TOLMIE WARBLERS.
A. O. U. No. 675 a. Seiurus noveboracensis notabilis Ridgw.
Description.—Adults: Above sooty olive-brown, singularly uniform; below white or tinged with pale yellow, everywhere (save on abdomen, centrally, under tail-coverts and extreme chin) streaked with sooty olive, the streaks small and wedge-shaped on throat, increasing in size posteriorly on breast, sides and flanks (where nearly confluent on buffy ground); a superciliary stripe continuous to nostril pale buffy; a crescent-shaped mark of same shade on lower eyelid; cheeks and auricular region finely streaked with pale buffy and color of back. Bill dark brown above, lighter below; feet pale; iris brown. Young birds are finely barred with buffy above and have two buffy wing-bars; underparts heavily and indistinctly streaked with dusky on pale yellow ground. Length 6.00 (152) or over; wing 3.00 (76); tail 2.10 (53.3); bill .53 (13.5); tarsus .85 (21.7).
Recognition Marks.—Warbler size; plain brown above; white (or pale yellow) heavily streaked with dusky below; a prominent buffy stripe over eye.
Nesting.—Does not breed in Washington. Nest: on the ground or in roots of upturned tree; of moss and leaves, lined with fine rootlets and tendrils. Eggs: 4 or 5, white or creamy white, speckled, spotted or wreathed with reddish browns. Av. size, .80 × .60 (20.3 × 15.2). Season: May 20-June 10; one brood.
General Range.—Western North America; breeding from Minnesota, western Nebraska and the northern Rocky Mountains north to Alaska and Siberia (East Cape); southward during migrations over Western States and Mississippi Valley, less commonly thru Atlantic coast States, to West Indies, Mexico, Central America and Colombia.
Range in Washington.—Conjectural—should be not uncommon migrant.
Authority.—S. noveboracensis, Baird, Review Am. Birds, 1865, 215 (“Camp Moogie, Washington”).
Specimens.—P (Alaskan). Prov.
While we have only one record, and that an old one, there is every reason to suppose that this species traverses our borders annually, since it breeds in the middle mountain districts of British Columbia (Rhoads), is abundant in Alaska (Nelson), and migrates southward thru the western United States (Ridgway). The Water-thrush should be looked for in May along the shaded banks of streams, but may possibly be found along more open margins, consorting with Pipits, with which it shares a restless habit of jetting, or curtseying, whimsically.
A. O. U. No. 681 a. Geothlypis trichas occidentalis Brewster.
Description.—Adult male in spring and summer: Above grayish olive-green, brighter (less gray) on upper tail-coverts and tail, inclining to brownish on crown and hindneck; an obliquely descending facial mask of black involving forehead, lores, space about eyes, cheeks and (more narrowly) sides of neck; along the posterior margin of this mask a narrow sharply contrasting area of clear ash or white; chin, throat and breast rich yellow (inclining to gamboge); sides of breast and sides heavily shaded with olive-gray and breast more or less washed with same; lower breast and below between yellow and palest olive-gray; under tail-coverts and bend of wing clear yellow. Adult male in autumn: Occiput more decidedly brown; upperparts clearer olive-green. Young male in first autumn: Mask of adult merely indicated by black underlying sooty-brown on sides of head; coloration of underparts duller. Adult female in spring: Like adult male but without black mask and ashy edging; crown and sides of head olive gray; forehead tinged with brown; region above and about eye notably paler; coloration of underparts duller and paler, sometimes clearly yellow on under tail-coverts alone. Young female in first autumn: Similar to adult but underparts still duller and dingier, breast and sides heavily washed with brownish olive. Length of adult about 5.00 (127); wing 2.26 (57.5); tail 2.19 (55.8); bill .44 (11.3); tarsus .83 (21).
Recognition Marks.—Warbler size; black mask and white fillet of male distinctive. The female is a much more difficult bird to recognize—perhaps best known by peculiar sordid olive-brownish-yellow shade of underparts. The pale orbital area also assists, but one must live with these birds to know them infallibly.
Nesting.—Nest: of coarse grasses lined with fine grass and horse-hair; placed 1-2 feet high in tussock of grass or rank herbage, usually near water; outside 4½ wide by 3½ deep, inside 2¼ by 1½. Eggs: 4 or 5, dotted and spotted or, rarely, streaked with blackish and lavender. Av. Size, .70 × .56 (17.8 × 14.2). Season: May 20-June 10; one brood.
General Range.—Western United States and British Columbia, except Pacific coast district, east to western portions of the Great Plains; breeding southward into Mexico and northern Lower California; in winter south to Cape St. Lucas and western Mexico.
Range in Washington.—Summer resident east of the Cascade Mountains; found chiefly in rye-grass districts and in vicinity of water.
Migrations.—Spring: Ahtanum (Yakima Co.) March 29, 1900.
