Prairie Warbler

Coues, the inimitable word painter, says, Ten to one we would not see the little creatures at first, but presently from the very nearest juniper would come the well-known sounds. A curious song, if song it can be called — as much like a mouse complaining of the toothache as anything else I can liken it to — it is simply indescribable. The quaint performer would dart into the air, turn a somersault after a passing midge, get right side up and into the shrubbery again in an instant; or if we kept still with wide open eyes, we would see him perched on a spray, settled firmly on his legs, with his bill straight up, the throat swelling, and hear the curious musician.

Among the scrub oaks of central Long Island, I have watched them do just that, many a time.

Range

Eastern United States, from southern Ontario, Michigan south to the Gulf coast. West to edge of Great Plains.