Family: Parulidae, Wood Warblers view all from this family

Description 5" (13 cm). In breeding plumage, male yellow below with conspicuous chestnut cheek patch; yellow neck patch; white wing patch; yellow rump; heavy black streaks on underparts. Female much duller, with greenish-yellow patch on neck.

Habitat Open spruce forests; during migration, evergreen or deciduous woodlands and often parks or suburban yards.

Nesting 4 brown-spotted white eggs in a bulky, compact, twig-and-moss nest lined with grass, fur, and feathers.

Range Breeds from southern Mackenzie, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec south to North Dakota, Michigan, northern New York, Maine, and Nova Scotia. Winters in southern Florida and West Indies.

Voice   Song is 4 or more high thin notes without change in pitch or volume, seet-seet-seet-seet.

Discussion This warbler gets its name from the fact that the first specimen was collected at Cape May, New Jersey, where it is sometimes a common migrant. During migration these birds show a curious attraction to ornamental spruces.