Authorities.—Dawson, Auk, XIV. April, 1897, 179. D². Ss¹. Ss². J.
Specimens.—U. of W. P. Prov.
Coarse grass, stunted bushes, water, and sunshine seem to be the chief requirements of this very individual bird. To obtain the first-named, especially if represented by his favorite rye-grass, he will forsake water within reasonable limits; but his preference is for a grassy swamp clotted with bushes, and he does not overlook any considerable area of cat-tails and tulés. Yellow-throat is a restless, active little body, and he is among the first to come forward when you enter the swamp. His method is hide-and-seek and the game would all be his, if he did not reveal his presence from time to time by a harsh accusing note, a sort of Polish, consonantal explosion, wzschthub,—a sound not unlike that made by a guitar string when struck above the stop. If you attempt to follow the bird, the game ends in disappointment. But if the observer pauses, curiosity gets the better of the bird, and he is soon seen peering out from a neighboring bush, roguery only half hidden by his highwayman’s mask.
The female, having no mask, keeps to the background, but she is not less interested than her mate in the progress of events. When the scout returns to report, there is often a curious outbreak of discussion, in which the husband, as like as not, finds it necessary to defend his opinion with a perfect torrent of wzschthubs.
Taken in Douglas County. Photo by the Authors.
A WESTERN YELLOW-THROAT’S NEST.
NEST CONTAINS TWO EGGS OF THE YELLOW-THROAT AND TWO OF THE COWBIRD.
Yellow-throat’s song is one of the few explicit things in the swamp. Mounting a weed-stalk, he rubs out, Witchity, witchity, witchity, or “I beseech you, I beseech you, I beseech.” Rhythm is the chief characteristic of this song, and altho a given bird appears to be confined to a single type, the variety of “feet” offered by a swamp is most entertaining. Reésiwitte, reésiwitte, rit’, was the cadence of a Douglas County bird; while chitooreet’, chitooreet’, chitooreet’, chu, heard at Chelan, reminded me of the Kentucky Warbler (Oporornis formosa). The bird has also an ecstacy song, “a confused stuttering jumble of notes” poured out in hot haste in mid-air.
Like an echo from “the different world” came the song of a bird at Brook Lake. We had just been listening to the unwonted notes of a Desert Sparrow (Amphispiza bilineata deserticola) some hundreds of miles out of its usual range, and were not unprepared for shocks, when Hoo hee, chink i woo chu tip fell upon the ear. What! a Slate-colored Sparrow here in the sage brush! Or is it, maybe, a Vesper, grown precise? Again and again came the measured accents, clear, strong, and sweet. Not till I had seen the mandibles of a Western Yellow-throat, and that repeatedly, moving in perfect rhythm to the music, could I believe so small a bird the author of this song. For fifteen minutes the Warbler brought forth this alien strain, Hee-o chiti wo, chu tip or Hee oo chitiwew chu tipew without once lapsing into ordinary dialect. Wherever did he get it?
My nests have nearly all been found in June and, I guess, they may have contained second sets, for the bird sometimes reaches Yakima County as early as March 29th. One was sunk in a tussock of grass within eight inches of the swamp water, and I nearly stepped on the female before she flew. Another was lashed at a height of two feet to a group of rank weeds, some forty feet removed from a lazy brook. A third, shown in the illustration, we found while dragging over a dense patch of rye-grass, some three hundred yards from water. The nest was composed entirely of the flattened and macerated leaves of old rye-grass gleaned from the ground, with a scanty lining of horse-hair. It was simply set, or wedged, in between the stiff, upgrowing stalks of grass at the height of a foot, and was not attached in any manner to its supports. The male bird, strange to say, was covering the eggs, of which two belonged to that contemptible shirk, the Cowbird.
A. O. U. No. 681 c. Geothlypis trichas arizela Oberholser.
Synonym.—Puget Sound Yellow-throat.
Description.—Adults: Very similar to G. t. occidentalis and with corresponding changes but throat, etc., rich lemon yellow (inclining to greenish, whereas occidentalis inclines to orange); more yellow in grayish olive green of upperparts; ashy border of mask said to average more narrow (very doubtful). Alleged differences in measurements are inconsequential.
Recognition Marks.—As in preceding.
Nesting.—Much as in preceding form but birds more nearly confined to vicinity of water. Eggs: 4. Av. size, .76 × .53 (19.3 × 13.5). Season: first week in May, first week in June; two broods.
General Range.—“Pacific coast district, from British Columbia southward; breeding southward to Los Angeles County, California, and eastward to Fort Klamath, Oregon; during migration to Cape St. Lucas” (Ridgw.).
Range in Washington.—Summer resident in fresh and salt water marshes west of the Cascades.
Migrations.—Spring: Tacoma, April 12, 1905, April 6, 1906.
