_Turdus trichas_, LINN. S. N. 1766, 293. _Sylvia trichas_, LATH.;
AUD., etc. _Geothlypis trichas_, CAB. Mus. Hein. 1850, 16.—BAIRD,
Birds N. Am. 241; Rev. 220.—GUNDLACH, Cab. Jour. 1861, 326
(Cuba).—SCLATER, Catal. 1861, 27, no. 167.—MARCH, Pr. A. N. Sc.
1863, 293.—LORD, Pr. R. Art. Inst. Woolwich, IV, 1864, 115 (N. W.
Boundary).—JONES, Nat. Bermuda, 29.—SAMUELS, 205.—COOPER, Orn.
Cal. 1, 1870, 95. _Sylvia marilandica_, WILSON. _Trichas mar._
BON. _Regulus mystaceus_, STEPHENS. _Trichas personatus_,
SWAINSON. _Sylvia roscoe_, AUD. _Trichas brachydactylus_, SWAINS.
Other localities quoted: _Xalapa_, _Oaxaca_, _Cordova_, SCL.
_Guatemala_, SCL. & SALV. _Bahamas_, BRYANT. _Costa Rica_, CAB.;
LAWR. _Orizaba_ (autumn), SUM. _Yucatan_, LAWR.
Figures: VIEILL. Ois. II, pl. xxviii, xxix.—AUD. Orn. Biog. I,
II, V, pl. xxiii, cii, ccxl.—WILS. I, pl. vi, fig. 1.—BUFFON, Pl.
enl. 709, fig. 2.
[Line drawing: _Geothlypis trichas._
26017]
SP. CHAR. (No. 26,024 ♂.) Wings a little shorter than the somewhat
graduated tail. Bill slender, the depth contained about two and a half
times in distance from nostrils to tip. First quill about equal to
seventh. Forehead to above the anterior edge of the eye, and across
the entire cheeks, ears, and jaws, and ending in an angle on sides of
neck, black, with a suffusion of hoary bluish-gray behind it on the
crown and sides of neck; the occipital and nuchal region
grayish-brown, passing insensibly into the olive-green of the upper
parts. Chin, throat, jugulum, edge of wing and crissum rich yellow
(the latter paler); rest of under parts, with lining of wings,
yellowish-white, the sides tinged with brownish; outer primary edged
with whitish, the others with olive-green. Bill black; legs yellowish.
Total length, 4.40; wing, 2.15; tail, 2.30; graduation, .25; width of
outer tail-feather, .28; difference between first and third quills,
.15; length of bill from forehead, .52; from nostril, .30; along gape,
.60; tarsus, .75; middle toe and claw, .66; claw alone, .18; hind toe
and claw, .48; claw alone, .26.
Male in winter, and the female, without the black mask; the forehead
tinged with brown, the yellow of the throat less extended, the eyelids
whitish, and a yellowish superciliary line.
HAB. The whole United States, from Atlantic to Pacific, and south to
Costa Rica; Bermuda (October); Bahamas; Cuba; Jamaica.
The young bird is brownish-olive above, becoming more virescent on the
rump and tail; eyelids, and whole lower parts, soft light buff, with a
faint tinge of yellow on the breast and lower tail-coverts.
[Illustration: _Geothlypis trichas._]
There is very much variation manifested in a large series (containing
more than one hundred and thirty specimens, principally North
American), though but very little that accords with any distinctions
of habitat. As a rule, however, those from the Atlantic States are the
smallest of the series, and have most white on the abdomen, the yellow
being restricted to the throat and jugulum, and the lower
tail-coverts. In most specimens from the Mississippi Valley the yellow
beneath is quite continuous, and the size considerably larger than in
the series above mentioned, in these respects approaching the _G.
melanops_ from Eastern Mexico, in which the yellow pervades the whole
surface beneath; but in this the whitish border above the black mask
is extended over the whole crown, leaving the nape only distinctly
brownish, and the size larger than the average of the series alluded
to. However, No. 61,135 ♂, Liberty County, Ga., has even more white on
top of the head, the whole occiput being of this color; while No.
7,922 ♂, from Racine, Wis., is quite as long as the type of _melanops_
(the tail only, shorter), and there is nearly as much yellow beneath.
The Georgia specimen, however, in other respects, is most like the
Atlantic style. Specimens from the Pacific coast have just appreciably
longer tails than Eastern ones, and the olive-green above is brighter.
Jamaican and Guatemalan specimens are identical with many from the
United States. The _G. rostratus_ of Bryant, from the Bahamas, appears
to be merely a gigantic insular race of the common species.
HABITS. This well-known and beautiful little Ground Warbler is a
common, abundant, and widely diffused species, occurring throughout
the United States from ocean to ocean, and from the Gulf of Mexico to
Canada and Nova Scotia. It is found, during the winter months, in
Cuba, Jamaica, Mexico, Yucatan, Guatemala, Costa Rica, the Bahamas,
and, in the fall, in Bermuda. On the Pacific coast it has been found
from Cape St. Lucas to the British territories. It breeds from
Northern Georgia to Halifax, inclusive.
In Central America, Mr. Salvin states that this Warbler is by far the
most common of the _Mniotiltidæ_, but is wholly migratory. It was
usually found in the neighborhood of water, frequenting the reeds that
surrounded Lake Duenas, and the bushes on the banks of its outlet. It
was also taken by Mr. Boucard at Totontepec, among the mountains of
Oaxaca, Mexico.
