What Bird is That? Part 31

_Dendroica kirtlandi. Case 8, Fig. 45_

A large Warbler, pale yellow below; crown slaty; back brownish streaked with black.

_Range._ Nests in Oscoda, Crawford and Roscommon Counties, Michigan, winters in the Bahamas; in migration has been found within the area from Minneapolis, Minn., to Toronto, Ont., south to St.

Louis, Mo., and Fort Myer, Va., and south-eastward.

Was.h.i.+ngton, one record, Sept. 25, 1887. N. Ohio, rare T.V., May 9 and 11. Glen Ellyn, one record, May 7, 1894. SE. Minn., one record, Minneapolis, May 13.

Kirtland's Warbler has one of the smallest nesting areas of any North American bird and consequently is one of our rarest species. In the summer it lives among the jack-pines of north central Michigan, nesting on the ground beneath them. When migrating, it may be found usually near the ground, where it may be identified by its habit of tail-wagging. Its song is described by Wood in "Warblers of North America" as belonging to the whistling type with the clear, ringing quality of the Oriole's. The 3-5 eggs, laid early in June, are white speckled with brown in a wreath at the larger end.

PINE WARBLER

_Dendroica vigorsi vigorsi. Case 4, Fig. 57; Case 6, Fig. 60_

The male is bright greenish yellow below, sometimes duskily streaked; the female is tinged with brown above, below is soiled whitish, tinged with yellow. L. 5.

_Range._ Nests from the Gulf States to Canada; winters from southern Illinois and Virginia southward.

Was.h.i.+ngton, quite uncommon S.R., Mch. 20-Oct. 29, abundant in fall. Ossining, casual. Cambridge, locally common S.R., Apl. 10-Oct. 20; occasional W.V. N. Ohio, rare T.V., Apl. 29-May 15. Glen Ellyn, not common T.V., spring records only, Apl.

17-May 24. SE. Minn., common T.V., Apl. 26-.

Pine Warblers seem almost as much a part of pine woods as the trees themselves. They feed on the ground below the pines, they glean from the bark of the trunk, or from the cl.u.s.ters of 'needles' on the topmost boughs, the very peace of the pines is expressed in their calm, even, musical trill; and where there are no pines there are no Pine Warblers.

During the migration, it is true, they may be found elsewhere, but at that season they are travelers, and travelers cannot always be responsible for their surroundings. Their nest, of course, is always built in pines, usually from 30-50 feet above the ground. The eggs laid in March in the South, and early June in the North, are white wreathed with brown at the larger end.

YELLOW PALM WARBLER

_Dendroica palmarum hypochrysea. Case 6, Fig. 61_

Underparts bright yellow streaked with reddish brown; cap reddish brown; line over the eye yellow. L. 5.

_Range._ Nests from Maine northward; winters from North Carolina to the Florida Keys; west to Louisiana.

Was.h.i.+ngton, T.V., common. Mch. 31-Apl. 29; Sept.

4-Oct. 28. Ossining, tolerably common T.V., Apl.

11-May 5; Sept. 20-Nov. 8. Cambridge, usually common, sometimes abundant, T.V., Apl. 15-May 5; Oct. 1-15.

A tail-wagging Warbler that frequents bushy places, weedy fields and open pine woods and gardens, living near the ground where it may be easily seen. Its call-note, _chip_, is distinctive and one learns in time to recognize it. Its song is a trill, clear and sweet, but by no means loud.

The Palm Warbler (_D. p. palmarum_) is the Mississippi Valley form of the Atlantic coast race, from which it differs in having the line over the eye white instead of yellow; the yellow of the underparts paler and confined to the throat and breast. It is not infrequent during the fall migration in the North Atlantic States and, in Florida, is far more common than the Yellow Palm.

Was.h.i.+ngton, rare T.V., Apl. 22-May 18; Sept.

18-Oct. 11. Ossining. T.V., Apl. 29; Sept. 30-Oct.

12. Cambridge, uncommon T.V. in fall, Sept.

15-Oct. 10. N. Ohio, tolerably common T.V., Apl.