Authorities.—? Audubon, Orn. Biog. V. 1839, 463, part (Columbia River). Geothlypis trichas, Baird, Rep. Pac. R. R. Surv. IX, 1858, 241, part. (T). C&S. L². Ra. B. E.
Specimens. Prov. B. E.
In our younger days some of us were taught to be seen and not heard. Among the Yellow-throats the children are taught the opposite. A bird that can call “Witch-et-y! Witch-et-y! Witch-et-y!” in a dozen different places thru the swale and in the meantime can keep out of sight while you are looking for him, is a well brought-up Yellow-throat. We were taught to tell the truth, but deceit is drilled into the Yellow-throat children from the time they leave the egg. A human mother insists upon your looking at her children, but at the approach of a visitor the Yellow-throat mother sneaks off the nest and away thru the bushes for the sole purpose of persuading you the home is in the reeds on the other side of the creek. This may be wrong according to our teaching, but it is perfectly right according to the Yellow-throat’s code of morals.
If you want to see Yellow-throat, you must go down along the swale or visit some damp thicket or swamp. He likes the rushes and the reeds where the Red-winged Blackbird and the Tule Wren live. I once found a Red-wing’s nest and a Yellow-throat’s home within a few feet of each other. If you want to see this ground warbler, go to his haunt. He will see you first but lie down quietly among the bushes. He will likely get curious and hop up out of the reeds. You may get just one good look before he darts away into the bushes again.
The male Yellow-throat always wears plain marks of recognition on his face. He has a black mask extending across his forehead and back on the sides of his head. The female goes without a mask and is clothed in subdued tints of yellow and brown.
When the Yellow-throat seeks a home, he finds a thick tussock of grass and hides his nest well in the middle. It is my experience that when you want to find his home, it is better not to look for it. If you keep on tramping thru the swamps and swales, some day you will stumble on one when you least expect it. Once I hunted for several days about a swampy place where I heard the Yellow-throats singing. Not a sign of a nest did I find. Whenever I appeared the birds were on hand as if very anxious to aid me in finding their home. After tiring me with their deceit, they sneaked away fifty yards to the nest. A little later in the season I happened to see the father carrying worms and discovered the young Yellow-throats just about to leave home. William L. Finley.
Taken in Oregon. Photo by H. T. Bohlman and W. L. Finley.
AN ENTHUSIASTIC RECEPTION.
MALE PACIFIC YELLOW-THROAT FEEDING YOUNG.
A. O. U. No. 683 a. Icteria virens longicauda (Lawrence).
Synonym.—Long-tailed Chat.
Description.—Adult male: Above grayish olive-green; fuscous on exposed inner webs of wings and tail; a prominent line above lores and eye, a short malar stripe, and eye-ring, white; enclosed space black on lores, less pure behind; throat, breast, lining of wings, and upper sides rich gamboge yellow; lower belly and crissum abruptly white; sides washed with brownish; bill black; feet plumbeous. Adult female: Very similar; bill lighter; lores and cheek-patch dusky rather than black; black appreciably lighter. Young: Dull olive above; head markings of adult faintly indicated; below grayish white, darker on breast, buffier behind. Length 6.75-7.50 (171.5-190.5); wing 3.07 (78); tail 3.01-3.39 (76.5-86); bill .57 (14.5); tarsus 1.04 (26.5).
Recognition Marks.—Strictly “Sparrow” size, but because of bright color having nearer the size value of Chewink;—the largest of the Warblers. Bright yellow breast with contrasting white below, with size, distinctive.
Nesting.—Nest: a bulky and often careless structure, 7 inches wide and 4 inches deep outside, 3 inches wide and 1½ deep inside; of coarse grasses and weed-stems, lined with finer grasses or rootlets, placed in upright fork of bush or small tree in thicket. Eggs: 4, white, somewhat glossed and marked irregularly with spots and dots of lavender and rufous, most heavily, or not, about larger end. Av. size, .89 × .68 (22.6 × 17.3). Season: first week in June; one brood.
General Range.—Western United States from near eastern border of Great Plains west to the Pacific Coast, breeding north into south-central British Columbia southward to valley of Mexico; in migration south in winter to Mexico
Range in Washington.—Summer resident in thickets about springs and streams of eastern Washington; does not deeply invade mountains; rare or casual west of Cascades (Tacoma, June 4, 1905, by J. H. Bowles; Sumas, B. C., May 26, 1897, by Allan Brooks).
Migrations.—Spring: May 18, 1900 (Yakima county).
Authorities.—? Icteria viridis (Bonap.), Townsend, Journ. Ac. Nat. Sci., Phila., VII., 1839, 153 (N. W. United States) Auct. Cooper and Suckley, Rep. Pac. R. R. Surv. p. 288 (“Towns. and Nuttall. Seen at Walla-Walla, Washington Territory”). Dawson, Auk, XIV., 1897, p. 179. (T). D¹. D². Ss¹. Ss². B.
