Length: A little over 5 inches.
Male: Black crown, with bright orange patch in the center; irregular
black patch extending from eye, bordered with orange; throat and
breast orange, becoming yellowish on belly; back black, streaked
with white; sides streaked with black; wings black, with white edges
and a _large white patch_; tail black, _most of the feathers nearly
all white on inner web_. Colors duller in the fall.
Female: Upper parts grayish-olive, streaked with white; orange parts
paler, less white on wings and tail.
Song: A "thin" warbler-like trill.
Habitat: Treetops of coniferous forests preferably.
Range: Breeds from central Canada to northern United States, and in the
Alleghany Mts. from Pennsylvania to Georgia; winters in Colombia and
Peru.
This brilliant warbler flashes flame as do the oriole and the redstart,
and like them, always brings a thrill of pleasure. It remains with us so
short a time that its appearance is an event.
Mr. Forbush tells of going out at daybreak May 11, 1900, at Amesbury,
Mass., to observe the migrant warblers. He says: "As we walked through
the streets of the village, many male Blackburnian Warblers were seen
among the street trees. A little later we saw them in the orchards,
their brilliant orange breasts flashing in the sunlight. As we
approached the woods it was everywhere the same. The night had been very
cold, and other insect-eating birds were seeking benumbed insects on or
near the ground. There were four bright Redstarts flitting about on the
upturned sod of a newly plowed garden. These and other species of
Warblers were to be seen in every orchard, wood, and thicket. The
Blackburnian Warblers had come in during the night, and were busy
hunting for their breakfasts until 7 o'clock, when we went to ours. At 8
o'clock not a single Blackburnian was to be seen. I scoured the country
till nearly noon, finding all the other Warblers as at daybreak, but not
a Blackburnian could be found. They had done their share of the good
work and passed on. A later riser would have missed them."[147]
Eaton says: "The Blackburnian warbler during the migration season
associates with the Magnolia, Bay-breasted, and Chestnut-sided warblers
among the blossoming fruit trees and the leaving shrubbery and shade
trees of our lawns and parks. During the nesting season, however, it is
almost entirely confined to mixed and evergreen forests, being
especially fond of hemlocks and spruces.... The old name of Hemlock
warbler is perfectly appropriate. The Blackburnian flutters about while
feeding almost as conspicuously as the Redstart and Magnolia, displaying
its brilliant colors and pied pattern very effectively."[148]