in the song of many species all tend to render recognition in life unusually difficult. This book has, therefore, been prepared with the cooperation of other ornithologists, to meet the demand for a fully illustrated work which will serve as an aid to the field identification of Warblers and to the study of their life-histories. F. M. C. American Museum of Natural History, New York City, January, 1907. Beit gems of Nature's cabinet With dews of tropic morning wet. ^^Longfellofv CONTENTS INTRODUCTORY Plan of the Work List of Contributors .... THE WOOD WARBLERS .... General Characters of Warblers Plumage of Warblers .... Distribution of Warblers Migration of Warblers, W. W. Cooke • Songs of Warblers Nesting Habits of Warblers Food of Warblers, Edward Howe Forbush Mortality among Warblers THE WARBLERS OF NORTH AMERICA Genus i. Mniotilta 1. Mniotilta varia, Black and White Warbler Genus 2. Helinaia 2. Helinaia swainsoni, Swainson's Warbler Genus 3. Helmitheros 3. Helmitheros vennivorus, Worm-eating Warbler. Genus 4. Protonotaria 4. Protonotaria citrca, Prothonotary Warbler. Genus 5. Helminthophila 5. Helminthophila chrysoptera, Golden-winged Warbler. 6. " pinus. Blue-winged Warbler. 7. " hachmani, Bachman's Warbler. . 8. " peregrina, Tennessee Warbler. . 9. " celata celata, Orange-crowned Warbler. . pa. " " orestera, Rocky Mountain Orange- crown pb. " " lutescens, Lutescent Warbler. . pc. " " sordida. Dusky Warbler. . 10. " rubricapilla rubricapilla, Nashville Warb- ler lOa. " " gutturalis, Calaveras Warbler. 11. " Virginia, Virginia's Warbler. 12. " lucia:, Lucy's Warbler. . . . . Page I I 5 7 7 7 II 14 20 22 23 33 Z7 38 38 43 44 48 48 53 54 59 60 65 77 83 86 89 90 91 92 97 98 100 Genus 6. 13- 13a. 14- Genus 7. 15- Genus 8. 16. i6a. i6b. 17. 18. 19. 20. 20a. 21. 22. 22a. 23- 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 30a. 31. 32. 33. 34- 35- 37- 38. 38a. Genus 9. 39- 40. 41. 41a. Genus 10. 42. 43- COMPSOTHLYPIS Compsothlypis americana americana, Southern Parula Warbler. " " usnece, Parula Warbler. . " pitiayumi nigrilora, Sennett's Warbler. Feucedramus Peucedramus olivaceus, Olive Warbler. Dendroica Dendroica estiva cestiva, Yellow Warbler. . " " sonorana, Sonora Yellow Warbler. " " rubiginosa, Alaskan Yellow Warbler " bryanti castaneiceps, Mangrove Warbler. . " maculosa, Magnolia Warbler. . " tigrina, Cape May Warbler. " ccerulescens ccerulesccns. Black-throated Blue Warbler .... " " cairnsi. Cairns' Warbler. " coronata, Myrtle Warbler " auduboni auduboni, Audubon's Warbler. . " " nigrifrons, Black-fronted Warbler. " nigresccns. Black-throated Gray Warbler. . " townsendi, Townsend's Warbler. " virens, Black-throated Green Warbler. " chrysoparia, Golden-cheeked Warbler. " occidentalis, Hermit Warbler. " ccriilea, Cerulean Warbler " blackburnicE, Blackburnian Warbler. . " dominica dominica, Yellow-throated Warbler " " albilora, Sycamore Warbler. " grades graciw, Grace's Warbler. . " pensylvanica, Chestnut-sided Warbler. " castanea, Bay-breasted Warbler. " striata, BlackpoU Warbler. " vigors! vigorsi, Pine Warbler. " kirtlandi, Kirtland's Warbler. " discolor. Prairie Warbler " palmaruni palmarum, Palm Warbler. . " " hypochrysca, Yellow Palm Warbler Seiurus Seiurus aurocapillus, Oven-bird " motacilla, Louisiana Water-Thrush. " noveboracensis noveboracensis. Northern Water- Thrush. .... " " notabilis, Grinnell's Water-Thrush Oporornis Oporornis formosa, Kentucky Warbler. " agilis, Connecticut Warbler. Page 102 103 104 109 no no 113 119 120 121 121 128 133 140 141 154 157 162 167 170 175 180 184 185 187 192 196 201 206 209 213 216 218 219 226 230 234 235 235 241 44- Oporornis Philadelphia, Mourning Warbler. 45. " tolmiei, Macgillivray's Warbler. Genus 11. Geothlypis 46. Geothlypis trichas trichas, Southern Yellow-throat. . 46a. " " brachidactyla, Northern Yellow-throat 46b. " " occidentalis, Western Yellow-throat. 46c. " " arizela, Pacific Yellow-throat 46d. " " sinuosa, Salt Marsh Yellow-throat. 47. " beldingi, Belding's Yellow-throat. Genus 12. Cham;ethlypis 48. Chamc^thlypis poliocephala poliocephala, Rio Grande Yellow-throat. Genus 13. Icteria 49. Icteria virens virens, Yellow-breasted Chat. 49a. " " longicauda, Long-tailed Chat. Genus 14. WiLSONiA 50. IVilsonia mitrata, Hooded Warbler. 51. " pusilla pusilla, Wilson's Warbler. 51a. " " pileolata, Pileolated Warbler 51b. 52. Genus 15 53- Genus 16. 54- 55- HYPOTHETICAL LIST INDEX. " " chryseola, Golden Pileolated Warbler. " canadensis, Canadian Warbler. Cardellina Cardellina rubrifrons, Red-faced Warbler. Setophaga Setophaga ruticilla, American Redstart. " picta picta, Painted Redstart. Page 244 249 251 257 251 259 260 261 261 263 263 263 264 268 269 269 274 278 279 280 285 28s 287 287 295 299 301 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Plate. I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. X. XI. XII. XIII. XIV. XV. XVI. XVII. XVIII. XIX. XX. XXI. XXII. XXIII. XXIV. COLORED PLATES Facing Page. Yellow, Mangrove, and Prairie Warblers. Horsfall. . Frontispiece Blackpoll and Black and White Warblers. Horsfall. . Blackburnian and Prothonotary Warblers. Horsfall. . Bach man's, Swainson's, and Worm-eating Warblers. Fuertes Blue-winged, Lawrence's, Brewster's, and Golden-winged Warblers. Fuertes. Olive, Lucy's, and Virginia's Warblers. Fuertes. Tennessee, Orange-crowned, and Nashville Warblers. Hors fall fa Fuertes. Parula and Sennett's Warblers. Fuertes. . Cerulean and Black-throated Blue Warblers Myrtle and Audubon's Warblers. Fuertes Magnolia and Kirtland's Warblers. Horsfall. . Bay-breasted and Chestnut-sided Warblers. Horsfall. . Yellow-throated, Grace's, and Black-throated Gray Warblers Fuertes Black-throated Green and Golden-cheeked Warblers. Horsfall. Hermit and Townsend's Warblers. Fuertes. Cape May and Palm Warblers. Fuertes. . Rio Grande Yellow-throat, Oven-bird, Northern Thrush, Louisiana Water-Thrush. Fuertes. . Kentucky and Connecticut Warblers. Horsfall. Macgillivray's and Mourning Warblers. Horsfall. Belding's and Northern Yellow-throats. Fuertes. Hooded Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat. Horsfall. Wilson's and Canadian Warblers. Fuertes. American and Painted Redstarts. Horsfall. Pine and Red-faced Warblers. Horsfall. 38 50 64 72 98 86 104 112 118 126 138 152 162 170 214 226 236 244 252 264 280 288 296 PHOTOGRAPHS OF NESTS AND EGGS Figures. Facing Page. 1. Nest of Prothonotary Warbler. 58 2. Nest of Parula Warbler 58 3-32. Eggs of Warblers 44 3S. Nest of Yellow Warbler 188 34. Nest of Chestnut-sided Warbler 188 35-64. Eggs of Warblers 144 65-94. Eggs of Warblers 176 95. Nest of Blackpoll Warbler .... 200 96. Nest of Oven-bird. 200 97-126. Eggs of Warblers 258 127. Nest of Redstart 272 128. Nest of Hooded Warbler 272 INTRODUCTORY PLAN OF THE WORK The plan on which this work was projected was outHned in 'Bird-Lore' for April, 1903 (pp. 61-63). Responding to frequent and continued requests for a book treating especially of Warblers, the writer, as editor of that magazine, asked ornithologists to assist in the preparation of the proposed volume by contributing the results of their observations of the habits of Warblers, and added: "Continued study of our birds emphasizes the absolute necessity of many observers if we are to have anything approaching adequate biographies of even a single species. Habits should be affirmed or denied only on the basis of abundant data; again, what proves true of a species in one part of its range may be incorrect in another; and we need, therefore, not only many observations from one place, but from many places throughout a bird's range before we can write its life-history with an approach to thoroughness. Cooperation, there- fore, is the watchword of the bird study of to-day. "The truth is, the best of bird biographies tell only the story of the individual rather than the species. Life is too short for a single student to acquire a thorough knowledge of more than a few species of birds, and even then his experience is apt to be limited to a small part of their range. In the writer's opinion, the bird biographies in Bendire's 'Life Histories of North American Birds' are among the best, if not the best of any which have been written. This is not solely because of Alajor Bendire's wide field experience and powers of observation, but also because he secured the cooperation of orni- thologists throughout the country. It was not required that they should be skilled in painting pen pictures of bird-life ; facts, not rhe- torical flights, were wanted, and the result is one of the most satis- factory books of reference of its kind. "There is an object-lesson for us here. In our enthusiastic appre- ciation of the bird as a creature of rare grace and beauty, the final touch giving life to woods and fields, let us not forget that as bird students we are here more intimately concerned with the birds' habits 2 PLAN OF THE WORK than with the part they play as the 'jewels of creation,' when, with no loss of appreciation of the esthetic side of bird-life, we may make our bird biographies a storehouse of exact and detailed observations in regard to a bird's distribution, migrations, its manner of courting, singing, nest-building, incubating, caring for its young, the relation between its structure and habit, etc." The concluding lines were then expanded into an outline bio- graphy representing the manner in which it was desired to treat each species; and it may at once be confessed that in only a small number of instances have contributions been received which would permit of the treatment proposed. Of observations on migration, numerical abundance, local distribution, and nesting dates, there have been no lack ; valuable descriptions of haunts, actions, and, particularly, of song have been sent, but the minute, intimate study revealing the bird's inner life and relation to its surroundings has, in most instances, yet to be made. Such studies result only from definitely directed and prolonged observation, and, in the development of orni- thological science in America, we are only just beginning to receive contributions from naturalists who, not content with the mere ability to name the birds of their own locality and describe their habits in a general way, have chosen some particular subject or species for thorough investigation. However, it is believed that the present volume adequately reflects existing knowledge of the North American Mniotiltidae and it is hoped, therefore, may prove a stable foundation on which to build a more complete structure. At the outset the author disclaims any special knowledge of the members of the family of which this book treats. Circumstances, some of which have been before mentioned, have induced him to undertake its preparation ; and only the generous cooperation of other workers has enabled him to complete the task. A special effort has been made to acknowledge fully all sources of assistance. Manuscript contributions have been marked as such, while information which has been previously published is, when prac ticable, given in the words of its author. In this connection intro ductory and transition remarks and other editorial ear-marks, which become tiresome through frequent repetition and tend to rob the matter quoted of its own distinctive character through the needless interposition of another personality, have been avoided as much as possible. While the result may be a less finished, it is, to our mind, a more effective whole. PLAN OF THE WORK 3 It should be added that in the selection of material, other things being equal, preference has been given to articles which have appeared in magazines, and in the publications of scientific societies which are comparatively inaccessible ; while those books which can be more readily purchased have been used only when other sources of infor- mation have failed. /\ list of the contributors, or co-authors of this volume is given on a succeeding page, but it is desired here to specify the nature of the material they have contributed, as well as to comment in a more or less explanatory way, on the book's contents. Preliminary Chapters. — The subjective matter herein contained was prepared by the writer with the exception of the article on 'Migration,' which is by W. W. Cooke, and that on 'The Food of Warblers,' which was written by E. H. Forbush. Descriptions of Plumages, etc. — The description of plumages, with remarks on genera and comments on species are by the writer. They are based on the collection of the American Museum of Natural History and the admirable series of carefully sexed Warblers in the collection of Dr. J. Dwight, Jr., which is deposited in the museum, but thanks are also due Robert Ridgway, Curator of Birds of the United States National Museum, and Dr. C. Hart Merriam, Chief of the Biological Survey, for permission to examine the birds under their charge, as well as to William Brewster and Dr. L. B. Bishop for an opportunity to study the Warblers contained in their private collections. It is a pleasure to acknowledge here, also, the assistance derived from the second volume of Ridgway 's 'Birds of North and Middle America' which includes the Warblers, and Dwight's 'The Sequence of Plumages and Moults of the Passerine Birds of New York.' The measurement of 'Length' here given is taken from study 'skins', first, because a large series of measurements taken in the flesh, of all the species treated, is not available ; and, second, because it is believed that the measurement of the length of a properly prepared skin gives a more nearly correct idea of the size of the living bird, than does the measurement of the recently killed, usually relaxed, and more or less stretched specimen. Range. — The paragraphs on distribution are, in the main, by W. W. Cooke with additions by the author who is responsible for the range given of the various subspecies of Warblers. Migration. — The migration tables, assuredly one of the most valuable features of the book, have been prepared entirely by W. W. 4 PLAN OF THE WORK Cooke of the Biological Survey. For the past twenty years orni- thologists throughout the country have been sending data on bird migration to the Survey. In the preparation of Bulletin No. i8 of the Survey ('Distribution and Migration of North American Warblers'), it was Professor Cooke's duty to elaborate this unequalled store of migration records, and the matter here given is based on that work, the migration records being presented in a tabular form which makes them easy of reference and comparison. The Bird and its Haunts. — Under this heading an attempt has been made to present a picture of the bird in nature; sketching its appearance and actions as well as describing its haunts, both while migrating and nesting. Here are also occasionally included remarks on the time, place, or manner of the discovery of the bird or its nest and eggs, with other pertinent historical details, and, in some instances, biographical data which seem more in place here than in any other section of the outline for treatment adopted. Especially valuable contributions to this department were made by Gerald Thayer, Frank L. Burns, Verdi Burtch, Walter K. Fisher, and Andrew Allison. Song. — Under this caption the call-notes as well as the songs of Warblers are treated. Always a difficult and unsatisfactory subject to deal with, it is particularly so in the case of the Warblers, the calls and songs of most of which lack sufficient character to be des- cribed recognizably. However, the impressions of different observers in widely separated localities are presented, not with the expectation that what they have written will give one an adequate idea of the particular song in question, but that it will lead to its identification when heard. Miss Paddock, Mrs. Farwell, Gerald Thayer, and Andrew Allison have made notable contributions to this part of the book, and Lynds Jones has permitted liberal use of his 'Songs of Warblers'. The student should also consult Matthews' 'Fieldbook of Wild Birds and their Music' (Putnams) which being readily procurable has not been quoted from. Nesting-Site and Nest. — The method of treatment of these sections requires but little comment. The abundant literature of the subject has been freely drawn on, reference showing the source o\ information. The collections of the American Museum, William Brewster, and C. W. Crandall have been used, while particularly accept able manuscript contributions were made by Andrew Allison, Frank L. Burns, and A'erdi Burtch. PLAN OF THE WORK 5 Eggs. — The descriptions and measurements of the eggs were pre- pared by Mr. C. W. Crandall, well known as a careful, conservative oologist. Mr. Crandall possesses one of the largest private collections of eggs in the country, and his work is therefore based on abundance of material. The eggs figured are, in the main, from Mr. Crandall's collection with additions from the collections of the American Mus- eum of Natural History and of Mr. J. L. Childs. Nesting Dates. — Unless otherwise specified the dates here given are the earliest and latest at which full sets of fresh eggs were found. Most of the data here presented were contributed by the ornithologists whose names are given as authority, but the collections of the Ameri- can Museum and of Mr. C. W, Crandall as well as the literature of the subject have also been drawn on. Biographical References. — As the heading indicates this biblio- graphical matter is restricted to articles treating of the habits of the bird in question. Where quotations are made from these articles due acknowledgment is made by cross-reference in the text. Contributors. — In the preceeding comments on the plan of the book, the principal contributors to it have been mentioned. Assist- ance, however, was received from many others, in some cases merely a nesting date, in others more extended notes. Whenever used such matter is duly acknowledged and we give here an alphabetical list of all contributors of manuscript to the book. The impossibility of including in this list the names of the hundreds of observers on whose work the migration tables are based is regretted, but Professor Cooke assures us that the manner in which these data are presented makes it impossible to give credit where credit is due. To Mr. Waldron DeWitt Miller and Mr. Robert C. Murphy I am much indebted for assistance in reading proof. LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS Allison, Andrew, Ellisville, Miss. Attwater, H. P., Houston, Texas. Bagg, Egbert, Utica, N. Y. Barrows, Walter B., Agricultural College, Mich. Bishop, Louis B., New Haven, Conn. Bowles, C. W. and J. H., Tacoma, Wash. Brewster, William, Cambridge, Mass. Burns, Frank L., Berwyn, Pa. Burtch, Verdi, Branchport, N. Y. PLAN OF THE WORK Christy, Bayard H., Sewickley, Pa. Cooke, W. W., Biological Survey, Washington, D. C. Crandall, C. W., Woodside, L. I. Dille, F. M., Denver, Colo. Farwell, Mrs. John