EASTERN YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER 353 



the cypress occurs the bird "frequently nests in the long, gray moss 

 hanging from the trees." North Carolina nesting commences in late 

 April. 



The nest is constructed mostly by the female, sometimes completely 

 so, but D. J. Nicholson (1929^ has seen the male assisting in Florida. 

 In the spring of 1942 a nest was built in a banner of moss no more 

 than 20 feet from the porch of my home, at the extremity of a droop- 

 ing live-oak limb. The female brought material as often as twice a 

 minute, disappearing completely within the moss clump which could 

 be seen bulging now and then with her movements. She was utterly 

 unconcerned by observers on the porch, even the noise made by chil- 

 dren not disturbing her in the least. The male sang constantly nearby. 



Two broods are raised in coastal South Carolina. The young of the 

 first are fully fledged by April 22, according to Wayne. The second 

 nest is begun soon after the first brood is away. The yellow-throated 

 warbler will, of course, lay again if accident befalls the nest and eggs. 

 Little time is lost in the interim and illustrative of this tenacity of 

 purpose are some interesting notes of C. S. Brimley (1943) dealing 

 with experiments made by him and his brother, H. H. Brimley of 

 Ealeigh, N. C. On April 25, 1890 they collected a set of four eggs 

 from the nest in a pine tree, 42 feet up. Four days later (April 29) 

 another nest was being built in a smaller pine nearby, at an elevation 

 of 47 feet. On May 12 a set of eggs was taken from it and three days 

 later (May 15) the birds again began to build, this time in a very 

 slender pine which had to be stayed with ropes when eggs were re- 

 moved from the nest on May 26. Two days later the fourth nest was 

 started in a large pine, 44 feet up. On June 7 additional eggs were 

 secured. All sets consisted of four eggs. No further attempts were 

 made on this persevering pair but "they may have built a fifth nest 

 * * * for all we know to the contrary." 



Although it seems remarkable that Audubon apparently failed to 

 remark particularly on the moss-nesting habits of this warbler, it 

 will be recalled that his observations seem to have been made largely 

 in Louisiana, for he stresses this State in his account of the species ; 

 but he could hardly have failed to observe it elsewhere in the South, 

 particularly on his visits to Rev. John Bachman in Charleston. Of 

 the nest Audubon (1841) says that it is "placed on a horizontal branch 

 of a cypress, twenty, thirty, or even fifty feet above the ground, and 

 is with difficulty discerned from below, as it resembles a knot or a 

 tuft of moss." Certainly, moss is abundant in Louisiana and it would 

 seem that the birds there share this preference despite the fact that 

 the form of this warbler found there is alhilora. 



Eggs. — [Author's Note: Dr. Chapman (1907) says that the yel- 

 low-throated warbler lays 4 or 5 eggs, but very rarely 5, and adds: 



