All communications for this department 

 should be sent to the Department Editor, 

 Mr. Harry G. Higbee, 13 Austin Street, 

 Hyde Park, Massachusetts. Items, articles 

 and photographs in this department not 

 otherwise credited are by the Department 

 Editor. 



A Study of the Brewster's Warbler. 



An unusual opportunity of closely 

 observing the home life of the Brew- 

 ster's warbler was offered to a few for- 

 tunate bird students when a pair of 

 these birds chose for their nesting- site 

 a slope of ground near the main drive- 

 way in the Arnold Aboretum at Boston, 

 Massachusetts, several years ago. 



This being the first instance of their 

 nesting within the state, and btit the 

 third of their reported occurrence with- 

 in its limits, a somewhat widespread 



NEST LOCATION OF BREWSTER'S WARBLER. 

 White card hangs directly over the nest. 



interest has been created in regard to 

 it ; as there has been so much discus- 

 sion in regard to the status of this bird, 

 — which is generally supposed to be a 

 hybrid between the golden-winged and 

 l3kie-winged warblers. 



While photographing this nest, which 

 was on the groimd at the base of a 

 small elm among somewhat scrubby 

 growth as indicated in the first picture, 

 giving an excellent opportunity for a 

 close study of their pluinage and ac- 

 tions. 



The small white card showing near 

 the lower right-hand part of this pic- 

 tiu'e was hung directly over the nest to 

 show its exact location, and the female 

 was on the nest when the picture was 

 taken. A careful study of the birds was 

 made here and the colors of their plu- 

 mage noted down, as there has been 

 such a wide variation in the reported 

 descriptions of the few specimens of 

 this warbler which have been taken. 



The female, in this instance, appeared 

 to be about as brightly colored as the 

 male, excepting that the black stripe 

 through the eye was not as decided as 

 in the male, and did not continue beyond 

 the eye. It seemed also to have more 

 ashy on the throat than the male, and 

 was greenish-yellow on the back, 

 though not bright. I did not observe 

 any greenish-yellow on the back of the 

 male, and no yellowish tinge on the 

 breast of either the male or female. 

 Both birds were marked similar to the 

 female golden-wing, but a little lighter ; 

 though both showed ashy on the throat, 

 and the black through the eye was 

 simply a line, rather than a j^atch as in 

 the male golden-wing. The yellow 

 patch on the wings was quite broad and 

 in two slightly separated bars, rather 

 than in one, — a fact which varies some- 

 what in the markings of the typical 

 golden-wing. 



The nest itself, — a close view of 

 which is shown in our second illustra- 

 tion, — was a beautifidlv-mjade affair, 