V., Jr., Lake Forest, Ills. Fisher, Walter K., Palo Alto, Cal. Forbush, E. H., Wareham, Mass. Ganier, A. F., Vicksburg, Miss. Gault, B. F., Glen Ellyn, Ills. Holmes, LaRue K., the late, Summit, N. J. Jackson, T. H., West Chester, Pa. Jacobs, J. Warren, Waynesburg, Pa. Jones, Lynds, Oberlin, Ohio. Kells, Wm. L., Listowel, Ont. Knight, O. W., Bangor, Me. Koch, August, Williamsport, Pa. McDavitt, Ina Lord, Vineland, N. J. Mailliard, J. J., San Geronimo, Calif. Morgan, Albert, Hartford, Conn. Paddock, Miss I. M., St. Johnsbury, Vt. Sears, Miss Annie L., Waltham, Mass. Spaulding, F. B., Lancaster, N. H. Stephens, Frank, San Diego, Calif. Thayer, Gerald H., Dublin, N. H. Wayne, A. T., Mt. Pleasant, S. C. Widmann, Otto, St. Louis. Mo. Wood, N. A., Ann Arbor, Mich. THE WOOD WARBLERS THE GENERAL CHARACTERS OF WARBLERS The American Warblers (Family Mniotiltidae), or Wood Warblers as they are more formally called to distinguish them from the wholly different Old World Warblers (Family Sylviidae), are small insectivorous birds with generally slender, sharp-pointed, sometimes flattened, but never hooked (as in the Vireonidae) bills. The three or four outer primaries are longest and of nearly the same length, the tarsus is posteriorly ridged (not rounded as in the Tyrannidae), the hind-claw never lengthened (as in the Alaudidae or Motacillidae). The broad, bristly billed, flycatching members of the family are too brightly colored to be mistaken for most North American repre- sentatives of the true Flycatchers (Family Tyrannidae), from which they differ in other respects, and, among North American birds, the Warblers are to be confused in nature only with the Vireos and Kinglets. From the Vireos they differ in wing-formula and in lack- ing a hooked bill, while in life they may usually be distinguished from them by their greater activity. The Vireos are more deliberate in movement, they peer, while the Warblers pirouette, or flutter, turning the whole body this way then that, darting or springing here or there, the embodiment of perpetual motion among birds. The Kinglets are smaller than the smallest Warbler, except Lucy's Warbler. In the Golden-crowned Kinglet the black and orange or yellow crest is always diagnostic, while the Ruby-crown's habit of nervously twitching its wings, and wren-like call note will readily distinguish it from any Warbler. PLUMAGE OF WARBLERS Development of Plumage. — When a Warbler leaves the egg it is apparently naked, but close examination will reveal on the feather- tracts of the upper surface of the body a scanty growth of the finest down. This is the 'natal down'. (See Dwight, The Sequence of 8 PLUMAGE OF WARBLERS Plumages and Moults of the Passerine Birds of New York.'; While the bird is in the nest this downy plumage is succeeded by a second plumage which has been termed both the 'first' and the 'juvenal' plumage but which, in my opinion, among altricial birds, may best be known as the nestling plumage. Where, in the newly hatched bird, there was down, it is forced outward by the rapidly growing feathers of the nestling plumage, on the tips of which it remains for a brief period. Where there was no natal down, the nestling plumage is the first plumage to appear. When, at the age of about twelve to fourteen days, the young bird leaves the nest, the nestling plumage of its body is virtually complete, but the tail is stumpy and the wings, although they support the bird in its first uncertain flight, are not fully grown. Both wings and tail, however, belong also, as we shall see, to the first fall plumage, and the distinctive nestling plumage may therefore be said to be wholly acquired in the nest. No time intervenes between the completion of the nestling plu- mage and the appearance of the first feathers of the first fall plumage, traces of which indeed may often be detected in the feather tracts of the breast before the wings and tail are fully grown. This first fall plumage is acquired by molt of the feathers of the nestling plumage and the development of a new growth of feathers. The wing and the tail quills and the primary wing-coverts are retained, but the remaining wing-coverts and all the feathers of the body are shed. Although there may be some feather-growth during the winter, the first fall plumage remains virtually unchanged until the following spring, when, by a molt involving the feathers of various parts of the body, but not those of the wings and tail, the first breeding plu- mage is acquired. With the exception of Helminthophila bachmani, Peucedramus olivaceus, Dendroica chrysoparia, and Setophaga ruticilla, which apparently do not secure their mature plumage until their first post- breeding molt (at the beginning of their second autumn), the first breeding plumage resembles that of the mature bird, except for such minor differences as may be shown in the intensity of color of the wings and tail. Following the nesting season, in accordance with the almost universal law of molt, an entirely new set of feathers, including wing and tail quills, is gained, and this, like the plumage of the first fall, PLUMAGE OF WARBLERS 9 is unchanged until the succeeding spring when certain feathers of the body may be changed, and, thereafter, this order of molt is apparently followed by the species. Nestling Plumage. — It is difficult, if not impossible, to frame a law which shall express the relations of the nestling plumage of Warblers to their adult plumage. When, however, the adult is olive- green above, yellow or whitish below and without spots or streaks, the young is dull olive-green or olive-brown above, dusky olive or grayish below with the belly whitish or yellowish. Examples are Helminthophila peregrina, H. rubricapilla, H. pinus, Dendroica vigorsi, Geothlypis trichas, Oporornis formosa, Wilsonia pusilla, W. mitrata, and Icteria virens. When the plumage of the adult is varied in pattern with streaks or spots, etc., the plumage of the nestling, while it may be widely different, is generally streaked or spotted. Examples are Mniotilta varia, Dendroica coronata, D. audnboni, D. maculosa, D. striata, D. castanea, D. blackburnice, D. palmarum, and the Seiuri. When the adult is gray above the nestling is gray, as in Helmin- thophila lucice, Dendroica nigrescens, and D. dominica; and when the adult is brown above the nestling is brown or brownish, as in Helinaia swainsoni, Hehnitheros vermivoriis, and Seinrus aurocapillus. As might be expected, indications of common ancestry are betrayed by the nestling plumage. The nestlings of Dendroica coronata and D. auduboni, for instance, while quite unlike the nestling of any other Warbler known to me, very closely resemble one another, and the spotted nestlings of Dendroica striata and D. castanea are almost indistinguishable. Among the more uniformly plumaged, olive-green birds this similarity in the plumage of the nestling also prevails. An interesting character shown by the nestling, with but few exceptions, is the presence of wing-bars when they are absent or obscure in the adult. These bars are usually buff but are gen- erally in strong contrast to the wing-coverts, of which they form the tip. With the molt from nestling into first fall plumage, these coverts are shed and the bars lost, a fact which suggests that the unbarred wing represents a higher stage in the development of the species than the barred wing. When, in the adults, there exists a sexual difference in the color of the wings or tail, the nestling presents a corresponding difference in color, since both wings and tail are retained until after the first nesting season (^. g. Dendroica ccerulescens) . When, however, no such difference exist?, the nestlings of both sexes are alike in color. lO PLUMAGE OF WARBLERS First Fall Plumage. — Leaving aside for the moment the question of the relation of the fall plumage of the young to that of the adult, it will be found that most of our Warblers in first fall plumage conform to the general laws of color in relation to sex and age. These may be stated as follows: 1. When the adults are alike or nearly alike in plumage, the young in first fall plumage resemble their parents in spring plumage. Examples are Protonotaria, Helmitheros, Helinaia, Helminthophila pinus, H. lucicc, Dendroica dominica, the Seiiiri, Oporornis formosa, Icteria virens, Setophaga picta, Cardellina. 2. When the adults in breeding plumage differ, the young of both sexes resemble either the breeding female or the adults in the fall. This class includes by far the largest number of Warblers. Examples are Mniotilta, Helminthophila rubricapilla, H. celata, H. peregrina, Peucedramus, Compsothlypis, Dendroica tigrina, D. crstiva, D. coronata, D. auduboni, D. maculosa, D. pensylvanica, D. striata, D. castanea, D. blackburnice, D. nigrescens, D. virens, D. tozvnsendi, D. palmarum, D. discolor, Oporornis agilis, 0. Philadelphia, 0. tolmiei. Exceptions are Helminthophila chrysoptera, Dendroica ccerulescens, and Wilsonia mitrata. Adult plumage. — Essentially adult plumage, as we have seen, is acquired not later than the first spring molt by all our Warblers except Helminthophila bachmani, Peucedramus, Dendroica chrysoparia, and Setophaga ruticilla, in which it is doubtless acquired immediately after the first breeding season, or in the following spring. Once acquired, the adult plumage, as far as color is concerned, may remain virtually unaltered, or it may be changed for a widely different fall plumage to be worn until the approach of the next nest- ing season, when the mature breeding dress is regained. These facts may be expressed in two laws as follows : 1. When the sexes are alike, or nearly alike, in color, the fall plumage of both is generally like the spring plumage. Examples are Protonotaria, Helinaia, Helmitheros, Helminthophila lucicc, H. virginicp, H. pinus, Dendroica dominica, D. gracice, D. kirtlandi, the Seiuri, Chamccthlypis, Setophaga picta, and Cardellina. 2. When the male in spring plumage differs from the female, he generally resembles her in fall plumage. There are numerous excep- tions to this law but it holds good for most species in which there is marked sexual difference. Examples are: Dendroica tigrina, D. coro- nata, D. auduboni, D. maculosa, D. pensylvanica, D. castanea, D. striata, D. blackburnicr. Exceptions are: Helminthophila bachmani, DISTRIBUTION OF WARBLERS II H. chrysoptera, Peucedramiis, Dendroica cccrnlescens, Oporornis agilis, and 0. tolmiei. DISTRIBUTION OF WARBLERS The approximately one hundred and fifty-five species contained in the family Mniotiltidae are distributed in summer from Argentina to Labrador and northern Alaska, including the West Indies and Galapagos. During the winter few species are found north of the southern border of the United States. The wide range of some species makes a geographical analysis of the group difficult, but by allotting a species to the region in which it occupies the largest area, we have the following results: South America 40 species Galapagos 10 species Central America and Mexico 30 species West Indies 20 species North America 55 species Twenty-six of the 40 South American species are contained in the genus Basileutcrus and the remaining 14 belong to the genera Myioborus (9 species), Geothlypis (4 species) and Compsothlypis (i species). , „ Nine of the Galapagan species belong in the somewhat aberrant genus Cert hid ca, placed in this family for the first time by Mr. Ridg- way, and one is a Yellow Warbler of the West Indian petechia group. Central America and Mexico, omitting the northern part of the tableland, have 6 species of Basileutcrus, 2 of Oreothlypis, i of Compsothlypis, i of Helminthophila, 6 of Geothlypis, 2 of Chnmce- thlypis, 4 of Granatcllus, 3 of Myioborus, i of Euthlypis, 2 of Erga- ticns, and 2 of Rhodinocichla. The West Indies have 10 species of Dendroica, i of Catharopeza, 2 of Teretistris, i of Leucopesa, i of Microligea and 5 of Geothlypis. The constitution of the 16 North American genera is stated on a later page. It is evident, therefore, that, although of tropical origin, the Warblers now reach their highest numerical development in North America. Of the 16 genera of Warblers found in North America, the following 7 have no species breeding south of our limits: Mnio- tilta, Helinaia, Hehnitheros, Protonotaria, (all monotypic), Opor- ornis, Seiurus, and Wilsonia. None of the 9 species of Helmintho- phila nest south of the Mexican tableland, all but one entering North 12 DISTRIBUTION OF WARBLERS America. Icteria also extends southward over the Mexican tableland and, with Helminthophila, is more North American than Mexican, though doubtless of Mexican origin. This leaves 7 genera whose breeding range still includes an area in the tropics. Of these the following 6 enter North America through Mexico: Compsothlypis, Peucedramus, Geothlypis, Chamce- thlypis, Cardellina, and Setophaga. With the exception of the forms of Geothlypis trichas, which have apparently reached the Bahamas through Florida, none of these genera is known to be represented in the breeding season in the West Indies. On the other hand, Dendroica is evidently a West Indian genus. Excepting members of the widely distributed Yellow or Golden Warbler group, Mexico has no species of this genus which are not found in the United States, although 3 of our species extend south- ward into Mexico as geographic forms (i. e. D. auduboni nigrifrons, D. a. goldmani, and D. gracico decora, the latter reaching Honduras). The West Indies, however, without including the Golden War- blers, have 7 resident species of Dendroica, 5 of which are represented in North America by closely related forms (i. e. D. adelaidce and D. delicata, by our D. dominica and D. grades; D. vigorsii achnistera and abacoensis, by D. v. vigorsi; D. vitellina, by D. discolor). In this evident West Indian origin of Dendroica, we have a prob- able explanation of the numerical abundance of the birds of this genus in the Eastern states as compared with the Western states. Of the 23 North American species, only one, the phenomenally distributed Yellow Warbler, is found in both the Eastern and Western states. 6 occur in the west but not in the east, one appears to be restricted to east central Texas, and 15 are found in the east but not in the west. This restriction of forms of West Indian origin to the Eastern states, in connection with their confinement to these islands in winter, leads us to consider HcUnaia and HeJmithcvos, both confined to the east, as of West Indian rather than of l^.Texican origin. As might be expected, therefore, forms of Mexican origin (e. g. Icteria and Geothlypis), which spread both to the east and the west, are likely to occupy a larger area than those which enter our limits at their extreme southeastern border. In other words, we share with the west many of the Warblers of Mexican origin, but give her in return few or none of those which have been received from the West Indies. Continuing the comparison begun under Dendroica, we find, in the first place, that the west has only 2 genera of Warblers not repre- DISTRIBUTION OF WARBLERS 13 sented in the east, i. e. Cardellina and Peucedramus of the Mexican tableland, which cross our border in Arizona and New Mexico. The east, on the contrary, has the 2 genera mentioned above as of probable West Indian origin and also Mniotilta and Protonotaria. Chamcothlypis reaches our border on the lower Rio Grande, and Compsothlypis comes to us through the same door and, evidently finding the arid region of the west a bar to range extension in that direction, has followed the humid coast to the north and east. Doubt- less the origin of several other species (e. g. Oporornis formosa, and IVilsonia mitrata) of eastern Warblers is to be accounted for in a similar manner. The remaining 8 genera are common to both regions but it is worthy of note that only i of them is presumably of West Indian origin. Omitting, therefore, Chamcsthlypis and Compsothlypis, as occupying neutral ground, the east has 12 genera of Warblers, the west 10. In species, however, chiefly owing to the large number of species of Den- droica derived from the West Indies, and to those of other genera which have spread from eastern Mexico eastward, the difference between the east and the west is more pronounced. It is expressed in the following figures : Species found in both the east and west, 7 ; species found only in the west, 13; species found only in the east, 32; Texas species, 3 ; thus giving the east 39 species as against 20 for the west. It should be added that this comparison is based on the Warblers of the Atlantic States with those of the Pacific States, no account here being taken of the northwestward distribution of some species to Alaska bringing them properly into the bird-life of western North America, though obviously of eastern origin. The subject is a wide one and absence of definite knowledge of the past tempts us to speculate on the significance of the present. This outline, however, may well be concluded by the appended Distributional Synopsis of the Family Mniotiltid.^. Mniotilta, i species, eastern North America. Helinaia, i species, eastern North America. Helmitheros, i species, eastern North America. Protonotaria, i species, eastern North America. Helminth ophila, 9 species, 8 North America, i Mexico. Oreothlypis, 2 species, Mexico and Central America. Compsothlypis, 3 species, South America from Argentina north to Central America, Mexico, and eastern North America. 