Specimens.—(U. of W.) P¹. Prov. B.
Structurally allied to the Wood Warblers, the Chat has yet such a temperamental affinity with the Catbird, that it is difficult, for me, at least, to dissociate the two birds in thought. Both love the thickets; both excel in song; both plague their neighbors by mimicry; and both alike are dearly provoking bundles of contradictions. The Chat is, perhaps, the greater buffoon, as he is certainly the more handsomely dressed of the two. Beyond this we must consider him on his own merits.
Ten to one you know him, if at all, only as a voice, a tricksy bushwhacker of song, an elusive mystery of the thicket; or you have unconsciously ascribed his productions to half a dozen mythical birds at once. But look more closely. It is well worth the quest to be able to resolve this genius of roguery. Be assured he knows you well enough by sight, for he does not poke and pry and spy for nothing, in the intervals of song. He has still the proverbial curiosity of woman. Seat yourself in the thicket, and when you hear the mellow, saucy Kook, with its whistled vowel, bounded by consonants barely thought of, imitate it. You will have the bird up in arms at once. Kwook, returns the bird, starting toward you. Repeat it, and you have won. The bird scents a rival and he will leave no stem unclasped but he finds him. As the bird alternately squints and stares from the brush, note the rich warbler olive of his upperparts, the gorgeous yellow of the throat and breast, the white brow-stripe and the malar dash, offset by black and darker olive. It is a warbler in color-pattern, a Yellow-throat done larger, but waggish, furtive, impudent, and resourceful beyond any other of his kind.
The full song of the Chat is usually delivered from some elevation, a solitary tree rearing itself above dense cover. The music almost defies analysis, for it is full of surprises, vocal somersaults, and whimsy turns. Its cadence is ragtime, and its richest phrases are punctuated by flippant jests and droll parentheses. Even in the tree-top the singer clings closely to the protecting greenery, whence he pitches headlong into the thicket at the slightest intimation of approach.
The love song of the Chat, the so-called “dropping song,” is one of the choicest of avian comedies, for it is acted as well as sung. The performer flings himself into mid-air, flutters upward for an instant with head upraised and legs abjectly dangling, then slowly sinks on hovering wing, with tail swinging up and down like a mad pump-handle. Punch, as Cupid, smitten with the mortal sickness. And all this while the zany pours out a flood of tumultuous and heart-rending song. He manages to recover as he nears the brush, and his fiancée evidently approves of this sort of buffoonery.
The Chat is a skilled mimic. I have traced the notes of such diverse species as Bullock Oriole, Slender-billed Nuthatch, and Magpie to his door. Once, down on the Rio Grande, we rapped on a vine-covered cottonwood stump to dislodge a Flicker that had been shrieking Klyak at us for some minutes past, and we flushed a snickering Chat.
The Western Chat, like the eastern bird, has small taste for architecture. A careless mass of dead leaves and coarse grasses is assembled in a bush at a height of three or four feet, and a lining of finer grasses, when present at all, is so distinct as to permit of removal without injury to the bulk of the structure. From three to five eggs are laid and so jealously guarded that the birds are said to destroy the eggs once visited by man. So cautious are the Chats that even after the young have hatched out, they take care not to be seen in the vicinity of their nest, but a low, anxious chuck sometimes escapes from the harassed mother in a neighboring thicket.
Chats will follow suitable cover into most desolate places. On the other hand they do not discriminate against civilization per se, and the Chats of Cannon Hill, in Spokane, are as grateful to the good sense of its citizens as are the Catbirds and two score other resident species of songsters. They are, however, birds of the sunshine belt, and West-side records are very few.
A. O. U. No. 685 a. Wilsonia pusilla pileolata (Pallas).
Description.—Adult male: Above bright olive green; forehead, sides of head, and underparts bright greenish yellow, tinged on sides with olive-green; crown, or “cap,” lustrous black; wings and tail fuscous and olive-edged without peculiar marks; bill dark above, light below; feet light brown. Adult female: Similar, but the black cap wanting, or, if present, less distinct. Immature: Like female without cap. Length about 4.75; wing 2.20 (56); tail 1.97 (50); bill .38 (8.5); tarsus .75 (18.8).
Recognition Marks.—Least,—pygmy size; black cap of male distinctive; recognizable in any plumage by small size and greenish yellow coloration. Brighter than W. pusilla; not so bright as W. p. chryseola.
Nesting.—As next.
General Range.—Western North America, breeding thruout the Rocky Mountain district, north to Alaska, west to Cascade Range in Oregon and Washington and to Vancouver Island; during migrations over the entire western United States, and east irregularly to the Mississippi; south in winter over Mexico and Central America.
Range in Washington.—Not common resident and abundant migrant on East-side; migrant only west of Cascades.
Migrations.—Spring: May 1-15.
Authorities.—Dawson, Auk XIV., 1897, 180. (T). (C&S). D¹. Kb. D². J. E.
