T HERE is hardly another group of birds that yields so satisfactory returns for earnest study as the American Wood Warblers. All shades and patterns of color are theirs, from somber to brilliant, from the plainest to the most intricate and exquisite pattern. Almost all degrees of vocal ability are found among them, from the simple twitter of the Tennessee to the wild thrilling challenges of the Louisiana water thrush or the ventriloquial antics of the yellow-breasted chat. It may be objected that the small size of the warblers renders their field study difficult, even if the foliage does not prove a serious hindrance.
Foliage is always in the way, but even that can be circumvented by patience and perseverance.
The study of adult males in spring is greatly aided by the fact that each species, with some exceptions, has one or more patches of color peculiar to itself. Thus in the Cape May warbler the ear patches are rufous. Other species possess rufous colors, but none of them in this place. The Cape May warbler belongs among the less common species, but may be common for a day or two during the height of the migration. It is very fond of orchards where it feeds among the foliage, snatching an insect here, a larva there, and cleaning the bundle of eggs from the leaf over yonder with an untiring energy.