14 MIGRATION OF WARBLERS Peucedramiis, i species, Guatemala, Mexico, southern Arizona and New Mexico. Dendroica, 34 species, South America, Central America, Mexico, West Indies, North America. Catharopeza, i species, West Indies. Oporornis, 4 species, North America. Seiiirus, 3 species. North America. Teretistris, 2 species. West Indies. Lencopeza, i species. West Indies. Microligea, i species, West Indies. Geothlypis, 19 species, South America from Argentina north to Central America, Mexico, Bahamas, and North America. Charnccthlypis, 2 species, Mexico, Texas. Icteria, i species, North America and Mexico. Granatellus, 4 species, South America, Central America and Mexico. Wilsonia, 3 species, North America. Cardellina, i species, Mexico, Arizona and New Mexico. Setophaga, 2 species. North America, Mexico, Guatemala. Myiohorus, 12 species. South America, Central America, Mexico. Euthlypis, I species. Central America, Mexico. Basileuteriis, 32 species. South America north to Central America, and Mexico. Ergaticus, 2 species, Central America, Mexico. Certhidea, 9 species, Galapagos Archipelago. Rhodinocichla, 2 species. Northern South America to Mexico. MIGRATION OF WARBLERS BY W. W. COOKE Scarcely a W^arbler in the United States remains through the winter in the vicinity of its nesting site, while most of the North American members of this family travel many hundreds, or even thousands of miles, to their winter home. Among the few exceptions are a small number of Southern Yellow-throats (Geothlypis trichas trichas) that are resident throughout the year in Florida and southern Georgia, and also a few of the western form of the Orange-crowned Warbler ( Helminthophila c. sordida) resident on the Santa Barbara Islands, California. The Pine Warbler has one of the shortest of Warbler migration routes, for it does not pass farther south in winter than the southern MIGRATION OF WARBLERS 15 limit of its breeding range; migration with this species, therefore, is simply the withdrawing of the northern breeding individuals and the massing of the whole species in the southern fourth of its summer home. This same Pine Warbler is also one of the very few species that are confined in the winter season almost entirely to the United States. One of the greatest travellers among the Warblers is the Black- poll, of which species comparatively few individuals breed south of Canada, and all winter in South America. The shortest journey that any Blackpoll performs is 3,500 miles, while those that nest in Alaska have 7,000 miles to travel to their probable winter home in Brazil. Some individuals of most of the species of Warblers desert the United States during the winter and, indeed, there are only a few species that can be found at all in this country during cold weather. The Myrtle Warbler is the hardiest, many wintering regularly as far north as southern New York, while a few may remain in Massachusetts and in Maine, Most of the Palm Warblers spend the winter in the Gulf States; a few Black and White Warblers occur in winter in northern Florida in company with Orange-crowned and Yellow-throated Warblers, some Oven-birds and an occasional Northern Water-Thrush; while, in southern Florida a few Worm- eating, Parula, Black-throated Blue, and Prairie Warblers may be found. The Black and White, Nashville, Orange-crowned, Alyrtle, and .Sycamore Warblers occur during the winter in Texas, principally in the southern part. On the Pacific slope, at this season, Audubon's Warbler ranges north to southern Oregon, and Townsend's Warbler is found in southern California. Most of the species, and by far the larger number of individuals, therefore, go south of the United States in their migration, but the distance they travel varies greatly. The Prairie, Black- throated Blue, Swainson's, Bachman's, Cape May and Kirtland's Warblers go only to the West Indies. The Worm-eating, Myrtle, Magnolia, Chestnut-sided, Black-throated Green, Hooded, Blue- winged, Nashville, Orange-crowned, Parula, Palm, and Wilson's Warblers and the Chat, go no farther than Central America, while many species spend the winter in South America including some, or all the individuals of the Black and White, Prothonotary, Golden- winged, Tennessee, Yellow, Cerulean, Bay-breasted, Blackpoll, Black- burnian, Kentucky, Connecticut, ^Mourning and Canadian Warblers, l6 MIGRATION OF WARBLERS the Redstart, Oven-bird and both the Water-Thrushes. Nearly all the Warblers of the western United States spend the winter in Mexico and the contiguous portions of Central America. Knowing that so many Warblers from the eastern United States spend the cold season in South America, and seeing the cham of islands in the West Indies stretching from Florida to Venezuela, one would suppose these islands to be the principal route of migration between the two countries. As a fact no Warbler takes the shortest course between New England and South America, by a direct flight across the ocean, as is done by many of the water birds, and few Warblers reach South America by way of the West Indies. The BlackpoU and the Connecticut Warbler are probably the only ones that use this route regularly and commonly, while the rest of the Warblers of the eastern United States, follow along the coast to Florida, then make a long flight across the Gulf of Mexico and thus, by a roundabout course through Central America, reach their winter home in South America. In the case of the Yellow Warbler, the route actually followed is about two thousand miles longer than a straight course across the Atlantic Ocean, The reasons for taking the longer journey seem to be the impossibility of making so long a single flight (2,500 miles) as would be required by the direct course from New England to Venezuela and the scarcity of food in the West Indies due to the small size of the eastern islands. The Warblers are night migrants ; the hundred-mile trip between Florida and Cuba is apparently always made at night and at such a speed that, in spring migration, many birds leaving Cuba after sun- set, arrive on the Florida coast before midnight. The longer flight, five to seven hundred miles, across the Gulf of Mexico is also evidently made in a single night without stop or rest. How long a journey is made each night when the bird is flying over land is as yet unknown. But either the flight is short or else, after a single night's journey, the bird stops for several days to feed, for the general advance of a species in its northward migration is only a few miles per day. The Black-and-White Warbler, an early migrant, averages only thirteen miles per day and occupies a whole month in the journey from North Carolina to Massachusetts. The late migrants move faster and the Canadian Warbler, one of the latest, averages thirty miles per day and in a month crosses the whole width of the United States from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada. Warblers also perform long migration journeys by day. May- nard (Birds E. N. A., Rev. ed., 1896, 585) describes a flight of MIGRATION OF WARBLERS 17 Warblers observed off the eastern coast of Andros Island, Bahamas, April 26-28, 1884, which lasted three days. Thousands of birds were seen and none of them flew more than twenty feet above the water. This observation is confirmed by Chapman (Bird-Lore, VII, 1905, 140) who writes : "While sailing from Miami, Florida, directly east across the Gulf stream to the Bahamas, in May, 1904, I observed three small bodies of migrating Warblers flying toward Florida. The birds were not so high in the air as we might have expected them to be, but were flying low, within a few feet of the water. "The first group of six or seven birds, among them a Redstart, was seen about 6 a. m.. May 10, when we were some six miles from land, which was still, of course, plainly visible. Later in the day, when we were about midway between the Florida coast and the Biminis, the nearest Bahaman land, a compact flock of seventy five to one hundred Warblers passed us, flying slightly north of west. The birds were not more than ten feet above the water and were evidently not guided by sight in their choice of direction. "On the morning of May 11, as we approached the Bahaman banks, between the Biminis and Great Isaacs, a third group of War- blers was seen, and they, like the two preceding, were flying toward Florida within a few feet of the water." Warblers make the long five hundred mile flight across the Gulf of Mexico from choice, since, if they desired, they could cross from Florida to Cuba and from Cuba to Yucatan without being out of sight of land. So far as now known, no Warbler uses this route in migration, preferring the straight course over the Gulf. It seems probable that even this five hundred mile flight is not severely exhaustive to the average bird as there are good reasons for believing that after crossing the Gulf of Mexico in the spring, many Warblers do not descend to earth as soon as they sight the coast, but continue inland many miles before alighting. The farther north a Warbler goes the faster it migrates. The Blackpoll Warblers that nest in Alaska occupy a month in the thousand-mile trip from Florida to southern Minnesota, or an average of about thirty-five miles per day; while these same birds make the last part of their journey, 2,500 miles to Alaska, in not over two weeks, or at an average speed of at least two hundred miles per day. When Warblers are feeding in the daytime during the migration season, they are continually on the move and their general direction is toward their summer home. This movement is not rapid, a person l8 MIGRATION OF WARBLERS on foot can easily keep up with the shifting flocks, but in the aggre- gate it amounts to quite a portion of the whole distance to be traversed. The northward or southward migration of Warblers is not a constant, uniform movement, but rather a succession of waves. Yesterday the woods were deserted, to-day almost every tree is alive with a flitting host of bright-hued migrants ; in a few hours they have passed, to be followed, at longer or shorter periods, by similar com- panies. Warblers have the peculiar habit, during migration, of collecting in mixed flocks composed of many different species. These com- bined flocks may be large or small, but during the height of the migrating season, it is rather unusual to find a flock composed of a single species. No other group or family of birds presents such com- posite flocks as the Warblers. In northern Minnesota, twenty-three different species, most of them in large numbers, were seen during one forenoon in a single spot in the woods through which they were passing in practically a continuous flock. The Warblers, as a whole, are among the later Spring migrants. Feeding on insects, they remain in their southern homes until Spring is well advanced and their food abundant. Their northward move- ment is more rapid than the advance of the season. Thus some Yellow Warblers arrive in the Great Slave region when the average daily temperature is only 47° F. But these same Warblers remain so late in South and Central America, that when they reach New Orleans, about April 5, an average daily temperature of 65° F. awaits them. Thence northward they hasten, covering one thousand miles in a month, and, moving faster than the advance of Spring, find in southern Minnesota a temperature of 55° F., and when they arrive, late in May, at Great Slave Lake, they have gained 8° more on the season. During the whole trip from New Orleans to Great Slave Lake, these birds are continually meeting colder weather. The last fifteen days they traverse a district that Spring requires thirty-five days to cross. Late and rapid journeys of this kind offer certain advantages; fewer storms are encountered and food is more plentiful along the way. The mortality of birds during the time of migration is very great and probably no other family suffers so severely as the Warblers. Small in size, with loose feathers ill adapted to withstand storm or rain, they nevertheless cross and recross the Gulf of Mexico, which doubtless becomes each year the watery grave of untold thousands. Warblers are peculiarly susceptible to the attraction of a bright light, and on stormy or dark nights during the period of migration, many MIGRATION OF WARBLERS 19 kill themselves by striking light-houses. When the dead birds at the foot of any light-house are examined after a disastrous night, more than half are always found to be Warblers. How the Warblers find their way in the long night journeys is still a disputed point. Some believe that they are guided entirely by sight and that mountain ranges and river courses form prominent land marks to aid in finding the course. Others go to the opposite extreme and attribute to a so-called 'sense of direction,' the bird's wonderful success in retracing its way to the last year's home. Still others think they have explained the case sufficiently when they say the bird finds its way by instinct, while still others deny the efficacy of instinct and affirm that the young birds are led in their southward journey by the old birds, w^ho in turn remember the route from their previous season's passage. All observers are agreed that each Warbler intends to return each year to the general vicinity of the last year's nest and that most of them succeed. Almost as great a diversity of opinion exists as to the reasons for bird migration, both as to its original cause and the factors that at present work for its continuance. There are two general theories in regard to the origin of migration. One, that the birds, originally non-migratory, increased so in numbers that their home became overcrowded and adventurous birds, passing beyond the usual boundaries, found new and congenial nesting sites. From these they were driven by the winter's shortage of food, to return again the following summer. In this view of the case, the place of residence in the winter is the bird's true home, which it deserts in the summer for the purpose of reproduction. The second theory is the direct opposite of the one just given. According to this second theory the nesting-site is the bird's real home, from which it was driven originally by the advancing ice of the Glacial Epoch, and the habit of migration thus induced has been continued through the ages. Both theories base the origin of migration on a failure of the food supply, the one a failure in the winter home and the other in the summer. But whatever the cause, the migration of Warblers as now conducted is at widely different periods. The Myrtle Warbler presses north in the Spring when the trees are still bare of leaves, while the Canadian Warbler forms one of the rear guard, after vegetation has reached nearly full summer luxuriance. Instead of waiting until the winter's cold and a shortage of food compel 20 SONGS OF WARBLERS them to depart, the more southern breedmg individuals of the Summer Warbler and the Redstart begin their fall migration in early July, when the season is warmest, and their insect food supply has not yet reached its maximum. In the light of the foregoing statements, it is no wonder that the study of bird migration has interested naturalists for genera- tions and that the number of students of the migration of birds is steadily increasing. SONGS OF WARBLERS From a purely musical point of view, Warblers, as a family, take low rank as songsters. Nevertheless, the voices of even the technically least-gifted among them often so potently appeal to our memory that, as we hear them, the pleasures of the past are added to our enjoyment of the present. All the sweetness and promise of spring seems stored in Parula's little sizzling gurgle; there is good cheer and sunshine in Yellow Warbler's simple lay; peace and rest in the quaint seeing of the Black-throated Green. The flight songs of the Seiuri and the unique potpourri of the Chat, however, give these Warblers just claim to a place among our leading song-birds. If not great songsters, the Warblers are at least great singers. During the winter, I have heard only the Pine Warbler sing, but all the species, so far as I am aware, sing freely during their migrations and many of them have a second, if brief, song period in the Fall. Acquaintance with their songs is of the greatest assistance in identifying these small, active haunters of the tree-tops, not one in a hundred of which may be satisfactorily seen. It would, therefore, be fortunate for the student of birds with a field-glass if some intelli- gible method of transcribing Warbler's songs could be devised. But, alas ! not only do two people rarely hear the same song alike, but one's best attempts at description after a time are often meaningless to oneself. Still a description of a bird's notes may be an aid to identi- fication, and especial attention has therefore been paid to this phase of Warblers' biographies, while the following classification of War- blers' songs may further assist the student in gaining a clue to the identity of some well-heard but poorly seen singer. A preliminary arrangement places in one group birds which sing more than once or twice from the same perch ; in another, those which pause only while singing and, between songs, continue their search for food or, indeed, sing even while moving. It will be observed SONGS OF WARBLERS 21 that in the first group are included all the terrestrial and sub-terrestrial species, the lowly nature of whose haunts do not meet the require- ments of a singing-perch, and, abandoning for a time their search for insects, they mount to a favoring branch and give themselves wholly to song. As if in reward for their earnestness we find that this group contains all the notable songsters of the family. Class I. Warblers Which Sing While Resting. Group A. Loud, whistled songs. Prothonotary, Swainson's, Olive (?), and Kirtland's Warblers, Pine and Yellow-throated Warblers (sing also while mov- ing). Oven-bird, Northern Water-Thrush, Louisiana Water-Thrush, Kentucky, Connecticut, Mourning, and Macgillivray's Warblers, Northern Yellow-throat and races (sing also while moving), Chat, and probably also Belding's and Rio Grande Yellow-throats. Group B. Warblers tvhich have not loud, zvhistled songs. Tennessee, Cape May, Blackburnian, Palm. Class II. Warblers Which Sing While Feeding. Group A. Songs of the wee-chee or cher-wee type, with a whistled quality. Yellow, Alagnolia, Chestnut-sided, Bay-breasted, Grace's, Palm, Hooded, Canadian and Wilson's Warblers, American Redstart. Group B. Warblers whose songs possess pebbly, twittering notes or which suggest a song of the Chipping Sparroiv or Junco type. Worm-eating, Bachman's, Nashville, Orange-crowned, Tennessee, Virginia's, Myrtle, Audubon's and Palm Warblers. Group C. Warblers in zvhose songs there is a pronounced zee quality. Blue-winged, Golden-winged, Parula, Black-throated Blue, Ceru- lean, Golden-cheeked (?), Black-throated Green, Townsend's, Hermit, and Prairie Warblers. Group D. JVarblers ivith a thin or zviry song. Black and White, Cape May, Blackpoll, Blackburnian. 