Kov. 1888.] 



AWD OOLOGTST. 



173 



rich reddish-brown and lilac. Tho marl<ing be- 

 comes confluent on Mie larger end where the 

 brown seems to over-lie the lilac. 'I'lie entire 

 sLii'face of tlie e<i;i; is marked, thouf^li iniieli 

 ligliter toward the smaller end. The nest was 

 built of oak-sticks and was large, iMeasuririg 

 about live by four feet on the top. 



'Die nest proper, in the centre, was a nicely 

 rounded hollow composed mostly of old grain 

 stalks and oak leaves with a little moss. 

 Stuccoed into one side were two large soap 

 roots which the eagle perhaps thought orna- 

 meiita). Ou one side lay a half eaten sijuirrcl. 

 While lost in contemplation of the big nest and 

 my rare prizes inside of it I had forgotten all 

 about the owner, when 1 suddenly became 

 aware of some presence near me, and looking 

 over my shoulder I saw the eagle hovering not 

 two feet away. I gave v(>nt to a startled, 

 terror-stricken " hi ! hi '." and struck at it wildly 

 with my hat, at which it flew oil far over the 

 hill, probably nearly as badly frightened as I 

 was myself. It did not return after that and 1 

 departed with the set of eggs in my basket. 

 The nest was about forty feet from the ground 

 and on another limb, about twelve feet below, 

 was another nest, evidently a very old one. 

 Doubtless the tree has been used as a nesting 

 place by eagles for half a century. 



Nesting of the Blue-winged Yellow 

 Warbler at New Haven, Conn. 



UY II. W. I l.INT, NEW HAVEN, CONN. 



For several seasons I have felt a consuming 

 desire to procure a set of eggs of this warbler 

 Hi'lminthiiphaija pinxis, and when, after much 

 persistent watching, in June, 1887, 1 was enabl- 

 ed to trace a pair home, only to find the nest 

 occupied by five interesting young, my vexation 

 can be better imagined than described. 



However, my determination to have a set of 

 eggs w^as only strengthened by this partial 

 success, and as the past season drew on I 

 watched almost daily the sc'veral pairs of birds 

 that had been located earlier in the spring, but 

 as in previous years heard only (by the bom- at 

 a time) the aggravating song of the male as a 

 reward for my persistence, so that finally 

 tlirough repeated failures to find the nest I lost 

 no small amount of the zeal possessed early in 

 the season and gave the birds little or no 

 attention when in my rambles specimens were 

 noted. 



On June llth, as I was passing a scrubby 



hillside (where a male had several times been 

 seen) and was again saluted by his energetic 

 note, I determined to m.-ike one more effort, but 

 it must be confessed with very little hope of 

 success. Cutting a chestnut sprout I proceeded 

 to beat the bushes in a sort of zigzag cour.se up 

 the hill. The sun was hot, the mosquitoes 

 thick, and I had walked about ten miles, and 

 the male, uttering liis note unconcernedly from 

 the to]) of a neighboring Oak, seemed to say 

 that this was to be another case of persistence 

 misapplied. I began to think that I did not 

 need a set very badly when just in front ot me 

 appeared a female evidently very much excited 

 and chipping sharply. 



VVfience she came was a puzzle, but my mind 

 was at once made up to examine every inch of 

 the ground if necessary, as I felt sure the nest 

 must be near, but after nearly a half hour's 

 search I had found nothing, and expectations 

 that were decidedly above par a short time be- 

 fore were somewhat lower now. although the 

 female continued to utter her sharp chip near 

 by. Determining to pursue a ditferent course 

 of action I walked oft' a few rods and sat down 

 within hearing, the birds note soon became less 

 anxious, the male descended from his perch on 

 the oak and together they proceeded slowly 

 down the hillside still chipping, finally the note 

 of the female grew fainter, less frequently, and 

 suddenly ceaseil. Taking out my watch I 

 waited five minutes (hours it seemed) and then 

 risirig to my feet hurried in the direction from 

 whence the last note had proceeded. On arriv- 

 ing there I was unable to find my bird for some 

 time but finally did so by nearly stepping upon 

 the nest, which was placed at the foot of a 

 small briar, constructed entirely of Oak leaves, 

 and so cleverly hidden by a growth of tall 

 grass that had not the bird been flushed it 

 would not have been noticed. It contained five 

 eggs, pure white, and quite glossy, sparingly 

 marked and specked with blackish and brown. 



The birds came within a few feet of me while 

 the eggs were being jiacked and expressed their 

 opinion of the robbery in a very vehement 

 manner. 



A Series of Eggs of Sitta Pygmaa. 



HY.T. 1". N. 



Setr. May29, 188G. Estes Park, Colorado. 

 .Nest in bottom of hole in a dead tree. Eight 

 eggs, white, speckled with brick-red. 'I'he 

 markings vary in intensity ou the diflci-cnt 



