An Introduction to the Birds of Pennsylvania

by George Miksch Sutton

HOODED WARBLER
Wilsonia citrina (Boddaert)

Description.—Adult male: Forehead and sides of head rich yellow; crown, hind neck, and throat black; rest of upperparts olive-green; outer tail-feathers white on their inner webs; rest of underparts bright yellow. Young male: Similar, but the black feathers of head tipped with yellow. Adult female: Like adult male, but duller, the black of the head largely replaced by gray. Length: A little over 5½ inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—Fairly common summer resident in central and southern counties from about May 1 to mid-September.

Nest.—A neat, deeply cupped structure of grasses, fibers, rootlets, and cobwebs, placed from 3 to 15 feet from the ground in a slender sapling or on a small branch of a larger tree. Eggs: 4 or 5, white, thinly wreathed with brown about the larger end.

The flashing white inner webs of the outer tail-feathers of this species are an excellent field-mark. Wherever the bird is found, it is easily observed, though it is very active. Its song I have written as too-wit, too-wit, too-wee-oh, given in a sprightly manner. Look for it in luxuriant, young tree-growth on partially shaded hillsides. In the fall Hooded Warblers may be silent, but they usually flash their tails as they become excited over our presence. The somewhat similarly colored Wilson’s Warbler has no black on the throat.

Hooded Warbler
Canadian Warbler

WILSON’S WARBLER
Wilsonia pusilla pusilla (Wilson)

Other Names.—Black-capped Warbler; Wilson’s Black-cap.

Description.—Male: Forehead and underparts bright yellow; crown glossy black; upperparts olive-green; wings and tail unmarked. Female and young: Similar, but duller, the female with only a suggestion of the black cap, the young altogether without it. Length: 5 inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—A fairly common migrant from May 10 to June 10 and from early to latter September. It appears to me to be less common in spring than in fall.

The jaunty Wilson’s Warbler, with his odd, unmusical, chipping song, has the habit of tilting or jerking his tail and flirting his wings in a very characteristic manner. Look for him in vines or low trees. He is in color a warbler, but in insect-pursuing tactics a flycatcher. As he tumbles after a gnat, his wide bill snaps audibly.

Wilson’s Warbler
Redstart