22 NESTING HABITS OF WARBLERS Class III. Warblers With a Flight Song. Prothonotary, Golden-winged (?), Nashville, Orange-crowned, and Tennessee ( ?) Warblers, Oven-bird, Northern Water-Thrush, Louisiana Water-Thrush, Mourning Warbler, Northern Yellow- throat and races. Worm-eating Warbler, Chat. NESTING HABITS OF WARBLERS Although only the three Seiiiri, among our fifty-five species of Warblers, may be considered truly terrestrial, no less than nine- teen species nest upon the ground, and fifteen more usually nest within less than three feet of it. There is, in general, a relation between the color of the bird and the character of its nesting- site. The terrestrial species are, as might be expected, dull colored, but even among the arboreal species which nest on the ground, striking colors are less frequent than among those which nest in trees. A marked exception to this rule, however, is presented by Setophaga picta, which nests in banks, etc., although the female is indistinguishable from the black and red male. Data do not exist upon which satisfactorily to ascertain the comparative safety of ground and tree sites. While the former are more open to attack by terrestrial predaceous mammals and snakes, a nest in the trees is more likely to be visited by Crows and Jays. On the other hand, the Cowbird appears to be more partial to a nest upon the ground, nearly one-half of the twenty-four species of Warblers in whose nests its tgg has been found being ground nesters. On the whole, we may assume that the tree site is the safer, and the fact that our most abundant Warblers nest in bushes or trees gives this view some support. We have not as yet many intimate studies of the home-life of Warblers but, so far as recorded observations go, it appears that the nest is built by the female to the accompaniment of the male's song. Occasionally the male is permitted to bring a bit of nesting material but he apparently rarely takes part in the con- struction of the home. The male Pine Warbler is said rarely to sit upon the eggs but with this exception, I find no evidence that the male ever assists in incubation. He, however, lives near the nest and may at times feed the female while she is upon it. The period of incubation in Warblers, as far as it has been ascertained, is ten or eleven days, but so little exact information FOOD OF WARBLERS 23 in regard to this subject exists that some variation from this time will doubtless be found. The young are cared for by both parents and leave the nest when from eight to twelve days old, or on the completion of the nestling plumage. In most cases but one brood is reared. FOOD OF WARBLERS BY EDWARD HOWE FORBUSH It is no exaggeration to say that for the preservation of the forests, which supply the raw material for nearly all wood products, man is largely indebted to birds. The service that birds perform in protecting woodland trees against the inroads of injurious insects is more nearly indispensable to him than any other bene- faction that his feathered friends confer, for the money value of woods, while great in the aggregate, is not ordinarily large enough to repay the owners the expense of protecting the trees against insect enemies, even were this possible. A single species of insect may be too much for man to cope with when it infests his woodland. The wild animals and venom- ous serpents of the woods he may exterminate ; but, in spite of all his efforts, insects, dangerous to human life or destructive to property, still infest the land. Dr. A. S. Packard enumerates over four hundred species of insects that feed upon our oaks. All other forest trees have many enemies of their own. Insects attack all parts of the tree, and in so many insidious ways that man cannot hope to check them all. Were the natural enemies of insects annihilated, every tree of the woods would be threatened with destruction and we would be powerless to prevent the impending calamity. We might save a few orchards and shade trees ; we might find means to raise some vegetables; but the protection of all the trees in all the woods would be beyond our powers. It may be profitable to spray orchards with insecticides but it does not pay to spray wood-lots ; to say nothing of the expense of the manual labor that must be utilized in combating insects that cannot be reached by ordinary insecticides. So we must leave the protection of the woods to birds and other natural enemies of injurious insects. Birds attain their greatest usefulness in woodlands, mainly because the conditions prevailing there closely approach the nat- 24 FOOD OF WARBLERS ural, and organic nature has a chance to adjust her balances with- out much human interference. Warblers are among the most useful birds of the woods, for to them mainly is given the care of the foliage. Trees cannot live without leaves. Lepidopterous larvae, commonly called caterpillars, are among the greatest of leaf-destroyers. They form a great part of the food of Warblers and are fed very largely to their young. As the spring waxes warm and merges into summer, the open- ing buds and growing leaves are attacked by a succession of cater- pillars of dififerent species, which, were they not checked by birds, would soon strip all trees of their foliage and keep them stripped throughout the season. Trees breathe through their leaves and, lacking them for a considerable period, they must die. Coniferous trees are killed by a single defoliation. Deciduous trees last longer but the end is sure. Warblers save the leaves by constantly pursuing and killing caterpillars. While living in the woods year after year I have been greatly impressed by the vast annual uprising of these pests and the strong repressive influence exerted by the Warblers upon their increase. Each brood of hundreds of caterpillars that hatches from the hidden egg-cluster is soon so reduced in number that very few live to maturity and, even though the survivors may riddle many leaves, the trees remain practically uninjured and the woods maintain their luxuriant summer verdure. Thus the presence of Warblers in woodlands goes far towards preserving the trees for their owner. Even should the caterpillars stop short of killing the defoliated trees, the lumberman would still owe to the birds such profit as accrues from woodlands, for without their aid the trees would be so reduced in growth that they would yield no profit. While a tree is stripped of its leaves it makes no wood growth. The wood-ring for that year is smaller than usual, and the annual profit on the tree is proportionately decreased. Warblers never receive credit for the good they do, because the insects that they eat are mainly of small size, and the majority of larger species eaten by them are taken in infancy and before they have had a chance to work noticeable injury. Warblers destroy many of the young larvae of such great and destructive insects as the Cecropia and Polyphemus moths while these insects are still too small to attract attention. These larvae which were so FOOD OF WARBLERS 25 injurious on the "tree claims" of the prairie States before arboreal birds became abundant there, are almost never numerous enough to be destructive where such birds are plentiful. The fact that Warblers do away with these insects while the caterpillars are still very small and before they have had a chance to do any real injury, is of great economic significance. It may yet place them on a par, as regards usefulness, with the Cuckoo and other larger birds, which are considered to be among the most useful caterpillar hunt- ers, but which probably prefer the larger caterpillars ; for the Warbler, notwithstanding its small size, may be able to destroy more individual caterpillars in their infancy than even the Cuckoo can devour after the same caterpillars have increased several hun- dred times in size. Warblers are mainly insectivorous and most species cannot live long without insect food. Hence their economic position is quite different from that of the Vireos, Thrushes, or Sparrows, for example, for these can live either largely or entirely for consider- able periods on vegetable food. Warblers are obliged to spend a great part of their time in a continual hunt for insects. Digestion in most small birds is con- tinuous and the stomach is filled many times each day. It is some- times so packed with food that when one is dissected the contents will expand to twice, or, as Professor F. E. L. Beal tells me, nearly three times, the size of that organ. It would seem impossible for digestion to go on under such circumstances, but it nevertheless progresses so rapidly that, unless the food supply is constantly replenished, the stomach is soon empty. The capacity of Warblers for consuming the smaller insects may be shown by the statement of a few facts. According to Dr. S. D. Judd, Mr. Robert H. Coleman stated in a letter to the Biological Survey, that he counted the number of insects caught by a Palm Warbler and found that it varied from forty to sixty per minute. He says "the bird spent at least four hours on our piazza, and in that time must have gathered in about nine thousand, five hundred insects."^ Of course the insects in this case must have been very small ; but some of the greatest pests are small at maturity, as, for instance, the Hessian fly and the wheat midge, — insects which ^ The Birds of a Maryland Farm, by Sylvester D. Judd, Bulletin No. 17, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Division of Biological Survey, p. 104. 26 FOOD OF WARBLERS have caused losses of hundreds of milHons of dollars to the wheat growers of the United States. My former assistant, Mr. F. H. Mosher, one day observed a pair of Northern Yellow-throats feeding upon the aphis that infests the gray birch. One of these birds ate eighty-nine of these tiny insects in a minute. Mr. Mosher watched the pair eating at this rate for forty minutes, and states that they must have eaten over seven thousand plant-lice in that time.- His field-notes also give instances where numbers of caterpillars of considerable size were eaten within very brief periods, by Warblers. A Chestnut-sided Warbler was seen to capture and eat, in fourteen minutes, twenty-two gipsy caterpillars, that were posi- tively identified, and other insects that could not be seen plainly were taken during that time. A Nashville Warbler ate forty-two of these caterpillars in thirty minutes, with many other insects as well, that either could not be plainly seen or fully identified. A Northern Yellow-throat was seen to eat fifty-two caterpillars within a short time. A Chestnut-sided Warbler took twenty-eight browntail cater- pillars in about twelve minutes. When we consider that the short hairs on the posterior parts of this caterpillar are barbed like the quills of a porcupine and will penetrate the human skin, causing excessive irritation and painful eruptions, we may well wonder if the little bird lived to repeat this performance. But many small birds eat these caterpillars at a time when probably the noxious hairs have not fully developed, and others seem to have learned to divest the larger caterpillars of their hairs by beating and sliaking their prey and thus loosening the hairs, which are shed as the por- cupine sheds its quills. The insect is then eaten with impunity and even fed to young birds. Still other birds reject the external parts of the larvae and, tearing them open, eat only small portions of their viscera. A Black and White Warbler was seen to take twenty-eight of these caterpillars in ten minutes and probably took many more. A Yel- low Warbler ate thirty-three canker worms in a little over six minutes. Practically all the Warblers feed very largely at times on measuring worms and other hairless caterpillars. I once noticed ^Birds as Protectors of Woodlands, by E. H. Forbush, Forty-eighth Annual Report of the Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture, 1900, p. 303. FOOD OF WARBLERS 27 that in an orchard infested by canker worms, those trees nearest some woods were soon cleared of the worms, mainly by Warblers, which came from the woods and sprout-land to feed upon them. Among the favorite caterpillars eaten by Warblers are those of the Tortricidse, or leaf rollers, which birds are very expert in taking from their places of concealment in the rolled-up leaves. The little case-bearing caterpillars, which are at times so injurious to fruit, shade, and forest trees, also are eaten by Warblers. The larvae of the night-flying owlet moths (Noctuidae), which include the army worm and the various cutworms, are not so often eaten by Warblers, but such species as climb trees are attacked by these birds while the ground Warblers probably feed on cutworms to some extent. There are some caterpillars that are supposed to have a cer- tain immunity from the attacks of birds, either because they are protected by spines, covered with hair, or secrete acrid or other distasteful or poisonous matter which renders them unfit for food. The families of silk-spinning moths, formerly collectively known as the Bombycidae, but now subdivided into many groups, include a number of the insects most injurious to fruit, shade, and forest trees. The larvae of these insects are hairy. It is widely believed that such caterpillars are never troubled by more than a very few species of birds. But I have learned by observation that in these cases, as in many others, protection often fails to protect. I now believe that when these caterpillars are very young and small, most W^arblers eat them with avidity, for they can do so with impunity at this time when the hairs or spines have not developed sufficient strength to be disagreeable. The forest tent-caterpillar and the apple-tree tent-caterpillar are two hairy native species, while the caterpillars of the brown- tail moth and the gipsy moth, previously mentioned, are two very destructive introduced species. All of these are eaten by most of the commoner Warblers of New England. The two imported species were fought for years by the Massachusetts State Govern- ment, which expended more than a million dollars and then gave up the fight. These two pests are now beyond the bounds of Mas- sachusetts and may be expected to spread over a great part of the United States, in spite of the fact that the fight against them has now been renewed in Massachusetts and taken up in other states. These insects have now become pests of the orchard, garden and forest, feeding on nearly all kinds of trees and vegetation. 28 FOOD OF WARBLERS They are even more destructive here than they ever were in Europe, for here they have escaped most of their native enemies. Hence those American birds that have learned to eat them may prove of great economic value. It happens that the browntail larvae emerge from the egg in the fall, at a time when the Warblers that breed in the Canadian Provinces and the northern tier of states are returning southward in migration, while the gipsy larvae begin to hatch as the spring migration begins. The Warblers, in both cases, appear at just the right time and destroy the small larvae by thousands. The tent-caterpillar and the forest caterpillar also are attacked by them during the spring, and eaten in considerable numbers. The larvae of butterflies are taken as well as the pupae and imagoes of many Lepidoptera. Warblers, how- ever, in their selection of food are not confined to any one order of insects. They are well fitted to pursue and capture any of the smaller insects, except those that hide in the ground or in the solid wood, and even they are in danger if they ever show themselves in daylight outside their chosen retreats. The habits and haunts of the Warblers are so varied that, collectively, the species of this family exert a repressive influence on nearly all orders of insects, from those that live on or near the ground to those that frequent the very tree-tops. The Oven-birds, Water-Thrushes, Yellow-throats, and the other ground Warblers search the ground, the fallen leaves, and undergrowth for the species most commonly found there as well as those that fall from the trees. Where grasshoppers are plentiful the ground Warblers sometimes feed largely on them. The bugs that are found so often on berry bushes, are not overlooked, notwithstanding their rank taste, which is so well known to all who have picked blueberries from the bushes. The eggs of bugs are also eaten. Another family belonging to this order (Hemiptera), which is often prominent among the food of Warblers, is the Aphididae or plant-lice, previously mentioned. Most Warblers probably eat certain of these insects or their eggs. Each of these eggs may represent the future form of plant-louse known as the Stem Mother which, no mishap occurring to shorten the natural life of her descendants, would, according to Huxley, produce in ten genera- tions a mass of plant-lice equal in bulk to that of five hundred million human beings, or the population of the Chinese Empire. A few species of Warblers eat bark lice and scale insects. FOOD OF WARBLERS 29 Beetles (Coleoptera) form a varying part of the food of Warblers. While a few beneficial species are eaten, the vast majority taken are believed to be either neutral or injurious. The useful lady- bugs (Coccinellidse) apparently are seldom eaten. The tiger beetles and the larger useful ground beetles ( Cicindelidae and Carabidae) are not much sought by Warblers. Many of the injurious bark beetles and other boring beetles are greedily eaten. Bark beetles (Scolytidae) are among the most insidious and deadly enemies of trees. They often complete the destruction of trees that have been defoliated by caterpillars. Unable, as they usually are, to live in the most thrifty and vigorous trees, a tree is no sooner weakened by the loss of its leaves, than these beetles are attracted to it. Their eggs are soon deposited and the resulting larvae bore away among the vital tissues of the tree along the inner surface of the bark. If their increase is not checked, a year or two of their work is sufficient to destroy the noblest trees of the forest. The Warblers, however, attack these borers as they mature and emerge from their burrows in the pair- ing season. The Black and White Warbler, which in summer takes the place so well filled in winter by the Brown Creeper, prob- ably leads in the destruction of bark beetles, but many other species eat them, and thus the Warblers again come to the rescue of the trees. Warblers are not only useful in woodland by destroying bor- ers, they are valuable also in orchards. Professor S. A. Forbes found that fifteen Warblers shot in an orchard infested by canker worms in Illinois, had all eaten Cerambycid beetles, or borers, to the amount of ten per cent, of their stomach contents. Other important elements of the food of Warblers at times are the destructive click beetles and weevils. Leaf-eating beetles also are eaten. Many Hymenoptera are taken by the flycatching Warblers, such as the Redstart and other species that capture much of their food on the wing. Some of the wasps and bees taken are bene- ficial, but they are probably most useful when kept within proper bounds by the birds. At times considerable numbers of hymen- opterous parasites are taken. It is probable, however, that the larger numbers of these useful insects are found in the stomachs of Warblers only when the para- sites are unduly abundant. A surplus of these insects is of no 30 FOOD OF WARBLERS benefit and must always die without issue, even if they are not eaten by birds. Birds eat not only the useful primary parasites but the injur- ious secondary parasites that feed on primary parasites. Hence it is questionable whether birds ever do much harm by destroying parasitic hymenoptera, except by some unlucky accident. What- ever injury they may do in this way is probably offset by their destruction of injurious ants. Caddice flies and May flies are eaten by Warblers. In addition to the insect food, some spiders, myriapods, and snails are taken. Spiders are useful creatures, but if one will go out into the woods and fields some dewy or