Specimens.—B. BN. E. P.
The pervading yellowness of this little bush-ranger will hardly serve to distinguish it from the equally common Lutescent Warbler, unless you are able to catch sight of its tiny silken crown-patch of black, the “little cap” which gives the bird its Latin-sounding name. With chryseola it is the smallest of our warblers, and it is one of the commonest, during migrations, on the East-side. The thickets have taken on full leaf before the bird arrives from the South, along about the 10th of May, and the northward march is often prolonged till the first of June. So expert is the little Black-cap at threading briary tangles, that a meeting here depends upon the bird’s caprice rather than the astuteness of the observer. Willow trees are favorite stations during the spring movement, and these because of their scantier foliage afford the best opportunities for study.
My impression is that the Pileolated Warbler must breed sparingly in eastern Washington. There is, however, only one summer record to substantiate this belief,—a bird seen in the valley of the Stehekin, June 22nd, 1906. The only song I have heard differed from the abruptly terminated crescendo of W. p. chryseola, being rather a well modulated swell, chip chip! chip!! chip!!! chip!!! chip!! chip! chip.
GOLDEN WARBLER
MALE, ⅘ LIFE SIZE
From a Water-color Painting by Allan Brooks
A. O. U. No. 685 b. Wilsonia pusilla chryseola Ridgw.
Synonym.—Golden Pileolated Warbler (properly so-called, but the bird, because of its local abundance deserves the shorter name. Moreover, altho “golden” is the commonest color among the Warblers, the name has not been pre-empted).
Description.—“Similar to W. p. pileolata, but slightly smaller and much more brightly colored; olive-green of upperparts much more yellowish, almost olive-yellow in extreme examples; yellow of forehead and superciliary region (especially the former) inclining more or less to orange; yellow of underparts purer, more intense” (Ridgway). Length of adult males (skins) 4.35 (110); wing 2.18 (55.4); tail 1.93 (49.1); bill .33 (8.3); tarsus .72 (18.2).
Recognition Marks.—As in preceding; brighter.
Nesting.—Nest: a shapely and thick-walled mass of dead leaves, grasses and vegetable fibers, lined with coiled grasses or hair, on the ground or concealed at moderate heights in weeds, bushes, evergreen saplings, etc. Eggs: 3-5, white or creamy white, speckled and spotted with reddish brown markings, well distributed or gathered about larger end. Av. size .59 × .48 (15 × 12.2). Season: May 15-30; one brood.
General Range.—Pacific Coast district from southern California to southern British Columbia.
Range in Washington.—Summer resident in western Washington; common in well-watered forests at lower levels and in thickets from sea-level to higher mountain valleys.
Migrations.—Spring: Arrives Puget Sound April 25-May 5. Fall: Blaine, Sept. 15.
Authorities.—Myiodioctes pusillus Bonap., Baird, Rep. Pac. R. R. Surv. IX. pt. II., 1858, p. 294 (part). C&S. L¹. Ra. B. E.
Specimens.—U. of W. E.
This dainty little Warbler is one of the most characteristic and well distributed birds of western Washington. Its summer range embraces all shady and moist woods having varied undergrowth; and it is at home alike on the sides of the western Cascades, in the swampy bottoms tributary to Puget Sound, or under the dense spruce forests of the Pacific slope. It is certainly one of the most abundant birds in the last-named section, and its golden flittings not only dominate the fern levels but extend upward into the mossy arms of the evergreens. A brilliant dress does not appear to endanger the life of this little despot, for he is quite too insignificant for notice among the Knights of Claw and Jaw, and so he flashes in and out, scolds, sings, and meditates, by turns, without molestation. Nor is there any lack of interest in the life of this golden midget. Have you never wished that you were tiny—oh, teeny—with beady black eyes, that you might explore the mysteries of a moss forest? that elderberries might look to you like great blue pippins? and madrone berries like luscious fiery pumpkins? that you might pluck a thousand sapid meats at first hand where now you know only a few “staples,” disguised by the meretricious arts of cookery? That you might—Ah, here I have you!—that you might pantingly pursue a golden maiden down dim forest aisles, over plunging billows of spiræa blossoms, past corridors of giant sword-fern, into—Oh, where is that maddening creature! She’s given me the slip again! Never mind; I’ll pause and sing: oooooééééééééooooo.
Truth to tell, the song just recorded is one of the rarest, a perfectly modulated swell of sharp staccato notes of little resonance but greater power and intensity. The ordinary song is a series of monosyllables uttered with increasing emphasis, chip chip CHIP CHIP CHIP CHIP. The singer is very much in earnest, and compels attention in spite of his utter lack of musical ability. Late in August, the 26th it was, I provoked a Black-cap at Blaine by screeping, until he sang merely to relieve his feelings, chip CHIP CHIP CHIP chip chip chip, the precise type of the Pileolated Warbler, W. p. pileolata proper. The only other variant in my collection is tsew tsew tsew tsee tsee tsee, whhhackity,—the last note, somewhat whimsically represented here, being an intense guttural trill very difficult to characterize.
