(_Dendroica A|stiva_) Wood Warbler family
_Called also_: SUMMER YELLOWBIRD; GOLDEN WARBLER; YELLOW POLL
_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 "_Wee-chee, 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 milkweed 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.