foggy morning in fall and observe how spiders' webs cover the fields, how they drape the trees, and net the shrubbery, he will see how essential it is that they be held in check lest a spider-plague overwhelm the land. Dr. Judd tells us that he found that ninety-six per cent, of the food in the stomach contents of fifty-three Warblers taken on a Maryland farm, consisted of insects, and that the arboreal Warb- lers, other than the Myrtle Warbler are almost purely insectivor- ous. Still some Warblers are able to subsist for a brief time on vegetable food mainly. Audubon tells us that in May, 1808, during a light fall of snow in Pennsylvania, he took five Chestnut-sided Warblers that had eaten nothing but grass seeds and a few small spiders. Occasion- ally small seeds or remains of wild berries are found in the stomachs of Warblers, more particularly those of the ground-fre- quenting species ; but I have examined the digestive tract of Warb- lers taken in the height of the berry season and found only insects and spiders. The Myrtle Warbler, that hardy little bird that so often winters in the north, eats very freely of the fruits of the bayberry, waxberry or myrtle, and cedar : remains of grapes are some- times found in their stomachs and small seeds are not disdained. The Pine Warbler is said to feed on the seed of pine trees in winter, and I have seen it eat suet almost as freely as does the Chick- adee. On the whole, however. Dr. Judd rightly regards the Warblers as insectivorous, and the value to man of those species that nest in or near an orchard or shade trees is not likely to be overesti- mated. The enormous number of insects that breeding Warblers must secure to feed their young may be inferred from the fact that FOOD OF WARBLERS 31 each young bird requires fully half its own weight of insects each day. As the young are fed very largely on caterpillars, and as they are reared at a time when these insects are most plentiful there is no doubt regarding the restraining influence exerted upon the increase of such insect life throughout the North Temperate Zone by a family of birds so abundant and widely distributed as the Warblers. The usefulness of these birds in migration consists in their eminently insectivorous habits and in the power possessed by them, in common with most other birds, of assembling quickly where food is plentiful. They thus form a sort of aerial police whose chief function is to put down uprisings of injurious insects. Such insects are of little importance except where they appear in abnormal numbers. Wherever this occurs a counter-check is needed, at once, lest by the geometrical progression of their increase they overwhelm all opposition and sweep everything before them. The migrating Warblers form such a counter-check. They sweep over the country always on the watch for an abundant food supply. Wherever food is plentiful the birds gather. Find a great swarm of young caterpillars or birch plant-lice in the spring and there you will find, in their seasons, practically all the Warblers that pass through that region. The reduction of the numbers of insects by migrating Warb- lers may be illustrated by a leaf or two from my own experience. In the spring of 1903, an old field in Concord, Massachusetts, grown up to birches, was much infested by plant-lice. Although the spring flight of Warblers was small, these birches were fre- quented by them. In the fall migration the birch field was again the gathering place of Warblers, although elsewhere in the woods the flight of birds was so meagre as to be hardly apparent. In 1904 the aphids were somewhat reduced in number, but the birds followed them up, as in the previous year, until, late in October, most of the plant-lice had disappeared, and the Myrtle Warblers, the latest migrants, leaving the birches, attacked other plant-lice on the wild apple trees. Since then comparatively few birch plant- lice have been seen in the field. This may have been partly due to the action of predaceous insects, parasites, or to adverse meteor- ological conditions, but the efifect produced by the birds was very marked. One fine Sunday in October, 1904, I saw a flock of Warblers about a few poplar trees near the river. They were feeding on swarms of a mature aphis. I watched them at intervals all day. z^ FOOD OF WARBLERS The flock seldom exceeded fifteen birds, mostly BlackpoU and Myrtle Warblers. Before night the swarms of insects that had been so numerous in the morning had dwindled so that it was rather difficult for me to secure a specimen, although the birds still found some. When I went there the next morning a single remain- ing bird was still finding a few, but I could not see a specimen nor have I seen one there since. In 1905 I returned to my home at Wareham, Massachusetts, the first week in November, and found a flock of Myrtle Warblers busily hunting over the limbs and twigs of some apple trees and pear trees near my house. From the actions of the birds, I con- cluded that they had discovered an outbreak of some pest, but at first I could see nothing on the twigs that they were inspecting. By watching them with the glass, however, I soon saw exactly where they were finding food. Then by stepping up to a bird quickly and driving it away before it could seize the object of its quest, I saw that it was feeding on a minute cicada-shaped, black insect. This, indeed, was the only species of living insect I could find on those trees. Three of these insects were secured, and two were sent to Dr. L, O. Howard, chief of the Bureau of Entomol- ogy at Washington. He identified them as the imago of the pear- tree Psylla, a pest which has been very destructive to pear orchards in Maryland and New Jersey. I learned that the birds had been visiting these trees for about two weeks. At the time of my return they had evidently disposed of most of the last brood of the season, for, although they were still finding a good many on the day of my return, they found very few afterwards though they visited the trees daily for a week longer. These insects hibernate on the trees by hiding in the crevices between the twigs and are thus exposed to the attacks of birds all winter. The above brief and imperfect review represents fairly well our knowledge of the economic relations of American Warblers. Probably we shall never have an authentic and scientifically accurate account of the percentages of the component parts of the food of each species, until the investigation of their food is taken up by the Division of Biological Survey of the United States Department of Agricul- ture, where the greatest study of the food of birds the world has ever seen is now being made. Enough is known, however, to war- rant the belief that our Warblers are deserving of all the pro- tection man can afford them. MORTALITY AMONG WARBLERS 33 MORTALITY AMONG WARBLERS The death-rate among North American Warblers is doubtless higher than that which prevails in any other family of American birds. Their nest mortality is probably above the average while a variety of unfavorable conditions encountered during their exceptionally extended migrations, often cause them to perish by tens of thousands. A discussion of the comparative safety of terrestrial and arboreal nesting-sites will be found under the head of the 'Nesting Habits of Warblers', here I may simply enumerate the enemies of Warblers while in the nest. Chief among them are foxes, skunks, weasels, martens, opossums, squirrels, cats, snakes, crows, jays, and, except among the more northern species, probably most fatal of all, the Cowbird. Cowbirds' eggs have now been recorded from the nests of no less than twenty-four species of North American Warblers. These species are included in the appended list which is based in the main on Bendire (Life Histories of North Ameri- can Birds) : Black and White Warbler, Prothonotary Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, Blue-winged Warbler, Golden-winged Warbler, Nashville Warbler, Lucy's Warbler, Northern Parula Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Cerulean Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Black- throated Green Warbler, Golden-cheeked Warbler, Prairie Warb- ler, Oven-bird, Northern Water-Thrush, Louisiana Water-Thrush, Kentucky Warbler, Northern Yellow-throat, Chat, Hooded Warb- ler, and Redstart. The Cowbird's habit of selecting as a host a bird smaller than itself is doubtless responsible for this long list of victims. The Warblers may build cunningly concealed nests upon the ground, they may place them in the densest thickets, or in trees at a height of over eighty feet, it is apparently all one to this bird, which, never having had a home of its own, has formed no attachment for any particular site. It is not unusual to find three Cowbird's eggs in a single nest, and, in one instance, four are recorded. Only the Yellow Warbler appears habitually to avoid incu- bating the intruded egg by building a second, and, should occasion require, a third story to its home, and the fact that with other species the unfortunate Warblers devote the nesting season to the care of their foster children makes this form of persecution far more serious than the loss of merely eggs, which may be replaced by a second or third laying. 34 MORTALITY AMONG WARBLERS During the nesting season, Warblers sometimes suffer, as do other birds, from prolonged wet and cold weather and severe storms, but it is while they are migrating that they are most exposed to danger from the elements. None of our land birds are greater travelers than the Warblers. Journeying by night and crossing large bodies of water, they sometimes encounter storms with which they are ill-prepared to contend, and die in countless numbers. From a large amount of literature on this subject I extract only one or two descriptions of catastrophes of this nature. In a paper entitled 'On Some Causes Affecting the Decrease of Birds' (Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club, VI, 1881, 189), H. W. Henshaw quotes the account of an eye-witness who writes : "Two years ago there was a heavy storm, lasting some twenty-four hours. It occurred during the first week in September, and the eastern shore of Lake Michigan was strewn with dead birds. I took some pains to count those in a certain number of yards, and estimated that if the eastern shore was alike through all its length, over half a million of birds were lying dead on that side of the lake alone." Added remarks show that many of the birds were Warblers. On the Gulf of Mexico, A. M. Frazar {Ibid., p. 250) chanced to observe one of doubtless many similar occurrences, which he described as follows : "April 2, 1881, found me in a small schooner on the passage from Brazos de Santiago, Texas, to Mobile, Alabama. At about noon of that day the wind suddenly changed from east to north, and within an hour it was blowing a gale ; we were now about thirty miles south of the mouths of the Mississippi River, which would bring the vessel on a line with the river and the peninsula of Yucatan. Up to the time the storm commenced the only land birds seen were three Yellow-rumped Warblers {Dendroica coronata) that came aboard the day previous, keeping us company the most of the day ; but within an hour after the storm broke they began to appear, and in a very short time birds of various species were to be seen in all directions, singly and in small flocks, and all flying towards the Mississippi River. These birds, of course, must have been far overhead and only came down near the surface of the water in endeavoring to escape from the force of the wind. By four o'clock it had come to be a serious matter with them, as the gale was too strong for them to make scarcely any progress. As long as they were in the trough of the sea the wind had very MORTALITY AMONG WARBLERS 35 little effect on them, but as soon as they reached the crest of a wave it would catch them up and in an instant they were blown hundreds of yards back or else into the water and drowned. "A great many flew on to the deck of the vessel to be washed about by the next wave that came over the side. Although I made no attempt to count the number of specimens that came aboard, I should estimate them at considerably over a hundred, and a great many more struck the sides and tumbled back into the water. It was sad indeed to see them struggling along by the side of the vessel in trying to pass ahead of her, for as soon as they were clear of the bows, they were invariably blown back into the water and drowned. Most of those that came aboard were washed into the sea again, but the next day we found about a dozen dead bodies that had lodged underneath the galley. The following is a list of the species recognized, and if more time could have been given to observation, I undoubtedly could have made out others." Among the twenty-three species here recorded by Mr. Frazar, twelve are Warblers, as follows : "Black and White Creeper, abun- dant ; Prothonotary Warbler, large numbers ; Worm-eating Warb- ler, large numbers ; Yellow-rumped [=Myrtle] Warbler, a few ; Chestnut-sided Warbler, quite a number; Golden-crowned Thrush [^Oven-bird], a few; Kentucky Warbler, large numbers; Mourn- ing Warbler, large numbers ; Maryland Yellow-throat, very abun- dant; Hooded Warbler, large numbers; Yellow Warbler, quite a number; Redstart, the most abundant." It is, however, not only when migrating over water that War- blers are subject to death by severe storms. Writing from Rock- port, Texas, H. P. Atwater says (Auk, IX, 1892, 303) : "Thousands of Warblers undoubtedly perished here last week during the 'norther', which lasted three days commencing on March 16. "In the evening of that day flocks of Warblers were noticed around the gardens and houses here, and the next day many were found dead or were caught in a half-perished condition. About fifty per cent, of them were Black and White Warblers. (Mniotilta varia). The remainder were about equally divided between Parulas (Compsothlypis americana) and Sycamore Warblers (Dendroica dominica alhilora). Many Sycamore Warblers and Parulas were captured alive in the houses. "On the 19th, among many dead Warblers which were brought to us were a specimen of the Louisiana Water-Thrush {Seiurus 36 MORTALITY AMONG WARBLERS motacilla) and one Hooded Warbler (Wilsonia mitrata). Many Yel- low-rumps were in company with the rest, and, though much tamer than usual, none were found dead or were captured. On the 19th I made a trip for the purpose of observation, and found many Black and White Warblers and Parulas lying dead on the ground at the foot of live-oak trees. From many of the ranches in the country round here, came reports of similar occurrences and many dead birds of the species mentioned have been sent to me." Without giving further instances of similar character, men- tion may be made of large numbers of migrating Warblers which annually meet their death by striking light-houses or light-towers. Serious accidents of this nature occur only during cloudy or foggy nights when the birds, losing their bearings, descend from the height at which they have been migrating. Apparently fascinated by the far reaching rays of light, they fly toward their source and, striking some unilluminated part of the tower, are often killed. Of five hundred and ninety-five birds which were killed by striking the Fire Island Light, Long Island, on the night of September 23, 1887, no less than three hundred and fifty-six were BlackpoU Warblers, and more than half the twenty five species represented were Warblers. (Butcher, Auk, V, 1888, 182). Nevertheless, in spite of this unusual mortality, the Warblers, as a family, remain our most abundant birds, an exhaustless food supply and widespread favorable nesting areas apparently enabling them to hold their own in the face of conditions to which many forms of bird life would succumb. THE Warblers of North America In treating the fifty-five species and nineteen subspecies of War- blers, which have been found north of Mexico, I have followed the order of arrangement adopted by Mr. Ridgway in his 'Birds of North and Middle America', uniformity of method being in my estimation, of more importance than the expression of individual opinion. In the belief, however, that in the work just mentioned, Seiurus was inadvertently inserted between Oporornis and Geoihlypis, I have here placed it before these closely related genera. The inclusion in this book of one hundred and twenty-four colored figures of Warblers is thought to make the presentation of an analytical key to species superfluous. The appended summary of their more striking generic characters and habits may, however, prove useful : SUMMARY OF GENERA 1. Mniotilta (i species) is a black and white creeping Warbler. 2. Helinaia ( i species) is a long-billed, brown, cane-brake Warbler. 3. Helmitheros (i species) is an olive-green, striped-crowned, worm-eating Warbler of dry wooded slopes. 4. Protonotaria (i species) is a golden headed inhabitant of river bottoms. 5. Helminthophila (8 species) contains small, sharp-billed, second growth Warblers, mostly without white wing-bars or tail patches. 6. Compsothlypis (2 species) is grayish blue and nests in hanging 'moss'. 7. Peiicedramus (i species) is an orange or yellow-headed inhabitant of high pine forests in southern Arizona and southward. 8. Dendroica (23 species) contains the Wood Warblers, brightly colored, fluttering birds, with conspicuous white or yellow 38 BLACK AND WHITE WARBLER patches in the tail, usually wing-bars and more or less striking patterns of color; short, rounded cylindrical bill without evident bristles. 9. Seiitnis (3 species) has the large, thrush-like, spotted- breasted, ground-inhabiting, walking Warblers. 10. Oporornis (4 species) has the ground or bush-inhabiting, pale-footed, gray-headed, blackish or brownish breasted Warblers. 11. Geothlypis (2 species) has the black-masked bush and thicket haunting Warblers. 12. Ckamcethlypis (i species) is a chat-like Yellow-throat of southeastern Texas and southward. 13. Icteria (i species) is a large-bodied, big-billed, short- winged, yellow-breasted haunter of thickets. 14. Wilsonia (3 species) contains the yellow-breasted, flycatch- ing Warblers, with flat bills and long rictal bristles. 15. Cardellina (i species) is a short-billed, red-faced, gray- backed, flycatching Warbler of southern New Mexico and Arizona and southward. 