Messrs. Rathbun and Renick, of Seattle, have made a special study of the nesting habits of this dainty wood nymph, and they report a marked partiality in its nesting for the vicinity of woodland paths, log-roads, and the smaller openings in the logged-off sections. The favorite host is a cedar sapling, a mere baby tree with stem only half an inch or so in diameter. Of nine nests examined only one, in a bracken, was more than two feet above the ground, and none were less than ten inches. The nest is quite a bulky affair, yet compact centrally, composed externally of copious dried leaves and twigs; internally of fine grasses and interwoven rootlets. The birds quit the nest unobserved and the finding of one of their domiciles is a matter of hard work.
A. O. U. No. 687. Setophaga ruticilla (Linn.).
Description.—Adult male: Head and neck all around and breast shining black; remaining upperparts dull black with glossy patches, changing to brownish black or fuscous on wings; a large salmon-colored patch at base of secondaries; a smaller, nearly concealed patch of same color at base of primaries; the outer web of the outer primary salmon nearly thruout its length; the tail feathers, except the two middle pairs, salmon-colored on both webs for the basal two-thirds; two large patches of reddish salmon on the sides of the breast; the lining of the wings and the sides extensively tinged with the same color, occasionally a few touches across the chest below the black; lower breast, belly, and crissum, white; bill black; feet dark brown; black in variable amounts on sides of breast between the orange red spots; lower tail-coverts sometimes broadly tipped with blackish. Adult female: Above, brownish ash with an ochraceous or olive tinge on back; salmon parts of male replaced by yellow (Naples yellow), and the reddish salmon of sides by chrome yellow; remaining underparts dull whitish, sometimes buffy across chest. Immature male: Similar to adult female, but duller the first year; the second year mottled with black; does not attain full plumage until third season. Length 5.00-5.75 (127-146.1); av. of five males: wing 2.59 (65.8); tail 2.17 (55.1); bill .36 (9.1); tarsus .70 (18).
Recognition Marks.—Medium Warbler size; black with salmon-red and salmon patches of male; similar pattern and duller colors of female and young; tail usually half open and prominently displayed, whether in sport or in ordinary flight.
Nesting.—Nest, in the fork of a sapling from five to fifteen feet up, of hemp and other vegetable fibers, fine bark, and grasses, lined with fine grasses, plant-down and horse-hair. Eggs, 4 or 5, greenish, bluish, or grayish-white, dotted and spotted, chiefly about larger end, with cinnamon-rufous or olive-brown. Av. size .68 × .51 (17.3 × 13). Season: June; one brood.
General Range.—Temperate North America in general, regularly north to Nova Scotia, the Mackenzie River (Fort Simpson), etc., west to southern Alaska, British Columbia, eastern Washington, Utah, etc., casual in eastern Oregon, northern California, and in the southeastern states; breeding from the middle portion of the United States northward; south in winter thruout West Indies, Mexico and Central America to northern South America.
Range in Washington.—Rare but regular summer resident in northern portion of State east of Cascades (Methow Valley, Grand Coulee, etc.), casual(?) in the Blue Mountains.
Authorities.—[J. K. Lord in “Nat. in Vancouver Id. and B. C.”, 1866, p. 162 (Colville Valley).] Brewer, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club. V., 1880, 50 (Ft. Walla Walla). D¹. Ss¹. J.
Specimens.—C. P¹.
The “start” of Redstart is from the old Anglo-Saxon steort, a tail; hence, Redstart means Redtail; but the name would hardly have been applied to the American bird had it not been for a chance resemblance which it bears to the structurally different Redstart of Europe, Ruticilla phoenicurus. In our bird the red of the tail is not so noticeable as is the tail itself, which is handled very much as a coquette handles a fan, being opened or shut, or shaken haughtily, to express the owner’s varied emotions.
The Redstart is the presiding genius of woodland and grove. He is a bit of a tyrant among the birds, and among his own kind is exceedingly sensitive upon the subject of metes and bounds. As for the insect world he rules it with a rod of iron. See him as he moves about thru a file of slender poplars. He flits restlessly from branch to branch, now peering up at the under surface of a leaf, now darting into the air to secure a heedless midge, and closing upon it with an emphatic snap, now spreading the tail in pardonable vanity or from sheer exuberance of spirits; but ever and anon pausing just long enough to squeeze out a half-scolding song. The paler-colored female, contrary to the usual wont, is not less active nor less noticeable than the male, except as she is restrained for a season by the duties of incubation. She is even believed to sing a little on her own account, not because her mate does not sing enough for two, but because she—well, for the same reason that a woman whistles,—and good luck to her!
