"This Warbler does not sing much of a song, even in nesting-time; but you will know him on the wing by the bright yellow spot on the rump, and if he perches near by perhaps you will also see the crown of gold on the head and a spot of yellow on each side of the breast. They say there was once a great king named Midas, whose touch turned everything to gold, he was such an avaricious old miser. If that be true he must have put his finger on the Myrtlebird in four different places. Unlike most of his family the Yellow-rump is fond of seeds and berries; and so he is able to live further north in winter than any of his brothers. Unless you are spending the summer near the Canadian border you will not see him in his own home. But when they are on their journeys in spring and autumn you will meet them almost everywhere, travelling in sociable flocks."
"It must be that dark-backed bird with a yellow spot on his tail, that gobbles all the bayberries—and eats the poison-ivy berries too," said Rap. "Yes, I see that you know him; 'that dark-backed bird with a yellow spot on his tail' is not a bad description of the Myrtle Warbler," said the Doctor; "at least, as you generally see it, in autumn or winter, when that particular spot is the only one of the four which shows off well."
"But why is he called Myrtle Warbler?" asked Nat. "Does he build his nest in myrtle? I thought myrtle was that shiny-leaved plant down on the ground, that doesn't have berries."
"No, my boy, the bird is not named from that sort of creeping flowering myrtle; his name comes from a Latin word for 'bayberry,' because the bird feeds upon its fruit, as Rap told you."
"And bayberry is that low sweet-smelling shrub that we gather in the rocky pasture, to fill the great jar in the fireplace," said Olive. "Some call it candle-berry, and others wax-myrtle."
"Yes," said Rap, "and these Warblers stay round that pasture in winter as long as there is a berry left."
The Yellow-rumped Warbler
(Or MYRTLEBIRD)