— 17— 



and horsehair worked into the inner portion of the wall for 

 lining. The eggs are grayish white, with specks and blotches of 

 blackish brown principally at the larger end. 



As stated in a preceding paragraph, an extended search of 

 the locality between the mouth of Swan River and the site 

 of the nest, a region about a half mile in length, failed to reveal 

 a second nest of this warbler. It seemed to the collector that 

 every tree in the willow tract was closely scanned, but without 

 results; hence the reason for the statement that this nesting 

 seemed to be accidental or unusual. On July 2 a nest of 

 Audu})on's warbler was found along the lake, upon a 

 rocky ridge which precipitously faced the water. It was in 

 a medium-sized fir tree near the shore, and was about twenty 

 feet from the ground, the site being five feet from the trunk, 

 near the end of a branch. iJoth parent birds were industriously 

 feeding the young birds in the nest. 



YELLOW WARBLER, Dendroica aestiva (Omel.) 



The yellow warbler is a common summer resident in the 

 Flathead region, though outnumbered by the American red- 

 start in the willow swamps and by Audubon's warbler in the 

 upland localities. The wide distribution of this warbler, and 

 its preference for younger vegetation in selecting sites for its 

 nest, give it more extended acquaintance than can be claimed 

 for most of the other warblers. The predominance of the 

 clear yellow in its attire makes this beautiful "yellow-bird" 

 an attractive mark for the eye of the observer, and its vibrant 

 chant causes the groves to ring with melody in the mating and 

 nesting season; thus striking color, noticeable s mg, and neigh- 

 borly manners add to the popularity of the so-called "wild 

 canary", and serve to make it the best known representative 

 of its family. 



The accompanying illustration, Plate XV., is of a nest of the 

 yellow warbler taken on June 18. It was made in an upright 

 crotch ten feet from the ground in a clump of syi'inga which 

 grew on the margin of Swan River near the end of the bridge. 

 As can be seen in the figure, the nest materials are woven 

 around the oblique twigs forming the site. It is a thickly felted 

 structure, measuring two and three-fourths inches in height 

 and in diameter, the cavity being one and seven-eighths inches 

 in diameter and one and one-half inches deep. 



The nest is made principally of fine grasses, with which are 



