[Illustration 399: NEST OF MAGNOLIA WARBLER.]
Page 398
659. CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER. _Dendroica pensylvanica._
Range.--United States, east of the Plains, breeding in the Middle States
and Illinois, north to Manitoba and New Brunswick. Winters south of our
border.
The adults of this handsome species may readily be known by the white
underparts and the broad chestnut stripe on the flanks; the crown is
yellow. They frequent low brush in open woods or on hillsides and
pastures, nesting at low elevations, usually below three feet from the
ground, and often concealing their nests beneath the leaves in the tops
of low small bushes. The nests are made of grasses, weed stems and some
fibres, but they do not have as wooly an appearance as those of the
Yellow Warblers which nest in the same localities and similar locations.
Their eggs are white or creamy white (never greenish white), specked
with brown and gray. Size .65 × .50. Data.--Worcester, Mass., June 6,
1890. Nest in the top of a huckleberry bush, 2 feet from the ground;
made of grasses and plant fibres. Bird did not leave nest until touched
with the hand.
660. BAY-BREASTED WARBLER. _Dendroica castanea._
Range.--North America, east of the Plains, breeding from northern United
States north to the Hudson Bay; winters in Central and South America.
This species has the crown, throat and sides a rich chestnut; forehead
and face black; underparts white. They nest in coniferous trees in
swampy places, making their nests of bark shreds and rootlets and
placing them in horizontal forks at elevations of from five to thirty
feet from the ground. The three or four eggs are laid late in May or
during June; they are white, usually quite heavily spotted and blotched
with reddish brown, umber and grayish. Size .70 × .50.
[Illustration 400: Chestnut-sided Warblers. Bay-breasted Warblers.]
[Illustration: White.]
[Illustration: White.]
[Illustration: deco.]
[Illustration: left hand margin.]
Page 399
661. BLACK-POLL WARBLER. _Dendroica striata._
Range.--North America, east of the Rockies, breeding from northern
United States north to Labrador and Alaska; winters in South America.
This black and white Warbler has a solid black cap, and the underparts
are white, streaked with black on the sides. In the woods they bear some
resemblance to the Black and White Warbler, but do not have the creeping
habits of that species. During migrations they are found in equal
abundance in swamps or orchards. In their breeding range, they nest at
low elevations in stunted pines or spruces, making their nests of
rootlets and lichens, lined with feathers. The eggs are dull whitish,
spotted or blotched with brown and neutral tints. Size .72 × .50.
Data.--Grand Manan, N. B., June 12, 1883. Nest and four eggs on branch
of a stunted spruce 2 feet from the ground.
662. BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER. _Dendroica fusca._
Range.--North America, east of the Plains, breeding from Massachusetts
and Minnesota north to Hudson Bay; south in the Alleghanies to the
Carolinas. Winters in Central and South America.
This species is, without exception, the most exquisite of the family;
the male can always be known by the bright orange throat, breast and
superciliary stripe, the upper parts being largely black. They arrive
with us when the apple trees are in bloom and after a week's delay pass
on to more northerly districts. Their nests are constructed of rootlets,
fine weed stalks and grasses, lined with hair, and are placed on
horizontal limbs of coniferous trees. The three or four eggs are
greenish white, speckled, spotted and blotched with reddish brown and
neutral tints. Size .70 × .48. Data.--Lancaster, Mass., June 21, 1901.
Nest in a white pine, 38 feet from the ground on a limb 4 feet from the
trunk; composed of fine rootlets and hair, resembling the nest of a
Chipping Sparrow.
[Illustration 401: White.]
[Illustration: Black-poll Warblers. Blackburnian Warblers.]
[Illustration: Greenish white.]
[Illustration: deco.]
[Illustration: right hand margin.]
Page 400
[Illustration 402: BLACKBURNIAN WARBLERS.]
Page 401
663. YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER. _Dendroica dominica dominica._
Range.--South Atlantic and Gulf States, north to Virginia and casually
farther; winters in Florida and the West Indies.
This species has gray upper parts with two white wing bars, the throat,
breast and superciliary line are yellow, and the lores, cheeks and
streaks on the sides are black. These birds nest abundantly in the South
Atlantic States, usually in pines, and either on horizontal limbs or in
bunches of Spanish moss. The nests are made of slender pieces of twigs,
rootlets and strips of bark, and lined with either hair or feathers, the
eggs are three to five in number, pale greenish white, specked about the
large end with reddish brown and gray. Size .70 × .50. Data.--Raleigh,
N. C., May 3, 1890. Nest 43 feet up on limb of pine; made of grasses and
hair.
