BIRDS OF THE CAMBRIDGE REGION. tcq 



Arlington Heights, which consisted mainly of oak and maple, I flushed a small 

 bird from the ground right before my feet. It alighted on a bush close by and 

 uttered a loud chuck of alarm. I then saw that it was a female Canada Fly- 

 catching Warbler. Supposing that she had sprung from her nest, I shot her to 

 prevent the possibility of a mistake. After some search I found the nest at the 

 foot of a tree, sunk on a level with the ground and carefully concealed under the 

 checkaberry [sic] vines which grew around in abundance. It contained five eggs 

 which were just ready to hatch. J. L. Goodale, Cambridge." i 



The instance just given is the only one known to me of the actual 

 finding of a nest of the Canadian Warbler in the Cambridge Region, but 

 Mr. Walter Faxon tells me that he has good reasons for believing that the 

 species has bred in Tophet Swamp, North Lexington, within recent years. I 

 have noted it regularly — if only very sparingly — in summer at several local- 

 ities in Lincoln and Concord. 



224. Setophaga ruticilla (Linn). 

 American Red.start. Redstart. 



Abundant summer resident. 



seasonal occurrence. 



April 23, 1891, two males heard, Arlington, W. Fa.xon. 



May 5 — September 20. 

 October 2, 1894, one seen, Arlington, W. Fa.xon. 



nesting dates. 

 June 2 — 8. 



The Redstart is one of the most abundant, conspicuous and widely dis- 

 tributed of our smaller summer birds. It is found throughout practically the 

 entire Cambridge Region, but its favorite haunts, especially in the nesting season, 

 are swampy woods and thickets bordering brooks, meadows, and ponds. In the 

 more thinly settled districts it also breeds sparingly in upland woods and groves 

 (even among white and pitch pines) ; occasionally in apple orchards ; and not 

 infrequently in shade trees near farmhouses. During the earlier years of my 

 experience it was seldom seen at any season in the more densely populated parts 



ij . L. Goodale, The NaturaUst in Florida, I, no. 4, March, 1885, 14. 