During the mating season great rivalries spring up, and males will chase each other about in most bewildering mazes, like a pair of great fire-flies, and with no better weapons—fighting fire with fire. When the nesting site is chosen the male is very jealous of intruders, and bustles up in a threatening fashion, which quite overawes most birds of guileless intent.
Redstart’s song is sometimes little better than an emphatescent squeak. At other times his emotion fades after the utterance of two or three notes, and the last one dies out. A more pretentious effort is represented by Mr. Chapman as “Ching, ching, chee; ser-wee swee, swee-e-e-e.” Many variations from these types may be noted, and I once mistook the attempt of a colorless young stripling of one summer for that of a Pileolated Warbler.
Our Redstart shares with the Yellow Warbler alone the distinction of representing among us in ipsa specie the Warbler hosts of the East. Even so, our scanty summer population of Redstarts, confined as it is to the northeastern counties, appears to represent an overflow of the eastern hordes, or, perhaps, the van of occupation, rather than regularly established citizens. I have seen them as far south as Brook Lake, and as far west as Stehekin only; but Mr. Allan Brooks records a specimen from Chilliwhack, in western British Columbia.
A. O. U. No. 474 a. Otocoris alpestris arcticola Oberholser.
Synonyms.—Arctic Horned Lark. Pallid Horned Lark. Winter Lark.
[Description of type form, Otocoris alpestris.—Adult male in breeding plumage: A narrow patch across fore-crown with ends curving laterally backward and produced into a feather-tuft or “horn,” black; a broad bar from nostril to eye thence curving downward and expanding to involve hinder portion of cheeks and auriculars anteriorly, black; a crescentic patch across upper chest black; forehead and superciliaries pale yellow (primrose yellow) paling posteriorly; auriculars yellow continuous with and deepening into straw yellow of chin, throat and malar region; remaining underparts white, the sides and flanks dull vinaceous streaked with dusky; upperparts in general warm grayish brown, the middle of crown, occiput, nape, lesser wing-coverts and upper tail-coverts vinaceous-cinnamon; back, scapulars and rump grayish brown, each feather edged with paler and having dusky center; wings hair-brown with paler edgings, the outermost primary edged with white; tail chiefly black, the middle pair of feathers dusky, edged with whitish, the two lateral pairs edged with white. Bill black lightening below (basally); legs and feet black; iris dark brown. Adult female in summer: Like male but duller and paler, the black areas reduced in extent and obscured by brownish or buffy tips; yellow of superciliary stripe, etc., duller and paler; upperparts more noticeably streaked and with less of vinaceous tint on hind neck and upper tail-coverts. Both sexes in fall and winter are somewhat more heavily and more uniformly colored save on black areas which are overcast by buffy or brownish tips; also forebreast dusky or obscurely spotted. Young birds are heavily speckled above with yellowish white on brownish and dusky ground. Length of adult male: 7.00-7.50 (177-190); wing 4.37 (111); tail 2.83 (72); bill .48 (12.2); tarsus .94 (24). Adult female: 6.75-7.25 (171-184); wing 4.09 (104); tail 2.48 (63); bill .43 (11.1); tarsus .91 (23.2).]
Description.—Adults: Similar to O. alpestris but upperparts paler and grayer, less warmed by vinaceous; no yellow (or merest tinge on head and throat)—white instead; size about the same.
Recognition Marks.—Sparrow size; black crescent on upper chest; black cheek and crown patches; feather-tufts or “horns” directed backward. To be distinguished from O. a. merrilli and O. a. strigata by larger size and absence of yellow.
Nesting.—Not certainly known to breed in Washington but possibly does so above timber-line. Nest: a cup-shaped depression in the surface of the ground, plentifully lined with fine grasses, moss, grouse feathers, etc. Eggs: 3 or 4, greenish- or grayish-white, profusely and minutely dotted with olive-buff, greenish-brown and lavender. Av. size .95 × .66 (27 × 16.7).
General Range.—“Breeding in Alaska (except Pacific coast district) and valley of the Upper Yukon River, Northwest Territory; migrating southward to Oregon, Utah, Montana, etc.” (Ridgway).
Range in Washington.—Common winter resident and migrant east of the Cascades. Birds breeding on the higher mountains are doubtfully referable to this form.
Authorities.—O. a. leucolæma (Coues), Dawson, Auk, XIV. 1897, 176. D². J.
Specimens.—Prov.
The Horned Lark bears the reputation of being the most plastic of American species—the Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) being a close second in this respect. A monograph by Mr. H. C. Oberholser[29] enumerates twenty-three forms, of which seventeen are described as North American, and four Mexican, beside one from Colombia (O. a. peregrina) and another (O. a. flava) from Eurasia. Of this number the majority occur west of the Mississippi River, where climatic conditions are more sharply differentiated, and where, especially in the Southwest, the situation allows of that permanent residence which is conducive to the development of subspecific forms.
