What Bird is That? Part 33

Was.h.i.+ngton, locally common, S.R., Apl. 19-Oct. 1.

Ossining, rare S.R., to Sept. 1. N. Ohio, rare.

May 8, 9, 12 and 22.

Color, song, habit and temperament combine to make the Hooded Warbler one of the most attractive members of its family. As one sees it flitting from bush to bush in woodland undergrowth, displaying its white outer tail-feathers as it flies, pausing now and again to utter its simple, sweet whistled song, one is impressed not only by its beauty but by its gentleness. It nests in a bush within a foot or two of the ground, laying 3-5 white eggs, wreathed with shades of brown spots, early in May, in the South, in June, in the North.

WILSON'S WARBLER

_Wilsonia pusilla pusilla. Case 8, Figs. 73, 74_

The female usually lacks the black cap, when she resembles the female Hooded, but is smaller and has no white in the tail. L. 5.

_Range._ Nests from northern New England and northern Minnesota northward; winters in the tropics.

Was.h.i.+ngton, rather common T.V., May 1-26; Aug.

27-Oct. 6. Ossining, tolerably common T.V., May 9-30; Aug. 10-Sept. 9. Cambridge, common T.V., May 12-25; uncommon, Sept. 5-20. N. Ohio, tolerably common T.V., May 5-June 2; Sept. 5-15. Glen Ellyn, not common T.V., May 7-June 26; Aug. 16-Sept. 21.

SE. Minn., common T.V., May 2-; Aug. 23-Sept. 27.

Wilson's Warbler, a flycatching Warbler of the lower growth, favors bushes near water, but is also found in dryer places. Thayer in "Warblers of North America" says that its "song has much of the ringing clarity of the Canada's and Hooded's songs." It nests on the ground, laying 4 eggs, usually with a wreath of spots at the larger end, early in June.

CANADIAN WARBLER

_Wilsonia canadensis. Case 8, Fig. 53_

Above gray, no white in wings or tail; breast with a necklace of black spots, paler and less numerous in the female. L. 5.

_Range._ Nests from Ma.s.sachusetts and central Minnesota northward, south in the mountains to Tennessee; winters in the tropics.

Was.h.i.+ngton, very common T.V., May 5-June 2; July 31-Sept. 25. Ossining, common T.V., May 6-June 2; Aug. 10-Oct. 11. Cambridge, common, May 12-30, rare, Sept. 1-15; rare S.R. N. Ohio, common T.V., Apl. 28-May 27; Sept. 1-18. Glen Ellyn, common T.V., May 5-June 6; Aug. 15-Sept. 22. SE. Minn., common T.V., May 8-; Aug. 18-Sept. 5.

The Canadian Warbler haunts the lower growth of deciduous forests. It is "a sprightly, wide-awake, fly-snapping Warbler, vivid in movement and in song" (Thayer). "The song is liquid, uncertain, varied, bright and sweet" (Farwell). It nests on the ground early in June, laying 4-5 eggs much like those of Wilson's Warbler.

REDSTART

_Setophaga ruticilla. Case 8, Figs. 57, 58_

The female is yellow where the male is flame-color; young males resemble the female, but usually have more or less black on the breast. L.

5.

_Range._ Nests from Arkansas and North Carolina to Canada; winters in the tropics.

Was.h.i.+ngton, very abundant T.V., Apl, 15-May; Aug.

19-Sept. 30; a few breed. Ossining, common S.R., May 1-Oct. 3. Cambridge, abundant S.R., May 5-Sept. 20. N. Ohio, common S.R., Apl. 27-Sept.

20. Glen Ellyn. not common S.R., common T.V., May 3-Oct. 5. SE. Minn., common S.R., May 2-Sept. 22.

His bright colors, graceful, aerial pirouetting, abundance, and frequently uttered song make the Redstart the most conspicuous as well as one of the most attractive of our woodland Warblers. So exquisite a creature should be as widely known as are violets or daisies. The Redstart builds its well-made nest in a crotch, usually about fifteen feet above the ground. The 4-5 grayish white eggs, spotted and blotched chiefly at the larger end, are laid in mid-May.

WAGTAILS AND PIPITS. FAMILY MOTACILLIDae

AMERICAN PIPIT

_Anthus rubescens. Case 4, Fig. 62; Case 5, Fig. 17_

Outer tail-feathers white, bill slender, back grayish. L. 6.

_Range._ Nests from Newfoundland to Greenland; winters from Maryland to Florida and Mexico.

Was.h.i.+ngton, W.V., sometimes abundant, Oct. 2-May 12. Ossining, common T.V., Mch. 26-(?); Sept.

24-Nov. 16. Cambridge, T.V., abundant Sept.

20-Nov. 10; rare Apl. 10-May 20. N. Ohio, common T.V., Apl. 6-May 20; Oct. 19. Glen Ellyn, not common T.V., Apl. 15-; Sept. 30-Oct. 18. SE.

Minn., common T.V., May 4-; Oct.

At first glance a Pipit might be mistaken for a Sparrow--let us say, a Vesper Sparrow; but note that it walks, instead of hops, that it constantly wags or 'tips' its tail, that it has a slender, not stout bill. Meadows, pastures, plowed fields, golf-courses, are frequented by Pipits, usually in flocks of a dozen or more. When flushed, with a faint _dee-dee_, they bound lightly into the air but usually soon return to earth.

Sprague's Pipit (_Anthus spraguei_), a slightly smaller species, nests in Montana, Dakota, and northward, and is sometimes found in small numbers on the coast of South Carolina and Georgia in winter.

THRASHERS, MOCKINGBIRDS, ETC. FAMILY MIMIDae

MOCKINGBIRD

_Mimus polyglottos polyglottos. Case 4; Fig. 76_

To be confused in color only with the Loggerhead Shrike, but larger, with a longer tail, no black on the face and totally different habits. L. 10.

_Range._ Nests from the Gulf to Iowa and Maryland; rarely to Ma.s.sachusetts; winters from Maryland southward.

Was.h.i.+ngton, uncommon P.R., less numerous in winter. Cambridge, rare S.R., Mch. to Nov.

No southern garden is complete without a Mockingbird to guard its treasures with his harsh alarm-note and extol its beauties in his brilliant, varied song. He is to the South what the Robin is to the North--and more, for he is present throughout the year while the Robin is with us only during the nesting season.

The Mocker builds in bushes, orange-trees or other dense vegetation, from late March, in southern Florida, to early May in Virginia. The 4-6 eggs are blue heavily marked with brown.

CATBIRD

_Dumatella carolinensis. Case 4, Fig. 81; Case 6, Fig. 71_

Both s.e.xes of the Catbird wear the same costume at all seasons and all ages. L. 9.