Page:Birdcraft-1897.djvu/159

  Blackburnian Warbler: Dendroica blackburnice.

Torch Bird.


 * Length:
 * 5.50 inches.


 * Male:
 * Black head, striped with fame, black wings and tail with white markings, black streak on throat. Throat and breast flame-colour. Lower parts yellowish. Bill and feet dark.


 * Female:
 * Olive-brown above, entire breast yellow.


 * Song:
 * A thin warble, with little variety, ending with a high Z—,


 * Season:
 * A migrant here; seen occasionally through May, but is less uncommon in September.


 * Breeds:
 * From the northern and more elevated parts of the eastern United States northward. Dr. Merriam says that a few breed in Connecticut, and Dr. Allen notes them as casual residents in Massachusetts.


 * Nest:
 * Well concealed by bark and moss; built in small trees and

bushes, preferably evergreens.


 * Eggs:
 * 4-6, white, with lilac and chestnut shell markings, chiefly on the larger end.


 * Range:
 * Eastern North America to the Plains; in winter south to the Bahamas, Central America, and northern South America.

Another Warbler, with a totally inadequate name. It should be called the Torch Bird, for half a dozen of them, as they flash about in the pines, raising their wings and jerking their tails, make the darkest shadows seem breaking into little tongues of flame. Look for them in the autumn, and you will find that even then their colours will vie with the most brilliant leaf tints. But because some one named Blackburn first discovered or reported the Warbler, it bears the name Blackburnian. Burroughs says: "The burn seems appropriate enough,"... but ". . . the Orange-crowned Warbler would seem to be his right name, his characteristic cognomen."

  Black-throated Green Warbler: Dendroica virens.''


 * Length:
 * 6 inches.


 * Male:
 * Back and croton bright olive-yellow, sides and front of head clear yellow. Entire throat and upper breast black black continued in a stripe down. Lower parts

