HOODED WARBLER 613 



and the limits of these correspond closely from year to year. The 

 male patrols the territory regularly. His presence and movements 

 are advertised by his song, which in May and June is almost con- 

 tinuous. He has no regular singing post, but sings as he moves back 

 and forth within the limits of his chosen territory. This is a regular 

 part of his behavior and is thoroughly done. If you approach, he 

 will attempt to lead you away by singing ahead of you. If you sit 

 down and remain motionless, he will quietly approach to look you over. 

 Nesting territories which I have measured vary from 300 by 400 feet 

 to 300 by 700 feet. 



""While the male is easily seen and his progress followed by ear, the 

 behavior of the female is quite the opposite. She drops out of sight 

 immediately, and unless she is especially sought for and routed out, 

 the record of observed birds is likely to include only males. She does 

 not sing, but if alarmed or anxious will betray her presence by the 

 characteristic chij) note, often repeated at regular intervals. Since 

 the male uses the same note however, one must actually see the female 

 to be sure of her presence. 



"Both birds will defend the nesting territory. I have seen them 

 unite to drive out such an innocent intruder as a migrating black- 

 throated blue warbler. The hooded warbler holds very closely to its 

 chosen territory, and second or third nests are located not far from 

 the first. The last birds to be found in the area without young in 

 late September are still resident in the territories occupied by them 

 in May." 



Nesting. — Rathbun (MS.) says of its nesting habits in western New 

 York: "All the nests of the hooded warbler found by me were 

 placed at an average height of from 2 to 3 feet above the ground, 

 with the exception of two which were about twice that height. In 

 every case the nests were placed in the lowest fork of a beech sapling 

 well within a small thicket. Invariably, at first sight, it resembled 

 a small cluster of dead leaves caught up by the wind and lodged in 

 the fork. On this platform of dead leaves the nest was securely 

 placed. In each case the nest could not be detected by looking directly 

 at the thicket. I found the easiest way to locate a nest was to place 

 my head close to the ground, scan the low open spaces and look for a 

 clump of leaves, wliich sooner or later proved to be a nest. 



"The hooded warbler builds a neat, compact, and nicely woven 

 nest, outwardly constructed of dry plant fibers, some quite long and 

 some shorter, from the outside of dead plants. The substantial lining 

 is composed of fine, dry, soft grasses, bits of plant fibers and other 

 soft material, with occasionally a few horsehairs, to aid in holding 

 the lining in place." 



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