The situation in Washington appears to be somewhat as follows: O. a. strigata, strongly marked, but showing relationship to merrilli, and likeness to insularis, of the Santa Barbara Islands, summers in western Washington in open prairies, and at low altitudes only. In winter it retires southward, or straggles irregularly eastward[30]. O. a. merrilli is related to strigata on the one hand, and to leucolæma (the Desert Horned Lark) on the other, but it curiously reproduces the appearance of praticola (being indistinguishable in certain plumages); and also bears close resemblance to giraudi, a non-migrant form of the Gulf shore of Texas. It summers thruout eastern Washington, and even (doubtfully) occupies the western coast of British Columbia. An isolated colony occurring on Mount Baker, above timber-line, is referred by Oberholser to this form, but I should prefer to call it an intergrade with arcticola. In winter merrilli retires completely from its Washington range, and its place is taken by arcticola, sweeping down from the highlands of British Columbia and Alaska in considerable numbers.
It is not at all difficult for one who is accustomed to the appearance of merrilli to recognize these newcomers when they appear, late in October, for they are decidedly larger, more lightly colored, and show no slightest trace of yellow. They are much given to wandering about in straggling flocks, and the mild cries which they scatter freely have a subdued and plaintive tone, borrowed, no doubt, from the chastened character of the season. A sitting flock will sometimes allow a very close approach, but when they do so they “freeze,” so perfectly that the eye can scarcely find them. The only thing to do under such circumstances is to freeze also, until the birds begin to limber up and steal cautiously away, taking advantage, for concealment, of every tuft of grass or depression of the ground, and giving occasional admonitory yips to their fellows.
A. O. U. No. 474 i. Otocoris alpestris merrilli Dwight.
Synonyms.—Dusky Horned Lark. Merril’s Horned Lark.
Description.—Similar to O. a. strigata but somewhat larger and decidedly grayer above, streaks narrower and dusky rather than black; underparts not suffused with yellowish and yellow of head, especially superciliary, not so strong as in O. a. strigata. Length (skins) 6.25 (159); wing 4.05 (103); tail 2.32 (59); bill .43 (11); tarsus .85 (21.6).
Recognition Marks.—As in preceding; smaller, darker and more yellow than O. a. arcticola; larger, grayer and less yellow than O. a. strigata.
Nesting.—Nest and eggs as in preceding. Av. size of eggs .93 × .61 (23.6 × 15.5). Season: April-July; two or three broods.
General Range.—Breeding in northwestern interior district of the United States from northwestern Nevada and northeastern California north thru Oregon and Washington well up into British Columbia, east to Idaho; south in winter (at least) to central California.
Range in Washington.—Common summer resident and migrant east of the Cascades. Breeding birds of the high Cascades may possibly be of this form.
Authorities.—Eremophila alpestris, Brewster, B. N. O. C. VII. Oct. 1892, p. 227. D¹. Sr. D². Ss¹. Ss². J. E.
Specimens.—P¹. Prov. E(?).
A modest bird is the Columbian Horned Lark, for his home is on the ground, and he hugs its tiny shelters when disturbed, as tho quite assured that its brownness matches the tint of his back. If attentively pursued, he patters away half trustfully, or if he takes to wing, he does so with a deprecating cry of apology, as if the fault were his instead of yours. If his business keeps him in the same field, he will reappear presently, picking from the ground with affected nonchalance at a rod’s remove, or else pausing to face you frankly with those interesting feather-tufts of inquiry, supported by black moustachios and jetty gorget on a ground of palest primrose.
The unseeing class the Horned Larks among “brown birds” and miss the vaulting spirit beneath the modest mien. Yet our gentle Lark is of noble blood and ancient lineage. The Skylark, of peerless fame, is his own cousin; and, while he cannot hope to vie with the foreign bird in song, the same poet soul is in him. Whether in the pasture, upon the hillside, or in the desert, the coming of spring proclaims him laureate; and the chief vocal interest of nesting-time centers in the song-flight of the male Horned Lark.
The song itself is, perhaps, nothing remarkable, a little ditty or succession of sprightly syllables which have no considerable resonance or modulation, altho they quite defy vocalization; yet such are the circumstances attending its delivery that it is set down by everyone as “pleasing,” while for the initiated it possesses a charm which is quite unique. Twidge-widge, widgity, widgy-widge, conveys no idea of the tone-quality, indeed, but may serve to indicate the proportion and tempo of the common song; while Twidge, widgity, eelooy, eelooy, idgity, eelooy, eew, may serve the same purpose for the rare ecstasy song. The bird sometimes sings from a fence post, a sage bush, or even from a hummock on the ground, but usually the impulse of song takes him up into the free air. Here at almost any hour of the day he may be seen poising at various heights, like a miniature hawk, and sending down tender words of greeting and cheer to the little wife who broods below.