663a. SYCAMORE WARBLER. _Dendroica dominica albilora._
Range.--Mississippi Valley, breeding north to Ohio and Illinois, and
west to Kansas and Texas; winters south of the United States.
This bird is precisely like the last except that the superciliary stripe
is usually white. Their nesting habits are precisely like those of the
last, and the nests are usually on horizontal branches of sycamores; the
eggs cannot be distinguished from those of the Yellow-throated Warbler.
664. GRACE'S WARBLER. _Dendroica graciæ._
Range.--Southwestern United States, abundant in Arizona and New Mexico.
This Warbler is similar in markings and colors to the Yellow-throated
variety except that the cheeks are gray instead of black. The nesting
habits of the two species are the same, these birds building high in
coniferous trees; the nests are made of rootlets and bark shreds, lined
with hair or feathers; the eggs are white, dotted with reddish brown and
lilac. Size .68 × .48.
[Illustration 403: Greenish white.]
[Illustration: Yellow-throated Warblers. Grace's Warblers.]
[Illustration: White.]
[Illustration: deco.]
[Illustration: right hand margin.]
Page 402
665. BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER. _Dendroica nigrescens._
Range.--United States from the Rockies to the Pacific coast and north to
British Columbia; winters south of our borders.
The general color of this species is grayish above and white below as is
a superciliary line and stripe down the side of the throat; the crown,
cheeks and throat are black and there is a yellow spot in front of the
eye. They inhabit woodland and thickets and are common in such
localities from Arizona to Oregon, nesting usually at low elevations in
bushes or shrubs; the nests are made of grasses and fibres, woven
together, and lined with hair or fine grasses, resembling, slightly,
nests of the Yellow Warbler. The eggs are white or greenish white,
specked with reddish brown and umber. Size .65 × .52. Data.--Waldo,
Oregon, June 1, 1901. Nest 3 feet from the ground in a small oak in
valley. Collector, C. W. Bowles. (Crandall collection.)
666. GOLDEN-CHEEKED WARBLER. _Dendroica chrysoparia._
Range.--Central and southern Texas south to Central America.
This beautiful and rare species is entirely black above and on the
throat, enclosing a large bright yellow patch about the eye and a small
one on the crown. In their very restricted United States range, the
birds are met with in cedar timber where they nest at low elevations in
the upright forks of young trees of this variety. Their nests are made
of strips of cedar bark, interwoven with plant fibres and spider webs
making compact nests, which they line with hair and feathers. Their
three or four eggs are white, dotted and specked with reddish brown and
umber. Size .75 × .55.
[Illustration 404: Greenish white.]
[Illustration: Black-throated Warblers. Golden-cheeked Warblers.]
[Illustration: White.]
[Illustration: deco.]
[Illustration: left hand margin.]
Page 403
667. BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER. _Dendroica virens._
Range.--Eastern United States, breeding from southern New England, South
Carolina in the Alleghanies, and Illinois north to Hudson Bay; winters
south of the United States.
These common eastern birds are similar to the last but the entire upper
parts are olive greenish. They are nearly always found, and always nest,
in pines, either groves or hillsides covered with young pines. The nests
are usually placed out among the pine needles where they are very
difficult to locate, and resemble nests of the Chipping Sparrow. I have
found them at heights ranging from six to forty or fifty feet from the
ground. The three or four eggs, which they lay in June, are white,
wreathed and speckled with brownish and lilac. Size .60 × .50.
668. TOWNSEND'S WARBLER. _Dendroica townsendi._
Range.--Western United States, from the Rockies to the Pacific and from
Alaska southward; winters in Mexico.
This is the common western representative of the last species, and is
similar but has black ear patches and the crown is black. They nest in
coniferous woods throughout their United States and Canadian range, the
nests being placed at any height from the ground and being constructed
like those of the Black-throated Green. Their eggs are not
distinguishable from those of the latter. Size .60 × .50.
[Illustration 405: White.]
[Illustration: White.]
[Illustration: Black-throated Green Warbler. Townsend's Warblers.]
[Illustration: deco.]
[Illustration: right hand margin.]
Page 404
669. HERMIT WARBLER. _Dendroica occidentalis._
Range.--Western United States and British Columbia chiefly on the higher
ranges. Winters south to Central America.
