CONNECTICUT WARBLER 517 



than those of the Kentiicy warbler. Some eggs are heavily blotched 

 or clouded with "wood brown." 



The eggs of one such set are all clouded with large patches of brown, 

 which merge with the undertones of drab, and one egg has the large 

 end entirely covered. The markings tend to be concentrated, but do 

 not form a wreath as often as with the eggs of many other warblers. 

 The measurements of 39 eggs average 19.5 by 14.3 millimeters; the 

 eggs showing the four extremes measure 21.3 by 14.3, 19,9 by 15.6, 17.3 

 by 14.0, and 18.8 by 13.2 millimeters (Harris). 



Tovm,g. — ^We have no information on the incubation of the Connecti- 

 cut warbler nor on the development and care of the young while in the 

 nest. But Francis Zirrer (MS.) has sent me the following account 

 of the behavior of the young after leaving the nest, as observed near 

 his woodland dwelling near Hayward, Wis. : "A pair breeding nearby 

 in 1942 was hardly ever seen until July 20, when the whole family 

 appeared among the tamaracks in the rear of the dwelling and re- 

 mained there for nearly 2 weeks, part of the time within sight of our 

 windows. At first the young kept close to the ground, in small tama- 

 racks, other evergreens and bog shrubbery, but most of the time, and 

 apparently preferably, in the piles of treetops and other coniferous 

 slashings of which there are several nearby. There the birds moved 

 in and out, after the manner of wrens. Time and again I saw the old 

 birds feeding young on the top of these slashings and saw the young 

 disappear out of sight again after being fed. A few days later, how- 

 ever, the young birds were moving about freely, coming at times quite 

 close to the dwelling. Although most of the searching for food and 

 feeding the young was done in the tamaracks when they were near 

 the dwelling, the old birds every once in a while would disappear 

 among the dense brambles on the edge of the bog and feed the young, 

 mostly with raspberries, with an occasional green caterpillar. 



"On August 2, for the first time, they disappeared entirely out of 

 sight of the windows, but after a short search I found them about 80 

 yards away. From then on every day I found them farther away, but 

 until August 20 the birds remained within a narrow belt of ever- 

 greens. * * * After August 20 the birds had apparently begun to 

 band with others of their kind into larger flocks, for a flock of about 

 20 to 25 was seen several times." 



Plumages. — Kilgore and Breckenridge (1929) give us the only 

 account we have of the ju venal plumage of the Connecticut warbler : 

 "The nestling, which was just passing from the downy to the juvenile 

 plumage and was probably far enough advanced to leave the nest 

 within 2 or 3 days, shows the following characters. Upper parts dark 

 olive-brown, breast and sides snuff-brown merging into buffy-yellow 

 on the belly, legs and feet very light flesh color." 



981873—53 84 



