This very active warbler may be “squeaked up” easily. As it dashes about, the white band at the base of the tail usually shows plainly, for it spreads its tail widely at times. The song is a brief unmusical effort which ends with a chopped-off falling inflection. (See illustration, [page 136].)
CERULEAN WARBLER
Dendroica cerulea (Wilson)
Description.—Adult male: Light gray-blue above, with a distinct white line over the eye, two prominent white wing bars, and obscure black streaking on the back; inner webs of outer tail-feathers tipped with white; underparts white, a band of gray or gray-blue usually completely encircling the breast; sides streaked with black. Female: Glossy green-blue on the head, dull grayish green on the rest of the upperparts, the wings and tail marked much as in the male; underparts dull yellowish white. Length: 4½ inches.
Range in Pennsylvania.—An abundant summer resident from early May to mid-September, locally, in the southwestern counties; elsewhere it is rare and irregular.
Nest.—A shallow, neat cup of lichens, vegetable fiber, and tree-flowers, saddled on a horizontal limb from 20 to 50 feet from the ground, often in a beech tree. Eggs: 3 or 4, white, spotted with grayish, especially at larger end.
The song of this handsome bird may be written cheery, cheery, cheery, chee. It is rather rapidly given, with a rising inflection at the end. The Cerulean Warbler usually stays high in the trees.
Magnolia Warbler
Cerulean Warbler
CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER
Dendroica pensylvanica (Linnæus)
Description.—Adult male: Crown pale yellow; line through eye black; back greenish or yellowish white, strikingly streaked with black; wings with two white wing-bars; inner webs of outer tail-feathers tipped with white; underparts white or grayish white, the sides marked with a broad streak of chestnut very noticeable in the field. Female: Similar, but duller, the chestnut of the sides being almost obsolete at times, the top of the head streaked. Immature birds are not easy to identify; they are plain yellowish green above and whitish below; the eye is encircled with a whitish ring, which is quite noticeable, and the wings are marked with two prominent wing-bars. Length: A little over 5 inches.
Range in Pennsylvania.—A fairly common migrant during May and September; as a summer resident, local and sometimes abundant in the northerly and more mountainous counties. It is to be looked for anywhere in the State as a nesting bird—wherever there are thicket-covered hillsides.
Nest.—A rather well-made cup which is sometimes semi-pensile, placed 2 to 3 feet from the ground in a low bush or in a blackberry vine. It is composed of weed-stalks, vegetable fibers, and other soft materials. Eggs: 3 or 4, white, wreathed about the larger end with fine chestnut-brown spots.
It has been said that the bright, varied song of this bird ends with the syllables Miss Beecher. It is not amiss to bear in mind such a characterization, for though the bird never gives such syllables distinctly, when the song is once learned the name will always jump to mind the minute it is heard. Look for these active birds in thickets on hillsides.