24-May 20; Sept. 10-Oct. 16. Glen Ellyn, common T.V., Apl. 23-May 19; Sept. 4-Oct. 18. SE. Minn., common T.V., Apl. 23; Sept. 17-Oct. 3.

Both races nest on the ground.

PRAIRIE WARBLER

_Dendroica discolor. Case 8, Fig. 48_

A small Warbler with a reddish brown patch in the back, yellowish wing-bars, and much white in the tail. L. 4.

_Range._ Nests from Florida and northern Mississippi to Michigan and New Hamps.h.i.+re.

Was.h.i.+ngton, very common S.R., Apl. 12-Sept. 20.

Ossining, rare S.R., May 2-Sept. 14. Cambridge, locally common S.R., May 8-Sept. 15. N. Ohio, rare, Apl. 29, May 9, and 14.

Scrubby second growths, hillsides with scattered cedars and barberries, and, sometimes, bushy places in the pines are the haunts of the miscalled Prairie Warbler. Common and generally distributed in the South, it is local in the North and not always found in districts which seem to supply all its wants. Its song is composed of six or seven minute _zees_, the next to the last one usually the highest. The nest is generally built within 4 feet of the ground, the eggs, laid in May, are white marked with shades of brown, often wreathed about the larger end.

OVEN-BIRD

_Seiurus aurocapillus. Case 6, Fig. 64_

An olive brownish bird, white streaked with black below, with an orange, black-bordered crown and no white on wings or in tail. L. 6.

_Range._ Nests from Georgia and Missouri to Canada; winters from Florida southward.

Was.h.i.+ngton, very common S.R., Apl. 10-Oct. 17.

Ossining, common S.R., Apl. 27-Oct. 10. Cambridge, very common S.R., May 6-Sept. 15. N. Ohio, abundant S.R., Apl. 22-Oct. 1. Glen Ellyn, not common S.R., common T.V., Apl. 28-Sept. 30. SE.

Minn., common S.R., Apl. 27-Sept. 22.

The Oven-bird, and its near relatives the Water-Thrushes, bear so little resemblance in color and habits to the true Wood Warblers, that one might well think they were members of another family. Their plumage lacks the bright colors, white wing-bars and tail-patches possessed by most Warblers, and, instead of hopping and flitting from twig to twig, they spend their time chiefly _walking_ on the ground, where they find their food.

It is not so much its abundance as its song which makes the Oven-bird well known. Years ago Mr. Burroughs wrote it, _teacher, teacher, teacher, teacher, teacher_, and no one has improved on this description.

The Oven-bird also sings an ecstatic warbling on the wing; a thrilling performance. The nest is built on the ground and, like a Dutch oven, is roofed over with the entrance at one side. The eggs, laid in May, are white, marked chiefly at the larger end with brown.

NORTHERN WATER-THRUSH

_Seiurus noveboracensis noveboracensis. Case. 8, Fig. 56_

Underparts white tinged with pale _yellow_, everywhere--_including throat_--streaked with black; no white in tail or wings. L. 6.

_Range._ Nests from northern New England to Canada, south in the mountains, to West Virginia; winters in the tropics.

Was.h.i.+ngton, common T.V., Apl. 22-June 2; July 21-Oct. 6. Ossining, tolerably common T.V., May 11-21; July 28-Oct. 3. Cambridge, abundant T.V., May 8-June 1; Aug. 10-Oct. 10. N. Ohio, common, T.V., Apl. 26-May 25; Sept. 1-15.

The two Water-Thrushes and the Oven-bird are _walking_ Warblers, and the Water-Thrushes, furthermore, are _teeterers_, nervously tipping tail and body with apparently exhaustless energy. When migrating, the Northern Water-Thrush often seeks refuge beneath the shrubbery of our lawns, but when nesting it frequents the borders of streams in deep woods, building its home on the ground or in the roots of an upturned tree. Its call-note is a sharp _c.h.i.n.k_; its song a hurried rush of loud musical notes, closing abruptly. The 4-5 eggs, laid in the latter half of May or early June, are white with numerous brown markings chiefly about the larger end.

Grinnell's Water-Thrush (_S. n. notabilis_), a slightly larger and darker form, nests in the Northwest and is casually found as a migrant on the Atlantic coast.