Length: About 5 inches.
Male: Olive-green above, except for a _black crown, outlined with yellow
in front and at the sides of crown_; under parts yellow, except for
a grayish tinge at the sides; wings and tail _without white bars_
and _patches_.
Female: Similar to male, but without a clearly defined black cap.
Song: A loud, sweet trill, containing variations.
Habitat: Low thickets, usually at the edges of woods, rather than in
treetops.
Range: Eastern North America. Breeds in the tree-regions of northern
Canada south to southern Saskatchewan, northern Minnesota, central
Ontario, New Hampshire, Maine, and Nova Scotia; winters in eastern
Central America; migrates through the Alleghanies; practically
unknown from Virginia to Louisiana.
This attractive little warbler with its black cap might easily be
confused with the goldfinch by a beginner in bird-study. The olive-green
back, wings, and tail differentiate it. Unlike the goldfinch, it is not
a resident, but a traveler to northern forests where it breeds. It
journeys enormous distances.
"It appears very irregularly, some years in great abundance and some
seasons not at all."[150]