16. Setophaga (2 species) has the broad-billed, black, and red or orange flycatching Warblers. Genus MNIOTILTA Vieillot The genus MnioHlta contains but a single species which is distin- guished among the Warblers for its creeper-like habits. As might be expected, so marked a trait is reflected in the bird's form, the bill being proportionately long, slender, and slightly decurved, with the upper mandible usually notched at the tip and projecting over the lower. The hind-toe, in comparison with the middle-toe, is longer and has a stouter nail than in any of our other Warblers. The rictal bristles are very small, the tail is nearly square and, compared with the wing, is rather short. The wing is long and pointed, the three outer primaries being of nearly equal length. In color both sexes are black and white, the male being the blacker, the female, espe- cially in the fall, showing a brownish wash. Black and White Warbler MNIOTILTA VARIA (Linn.) Plate II Distinguishing Characters. — A striped black and white, creeping bird. Length (skin), 4.70; wing, 2.70; tail, 2.00; bill, .50. Plate II 1. Blackpoll Warbler, Adult Male. 4. Black and White Warbler, Male. 3. Blackpoll Warbler, Young and adult in Fall. 2. Blackpoll Warbler, Adult Female. 5. Black and White Warbler, Female. BLACK AND WHITE WARBLER 39 Adult (5* Spring. — Crown black, a white stripe through its center and over each eye; cheeks entirely or largely black; back black striped with white; upper tail-coverts black, their outer webs margined with white; tail blackish, externally margined with gray, usually all but the central pair of feathers with white patches or margins on the inner web at the tip ; wings blackish, externally edged with grayish, tertiaries and coverts black, the first margined, the latter broadly tipped with white forming two wing-bars ; throat black usually with more or less white and with white stripes at either side from the base of the bill; breast and sides streaked black and white, center of the belly white. Adult ^ Fall. — Similar to adult c? in Spring, but with more white on the breast and throat, the latter sometimes wholly white. Young d* Fall. — Similar to adult c^ Fall, but with cheeks entirely or largely white with a black postocular streak; the throat and center of the breast white, the black streaks of the underparts being confined to the sides and under tail-coverts. Adult 2 Spring. — Similar to adult c? in Spring, but above less glossy and more or less washed with brownish, particularly on the rump ; the cheeks grayish or whitish with a brownish tinge sometimes extending to the sides of the throat and breast; below white, the streakings duskier, less sharply defined and confined to the sides and crissum, which, with the flanks, is usually strongly washed with brownish. Resembles young c? but is less distinctly streaked below and shows brownish tinge. Adult 5 Fall. — Similar to adult ? in Spring, but the brownish wash every- where stronger. Young $ Fall. — Not distinguishable from adult ? in Fall. Nestling. — Resembles young $ but black duller, brown stronger and more prevalent, especially on the breast. General Distribution. — Eastern North America, north to New- foundland and the Mackenzie Valley, west to the Rocky Mountains. Summer Range. — Breeds commonly as far south as to New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Iowa ; less commonly to North Carolina, Missouri, and Kansas; locally and rarely in the Gulf States; west regularly to central Texas, central Kansas, and central South Dakota: north to New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Hudson Bay, and Mackenzie (Fort Norman) ; casually to Lesser Slave Lake and Peace River Landing, Athabasca; occurs westward casually in Colo- rado (Boulder, Table Rock,) and in Cahfornia (Farallone Islands, May 28, 1887; Pasadena, October 8, 1895; Arroyo Seco, Los Angeles Co., October 2, 1895 ; Point Lobos, Monterey Co., Sept. 9, 1901 ; Watsonville, Sept. 24, 1903); Washington (Olympia, Sept. 8, 1903). Winter Range. — Northern Florida (St. Augustine), and southern Texas ; south throughout the West Indies to Venezuela and Ecuador. 40 BLACK AND WHITE WARBLER Spring Migration. — A few Black and White Warblers winter in southern Florida, so that the only way of knowing the beginnings of spring migration in that district is from the records of the striking of the birds at the lighthouses. Both at Alligator Reef and at Som- brero Key lighthouses in southern Florida, this species begins to strike early in March. Thence, northward the progress is so slow — an average of twenty miles per day — that it is the middle of May before the species has reached the Gulf of St. Lawrence. PI, ACE Atlantic Coast — Northern Florida Atlanta, Ga. (near) Frogmore, S. C. (near) Raleigh, N. C. (near) Asheville, N. C. (near) French Creek, W. Va Washington, D. C Beaver, Pa Renovo, Pa Germantown, Pa Englewood, N. J Southeastern New York Central Connecticut Eastern Massachusetts Providence, R. I Southern New Hampshire Southern Maine Montreal, Can Quebec, Can St. John, N. B North River, Prince Edward Isl Mississippi Valley — New Orleans, La Helena, Ark Eubank, Ky Brookville, Ind Waterloo, Ind Oberlin, Ohio Detroit, Mich Petersburg, Mich Listowel, Ont Parry Sound District, Ont. . . Ottawa, Ont Southeastern Iowa Chicago, 111 Southern Wisconsin Lanesboro, Minn Elk River, Minn Aweme, Manitoba Fort McMurry, Athabasca . . Fort Chippewyan, Athabasca Fort Simpson, Mackenzie . . . No. of years' record 4 9 4 i6 5 5 6 6 9 7 9 i8 15 15 6 8 9 8 7 3 7 ID 10 9 14 13 12 6 i8 5 II 10 5 5 7 Average date of spring arrival March i6 April 2 April 3 March 27 April 3 April 13 April II April 22 April 28 April 27 April 26 April 28 April 28 April 28 May May May May May May May 5 I 3 9 12 14 17 March 27 March 31 April 4 May 2 April 27 May I April 28 May I May 4 May 7 April 19 April 30 May 2 April 28 May 3 May 9 May 25 Earliest date of spring arrival March 13, March 21, March 29, March 19, March 28, April 6, April 7, April IS, April 20, April 20, April 23, April 22, April 20, April 20, May I, April 27, April 27, May 3, May 10, May 9, May 13, 1885 1899 1887 1894 1891 1892 190S 1891 1899 1889 1902 1896 1896 1896 1897 1899 1897 1890 1895 1895 1889 March 19, March 21, April I, April 3, April 27, April 22, April 24, April 23, April 26, April 30, April 28, 1905 1897 1888 1882 1902 1899 1904 1896 1896 1899 1905 April 23, 1899 April 28, 1897 April 23, 1888 May I, 1886 April 30, 1901 May IS, 1901 May 26, 1893 May 23, 1904 BLACK AND WHITE WARBLER 41 Fall Migration. — The Black and White Warbler is one of the earliest fall migrants; it begins to appear in the Gulf States early in July, and reaches southern Florida by the middle of the month. South of the United States it has been noted in southern Mexico August 13, 1895; in Costa Rica August 10, 1883; and in Colombia, South America, August 21, 1898. PLACE North River, Prince Edward Island. St. John, N. B Southern Maine Southeastern New York Central New Jersey Germantown, Pa Great Falls, Montana Ottawa, Ont Southern Michigan Chicago, 111 Grinnell, Iowa Raleigh, N. C New Orleans, La. (near) Rodney, Miss No. of years' record Average date of last one seen September 4 September 12 September 19 September 24 September 34 October i September 13 September 13 September 22 September 22 October 8 latest date of last one seen September September September October 15, October 12, October 12 September September September September September November October 21 October 3 5, 1887 19, 1891 28, 1898 , 1891 , 1894 , 1885 18, 1889 20, 1887 15, 1892 27, 1896 23, 1889 ID, 1885 , 1897 , 1888 The Bird and its Haunts. — The Black and White Warbler may be said to be generally distributed throughout deciduous woodlands. When migrating it visits the trees of our lawns and orchards but the nature of its nesting site requires less cultivated surroundings. But wherever seen it may be known by striped markings and creep- ing habits. Though it may at times borrow the manners of what may be called the fluttering Warblers, they rarely adopt its characteristic method of running actively up tree-trunks, over and under limbs with all the agility of a true Creeper (Certhia) or Nuthatch. The Pine Warbler clings to the bark of trees, the Yellow-throated Warbler climbs to some extent among the upper branches but in its mode of progression none rivals the Black and White Warbler. When flushed from the nest, the female, with tremulous wings trails painfully over the dead leaves in an evident effort to lead the intruder from her home and its contents. "The Black and White Warbler is a bird of deciduous and mixed growth, rarely found in the dense spruce forests, and more commonly in scrubby second growth than in the big primeval timber. Not com- mon on the higher parts of Mt. Monadnock, even where,— as on the eastern slopes, — the woods are suitable. Fairly common in summer and abundant in migrations everywhere about the mountain's base." (Thayer, MS.) 42 BLACK AND WHITE WARBLER "At Berwyn, Pa., the Black and White Warbler inhabits timbered upland, the rocky wooded hillsides and down to the damp swampy thickets whenever there are sufficient undergrowths of laurel, saplings, etc. It is at all times a woodland bird. "I have frequently seen the male and the female carrying white grubs and white moths to their young; and feed a big lubberly Cow- bird, out of the nest, as late as June 27. Another time, a female fed a young Cowbird, at large, with green grubs taken from the leaves of the chestnut and oak sapling. Three times in as many minutes she dropped morsels down its gluttonous throat, all the while exhiting the most jealous care, guarding it from harm. It was well able to fly." (Burns, MS.) Song. — The Black and White Warbler is not a vociferous singer and its high screeping notes, to which the terms thin and wiry are commonly applied, might readily escape the notice of a person not listening for birds' voices. The sharp pit alarm note is rapidly and loudly repeated when the birds fear for the safety of their young. "The ordinary call-note of the species, both in fall and spring, resembles the syllable dst; it often uttered rapidly, thus: dzt-dst-dst- dst, while the bird is creeping about the trunks and large limbs of trees. The usual song — not uttered in fall, I think — is monotonous, consisting of a single lisping syllable repeated rather rapidly, five or six times. A much rarer song I have heard in spring when much migrational activity was being shown ; this is much more elaborate, and longer than the other. I heard it once in Amite County in July; when the singer may have been a breeding bird" {Allison, MS.) "This Warbler has at least two main songs, both penetrating and perfectly smooth-toned, as well as thin and wiry. The one com- monly described consists of about eight like-toned notes, in barely- separated couplets, with a slight emphasis on the second note of each couplet : Ssee-zvwee-ssee-wzvee-ssee-wwee-ssee-wwee, — uttered neither fast nor slowly. This song seems to be comparatively little subject to variation, though by no means free from it. The other, longer and less common song begins in the same way, but continues, after the six or eight ordinary notes, with two or three somewhat hurried repe- titions of the phrase, all in a slightly richer and more liquid tone, and one or two on a slightly lower key. Thin and slight though it is, this complete song has something of a rollicking sound, and ranks very high among weak-voiced Warbler songs. The Black and White's common call-note, small and rather sharp, is pretty easily recogniz- SWAINSON'S WARBLER 43 able, but it is often reduplicated into a 'chippering' very much like the Black-throated Green's." {Thayer, MS.) Nesting Site. — A depression in the ground at the base of a tree, bush, weeds, stump, rocks, etc., beneath fallen limbs, upturned roots, or in the shelter of a log. Nest. — Bulky, composed of dead leaves, strips of grape-vine or cedar bark, or soft inner bark of other trees, grasses and rootlets and lined with hairs; sometimes more or less roofed. ^SS-^- — 4 or 5, usually 5. Ground color of creamy white to white, heavily and profusely spotted and specked with reddish brown, chestnut, hazel and lavender, tending to form a wreath around large end, but quite evenly marked all over. Many types approach those of the Canadian and Lutescent Warblers, some few specimens exhibit small blotches. The shape is a rounded oval, less pointed than the majority of our Warblers' eggs. Size ; average, .66X.53 ; extremes, .72X.52, .62X.52, .69X.55, .64X.48. (Figs. 3-5.) Nesting Dates.— IredeW Co., N. C, April 18 (J. P. N. ); West Chester, Pa., June 2, young on wing (Jackson) ; New York City, May 18 (F. M. C.) ; New Haven, Conn., May 20- June 4, three eggs, two young (Bishop) ; Cambridge, Mass., full sets of first laying. May 18-30 (Brewster) ; Bangor, Me., May 27- June 21 (Knight) ; Listo- well, Ont., May 23-June 10 (Kelts). Biographical References (i) J. P. N. [orris], a Series of Eggs of the Black and White Warbler, Orn. and 061., XIII, 1888, 183. (2) W. L. Kells, Nesting of some Canadian Warblers, Ottawa Naturalist, XV, 1902, 229. Genus HELINAIA Swainson Helinaia bears a strong general resemblance, both in form and color, to Helmitheros, the bill, however, is longer (nearly equalling the head in length), and much straighter, the arc of the culmen is not convex, its ridge is more developed and sharper, and parts the feathers of the forehead more deeply; the wing is slightly more rounded, the tail-feathers are broader, the under tail-coverts reach to within half an inch, or less, of the the end of the tail, the tarsus is slightly longer than the middle-toe and nail. In Helinaia swainsoni, the single species contained in this genus, the sexes are alike in color. 44 SWAINSON'S WARBLER > . SwAiNSON's Warbler HELINAIA SWAINSONI Aud. Plate IV Distinguishing Characters. — A brownish bird without white in wings or tail; sexes alike. Length (skin), 5.00; wing, 2.80; tail, 1.95; bill, .60. Adult cf. Spring. — Crown cinnamon-brown, forehead with a more or less indistinct bufFy median streak ; a whitish line over the eye and a dusky streak through it ; back olive-brown ; tail the same without white patches ; wings, like back, without white bars or edgings ; underparts whitish more or less tinged with yellowish, the sides grayer ; bill brownish, legs flesh-color. Adult (S, Fall. — Not seen; doubtless not materially different from the last. Young (?, Fall. — Doubtless similar to adult c^ in Fall. Adult 2, Spring. — Similar to adult c^ in Spring. Adult $, Fall. — Not seen, doubtless resembles Spring ?. Young 2, Fall. — Similar to $ in Spring. Nestling. — Above cinnamon-brown, paler below, the belly whitish. General Distribution. — Eastern United States; north to Virginia and Indiana; west to the Mississippi River. Summer Range. — This is one of the rarer Warblers of the United States ; its breeding range on the Atlantic coast extends from northern Florida (the lovi^er Suwanee River) to Virginia (Dismal Swamp). It is strictly a swamp lover and along the Gulf coast to Louisiana, it is not uncommon in the few localities that seem suited to its habits. Thence it ranges up the Mississippi River to southeastern Missouri, and up the Wabash to Knox county, Indiana. Accidental twice in Texas (Navarro county, August 24, 1880; Port Bolivar, April 17, 1904) and once in Mexico (Vera Cruz, winter, 1887-88). Winter Range. — So far as known, Jamaica, where it has been taken from October i to April 8. Spring Migration. — The earliest recorded spring arrival in the United States was on March 22, 1890 on the lower Suwanee River. The same year the species was taken at the Tortugas, March 25 to April 5. The other records of the first arrival in spring are: Som- brero Key lighthouse April 3, 1889; Savannah, Ga., April 8-16, 1894; Kirkwood, Ga., May 4, 1898; Frogmore, S. C., April 1-5, 1885; New Orleans, La., April 8, 1898; April i, 1904: March 30, 1905; Bayou Sara, La., April 8, 1887; Coosada, Ala., April 12, 1878. Fall Migration. — This begins rather late when compared with the date of nesting. Fledged young have been seen near Charleston, S. C, by June 9, but the earliest date of striking at Sombrero light- house is August 17, 1888; other dates at this lighthouse extend from September 14, 1884, to October 26, 1885, and at Key West, Fla., from the middle of September to September 20. igs. 3 - 5- 6, 7. 8. 9- II. 12 14. 15 17- Black and White Warbler. Prothonotary Warbler. Swainson's Warbler. Worm-eating Warbler. Blue-winged Warbler. Golden-winged Warbler. Figs. 18-20. Lucy s Warbler. 21, 22. Virginia's Warbler. " 23-25. Nashville Warbler. " 26-28. Lutescent Warbler. " 29, 30. Tennessee Warbler. " 31. 