HOODED WARBLER 615 



strong lining of bark of the wild grape vine and cypress tree tightly bound 

 together with spider web and threads of moss, like the outer wall. The inner- 

 most lining, on which the eggs rest, ordinarily consists entirely of the black, 

 skeletonized Spanish moss, somewhat more generously supplied at the bottom 

 of the nest than up the sides. 



Dr. Williams (MS.) gives me the following account of nesting 

 hooded warblers in Ohio: "The first nest of the season is carefully 

 made and is a real work of art. It is made without hurry and may 

 take as long as a week for completion. Preferred nesting sites may 

 be grouped under four heads : 



"1. Rather isolated sites in more open woods where suckers from the 

 roots of beech or sour gum trees, young sugar maple saplings, plants 

 of red-berried elder or maple-leaved viburnum, or even blackberry 

 canes, wliich may occasionally be found growing in open places in the 

 woods, furnish the actual support for the nest, while the birds seem 

 to rely on the natural camouflage of construction to make the nest 

 inconspicuous. These nests resemble so closely a wad of woods rubbish 

 caught by accident in the low growth near the ground that they escape 

 the attention of most woods prowlers. 



"2. Already existing camouflage in the shape of dead leaves hanging 

 near the ground seems to exert a real fascination for the nest-builder, 

 and frequently determines the exact location of the nest. The nest 

 itself simulates such litter so closely that it easily escapes attention 

 if built in such a situation. It is interesting to note that a nest which 

 I discovered in a dead beach top lying on the ground had its exact 

 counterpart over 40 years previously in New York State, as described 

 by J. H. Langille. 



"3. Small ravines seem to offer attractive nesting sites, a favorite 

 location being just over the edge so that the nest is just below the level 

 of the surrounding ground. Thus it is well out of the way of the 

 beaten paths which woodland animals often make along the ravine 

 edges and it is well-screened by vegetation above it. 



"4. Thickets of spicebush, choke-cherry, grape tangles, or luxuriant 

 vegetation of herbaceous plants are sometimes chosen, and in such a 

 situation the nest is screened from view on all sides. One such nest 

 was discovered in the forked stem of a plant of blue cohosh, 16 inches 

 from the ground. 



"In the case of 99 nests which I have studied, the average distance 

 from the ground to the rim of the nest was 25 inches. The highest 

 was 63 inches, but this nest was in a small sugar maple growing in 

 a ravine in such a way that the nest was practically at ground level at 

 the ravine edge. The lowest nest was 7 inches from ground to rim. 

 This was in a small Y-shaped sugar maple seedling in which the dead 

 cane of a blackberry had become lodged. 



