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DENDRCECA G-RACLE.
GRACE’S WARBLER.
DENDRGECA GRACLE. Cooes. Proc. Acad. Nat. Scien., p. 67 (1866).
This beautiful little warbler is very unlike any other known to inhabit the United States. It was discovered by my friend, Dr. Elliott
Coubs, when stationed at Port Whipple, in Arizona. His account of it is as follows. " First met with July 2d, 1864, in the pine woods covering
the summit o f Whipple’s Pass of the Rocky Mountains. I saw no more on my journey into Central Arizona, till again among the pines at Port
Whipple, where it is a very common bird, being, in fact, as abundant as vireus or striata in our eastern forests. It will doubtless be found in the
forests o f the San Francisco Mountains. Its range seems to include all the pine tracts o f New Mexico and Arizona, from near the Valley of the
Rio Grande to that o f the Great Colorado. It breeds about Whipple; how far south it may go in winter into Mexico, I am unable to say.
“Arrives at Port Whipple April 20th, and remains until third week in September. Almost exclusively pinicoline. An active, industrious, noisy
species, possessing marked muscicapine habits, flying out from its perch to capture passing insects. Like many other diminutive birds, it ambitiously
prefers to inhabit the tallest trees. It has several notes, one o f which is the ordinary ‘tsip,’ emitted at all times by both old and young
of most small insectirorous birds. Its song proper, only heard in spring, consists of two or three loud, sweet whistles, somewhat slurred, followed
by several continuous notes resembling ‘ chir-r-r,’ in a wiry but clear tone. This note is of much power for the size of the bird. Another song,
uttered when pairing, is much like that of Setophaga rulicilla. The birds mate as early as May 1st, and doubtless raise two broods, as I have
found newly-fledged young as late as the middle of August.”
Dendrteca Gracias has also been found by Mr. 0. Wood, at Belize, Honduras, where it is quite common: Dr. Cooes says that "they are
rather smaller than my Arizona specimens, but otherwise quite identical.”
The species may be described as follows:— . _ _ .
Entire upper parts ash-gray; back and upper tail-coverts indistinctly streaked with black. A bar of black from the bill to near the back of
head; centre of the crown spotted with black. A yellow line from the bill over the eye, terminating in pure white. A black spot between the
eye and the bill. Greater wing-coverts broadly tipped with white. Primaries brown, with light edges. Chin, throat, and upper part of breast
bright yellow. Rest of under parts pure white. Planks streaked with numerous black lines. Middle tail-feathers dark brown; next has a small
spot o f white on the inner web; the third has nearly half the outer web white,—and the remainder are pure white, except the shafts, which are
brownish. Bill and feet black. The figures are of the natural size.
The plant is the Rubus Occidentalis—Wild Black Raspberry—and was drawn from studies kindly furnished me by my friend, Mr.W. J. Mats.