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The WarblerTHE WARBLER Exclusive Sunday Review Sketch by Dennis Puleston of Brookhaven Focus on Nature By Deni.is Puleston, Brookhaven On a still, clear night in mid -May one can sometimes hear from overhead the faint calls of an unseen host, travel- ing on soft wings towards the north. Next morning, the woods are alive with the small migrants, as they search rest- lessly for insects in the treetops, feeding voraciously to replenish their energies for the next night's lap in their journey. These are the elusive sprites known loosely as "warb- lers"; they are obeying the irresistible impulse which brings them from as far away as South America to their breeding grounds in the cool northern forests, following the same trackless routes as countless generations of their kind have . done before them. To the local ornithologist, the passage of the warblers repre- sents the peak of the year's e- vents. Although they will pass through again in the early fall on their return voyage to the south, it is only in the spring that we can hope to see them in the full brilliance of their breeding plumage, . and hear their brief„ oft - repeated songs. Also, before the leaves are fully devel- oped, one has a better chance of obtaining good views of them. Not that they are easy to re- cognize at any time; any natur- alist will admit that the warblers represent the ultimate challenge in bird identification. In the first place, there are so many different species one can expect; it is possible to observe over twenty different warblers in one small patch of woodland on a May morning. And they are so quick in their movements it often requires much experience to follow one in the binoculars long enough to be able to name it with certainty. Generally, they are up in the topmost branches, searching for the small, newly- hatched cater- pillars in the oak and maple buds. Outstanding species with . these habits are the Blackburnian, Mag- nolia, Tennessee, Parula, Black - poll, and Bay - breasted warblers. Others, however, are even more elusive, keeping close to the ground in tangled thickets, rarely emerging into plain view. Among these are the Canada, Connect- icut, and Mourning warblers. In most species, the words "song" and "warbler" as applied to this family are gross misre- presentations. Very few warblers can warble; most of them, in fact, produce a series of insect - like lisps or buzzes. The notes of the Blue - winged warbler, for example, have been likened to a distant Bronx cheer; the Parula warbler sounds like a run -down clockwork toy; one naturalist has compared the song of the Prairie warbler to the cries of "a mouse with the tooth- ache." Since the transient species can only be heard locally for a few days each year, the bird- student must tax his memory to the utmost to be able to identify a warbler by its song alone. Yet, in spite of their lack of musical ability, at least to our ears, these birds can aptly be considered the butterflies of the bird world. Gay in their plumages of blue, green, orange, black, white, and the brilliant yellow that is predominant in most of them, they are the typification of all that is most beautiful and vib- rantly alive in nature. The sight of a male Blackburn - ian warbler, the orange of its throat blazing like a tiny flame in the morning sun, contrasting with the bizarre black, yellow and white markings on the face and wings, is as striking a bird as any to be found in a tropical forest. Although most species spend only a day or two with us as transients, a few remain to breed here. Among these are the Yellow warbler, sometimes ineptly called the "wild canary ", the Yellow - throat, to. be found in the brushy swamps, - and the Blue- winged and Prairie warblers, which prefer the drier scrub oak areas. In the denser woods, the Oven- bird is a common breeder, al- though the carefully hidden, dom- ed nest from which the bird derives its name is hard to find amidst the carpet of dead leaves. This species, incidentally, is far from a typical warbler; it walks instead of hopping, and it spends most of its time on the ground. The Northern and Louisiana wat- er- thrushes are also warblers, al- though they haunt stream -beds and have the appearance of true thrushes, with their streaked breasts. One hardy warbler, the Myrtle, actually winters here, feeding on bay and poison ivy berries when insects are no longer available. It has been estimated that the total population of the fifty -four species of warbler occurring north of the Mexican border runs to well over one billion. Since these birds are almost entirely insect- ivorous, the quantity of harmful insects that they devour staggers the imagination. In fact, they constitute a vital ally to man in controlling these enemies of his trees and food crops. Without the warblers, the damage would run into many millions of dollars annually. And yet, in recent years, man has thoughtlessly wrought great harm to these birds, in his wanton use of the more toxic insecticides. Long Island ornithologists have noted an alarming scarcity of such locally- breeding warblers as the Prairie, Blue- winged, and Black and White since the inten- sive aerial spray campaign on the Island a few years ago, which was purported to control the gyp- sy moth. It would be well if those re- sponsible for such projects would realize that such non - selective poisons rarely eliminate the pests for which they are intended, while they do destroy many valuable and attractive creatures which are part of our natural heritage. Every effort should be made to preserve for future generations the beautiful warblers that enrich our woodlands in the annual mir- acle of springtime.