SYLVICOLID^E — THE WARBLERS. 325 



Its flight is graceful, easy, and rapid, varied by circumstances as it glides 

 in its intricate course among small interlacing branches, or darts rapidly forth 

 into more open space. As it moves, it is continually opening out, closing, or 

 flirting from side to side its conspicuous tail, the white spots in its expanded 

 feathers constantly appearing and disappearing. 



In the construction of the nest tliere is a general uniformity of character, 

 altlK)ugh the materials differ and the localities are far apart. They are never 

 ]ien(h'nt, but are placed among three or more small upright branches, around 

 which it is firmly woven with vegetable flax-like fibres. A nest obtaineil in 

 Lvnn, Viy Mr. George 0. Welch (S. I. 3,778), in June, measures two inches 

 in height liy three in diameter. It is a small, compact, and homogeneous 

 nest, composed almost entirely of shreds of savin-bark intermixed with soft 

 vegetable wool. ^Yithin are loosely intertwined minute vegetable fibres and 

 strips of bark, and a lining of horsehair, fine pine leaves, and dry grasses. 

 The nest contained four eggs. Another nest found in Grand Menan, June 

 24, 1851, was very similar in size, structure, and materials. It was in the 

 centre of a thick, swampy thicket, five feet from the ground, and contained 

 five eggs. 



Another nest of this bird, ol)taiued in Lynn by ^Mr. Welch, is only a 

 reconstruction of a nest begun by a ]>air of Dendroica. a'stiv((, and either 

 abandoned by them, or from which they had been driven. Above tlie origi- 

 nal nest of the Warbler tlie Kedstarts had constructed their own. The base 

 is composed of the downy covering of the under sides of the leaves of ferns, 

 mixed with a few herbaceous stems and leaves. Within this was built an 

 entirely distinct nest, composed of long and slender strips of bark, pine- 

 needles, and stems of gi-asses. These are firmly and elaborately interwoven 

 together. 



A nest found in Hingham, built in a tree in an open space near a dwell- 

 ing, was seven feet from the ground, and of the usual size and shape. In 

 this the more usual strips of bark were replaced by hempen fibres of vege- 

 tables, thistle-dciwn, bits of newspaper, and other fragments. Witliin is a 

 strong lining of liair and fine stems of gra.sses. In this nest there were two 

 young, about half fledged, and two eggs nearly fresh. Tlie latter were taken, 

 the female parent being present and making only a very slight protest, 

 stopping, from time to time, to catch insects. 



The eggs of the Eedstart vary considerably in tlieir size and in tlieir gen- 

 eral appearance, but resemble somewhat those of the common Summer 

 Yellow-Bird. They vary in length from .55 to .68 of an inch, and in their 

 breadth from .45 to .53. Their ground-color is a grayish-white, blotched 

 and dotted with purple, lilac, and brown. 



