186 



OEmTHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 13-No. 12 



1 X .58; .71 X .58 ; .75 x .58 ; 

 .72X.59. 



Set IV. May 20, 1888. Chatham County, 

 Georgia. Collected by George Noble. Bird 

 flushed. Nest in small gall bush, three feet 

 from ground. Composed of dry leaves, loosely 

 put together. Three eggs : .83 x .53 ; .84 x .53 ; 

 .80X.57. (A long and quite pointed set for 

 this species). 



Set V. May 17, ISSG. Berkeley County, 

 South Carolina. Collected by Arthur T. 

 Wayne. $ shot. Nest in canes, five feet from 

 ground, in a muddy place. Four eggs : .79 x 

 .62; .78X.59; .79x.59; .74x.59. 



Set VI. May 22, 1887. Chatham County, 

 Geoigia. Collected by T. D. Perry. Saw 

 birds. Nest in gall bush, on edge of swamp, 

 and over a pool of water. Three eggs : .80 x 

 .60; .77X..59; .79 x .60. 



Set VII. Jlay 12, 1887. Chatham County, 

 Georgia. Collected by T. D. Perry. $ on nest. 

 Nest of dead leaves laid in layers, and lined 

 with pine needles and dead moss. Placed in 

 canes five feet from ground. Three eggs: .68 x 

 .52; .G8X.54; .69x54. (The smallest eggs in 

 the series.) 



Set VIII. May 10, 1888. Chatham County, 

 Georgia. Collected by George Noble. Bird on 

 nest. Nest in a small mjntle bush, two feet 

 from ground. Made of dry leaves, lined with 

 pine needles. Three eggs : .77x.CO; .74x.58; 

 .75 x .57. 



Set IX. June 27, 1888. Chatham ( 'ounty. 

 Georgia. Collected by T. D. Perry. Bird on 

 nest. Nest in top of canes, four feet from 

 ground. Composed of dead leaves, laid in 

 layers, lined with pine needles and dry moss. 

 Three eggs: .78x.58; .76x.59; .75x.,58. 



The eggs of this species are the only ones of 

 anj' of the Warblers that are unmarked. 



Change of Breeding Habits of Red- 

 winged Blackbird. 



BV LYNIJS JONES, GRINNEI.L, IOWA. 



My earliest recollections of any thing like 

 ornithological work are associated with the 

 semi-pensile nest of Agelaius jj/ioeniceiis that 

 we found abundant among the flags in marshy 

 places in which this prairie country abounded. 

 I recall no instance of a nest being found else- 

 where than among the flags up to 1880. 



In 1880 came an inundation of enterprise in 

 ttie shape of ditching, b}- which the sloughs 

 were drained, and the flag growth lessened year 



by year, until now almost none are found. It 

 was also noticed that the birds decreased in 

 numbers. 



In 1885 was the minimum of breeding birds, 

 and in 1880 nests began to appear in unusual 

 places, such as heavy grass, growths of weeds, 

 and even the brush on the hilltops. Very 

 few nests were seen in the lowlands; the pre- 

 ference seemed to be a sidehill. In 1888 nests 

 were as frequent in the brush on the hilltops as 

 in weeds or grass, and some were found in trees 

 above six feet up. 



Instead of the semi-pensile nests among the 

 flags were nests built and placed in much the 

 same manner as those of the Black-throated 

 Bunting (Spiza americana). The difterence in 

 material used now and formerly is no more than 

 one would expect in going from a marsh to up- 

 land. 



I am aware that it is considered no very 

 great rarity among eastern collectors to And 

 nests of this species in trees. But here the 

 change has been decided. The migration was 

 from marsh to upland, and the nest from 

 basket to platform foundation. 



When tlie brusli and weeils disappear, as they 

 surely will, where then will the Blackbirds 

 build? 



Nesting of the White-eyed Virco in 

 Chester County, Pa. 



BV .1. 1'. NOlilllS, .IK. 



It has been my good fortune to find four 

 nests of this bird ( Vireo noveboracensis) in 

 Chester County, where it is rattier scarce. 



The first nest was found May 25th, 1887, and 

 had just been completed. Returning a week 

 later, I found it contained four eggs of the 

 Vireo and one of the Cowbird. 



This nest was suspended from a limb of a 

 small bush one foot from the ground, in a small 

 clump of bushes in a swampj' meadow. The 

 nest is purse-shaped, as in fact all the four 

 nests I found were, ditl'ering iu that from those 

 of the Hed-eyed Vireo ( ]'. olivarrtis) which are 

 cup-shaped. It was composed of bark, pieces 

 of cocoon shavings, moss, etc., lined with fine 

 strips of bark. Moss seems to be Invariably 

 used in the construction of their nests, while 

 I have never seen any in a nest of the Red- 

 eyed Vireo. This set measure .67x.53; .74 x 

 .54; .73x.56; .77x.56. 



Nest No. 2 was found May 21lth, 1888, just 

 finished, and was left until June 5th, when four 



