CANADIAN WARBLER
Wilsonia canadensis (Linnæus)
Description.—Adult male: Upperparts gray, darkest on crown; line from bill to eye, and underparts, yellow; marks on sides of neck black, and a necklace of black spots across breast; under tail-coverts white. Female: Similar, but duller, with no black on head, and only a suggestion of the black necklace. Length: 5½ inches.
Range in Pennsylvania.—A fairly common migrant in May and September, found chiefly in low, bushy growth. As a summer resident, found only in more northerly and mountainous counties, usually in damp woodlands.
Nest.—Of leaves, lined with rootlets and other fine materials, placed at the base of a tree or in a bank. Eggs: 4 or 5, white spotted with brown.
The nervous, sprightly song of this little-seen bird ends with a decisive, upward tsip. If you can catch a glimpse of the singer you will see that his song is a fair representation of the bird, for he is energetic, nervous, and erratic in his movements. He is adept as a flycatcher. (For illustration, see [page 146].)
REDSTART
Setophaga ruticilla (Linnæus)
Description.—Adult male: Glossy blue-black, with basal half of the wing-feathers and basal two-thirds of tail-feathers orange-pink, the sides of breast and flanks bright rosy orange, and the belly white. Adult female: Grayish above, white below; wings, tail, and sides of breast with the same pattern as male, but marked with yellow, not orange-pink. Young males: Like the females, but more or less mottled with black. During the young male’s first breeding season he looks much like the female; with the succeeding moult he assumes the plumage of the full adult. Length: 5½ inches.
Range in Pennsylvania.—Abundant migrant and summer resident from early May to October, commoner in summer in more northerly and mountainous counties.
Nest.—A deep, firm, neat cup of fibers, cobwebs, and bark, saddled into the large crotch of a sapling from 5 to 20 feet from the ground. Eggs: 3 to 5, white, speckled with gray or brown, chiefly at larger end.
Here is a bird well worth finding. It is common and confiding, but its gorgeous plumage never fails to produce a gasp of amazement. As though the Redstart felt the need of making the most of his beautiful attire, he spreads his wings and tail, flashing them as he bustles about the twigs, fans them widely as he tumbles after an insect, and pauses in the sunshine a moment between his foraging expeditions. Even the female spreads her yellow-marked wings.
The song is not musical; it is wheezy and wiry, and not easily syllabized. It often ends with a decisive downward note.
Look for the Redstart in open woodlands.
PIPIT; TITLARK
Anthus spinoletta rubescens (Tunstall)
Description.—A little larger than an English Sparrow. Grayish brown above, the edge of outer tail-feathers white; a buffy line over the eye; underparts buffy; breast and sides streaked with dark brown. If the bird be in the hand, the hind toe-nail, which is very long, will be noted. Length: 6½ inches.
Range in Pennsylvania.—A rather irregular migrant from early April to mid-May and from late September to late October, sometimes fairly common, and often occurring in flocks; occasional in mild winters.