This peculiar species has the entire head bright yellow and the throat
black; upperparts grayish, underparts white. They are found nesting in
wild rugged country, high up in pine trees, the nests being located
among bunches of needles so that they are very difficult to find. The
nests are made of rootlets, shreds of bark, pine needles, etc., lined
with fine grasses or hair. The three or four eggs are laid during June
or the latter part of May; they are white or creamy white, and sometimes
with a faint greenish tinge, specked and wreathed with brown and lilac
gray. Size .68 × .52.
670. KIRTLAND'S WARBLER. _Dendroica kirtlandi._
Range.--Eastern United States; apt to be found in any of the South
Atlantic, Middle or Central States, and in Ontario, Canada. Winters in
the Bahamas where by far the greater number of specimens have been
found.
This very rare Warbler is bluish gray above, streaked with black, and
yellow below with the throat and sides streaked. Until the summer of
1903, the locality where they bred was a mystery. The capture of a
specimen, in June, in Oscodo Co., Michigan, led to the search for the
nests by N. A. Wood, taxidermist for the Michigan Museum at Ann Arbor.
He was successful in his quest and found two nests with young and one
egg. The nest in which the egg was found contained two young birds also.
It was in a depression in the ground at the foot of a Jack pine tree and
only a few feet from a cart road. The nest was made of strips of bark
and vegetable fibres, lined with grass and pine needles. The egg is
white, sprinkled with brown in a wreath about the large end. Size .72 ×
.56. It is estimated that there were thirteen pairs of the birds in this
colony.
[Illustration 406: Hermit Warblers. Kirtland's Warblers.]
[Illustration: deco.]
[Illustration: left hand margin.]
Page 405
671. PINE WARBLER. _Dendroica vigorsi._
Range.--Eastern United States, breeding from the Gulf to southern
British Provinces; winters in the Gulf States and southward.
This common eastern species is greenish above and dull yellowish below,
streaked with dusky on the sides. They are almost exclusively found in
pine woods, either light or heavy growth, where they can always be
located by their peculiar, musical lisping trill. They nest high in
these trees, placing their nests in thick bunches of needles, so that
they are very difficult to locate. They nest from March in the south to
May in the northern states, laying three or four dull whitish eggs,
specked or blotched with shades of brown and lilac; size .68 × .52.
Data.--Worcester, Mass., May 28, 1891. Nest 30 feet up in a pine; made
of pine needles and rootlets.
672. PALM WARBLER. _Dendroica palmarum palmarum._
Range.--Interior of North America, breeding about Hudson Bay and
northward and wintering in the lower Mississippi Valley and the West
Indies.
This species is brownish yellow above and yellow on the throat and
breast, the crown and streaks on the sides are chestnut. They are found
during migrations on or near the ground on the edges of woods or
thickets and along roadsides; have a peculiar habit of "teetering" their
tail which will readily identify them. They nest on the ground in, or on
the edges of swampy places, lining the hollow with grasses and rootlets.
In May or June they lay three or four eggs which are creamy white,
variously specked with brown and lilac; size .68 × .52.
672a. YELLOW PALM WARBLER. _Dendroica palmarum hypochrysea._
Range.--Eastern North America, breeding from Nova Scotia, northward.
This is the common Yellow Redpoll Warbler of the eastern states, and is
very abundant during migrations. Their habits are the same, if not
identical with the interior species. Their nests are also like those of
the last, placed on the ground and the eggs are indistinguishable.
[Illustration 407: Dull white.]
[Illustration: Creamy white.]
[Illustration: Pine Warblers. Palm Warblers.]
[Illustration: deco.]
[Illustration: right hand margin.]
Page 406
[Illustration 408: C. A. Reed.
PRAIRIE WARBLER NEST.]
Page 407
673. PRAIRIE WARBLER. _Dendroica discolor._
Range.--Eastern United States, breeding from the Gulf to Massachusetts
and Ontario; winters in southern Florida and the West Indies.
A species readily recognized by its bright yellow underparts and the
black stripes on the face and sides; several bright chestnut spots are
in the middle of the greenish back. These birds will be found on dry
scrubby hillsides and valleys, where they nest in low bushes, and the
male will be found in the tops of the tallest lookout trees delivering
his quaint and very peculiar lisping song. Their nests are handsomely
made of vegetable fibres and grasses, closely woven together and lined
with hair; this structure is placed in the top of low bushes so that it
is well concealed by the upper foliage. Their three to five eggs are
whitish, specked and spotted with shades of brown and neutral tints;
size .64 × .48. Data.--Worcester, Mass., June 23, 1891. Nest in the top
of a young walnut, two feet from ground; made of plant fibres and
grasses. Four eggs.
