Length -- 4.75 to 5.2 inches. Over an inch shorter than the
English sparrow.
Male -- Upper parts olive-yellow, brightest on the crown; under
parts bright yellow, streaked with reddish brown. Wings and
tail dusky olive-brown, edged with yellow.
Female -- Similar; but reddish-brown streakings less distinct.
Range -- North America, except Southwestern States, where the
prothonotary warbler reigns in its stead. Nests from Gulf
States to Fur Countries. Winters south of the Gulf States. As
far as northern parts of South America.
Migrations -- May. September. Common summer resident.
This exquisite little creature of perpetual summer (though to find it it must
travel back and forth between two continents) comes out of the south with the
golden days of spring. From much living in the sunshine through countless
generations, its feathers have finally become the color of sunshine itself,
and in disposition, as well, it is nothing if not sunny and bright. Not the
least of its attractions is that it is exceedingly common everywhere: in the
shrubbery of our lawns, in gardens and orchards, by the road and brookside, in
the edges of woods -- everywhere we catch its glint of brightness through the
long summer days, and hear its simple, sweet, and happy song until the end of
July.
Because both birds are so conspicuously yellow, no doubt this warbler is quite
generally confused with the goldfinch; but their distinctions are clear enough
to any but the most superficial glance. In the first place, the yellow warbler
is a smaller bird than the goldfinch; it has neither black crown, wings, nor
tail, and it does have reddish-brown streaks on its breast that are
sufficiently obsolete to make the coloring of that part look simply dull at a
little distance. The goldfinch's bill is heavy, in order that it may crack
seeds, whereas the yellow warbler's is slender, to enable it to pick minute
insects from the foliage. The goldfinch's wavy, curved flight is unique, and
that of his "double" differs not a whit from that of all nervous, flitting
warblers. Surely no one familiar with the rich, full, canary-like song of the
"wild canary," as the goldfinch is called, could confuse it with the mild
"Weechee, chee, cher-wee" of the summer yellowbird. Another distinction, not
always infallible, but nearly so, is that when seen feeding, the goldfinch is
generally below the line of vision, while the yellow warbler is either on it
or not far above it, as it rarely goes over twelve feet from the ground.
No doubt, the particularly mild, sweet amiability of the yellow warbler is
responsible for the persistent visitations of the cowbird, from which it is a
conspicuous sufferer. In the exquisite, neat little matted cradle of
glistening milk-weed flax, lined with down from the fronds of fern, the
skulking housebreaker deposits her surreptitious egg for the little yellow
mother-bird to hatch and tend. But amiability is not the only prominent trait
in the female yellow warbler's character. She is clever as well, and quickly
builds a new bottom on her nest, thus sealing up the cowbird's egg, and
depositing her own on the soft, spongy floor above it. This operation has been
known to be twice repeated, until the nest became three stories high, when a
persistent cowbird made such unusual architecture necessary.
The most common nesting place of the yellow warbler is in low willows along
the shores of streams.