It was observed as far to the north as Lake of the Woods, by Mr.
Kennicott. Several were there observed, both males and females, May
29. It is everywhere quite common, and is, I think, as numerous in New
England as in the Middle States.
For the most part it seems to prefer wild lands, especially those
overgrown with briers and low bushes, to open or cultivated grounds.
Yet this preference is not exclusive, as I have known a pair, or their
offspring, to visit the same garden nine or ten successive summers. It
is also more generally found in low lands than in high, and is
probably attracted to moist thickets of briers and underbrush by the
greater abundance of its favorite food. This Warbler is eminently
terrestrial in its habits, never being found among higher limbs, but
always either on the ground or among the lower branches of bushes,
vines, and weeds. It is a diligent rather than an active or nimble
bird, is always on the move, and incessantly in search of its food.
This consists of insects in all their forms, but more particularly of
larvæ, small beetles, and spiders. They are of great service in the
destruction of several forms of injurious grubs, and but that their
mode of life exposes them to destruction by prowling cats, I doubt not
they would readily adapt themselves to living in our gardens.
Occasionally they are found in fields of grain, where their presence
is due to the abundance of destructive insects.
The Yellow-Throat appears shy and retiring because it prefers to move
back and forth among low shrubs and brambles, where it most readily
procures its food, but it is not a timid bird. They are unsuspecting,
and will as readily permit as fly from the near presence of man. I
have frequently had them approach within a few feet, especially when
at rest; and even when in motion they will continue their lively song,
as they move about from twig to twig. Though able to capture an insect
on the wing, they are not expert fly-catchers, and chiefly take their
prey when it is at rest.
Their song is a very lively and agreeable refrain, easily recognized,
though exhibiting at times marked differences, and occasionally
closely resembling the song of the Summer Yellow-Bird. The same brief
series of notes, usually sounding like _whi-ti-tēē-tēē_, is constantly
repeated at short intervals, while the singer continues his perpetual
hunt for insects.
The male is very affectionate and devoted to both mate and offspring.
The pair are never far apart, and during incubation the male is
assiduous in the collection of food, feeding its mate, and afterwards
assisting in collecting for their young. They rely upon concealment
for the protection of their nest, and rarely show any open solicitude
until it is discovered. Then they will make the most vehement
demonstrations of alarm and distress, flying about the intruder and
fearlessly approaching him to within a few feet. In Massachusetts they
rarely, if ever, have more than one brood in a season. The young are
able to take care of themselves early in July. At that time the song
of the male ceases, or is abbreviated to a single _whit_, and parents
and young form a family group and together hunt in the more secluded
thickets, the edges of woods, and other retired places, for their
food. Early in September they take their departure.
The Yellow-Throat is distributed, in suitable localities, over a large
area, and wherever found is apparently equally common. Dr. Gerhardt
found it quite abundant in Northern Georgia. Wilson and Audubon
thought it more common in the Middle States than farther north, but I
have found it quite as numerous about Halifax and Eastport as I have
at Washington. Dr. Cooper speaks of it as “very common” in Washington
Territory, though not so abundant as MacGillivray’s Warbler. The same
writer also states it to be a “very common bird” in California. Their
earliest arrival at San Diego was on the 17th of April, about the time
they reach Pennsylvania. They appear in New England early in May.
Their nest is almost invariably upon the ground, usually in a thick
bed of fallen leaves, a clump of grass or weeds, at the roots of low
bushes or briers, or under the shelter of a brush-pile. Occasionally
it has been found among high weeds, built in a matted cluster of
branches, four or five feet from the ground. Sometimes it is sunk in a
depression in the ground, and often its top is covered by loose
overlying leaves. I have never found this top interwoven with or
forming any part of the nest itself.
The nest is usually both large and deep for the size of the bird, its
loose periphery of leaves and dry sedges adding to its size, and it
often has a depth of from five to six inches from its rim to its base.
The cavity is usually three inches deep and two and a quarter wide.
Generally these nests are constructed on a base of dry leaves. An
external framework, rudely put together, of dry grasses, sedge leaves,
strips of dry bark, twigs, and decaying vegetables, covers an inner
nest, or lining, of finer materials, and more carefully woven. At the
rim of the nest these materials sometimes project like a rude palisade
or hedge. Usually the lining is of fine grasses, without hair or
feathers of any kind.
In some nests the outer portion and base are composed almost entirely
of fine dry strips of the inner bark of the wild grape.
The eggs vary from four to six in number, and also differ greatly in
their size, so much so that the question has arisen if there are not
two species, closely resembling, but differing chiefly in their size.
Of this, however, there is no evidence other than in these marked
variations in the eggs.
In the Great Basin, Mr. Ridgway found this bird abundant in all the
bushy localities in the vicinity of water, but it was confined to the
lower portions, never being seen high up on the mountains, nor even in
the lower portions of the mountain cañons.
Their eggs exhibit a variation in length of from .55 to .72 of an
inch, and in breadth from .48 to .58 of an inch; the smallest being
from Georgia, and the largest from Kansas. They are of a beautiful
clear crystalline-white ground, and are dotted, blotched, and marbled
around the larger end with purple, reddish-brown, and dark umber.
Geothlypis philadelphia, BAIRD.