674. OVEN-BIRD. _Seiurus aurocapillus._
Range.--North America east of the Rockies, breeding from the middle
portions of the United States, north to Labrador and Alaska. Winters
from the Gulf States southward.
This species is fully as often known as the Golden-crowned Thrush,
because of its brownish orange crown bordered with black. They are
woodland birds exclusively and nest on the ground, arching the top over
with rootlets or leaves, the nest proper being made of grasses and leaf
skeletons. As they are concealed so effectually, the nests are usually
found by flushing the bird. The four to six eggs are white, slightly
glossy and spotted, blotched or wreathed with reddish brown and lilac;
size .80 × .60. Data.--Old Saybrook, Conn., June 19, 1899. Domed nest
with a side entrance on the ground in woods.
[Illustration 409: Whitish.]
[Illustration: Prairie Warblers. Oven-bird.]
[Illustration: White.]
[Illustration: deco.]
[Illustration: right hand margin.]
Page 408
[Illustration 410: C. A. Reed.
ARCHED NEST OF OVEN-BIRD.]
[Illustration: J. B. Canfield.
NEST AND EGGS OF LOUISIANA WATER-THRUSH.]
Page 409
675. WATER-THRUSH. _Seiurus novebora censis noveboracensis._
Range.--Eastern North America, breeding from northern United States
north to Hudson Bay and Newfoundland. Winters from the Gulf to South
America.
This species is uniform brownish olive above and white below, streaked
heavily with blackish; it has a whitish superciliary line. It is known
in most of the United States only as a migrant, being found in moist
woods or swampy places. They nest in such localities in their breeding
range, placing their nests among the cavities of rootlets and stumps,
the nest being made of moss, leaves and rootlets. Their eggs are white,
profusely specked and blotched with reddish brown and lavender gray.
Size .80 × .60. Data.--Listowell, Ontario, May 28, 1895. Nest in a
turned-up root over water; made of moss, grass and hair. Collector, Wm.
L. Kells. This set of five is in the collection of Mr. C. W. Crandall.
675a. GRINNELL'S WATER-THRUSH. _Seiurus noveboracensis notabilis._
Range.--Western North America, migrating between the Mississippi Valley
and the Rockies; breeds from northern United States north to Alaska;
winters in the south.
This sub-species is said to be very slightly larger, darker on the back,
and paler below. Their nesting habits and eggs are identical with those
of the last.
676. LOUISIANA WATER-THRUSH. _Seiurus motacilla._
Range.--Eastern United States, breeding from the Gulf, north to southern
New England, Ontario and Minnesota; winters south of our borders.
This species is similar to the last but is larger, grayer and less
distinctly streaked on the underparts. They nest in swampy places,
concealing their home in nooks among roots of trees or under overhanging
banks, the nest being made of leaves, moss, mud, grasses, etc., making a
bulky structure. The eggs, which are laid in May and number from four to
six, are white, spotted and blotched with chestnut and neutral tints.
Size .76 × .62.
[Illustration 411: White.]
[Illustration: Louisiana Water Thrush. Water-Thrush.]
[Illustration: White.]
[Illustration: deco.]
[Illustration: right hand margin.]
Page 410
677. KENTUCKY WARBLER. _Oporornis formosus._
Range.--Eastern United States, breeding from the Gulf to New York and
Michigan; winters south of the United States to South America.
Crown and ear coverts black, underparts and line over eye yellow; no
white in the plumage. These birds are found in about such localities as
are frequented by Oven-birds, but with a preference for woods which are
low and damp. They are locally common in some of the southern and
central states. They are active gleaners of the underbrush, keeping well
within the depths of tangled thickets. Like the Maryland Yellow-throat,
which has similar habits to those of this bird, they are quite
inquisitive and frequently come close to you to investigate or to scold.
They nest on the ground in open woods or on shrubby hillsides, making
large structures, of leaves and strips of bark, lined with grasses. The
eggs are white, sprinkled with dots or spots of reddish brown and gray.
Size .70 × .55. Data.--Greene Co., Pa., May 26, 1894. 4 eggs. Nest a
mass of leaves, lined with rootlets, placed on the ground at the base of
a small elm sprout in underbrush on a hillside.
678. Connecticut Warbler.--_Oporonis agilis._
Range.--Eastern United States; known to breed only in Manitoba and
Ontario.
