THE OSPllEY. 



71 



the offenders. It was quite a novelty to hear a 

 bird peeping so loudly inside a perfectly sound 

 shell as to be plainlj- heard at a distance. 



A Pelican is a very clumsy and at the same 

 time a most graceful bird. I have seen a dozen 

 or so flying- in a perfectly straight line, one 

 behind the other, keeping the same distance 

 apart, and so close to the surface of the water 

 as to necessitate their rising and falling with 

 the swells, yet never so much as wetting the 

 tips of their wings. I thought I had never seen 

 anytliing quite so graceful. But when they dive 

 for a fish thej' do so in the most awkward and 



ungainly manner, dropping from the air, oft- 

 times turning a complete somersault in the 

 descent; yet they seldom miss the fish, though 

 I have often wondered how they caught any, 

 they make such a fuss over it. 



I have visited .numerous rookeries in Florida, 

 but, with the exception of one other, visited at 

 Cape Sable, the one I have been telling about 

 was larger than any of them. The exception 

 was a rookery of Louisiana Herons, American 

 Egrets and Roseate Spoonbills, and a very inter- 

 esting time I had in it — in fact, I enjoy collect- 

 ing in Florida more than anywhere else. 



NESTING OF THE BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER. 

 By J. Wakkkn Jacobs, Waynesboro, Pa. 



ALTHOUGH quite numerous here during 

 migration, the Black-and-white Warbler 

 (jZ/iio/i/fa varia] is somewhat locallj- dis- 

 tributed during- the breeding season. I have 

 always found them to be very partial to mi.xed 

 timber on the hillsides, and secluded woodland 

 cut up by numerous ravines whose steep sides 

 are littered with leaves of the previous year. In 

 such places the nest is to be found, sunken in 

 the soft dirt or in a drift of leaves, and nearly 

 alwaj's sheltered hy a fallen branch, twig or 

 the base of a small sapling. Sometimes it is 

 sunken in the base of a bank of leaves which 

 have lodged against a twig or small sprout. 



The materials used in the construction of the 

 nest seem to varj' but little outwardly. Dry 

 crumply leaves — manj' of which are skele- 

 tonized — form the outer walls, which are inlaid 

 Willi abundance of g-rass. weed fiber and 

 tendrils, and occasionally bark-strips. This is 

 more or less heavili" lined with horse and cow 

 hair. 



On May 7, 1896, I was cautiously wending my 

 way up the tortuous course of a rocky brook in 

 quest of a nest of the Louisiana Water Thrush 

 [Siiiriis i)io/iin7/a), when I was attracted by the 

 weak insect-like alarm notes of a pair of Black- 

 and-white Warblers. is:>uing from the under- 

 growth, a short distance up an arm of tlie ravine 

 to my left. Knowing, by past e.xperience, tliat 

 such anxiety on the part of the old birds betraj'- 

 ed the close proximity of their nest, I seated 

 myself where I could watch their movements. 

 After fifteen or twenty minutes they became 

 reconciled to my presence, and flitted about 

 from tree to tree, feeding in an unconcerned 

 manner, but all this while emitting tlieir weak 

 notes. Now had it been a week or ten days 

 later, the.se actions would have prompted me to 

 set about at once searching for a nest of eggs, 

 but at such an earlj' date I felt sure their nest 

 could not 3'et be completed. But after watching 

 their actions for some lime I concluded their 

 duties of nest building- were probably over, and 

 I began a careful search for the nest, which I 

 s(.>on found sunken in the base of a lodgement 

 of leaves, eight feet above the bed of the brook. 

 It contained one egg, which I left, hoping to 

 obtain a full set. On the ISth I went to take 

 tlie nest and set, which now consisted of four of 

 the most beautiful eggs of this species I have 

 ever seen, and one of the Cowbird (JMoiot/irus 

 cilcr). One of the Warbler's eggs was slightly 

 nicked, and its contents proved to be addled. 



Incubation in the other eggs was only slightly 

 advanced. These eggs are white with a percep- 

 tible cream3- tint, marked with hazel, vinaceous- 

 rufous and rich heliotrope purple, chieflj' on the 

 larger end. where, on one, a distinct wreath is 

 seen. The majority of the markings are small 

 dots and minute specks, but large showy blotch- 

 es are also quite numerous; some of which 

 measure over 0.15 inch diameter — one reaching 

 0.26 X 0.12inch. The eggsareovate in shapeand 

 measure: 0.68 x 0.53; 0.66 x 0.52; 0.66 x 0.53, and 

 0.66 X 0.54 inch. 



The nest was composed of leaves and lined 

 with tendrils and horse hair, and measured out- 

 wardly: 4.5 in diam. by 2.8 inches deep, and on 

 the inside, 2.0 in diam. by 1.5 inches deep. 



Within a few yards of the present site, I 

 found on June 7, 1894, a nest of this species 

 containing- a large young Cowbird and two eggs 

 of the Warbler in which incubation had started. 

 The embryo partly formed, then died and was 

 drying up in the small part of shell. I placed my 

 hand in the nest to remove the eggs and as I did 

 so the young Cowbird fluttered out and tumbled to 

 the bottom of the ravine chirping loudlj'. This 

 brought the old birds on the scene, and for a 

 short time the little ravine rang with their in- 

 incessant chirping. Each old bird carried 

 food; one had a small whitish grub, the other a 

 small green worm. So anxious were they for 

 the welfare of the parasitic off.spring, when I 

 picked up the little rascal to place back into the 

 ne.st, the}' fluttered down upon the ground, and 

 feigning lameness, came within a foot of my 

 hand, dragging their little outstretched wings 

 along in a most distressing manner. In this 

 manner one fluttered underneath the body and 

 around the legs of my dog, who, had he not been 

 a tried veteran in the service of his master, 

 doubtless would have made .short work of the 

 little bird. 



Four eggs is the largest number I have ever 

 found in a single nest, while sefs of two and 

 three were common. But as all these small sets 

 contained one or more eggs of Molothrus atcr, 

 the laj'ing- was probablj' incomplete. Incuba- 

 tion, however, was allowed to start in all such 

 sets to make sure that no more eggs would be 

 laid. 



A series of eggs of this species, now before 

 me, exhibit considerable variations, chiefly in 

 point of markings and their distribution, the pre- 

 vailing type being moderately marked, chiefly 

 on the larger end, where a more or less well- 