32. Parula Warbler. SWAINSON'S WARBLER 45 The Bird and its Haunts. — Swainson's Warbler has an interest- ing history. Discovered by Bachman near Charleston, S. C, in 1832, the bird remained virtually unknown until 1878. In the intervening years, it is true, four additional specimens had been taken (see Brewster^) but nothing was published concerning its habits until Brown^ observed it in Alabama, on April 12 of the last-named year. During the six following years the species was detected in Texas, and again near Charleston, but it was not until 1884 that, with the excep- tion of Bachman's and Brown's observations, we had any information of this bird in nature. In that year through the definitely directed efforts of Brewster^ and Wayne^ it proved to be a locally common species near Charleston, as it has since been found to be in many other places, and it is from Brewster's account of his field work in the spring of the year mentioned that the following extracts are made : "While the facts already given prove incontestably that the present species may occur at times in dry, scrubby, woods, or even in such open situations as orange groves, it certainly haunts by prefer- ence the ranker growth of swamps, to which, indeed, it appears to be confined during the nesting season. * * * The particular kind of swamp to which he is most partial is known in local parlance as a 'pineland gall.' It is usually a depression in the otherwise level sur- face, down which winds a brook, in places flowing swiftly between well-defined banks, in others divided into several sluggish channels, or spreading about in stagnant pools, margined by a dense growth of cane, and covered with lily leaves or other aquatic vegetation. Its course through the open pinelands is sharply marked by a belt of hardwood trees nourished to grand proportions by rich soil and abundant mois- ture. * * * More extensive swamps, especially those bordering the larger streams, are subject to inundations, which, bringing down deposits of alluvial soil, bury up or sweep away the humbler plants, leaving a floor of unsightly mud, interspersed with pools of stagnant water. Such places answer well enough for the Prothonotary and Hooded Warblers, which, although essentially swamp-lovers, are not to any extent terrestrial; but you are not likely to find Swainson's Warbler in them, unless about the outskirts, or in islands elevated above the reach of the floods. Briefly, four things seem indispensable to its existence, viz., water, tangled thickets, patches of cane, and a rank growth of semi-aquatic plants. * * =*= "When not singing Swainson's Warbler is a silent, retiring bird, spending nearly his entire time on the ground in the darkest recesses of his favorite swamps, rambling about over the decaying leaves or 46 SWAINSON'S WARBLER , ., among the rank water-plants in search of small beetles which consti- tute his principal food. His gait is distinctly a walk, his motions gliding and graceful. Upon alighting in the branches, after being- flushed from the ground, he assumes a statuesque attitude, like that of a startled Thrush. While singing he takes an easier posture, but rarely moves on his perch. If desirous of changing his position, he flies from branch to branch, instead of hopping through the twigs in the manner of most Warblers. * * * "Judging by my personal experience^ Swainson's Warbler is at all times a singularly unsuspicious bird." In Mississippi, Allison (MS.) writes that Swainson's War- bler is "Everywhere a bird of the cane-brakes — not the heavy river- swamp brakes of Arundinaria gigantea, but the thick patches of A. tecta. These are found in the borders of the deep river swamps, and in the low, rich, parts of somewhat less swampy woods. This Warbler, like the Worm-eating, is constantly rustling among the leaves; but it is nearly always on the ground that it seeks its food, among the fallen leaves at the roots of the trees." Song. — "A bird emerged from a thicket within a few yards of me, where he had been industriously searching among the fallen leaves, flew into a small sapling, and gave utterance to a loud, ring- ing and very beautiful song. * * * j ^^g impressed by the absorbed manner in which this bird sings. Sitting quietly upon a limb of a small tree, he suddenly throws back his head and pours forth his notes with utmost fervor and abandon. During the intervals of silence he remains motionless, with plumage rufifled, as if com- pletely lost in musical reverie." (Brown^.) "A performance so remarkable that it can scarcely fail to attract the dullest ear, while it is not likely to be soon forgotten. It consists of a series of clear, ringing whistles, the first four uttered rather slowly and in the same key, the remaining five or six given more rapidly, and in an evenly descending scale, like those of the Canon Wren (Catherpes mexicanus conspersus. In general effect it recalls the song of the Water-Thrush (Seiurus noveboracensis.) It is very loud, very rich, very beautiful, while it has an indescribably tender quality that thrills the senses after the sound has ceased. "It is ventriloquial to such a degree that there is often great difficulty in tracing it to its source. * * * jj^ addition to its song this Warbler utters a soft fchip indistinguishable from that of Parula americana, but wholly unlike the cry of any ground Warbler of my acquaintance. I heard this note on only one occasion, when the bird SWAINSON'S WARBLER 47 was excited OA^er some disturbance in the shrubbery, perhaps the presence of a snake. "Although a rarely fervent and ecstatic songster, our little friend is also a fitful and uncertain one. You may wait for hours near his retreat even in early morning or late afternoon, without hearing a note. But when the inspiration comes he floods the woods with music, one song often following another so quickly that there is scarce a pause for breath between. In this manner I have known him sing for fully twenty minutes, although ordinarily me entire performance occupies less than half that time. Such outbursts may occur at almost any hour, even at noontide, and I have heard them in the gloomiest of weather, when the woods were shrouded in mist and rain." (Brewster.^) Nesting Site. — "The nests are generally built in canes, but I have also found them in small bushes, and, in one instance, in a climb- ing vine by the side of a large public road. The height from the ground varies from two to eight feet, but they are always near or over a pond of water." (Wayne.^) Perry*,*' has found nests in scrub palmettos, myrtle, and gall bushes not always over nor even near running water, but as often on high, dry land. Nest. — "The nest is a remarkable affair — very large, made of M'ater-soaked leaves of the sweet gum, water oak, holly and cane, lined with needles of the pine trees and a little dry moss. The stems of the leaves point upwards, and the nest can easily be mistaken for a bunch of old leaves lodged in the top of a cane." ( Wayne. ^) Eggs. — 3 or 4, very rarely 4. Ground color white, creamy white and bluish white, unmarked, little or no gloss; in shape very blunted at small end. Size; average, .75X.59 ; extremes, .79X.57, .72X.59, .77X.61, .75X.55- ^Fig. 8.) Nesting Dates. — Charleston, S. C, May 7-Jwly 6 (Wayne.) Biographical References (i) N. C. Brown, A List of Birds Observed in Central Alabama. Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club, III, 1878, 172. (2) William Brewster, Swainson's Warbler [in So. Car.], Auk, II, 1885, 65. (3) A. T. Wayne, Nesting of Swainson's Warbler in South Carolina, Orn. and 061., XI, 1886, 187. (4) T. D. Perry, Nesting of Swainson's Warbler [near Savannah, Ga.], Orn. and Ool., XI, 1886. 188. (5) C. W. Beckham, Additions to the Avifauna of Bayou Sara, La., Auk, IV, 1887, 305. (6) T. D. Perry, Some Additional Notes on Swainson's Warb- ler, Orn. and 061., XII, 1887, 141. (7) J. P. N[orris], A Series of Eggs of Swainson's Warbler, Orn. and 061., XIII, 1888, 185. 48 WORM-EATING WARBLER > v Genus HELMITHEROS Rafinesque Helmitheros is chiefly distinguished by its stout bill, which, in proportion to the size of the bird, is more robust than in any other genus of this family, except Chamcethlypis; the ridge of the culmen is curved, its base is decidedly ridged and intrudes upon the feathers of the forehead; the bill is unnotched; rictal bristles not evident. The wing is rather pointed, about .80 inches longer than the tail ; the three outer primaries are of nearly equal length; the tail is rather short, the feathers of about equal length, obtusely, but decidedly pointed ; the under tail-coverts are long, reaching to within nearly .50 inches of the end of the tail. The feet are well developed, the tarsus about equalling in length the middle-toe and nail. In Helmitheros verniivorus, the single species contained in this genus, the sexes are alike in color. Worm-eating Warbler HELMITHEROS VERMIVORUS (Gmel.) Pitt* IV Distinguishing Characters. — Head conspicuously striped with black and olive-buff; no white bars or patches; sexes alike. Length (skin), 4.80; wing. 2.80; tail, 1.90; bill, .50. ~ Adult c?. Spring. — Crown with a broad median olive-buff stripe separated from stripes over the eyes, of the same color, by broad stripes of black; a well-marked black or blackish post-ocular stripe, lores sometimes dusky; back, olive-green ; tail olive-green without white ; wings like back, without white, the bend yellowish ; underparts cream-buff, belly, and sometimes throat, whiter. Adult (^, Fall. — Similar to last but buffy areas averaging slightly deeper. Young ^, Fall. — Similar to adult c? in Fall, but tertials lightly tipped with rusty. Adult 5, Spring. — Similar to adult c? in Spring. Adult 2, Fall. — Similar to adult d" in Fall. Young $, Fall. — Similar to young c^. Nestling. — Buffy-cinnamon ; head stripes duskier, wing-quills as in young (^ and $, wing-coverts like back, their bases grayer. General Distribution. — Eastern United States ; north to southern New England and Nebraska; west almost to the Plains. Summer Range. — Common in the heavily timbered bottom lands of Southern Illinois and Indiana and eastward to the lower portions of the valleys of the Hudson and Connecticut rivers. It is not uncom- mon in the lower parts of the Allegheny Mountains from north- western South Carolina to southern New York, and from the Dismal Swamp of Virginia northward. Outside of this usual range it has been taken in Vermont (St. Albans, 1891). Massachusetts (East- hampton, Cambridge, September 19. 1881, Taunton, May 9, 1890) ; WORM-EATING WARBLER 49 New York, (Penn Yan, On on da go ) ; Northern Ohio (Cleveland, May 2, 1873); southern Michigan; southern Wisconsin (Racine, Milwaukee, Lake Koshkonong) ; central Iowa (Des Moines, Grinnell, May 15, 1886) ; southeastern Nebraska (Omaha, Lincoln) ; eastern Kansas (Lawrence, May 6, 1873; Atchinson, May 31, 1899). The species nests rarely south of the latitude of southern Virginia, except in the mountains, but has been recorded as breeding at Raleigh, N. C. ; La Grange, Ala. ; Rodney, Miss., and northern Louisiana. It occurs in migration throughout the Gulf States to eastern Texas. Winter Range. — Southern Florida and eastern Mexico to Pan- ama; Cuba and the Bahamas. Spring Migration. — PI.ACE Atlantic Coast — Northern Florida Raleigh, N. C Asheville, N. C. (near) White Sulphur Springs, W Va. French Creek, W. Va Washington, D. C Beaver, Pa Southeastern New York South Central Connecticut Mississippi Valley — Houston, Tex. . . New Orleans, La. St. Louis, Mo. . . . Brookvrlle, Ind. . . Columbus, O No, of yeans' record 10 4 3 3 6 3 7 3 Average date of spring arrival Earliest date of spring arrival April 9 April 24 April 21 April 28 April 28 May 2 May 4 May 7 May II April 9 April 29 April 23 April 4, 1892 April 19, 1887 April 19, 1893 April 27, 1890 April 25, 1898 . April 29, 1888 April 29, 1902 May 3, 1886 May 10, 1894 April 6, 1881 April 6, 1902 April 26, 1882 April 17, 1896 April 18, 1900 Fall Migration. — The earliest fall migrant was recorded at Key West, Fla., August 30; the average date at which they first strike the Florida lighthouses is September 14. Migration at the mouth of the Mississippi is at about the same time, earliest August 11. The latest migrants are neted at Raleigh, N. C, September 2; near New Orleans, La., September 30; Key West, Fla., about October i. The Bird and its Haunts.— The Worm-eating Warbler appears to be a locally common bird from southern Pennsylvania southward, but is rather uncommon from this point northward. In a degree it is a connecting link between the terrestrial and arboreal Warblers, and feeds both upon the ground and in the trees. In color, voice, and actions it is far too inconspicuous to force itself on our attention and its presence is usually detected only by the watchful. 50 WORM-EATING WARBLER F. L. Burns*' reports it as common, but extremely local, at Berwyn, Pa., where it inhabits the wooded hill-slopes. "I do not remember," he says, "having ever met with it in the open, or in small groves of the bottom lands. It is at home in the second growth timber of the hills, and is very deliberate in its movements, seeming" never in a hurry and yet never idle. Stepping out with dainty tread and bobbing head, it is a really graceful little walker on ground or tree. "The bird exhibits a remarkable love for its chosen nesting haunts, building the second and third nest within a radius of a few hundred feet when disturbed, and returning year after year to the same place if successful in raising a brood. I have not observed a single pair building on the exact site of former years, but on several occasions within a few feet of it. While the female takes the leading part, the male is always present and seems busy, a by no means silent partner in the selection of site and construction of nest. * * * "Incubation does not always commence immediately after com- pletion of set, particularly if the season be young. It is probable that the second night witnesses the beginning of that period and, as far as my experience goes, I believe it is performed by the female alone. The male feeds her when covering newly hatched young. The home- coming of a brooding bird, after a brief airing and feeding, is heralded several hundred yards distant by frequent chips and short flights from branch to branch near the ground, in leisurely fashion and circuitous route, until at length, arriving above the nest, she runs down a sapling and is silent. The bird is a close sitter and if approached from the open front will often allow a few minutes' silent inspection, eye to eye, at arm's length, sometimes not vacating until touched, then she runs off in a sinuous trail, not always feigning lameness before the young are out. When disturbed with young in the nest she flutters ofif with open wings and tail, and failing to lead one off, will return with her mate, who is seldom far off at this period, circling about the nest or intruder, and, if the young are well feathered, she will dash at them, forcing them from the nest and to shelter. Once this brave little bird dashed at me and ran up to my knee, scratching with her sharp little claws at every step. On the return the birds always make the vicinity ring with their protests — a quickly repeated chip. The period of incubation in one instance was thirteen days." William Brewster presents this picture of the bird in its haunts in West Virginia, where, he says, the bird is "most partial to the Plate III Blackburnian Warbler, Adult Male. Blackburnian Warbler, Female. 3. Prothonotary Warbler, Adult Male. 4. Prothonotary Warbler, Female. WORM-EATING WARBLER 51 retired thickets in the woods along water courses, and seldom or never found in the high open groves. They keep much on the ground, where they walk about rather slowly, searching for their food among the dried leaves. In general appearance they are quite unique, and 1 rarely failed to identify one with an instant's glance, so very peculiar are all their attitudes and motions. "The tail is habitually carried at an elevation considerably above the line of the back, which gives them quite a smart, jaunty air, and if the dorsal aspect be exposed in a' clear light, the peculiar marking of the crown is quite conspicuous. Seen as they usually are, however, dimly flitting ahead through the gloom and shadow of the thickets, the impression received is that of a dark little bird which vanishes unaccountably before your very eyes, leaving you quite uncertain where to look for it next; indeed, I hardly know a more difficult bird to procure, for the slightest noise sends it darting off through the woods at once. Occasionally you will come upon one winding around the trunk of some small tree, exactly in the manner of Mniotilta varia, moving out along the branches with nimble motion, peering alternately under the bark on either side, and anon returning to the main stem, perhaps in the next instant to hop back to the ground again. On such occasions they rarely ascend to the height of more than eight or ten feet. The males are very quarrelsome, chasing one another through the woods with loud, sharp chirpings, careering with almost inconceivable velocity up among the tops of the highest oaks, or darting among the thickets with interminable doub- lings, until the pursuer, growing tired of the chase, alights on some low twig or old mossy log, and in token of his victory, utters a warble so feeble that you must be very near to catch it at all, a sound like that produced by striking two pebbles very quickly and gently together, or the song of Spisella socialis heard at a distance, and altogether a very indifferent performance." (Brezvster-.) Song. — The resemblance of the Worm-eater's song to that of the Chipping Sparrow is so great that few describers of it fail to com- ment on the similarity. Mr W. DeW. Miller of Plainfield, New Jersey, tells me that he has on two occasions heard a flight song from this species. It is described by him as much more varied and musical than the ordinary song, though lacking in strength. It was given as the bird flew through the woods at an even level, not rising above the tree-tops, as does the Oven-bird and other flight singers. 52 WORM-EATING WARBLER This is probably the song referred to by Jones in the following quotation: "Mr. Burns describes a song that resembles that of a Goldfinch; chat-ah-che-che-chee-chee-chee, which seems to correspond well with a passion song in the manner of utterance." "Commonly remains in song after its arrival until the second week in July. Sometimes singing ceases a little earlier than this; again, in other years, songs are to be heard until the third week of the month. "The second song-period of this Warbler I can speak of only from one season's experience. On July lo, 1881, several of these birds were silently inhabiting a small tract of woodland, their first season of song having passed; here on August 14, and again on the 2ist, they were found in fine plumage and in full song. "The songs of no three birds known to me are more alike than those of the Worm-eating Warbler, the Chipping Sparrow, and the Slate-colored ]vlx\co." {Bicknell.^) "Call-note a sharp dzt like that of Swainson's Warbler, or the Black and White Warbler; it is uttered at all times and seasons. The song is a perfectly monotonous trill; it is uttered during spring migration during momentary pauses in the active creeping of the bird — never in flight. I have seen a bird perch for some time upon an exposed dead limb, uttering the song at short intervals, and mean- while sitting quite still. This was on April 26, in Tishomingo county —almost too soon for the bird to have had a nest. I have heard no song in the fall." {Allison, MS.) "I can distinguish no difference between the notes of this species and those of the Chipping Sparrow ; the first may be a trifle weaker, perhaps. The series of notes may be uttered while perched, or cieeping about the lower branches of the trees, sapling tops, bushes, or fallen brush, or while on the ground. With slightly drooping tail and wings, puflfing out of body plumage, throwing its head back until the beak is perpendicular, it trills with swelling throat an unvarying Che — e-e-e-e-e-e, which does not sound half so monotonous in the woods as does the Chippy's lay in the open. The first song period is from the time of arrival until June 24 to July 5, but during the last two weeks, when housekeeping is a thing of the past and the hot days have come, it is seldom heard except in the early morning, beginning about four o'clock, and in the cool of the evening. The second song period is very brief and follows the molt. I have no dates." {Burns, MS.) PROTHONOTARY WARBLER 53 Nesting Site. — "It always nests on the ground, generally on a steep hillside in the woods. A stream of water or a swamp seem to be a desirable condition." (Jackson.^) Ladd* states that the nest is placed at the foot of either a sapling or small bush, not necessarily on a hillside but sometimes on level ground in open places with little shade. Nest. — "The nest is invariably lined with the red flower stalks of the hair moss ( PolytricMnm)." (Jackson.