167 



quite heavily marked about the greater end with purplish-red. Four 

 sets of eggs, taken here, have an average of -71 X '53 of an inch : 

 extremes, -67 X "52, and -74 X 'oo. The common note of the Hooded 

 Warbler is a sharp, metallic chick; it possesses, besides, a song of 

 remarkable beauty. 



Recent investigations are disclosing the fact that this beautiful 

 species has a more extensive range in this State, and to the eastward, 

 than was formerly supposed. Giraud says :^° "With us [on Long Isl- 

 and], the Hooded Flycatching Warbler is not abundant It is 



generally met with in low situations ; feeds on winged insects ; and 

 its note is loud, lively and agreeable." De Kay observes:" '-This 

 well marked but rare species in this State, was shot in Westchester 

 county, about the middle of May." Mr. George N. Lawrence states : ^^ 

 "This beautiful species is not abundant [in the vicinity of New York], 

 but several times in the month of July I have observed it in swampy 

 situations, on the top of the Palisades, in the vicinity of Fort Lee, 

 where it was breeding." Mr. Eugene P. Bicknell finds it breeding 

 commonly, at Riverdale, on the Hudson. ^^ Dr. A. K. Fisher mentions 

 seeing a specimen at Sing Sing, on the Hudson, as late as September 

 19, 1878, though I think this was the only occasion on which he has 

 found it there, although the Kentucky Warbler {Oporornis formosus) 

 breeds plentifully. Mr. John Burroughs informs me that he does not 

 find it at Esopus, on the Hudson ; but Mr, Peter de Nottbeck has 

 taken it in the Fishkill Mountains and vicinity. In his recent " Re- 

 vised List of Birds of Central New York," p. 1-1, April, 1879, Mr. 

 Frank R. Rathbun gives this species as "common in dense forests 

 with a heavy undergrowth. Sixty-six specimens of this species taken 

 during the months of Jul}', August, and September 1878. Nest found 

 July 25, 1878, containing three young and one egg. Northern Cayuga 

 and North Eastern Wayne Counties, N. Y." Messrs. Rathbun and F. 

 S. Wright further remark (Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club, Vol. IV, No. 2, p. 

 117, April, 1879) that they "observed this Warbler [same locality] as 

 late as September 20, when a few cold breezes from the lake [Ontario] 

 drove them southward." Dr. C. Hart Merriam observes :^^ "On the 

 9th of September last (1878), at Lowville, an adult male of this species 

 was killed by a cat and brought, while still warm, to Mr. Romeyn B. 

 Hough, who now has the specimen. So far north of its known range 

 it can hardly be considered more than a straggler." In speaking of 

 this species in connection with several others, Mr. H. A. Purdie 



"Bds. Long Island, p. 48, 1844. 



" Zoology of New York, Part II, p. 107, 1844. 



12 Ann. Lye. Nat. Hist., Vol. VIII, pp. 284, 285, April, 1866. 



13 See Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club, Vol. Ill, No. 3, p. 130, July, 1878. 



"BuU. Nutt. Orn. Club, Vol. IV, No. 1, p. 7, January, 1879. 



