Length: About 5¼ inches.
Male: Upper parts a dull grayish-blue, darker on the back, black bordering crown above the eye; cheeks, throat, and upper breast black; belly white; sides black and white; wings black, edged with blue, and with white next to body; a white patch on wing; tail bluish-black, outer feathers largely white.
Female: Very different from male; olive-green above, yellowish-white underneath; light streak over eyes; white patch near the base of the primary quills; tail bluish, with much less white than on males.
Song: “His song, though very versatile, is among the thinnest and most non-melodious of the family.”[152]
Habitat: “Black-throated blue warblers prefer clearings amidst hemlock woods or along hemlock-clad gully banks where there are dense underbrush, bushes, and stump sprouts bearing multitudes of large leaves.”[152]
Range: Eastern North America from Hudson Bay and Newfoundland south to the Northern States, and in the highlands and mountains to Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Maryland.
The Black-throated Blue Warbler, though not so brilliantly colored as many members of the family, is one of the neatest and best-groomed of all the warblers. As he flies from bough to bough or bush to bush he displays to fine advantage the clear black and white coloration, the white spots on the wings and tail flashing like the wings of a butterfly. He carries his wings and tail partially spread somewhat in the manner of the Redstart.... The male is not so nervously active as many other warblers....
“This warbler’s nest often contains an egg of the Cowbird. The nests are variously attached to slender scrubby bushes, 8 to 30 inches up, usually very close to old trails or old wood roads.... A constant characteristic of this warbler’s nest is the decoration of decayed, spongy pieces of light colored wood fastened to the outside.”[152]
3. THE BLUE-WINGED WARBLER
Length: About 5 inches.
Male: Crown and under parts bright yellow; a black line through the eye; back olive-green, yellower at the rump; wings bluish-gray, edged with olive and white; two broad yellowish-white wing-bars; tail bluish-gray, with white patches of different sizes on outer feathers.
Female: Similar to male, but with less yellow on head,—on forehead and not on crown.
Song: “The song is insignificant, a wheezy performance of notes resembling the syllables ‘swee-e-e-e-e, chee-chee-chee-chee,’ the first inhaled, the second exhaled.”[152]
Habitat: “The Blue-winged warbler frequents swampy thickets but is sometimes found among the scrubby second growth of the hillsides and the undergrowth of dense woods.”[152]
Range: Breeds in eastern North America from southeastern Minnesota, southern Michigan, western New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, southward to Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, and Delaware; winters from southern Mexico to Colombia.
“The Blue-winged Warbler is deliberate in its movements as compared with other warblers, acting more like a vireo than a member of its family.
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The nesting site of this warbler is on the ground in a bunch of herbs or at the foot of a small bush. The nest is surrounded by grass, weeds, ferns, or vines, which screen it effectively from view.”[152]
4. THE GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER
Length: A little over 5 inches.
Male: Crown bright yellow; white line over eye, broad black line extending through eye; black throat bordered with white; wings bluish-gray, with a large, bright yellow patch; upper parts, bluish-gray; under parts, except throat, grayish-white; tail bluish-gray, with outer feathers nearly all white on their inner webs.
Female: Similar to male, but duller; cheeks and throat dark gray instead of black.
Song: “Its song is a ‘lazy zee-zee-zee.’ It has also an insect-like call-note, and a sharp chip alarm-note like that of the chipping sparrow.... The song when near at hand sounds like the syllables zee-u-ee′, zee-u-ee′, zee-u-ee′.”[153]
Habitat: The beautiful little Golden-winged Warbler may be found in deciduous forests, especially among elm and birch trees, and has a habit of seeking the ends of branches for its food.
Range: Eastern North America. Breeds from central Minnesota, southern Ontario, and Massachusetts, to southern Iowa, northern Illinois, Indiana, and New Jersey, and northern Georgia; winters from Guatemala to Colombia; very rare in Florida and southern Georgia, and west of the Mississippi.