These birds have greenish upperparts and sides, yellowish underparts,
and an ashy gray head, neck and breast; they have a complete whitish
ring about the eye, this distinguishing them in any plumage from the two
following species. As they do most of their feeding upon the ground and
remain in the depths of the thickets, they are rarely seen unless
attention is drawn to them. They are quite abundant in New England in
fall migrations, being found in swampy thickets. They have been found
breeding in Ontario by Wm. L. Kells, the nest being on the ground in the
woods among raspberry vines. It was made of leaves, bark fibres, grass,
rootlets and hair. The eggs are white, specked with brown and neutral
tints. Size .75 × .55.
[Illustration 412: White.]
[Illustration: Kentucky Warbler. Connecticut Warblers.]
[Illustration: deco.]
[Illustration: Left hand margin.]
Page 411
679. MOURNING WARBLER. _Oporornis philadelphia_.
Range.--Eastern United States, breeding from northern New England,
Pennsylvania, (Philadelphia) and Nebraska northward.
Very similar to the last but with no eye ring and a black patch on the
breast. The habits and nesting habits of this species are very similar
to those of _agilis_, the nest being on or very close to the ground.
With the exception of on mountain ranges it breeds chiefly north of our
borders. The eggs are white, specked with reddish brown. Size .72 × .55.
They cannot be distinguished from those of the last. Data.--Listowell,
Ontario, June 5, 1898. Nest in a tuft of swamp grass in low ground; not
very neatly made of dry leaves, grasses and hair. Collector, Wm. L.
Kells. (Crandall collection.)
680. MACGILLIVRAY WARBLER. _Oporornis tolmiei._
Range.--Western United States from the Rockies to the Pacific, breeding
north to British Columbia; winters in Mexico and Central America.
Similar to the last but with white spots on the upper and lower eyelids,
black lores, and the black patch on the breast mixed with gray. These
ground inhabiting birds are found in tangled thickets and shrubbery
where they nest at low elevations, from one to five feet from the
ground. Their nests are made of grasses and shreds of bark, lined with
hair and finer grasses, and the eggs are white, specked, spotted and
blotched with shades of brown and neutral tints; size .72 × .52.
Data.--Sonoma, Cal., May 17, 1897. A small nest, loosely made of grasses
(wild oats) lined with finer grasses; placed in blackberry vines 14
inches from the ground in a slough in the valley.
[Illustration 413: White.]
[Illustration: White.]
[Illustration: Mourning Warblers. Macgillivray Warblers.]
[Illustration: deco.]
[Illustration: right hand margin.]
Page 412
681. MARYLAND YELLOW-THROAT. _Geothlypis trichas trichas._
Range.--Eastern United States; this species has recently been still
further sub-divided so that this form is supposed to be restricted to
the south Atlantic coast of the United States.
The Maryland Yellow-throat is represented in all parts of the United
States by one of its forms. They are ground loving birds, frequenting
swamps and thickets where they can be located by their loud,
unmistakable song of "Witchery, w i t c h e r y, witch." They nest on or
very near the ground, making their nests of grass, lined with hair;
these are either in hollows in the ground at the foot of clumps of grass
or weeds, or attached to the weed stalks within a few inches of the
ground. They lay from three to five eggs in May or June; these are
white, specked about the larger end with reddish brown and umber, and
with shell markings of stone gray. Size .70 × .50. All the sub-species
of this bird have the same general habits of this one and their eggs
cannot be distinguished from examples of the eastern form; the birds,
too, owing to the great differences in plumage between individuals from
the same place, cannot be distinguished with any degree of satisfaction
except by the ones who "discovered" them.
681a. WESTERN YELLOW-THROAT. _Geothlypis trichas occidentalis._
Range.--This variety, which is said to be brighter yellow below, is
ascribed to the arid regions of western United States; not on the
Pacific coast.
681b. FLORIDA YELLOW-THROAT. _Geothlypis trichas ignota._
Range.--South Atlantic and Gulf coast to Texas.
681c. PACIFIC YELLOW-THROAT. _Geothlypis trichas arizela._
Range.--Pacific coast from British Columbia southward.
681e. SALT MARSH YELLOW-THROAT. _Geothlypis trichas sinuosa._
Range.--Salt marshes of San Francisco Bay.
[Illustration 414: White.]
[Illustration: Maryland Yellow-throats. Belding's Yellow-throat.]
[Illustration: Left hand margin.]
Page 413
682. BELDING'S YELLOW-THROAT. _Geothlypis beldingi._
Range.--Lower California.