Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-04-26
The Winged Creatures and Their Man.
ner of Neutrality-suspicious. coIors, Hab-
its and Good Work in Destroying In
sect sssts-FIisht of the Hawks.
BY EDWARD q. CLARK.
associate Member American Ornithol-
ogists' Union.o

rule rigidly to the tree tops, where
they carry on unending war against |
the myriad of insect foes of the foli-
age.
The warblers are mites Of creatures
the largest Of them being about the
size of the English sparrow, while the
great majority are but trifle larger
than the kinglet, which is the smallest
bird we have, barring only the ruby
throat hummer. Search all the bird
families and you will find few mem
bers that are arrayed like unto these
Industrious little laborers on mans
behalf.
There are something like 40 species
Of warblers, and in their colors they
shade into one another so perplexing-
ly that If the novice in the observing
field take them up as his first study
he is much more than likely to con-
clude before the season is half spent
that the bird lesson is too hard to be
learned and to put his glass back into
the case and to forego for all time his
trips afeld.
On the other hand, for the person
who has learned his alphabet and his
first, second and third book of birds.
the warblers constitute, SO to speak,
volume of the rarest interest. An
observer may scrape acquaintance
with the warblers in the springtime
and think that he has mastered them
so completely that he will not be
obliged to hurry after each field trip
to some museum of birds to make sure
of his identifcations, September
comes and the springtime enthusiast
goes again to warbler highways to
meet his friends of the vernal year as
they come hurrying from the north
when the year is in the sere and yell
low He finds multitude of warblers
in tree, and 10, he is in luck if he
/ can name one of them. Many of the
males have changed their plumage
with the changing season; the young
of the year look unlike either parent
though in most instances bearing some
resemblance to the adult female, and
the result is that the warbler student
not knowing the idiosyncrasies of the
warblers fall fashion in dress, is In
clined to believe that he has struck
a score Of new species. AS a matter
Of fact, in the fall one must learn the
warblers all over again.
After two "sets of seasons" with
plates and stuffed specimens in the
winter time, the observer becomes fair
ly familiar with the warblers, and
from that time forward he is much
more than likely to neglect his spar
row, thrush hawk and plover friends
for an intimacy with the many-hued
warbler midgets.
have seen tree so filled with
myrtle warblers {Dendroica coronata)
that 1t appeared actually as though
there were bird for each leaf. Dur
ing the migration period the warblers
do little, when not journeying, but to
!. lisp and to eat The bird, otherwise
we'll hammered, is given to talking with
its mouth full The warblers are so
busy food gathering that they are
fearless. 1t is possible to approach
within few feet of them and to
watch them at their labor. This, of
course, applies to the warblers which
feed in the shrubbery and in the lower
branches of the trees rather than to
those which prefer the topmost foliage.
, Touching the matter of the warblers'
plumage nothing that can be said of
its beauty can be deemed extravagant.
Take the blackburnian warbler (Den.
! droica blackburniae), bird that may
be seen at this season in both city
: and suburb. There Is no hue in feath-
: ers, to one mind at least, that in point
: of brilliancy can be compared to the
J. throat of this gorgeous creature. The
books put the color down as an orange
: yellow, but print is cold. Furnished
1 gold is better, and yet does scant jus
tice to the beauty OF the subject. Other
. warblers and other bird families have
= yellow throats, but the beauty of the
. blackburnian's feathers is thing
r apart.
The sauciest of warblers is the
s Maryland yellow-throat. This yellow
throat, like the blackburnian, is 6
e beauty. With the other bird out o.
5 the question the yellow-throat might
be awarded Lu0 pain. IL Is not marc
to scrape acquaintance with this little
q fellow. He is always dressed for {
n masque ball, and as he peers at 20,
: from out the bush where he has takeI
n refuge his eyes twinkle through tn,
r top of his black mask and he seem,
e to say: "Find out who am If 70,
: can"
e The Maryland yellow-throat is ;
= ground lover. 1t inhabits the who'll
& northern country in summer. It is thi
n beauty which occasionally builds it
is nest in the unsavory skunk cabbage
IS fact which led me in another articl
j. to declare that moro than half be
rs lieved the birds olfactory nerves wer
W lacking. Possibly. however. It is
g case Of all things being sweet to tn
sweet, for the yellow-throat is swee,
tempered little fellow, withal his voic
a Is occasionally querulous. It's moi
w sounds something like "Witchit,
& wttchtty. witcMty." though 1t may /
translated to suit the fancy OF Ii