^) Ladd confirms this habit and adds: "Sometimes fine grass and horse-hair are used as part of the lining." The body or outside of the nests is composed of leaves only. Nests taken by J. N. Clark at Saybrook, Connecticut (C. W. C.) are composed of decayed leaves and lined with stems of maple seeds. ^SS^- — 3 to 6, usually 4 or 5. Ground color white with a wide variation in markings from sparingly to profusely marked with spots, specks, and blotches of chestnut, lavender, light and dark reddish, with a tendency to form wreaths around the larger end, but in most cases a nearly evenly marked egg. In shape some are rounded oval and others much pointed. Size : average, .69X.53 ; extremes, .75X.58, .64X.48. (Figs. 9-1 1.) Nesting Dates.— Iredell County N. C, May 10 (J. P. N.) ; West Chester, Pa.. May 26- June 15 (Jackson) : Waynesburg, Pa., May 16- June IT (Jacobs): New York City. May 20 (F. M. C.) ; New Haven, Conn., May 25-Tune 19 (Bishop). Biographical References (i) R. RiDGWAY, Field and Forest, i, 1875. lO- (2) Wm. Brewster, Obser- vations on the Birds of Ritchie County, West Virginia, Ann. Lye. Nat. Hist., N. Y., XI, 1875, 134. (3) T. H. Jackson, Nesting of the Worm-eating Warbler [in S. E. Pa.], Orn. and 061., XI, 1886, 156. (4) S. B. Ladd, Nesting of the Worm-eating Warbler [in S. E. Pa.], Orn. and 061., XII, 1887, no; (5) A Series of Eggs of the Worm-eating Warbler, Ibid, 149. (6) F. L. Burns, The Worm-eating Warbler [in Penn.], Bird-Lore, VII, 1905, 137. (7) J. P. N [orris], a Series of Eggs of the Worm-eating Warbler, Orn. and 061., XV, 1890, 118. (8) E. P. Bicknell, a Study of the Singing of our Birds, Auk, I, 1884, 210. Genus PROTONOTARIA Baird Protonotaria citrca, the single species contained in this genus, has the bill long, stout, aculeate, the upper mandible nearly straight but somewhat decurved at the slightly notched tip, the ridge of culmen is pronounced and slightly parts the feathers of the forehead, 54 PROTHONOTARY WARBLER the rictal bristles are barely evident. The wing is rather broad, not especially pointed, the tail is short, square, or even somewhat rounded, the outer feather being slightly the shortest; the under tail-coverts are long, reaching to within half an inch, or less, of the end of the tail ; the hind-toe is shorter but stouter than the middle toe. In color the sexes closely resemble each other, the male having the head brighter. PROTHONOTARY WARBLER PROTONOTARIA CITREA (Bodd.) Plate III Distinguishing Characters.— The prevailing orange-yellow color, grayish wings and absence of wing-bars will always distinguish this species. Length (skin), 4.90; wing, 2.85; tail, 1.85; bill, .55. Adult ^, Spring. — Whole head orange-yellow; back yellowish green; rump and upper tail-coverts gray; tail margined with gray, all but the central pair of feathers white on the inner web except at the tip, which is black; wings black, externally margined with gray, lesser coverts like the back, greater cov- erts tinged with same, first primary covert blackish margined with whitish, bend of wing yellow ; below orange-yellow changing to white on the crissum ; bill black. Adult 3, Fall. — Similar to adult ^ in Spring, but hind-head always washed with dusky; bill brownish. Young c?. Fall. — Similar to adult S in Fall but white on inner webs of tail-feathers more restricted and more or less mottled with blackish ; first primary covert grayer. Adult ?, Spring. — Resembles adult c?, but crown duller, greenish yellow or orange, back the same changing to gray on the rump ; tail with less white, the black areas duller ; below averaging paler than the adult and with more white on the lower belly. Adult 5, Fall. — Resembles adult $ in Spring. Young $, Fall. — Resembles adult $ in Fall. Nestling. — Above dusky olive-green varying markedly to brown ; below dusky grayish tinged with yellow or brown on the breast and sides, whiter on the belly. General Distribution. — Eastern United States, north to Virginia and Minnesota, west nearly to the Plains. Summer Range. — The Prothonotary Warbler is pre-eminently a bird of damp woods in the immediate vicinity of water, and, in general terms, it can be said that its principal summer home is the bottom lands of the Mississippi River and its tributaries to an altitude of one thousand feet ; north to northwestern Ohio ( St. Mary's Reser- voir), northeastern Indiana (Steuben County), southern Ontario (Hamilton), southeastern Michigan (Lansing), central Wisconsin (Shiocton), southeastern Minnesota (Hastings) ; west to central PROTHONOTARY WARBLER 55 Iowa (Des Moines), eastern Nebraska (Omaha, Lincoln and West Point), central Kansas (Manhattan and Neosho Falls), Oklahoma City and Kiowa Agency), and eastern Texas (Gainesville and Austin). Along the Atlantic slope, near the coast, the species is common north to the Dismal Swamp of Virginia, and rare locally, thence to western Delaware (Choptank River). It breeds south to northern Florida. It has occurred accidentally in Pennsylvania (Areola, May 15, 1887; near Philadelphia, May 1879; Allegheny County, May 17, 1892; Chester County, May; Lancaster County); New Jersey, (Haddonfield) ; New York (Montauk Point, L. I., August 26, 1886; Jamaica, May 1849; Yonkers, June 2, 1895); Rhode Island, (South Kingston, April 20, 1884; Lonsdale, April 29, 1892 and April 19. 1893); Massachusetts (South Abington ; Northampton, May 1883; Concord, May 9, 1886, August 17 and 23, 1886; Auburndale, June 19, 1890; Hyde Park, May 21, 1892; Mattapan Station September 15. 1894) ; New Brunswick (St. Stephens, October 30, 1862), and Arizona (Tucson, May i, 1884). Winter Range. — Nicaragua to Venezuela; rarely north to Yucatan. Spring Migration: Atlantic Coast. — The earliest record in the United States for this species is Sombrero Key Light, Florida, March II, 1888; the average date of arrival in northern Florida is the first week in April, the earliest, being Suwanee River, March 22, 1890, and Perdido Lighthouse, March 22, 1885. At Charleston, S. C, eight struck the light April 8, 1902. At Cumberland, Ga., the earliest record is April 10, 1902; on April 15, 1902 this was the most com- mon among the birds that swarmed about the light; it was again abundant the next night. The average at Raleigh, N. C, is April 18. Mississippi Valley. — At New Orleans, La., the earliest record is March 13, 1888, the average being March 18. Additional records are: Central Mississippi, average April 6, earliest April 3, 1889; Lomita, Texas, March 26, 1880; Matagorda Island, Texas, March 31, 1900; Dallas, Texas, April 8, 1898, April 6, 1899; Manhattan, Kansas, April 25, 1891, April 26, 1894, April 26, 1895; St. Louis, Mo., April 18, 1884, April 20, 1885 ; Wabash County, Illinois, April 19, 1878; Knox County, Indiana, April 18, 1881 ; Vigo County, Indiana, April 10, 1896; Elkhart County, Indiana, April 27, 1891, and Shiocton, Wis., May 4, 1882. Fall Migration. — The earliest records of fall migration are at Raleigh, N. C, July 14, 1893 and 1894, and at Key West, Fla., July 56 PROTHONOTARY WARBLER ' ' 28, 1888, and August 8, 1889. The earliest records south of the United States are on the coast of southeastern Nicaragua, September 2, 1892, and in northern Colombia, South America, September 25. The latest date at Raleigh, N. C, is August 26, and at Omaha, Nebr., August 25 to September 10. The latest Florida record is of a bird that struck the light at Sombrero Key, September 25, 1888, and the latest from New Orleans is September 24, 1893. The only fall record for the West Indies is of one taken at New Providence, Bahamas, August 28, 1898. The route of the Prothonotary Warbler in its fall migration is interesting; the breeding birds of the Middle Atlantic States appar- ently pass southwest to northwestern Florida and then take a seven-hundred-mile flight directly across the Gulf of Mexico to southern Yucatan, instead of crossing to Cuba and thence to Yucatan. The Bird and its Haunts. — The charm of its haunts and the beauty of its plumage combine to render the Prothonotary Warbler among the most attractive members of this family. I clearly recall my own first meeting with it in the Suwanee River region of Florida. Quietly paddling my canoe along one of the many enchanting, and, I was then quite willing to believe, enchanted streams which flowed through the forests into the main river, this glowing bit of bird-life gleamed like a torch in the night. No neck-straining examination with opera-glass pointed to the tree-tops, was required to determine his identity, as, flitting from bush to bush along the river's bank, his golden plumes were displayed as though for my special benefit. If all our Warblers had received the attention which the Pro- thonotary's attractions have won for him, the preparation of this volume would have been a much easier and more satisfactory task. Space, indeed, prohibits adequate quotations from the monographs of which this bird has been the subject, and for more detailed infor- mation than can here well be presented, the student is referred to the papers cited beyond. From the one by William Brewster^ the follow- ing admirable pen picture of the Prothonotary and its haunts is extracted : In the heavily timbered bottoms of the Wabash and White Rivers, Brewster writes, two things were found to be essential to the Prothonotary's presence, "namely, an abundance of willows and the immediate proximity of water. Thickets of button bushes did indeed satisfy a few scattered and perhaps not over particular individuals and pairs, but away from water they never were seen. So marked PROTHONOTARY WARBLER 57 was this preference, that the song of the male heard from the woods indicated to us as surely the proximity of some river, pond, or flooded swamp, as did the croaking of frogs or peeping of hylas. "In general activity and restlessness few birds equal the species under consideration. Not a nook or corner of his domain but is repeatedly visited through the day. Now he sings a few times from the top of some tall willow that leans out over the stream, sitting motionless among the yellowish foliage, fully aware, perhaps, of the protection afiforded by its harmonizing tints. The next moment he descends to the cool shades beneath, where dark, coffee-colored water, the over-flow of pond or river, stretches back among the trees. * * * "This Warbler usually seeks its food low down among thickets, moss-grown logs, or floating debris, and always about the water. Sometimes it ascends tree-trunks for a little way like the Black and White Creeper [=Warbler], winding about with the same peculiar motion. When seen among the upper branches, where it often goes to preen its feathers and sing in the warm sunshine, it almost invari- ably sits nearly motionless. Its flight is much like that of the Water- Thrush (either species) and is remarkably swift, firm, and decided. When crossing a broad stream it is slightly undulating, though always direct." Of the Prothonotary farther south in the Mississippi Valley, Allison (MS.) writes: "The typical haunt is low, flat, woodland, preferably with some standing water; this is usually a river bottom, though a 'bay-gall,' or low swamp among pine-lands, wooded with white bay, black-gum, etc., often answers the purpose. In Louisiana, a piece of ground recently deposited by the Mississippi River, and covered with a thick growth of willows, is attractive to this Warbler. It joins less than many other species with the roving bands of migrant Warblers in the upland woods." Song.— "The usual song of the Prothonotary Warbler sounds at a distance like the call of the Solitary Sandpiper with a syllable or two added,— a simple peet, tzveet, tweet, tweet, given on the same key throughout. Often when the notes came from the farther shore of a river or pond we were completely deceived. On more than one occasion, when a good opportunity for comparison was offered by the actual presence of both birds at the same time, we found that at the distance of several hundred yards their notes were absolutely indistinguishable; nearer at hand, however, the resemblance is lost, 58 PROTHONOTARY WARBLER and a ringing penetrating quality becomes apparent in the Warbler's song. It now sounds like peet, tsweet, tsweet, tszveet, or sometimes tweet, tr-sweet, tr-sweet, tr-sweet. When the bird sings within a few yards the sound is almost startling in its intensity, and the listener feels inclined to stop his ears. The male is a fitful singer, and is quite as apt to be heard in the hot noontide or on cloudy days, when other birds are silent, as during the cool morning and evening hours. The ordinary note of alarm or distress is a sharp one, so nearly like that of the Large-billed Water-Thrush (Seiurus motacilla) that the slight difference can only be detected by a critical ear. When the sexes meet a soft tchip of recognition common to nearly all the War- blers is used. In addition to the song above described the male has a different and far sweeter one, which is reserved for select occasions, an outpouring of the bird's most tender feelings, intended for the ears of his mate alone, like the rare evening warble of the Oven-bird {Seiurus aurocapillus) . It is apparently uttered only while on the wing. Although so low and feeble as to be inaudible many rods away, it is very sweet, resembling somewhat the song of the Canary given in an undertone, with trills or 'water notes' interspersed. The flight during its delivery is very different from that at all other times. The bird progresses slowly, with a trembling, fluttering motion, its head raised and tail expanded. This song was heard most frequently after incubation had begun." {Brewster'^.) Nesting Site. — Brewster^ writes that to give an account of all the situations in which he has found nests of this species "would entail a description of nearly every conceivable kind of hole or cavity that can be found in tree-trunks. The typical nesting-site, however, was the deserted hole of the Downy Woodpecker or Carolina Chickadee. The height varied from two to fifteen feet, though the usual eleva- tion was about four." Barnes's- observations agree with Brewster's but he adds that, rarely, nests are found as high as twenty-five feet. Both writers state that the height of the nest and its distance from the water depend upon the fall in the water after the site has been selected. A wide, and apparently not infrequent departure from the type of nesting-site just described is the vicinity of houses (Ganier^) and, in one instance, a railroad bridge (Roberts*) when, bluebird-like, the bird accepts nest-boxes or similar situations. Ng^f_ — The nest is constructed by the female. The male accom- panies her on her search for material and rarely brings a small bill '-."I NEST OF PARULA WARBLER. The arrow indicates the location of the nest. The bird may be seen at the left of nest. Photographed by Frank M. Chapman, at (lardiner's Island, N. Y. iifi-nJ^.:^ _i£fe:^;;.' -,:^^ NESTING STUMP OF PROTIIUXOTARY WARBLER. The arrow indicates the nest entrance. Photographed by Thomas S. Roberts, at Red Wing, Minn. PROTHONOTARY WARBLER 59 full but leaves it "on the outside of the hole for her to carry in and arrange. "The female begins by bringing some fine straws or grasses which are arranged in a nice nest in the bottom of the hole. Next she procures some fine strips of grape-vine bark, and lines her nest, and lastly covers this all over carefully and thickly with moss which grows on the bark of trees standing in the water. * * * They very rarely use any feathers or hair, and sometimes build their nest entirely of one of the above materials." (Barnes^.) Nests collected by Wayne in South Carolina were made of lichens and lined with cypress leaves (C W. C). Ganier (MS.) writes that in Mississippi the birds "frequently .excavate their ozvn hole in the soft cottonwood stumps," a habit not mentioned by other writers I have consulted. Eggs. — 5 to 7, usually 6. Ground color a rich creamy white to bufify, very glossy and very heavily and profusely blotched and spotted with rich chestnut-red, many lavender and purplish shades occurring. The heaviest and richest marked of North American Warblers' eggs ; in shape a rounded oval tending to become nearly spherical, the larger end having the heavier markings. An extreme type has rich cream ground with a few scattering spots of purplish brown. Size; average, .70X.57; extremes, .76X.59, .65X.57, .70X.53, .72X.61. (Figs. 6, 7.) Nesting Dates. — Charleston, S. C, May 3 ; June 23, two eggs with large embryos (Wayne); Lewis County, Mo., May 13 (J.P.N.) ; Mt. Carmel, Illinois, May 8 (Breivster) ; Lacon, Illinois, May 2i-July 7 (C. W. C. ) ; Pierce County, Wis., May 31 (C. W. C). Biographical References (i) William Brewster, The Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea) [in Illinois and Indiana], Bull. Niitt. Orn. Club, III, 1878, I53- (2) R. M. Barnes, Nesting of the Prothonotary Warbler, Orn. and 061., XIV, 1889, 27- (3) W. E. LoucKS, Life History of the Prothonotary Warbler, Bull. 111. State Lab. Nat. Hist, IV, 1894, 10; also Osprey, II, 1898, 99, in, 129. (4) T. S. Roberts, The Prothonotary or Golden Swamp Warbler (Protonotaria citrea) a Common Summer Resident in southeastern Minnesota, Auk, XVI, 1899, 236. (5) Albert Ganier, Nesting of the Prothonotary Warbler, Bird-Lore, II, 1900, 89. (6) J. P. N [orris], a Series of Eggs of the Prothonotary Warbler, Orn. and 061., XV, 1890, 177. Genus HELMINTHOPHILA Ridgway Small size and a short, straight, slender, unnotched, exceedinglv acute bill distinguish all the species of this genus, except H. 6o GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER hachmani, in which the bill is slightly decurved; the rictal bristles are not evident; the wing averages about .70 inches longer than the tail ; the tail-feathers are rather narrow, terminally rounded or obtusely pointed; the under tail-coverts are about three-fourths as long as the tail; the feet are blackish, the tarsus decidedly longer than the middle-toe and nail. Compared with Dendroica the species of Helminthophila, as a whole, are plain in color and in pattern of coloration. H. chrysoptera and H. pinus are the only species having wing- bars; while with H. hachmani and, to a lesser degree, H. peregrina, they diflfer from other members of the genus in having the tail marked with white. Helminthophila contains nine species and two forms of doubtful status, all but one of which, H. crissalis of the Sierra Nevada of Colima, Mexico, are North American. Four species are eastern, one of them, H. peregrina, extending, however, northwestward to Alaska, two are found in the Rocky Mountain region and southward into Mexico, and two, H. celata and H. rubricapilla, range from the Atlantic to the Pacific, their color showing some response to the vary- ing climatic conditions encountered in so vast an area. Although arboreal in habit, the species of this genus nest upon the ground, with the exception of H. lucice which nests in holes, etc., and H. hachmani, which builds in low bushes. Golden-winged Warbler HELMINTHOPHILA CHRYSOPTERA (Linn.) Plate V Distinguishing Characters. — General color gray; a yellow patch on the wings; cheeks and throat black in the <^, gray in the 9. Length (skin), 4.30; wing, 2.4s; tail, 1.90; bill, .46. Adult