THE YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER. 903 



taken June 16th, and pretty well incubated, was found in a 

 spruce bush, about three feet from the ground, and con- 

 tained two eggs. Of about the usual external and internal 

 diameters, and quite deep — some 2.50 inches — externally 

 it is composed entirely of fine bleached grasses, and lined 

 with a continuous and thick felt of dark-red cow's hair, 

 such as is seen in large quantities about the stumps in 

 spring, being rubbed off by the cattle in the first sloughing 

 of their thick coats. Thus the nest has a very unique 

 appearance — almost straw-color outside, and uniform dark- 

 red or bright-brown inside. Whether of weed-stalks, vege- 

 table fibers, rootlets or grasses, it w^ould seem that the nest 

 of this species is generally quite homogeneous, that is, 

 made externally, at least, of the one kind of material. 

 The eggs of the above nest are of the usual measurement 

 — .72X .54, grayish-white, pretty heavily marked about the 

 large end, and specked all over with dark-brown and neutral. 

 Though often getting well up among the tall trees, and tak- 

 ing somewhat extended excursions into the air after insect 

 prey, the Myrtle Bird is not so active on the wing as are some 

 of the Warblers. In spring it has a somewhat loud and pleas- 

 ing warble, tswee-tswee-tswee-tswee-tswee-tswee-tswee^ and so 

 resembling a musical twitter. Indeed, I have often found it 

 difficult, when visiting the breeding grounds, to distinguish 

 it from the song of the Snow Bird. In its migrations in 

 the beautiful days of autumn, this Warbler is sometimes 

 wont to lisp its song softly. Though this bird breeds so far 

 north, its nest has been found in the Southern States and in 

 the West Indies; and while it winters in the Southern States, 

 and even in the tropics, it is found regularly in the same 

 season in the Middle States, and even in Southern New 

 England. There is a closely-allied western variety or spe- 

 cies, called Audubon's Warbler. 



