IN this number of BIRDS we present two very interesting specimens of the
family of Warblers, the Magnolia or Black and Yellow Warbler, ranking first
in elegance. Its habitat is eastern North America as far west as the base
of the Rocky Mountains. It breeds commonly in northern New England, New
York, Michigan, and northward. According to Mr. William Brewster it is
found everywhere common throughout the White Mountains of New Hampshire.
Its favorite resorts are little clumps of firs and spruce shrubs, also
willow thickets near streams and ponds and other damp places. "Its gay
colors and sprightly song will at once attract the attention of even the
casual observer. The nest is usually placed in the horizontal twigs of a
fir or spruce at heights ranging from four to six feet, five being the
average elevation, and the favorite localities are the edges of wood paths,
clearings, or roads bordered by woods. Sometimes the nests are built in the
tops of young hemlocks ten or fifteen feet up, or in the heart of the
forest thirty-five feet above the ground." Mr. Brewster describes the nest
as loosely put together, of fine twigs, preferredly hemlock, coarse grasses
and dry weed-stalks. The lining is fine black roots, closely resembling
horse-hair. The eggs are four, very rarely five, of creamy white, spotted
and blotched with various shades of reddish brown, hazel and chestnut. The
markings are generally large and well defined and often form wreaths about
the larger ends.
Ridgway mentions the Magnolia Warbler as "one of the most agile of its
tribe, its quick and restless movements being more like those of the
Redstart than those of its nearest kindred. The tail is carried somewhat
elevated and widely expanded, to display the broad white band across the
middle portion of the inner web of the feathers, which together with the
bold contrasts of black, yellow, and blue-gray of the plumage, render it
both conspicuous and beautiful."
Mr. Langille describes the song of the Magnolia Warbler as "a loud, clear
whistle, which may be imitated by the syllables _chee-to_, _chee-to_,
_chee-tee-ee_, uttered rapidly and ending in the falling inflection."
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