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ORNITHOLOGIST 



[V0I7-N0. 16 



ORNITHOLOGIST 

 OOLOGIST. 



A MONTHLY MAGAZINE DEVOTED TO 

 THE STUDY OP BIRDS, THEIR NESTS AND EGGS. 



JOS. M. WADE, EDITOR, 



With the co-operation of able Ornithological 

 Writers and Collectora. 



Subscription— $1.00 per annum. Foreign subscrip- 

 tion $1.2.5 — includinq postage. Specimen 

 Copies Ten Cents. 



JOS. M. WADE, Norwich, Conn. 



EDITORIAL. 



Our Present TsTumber is dated May 15th 

 and is an extra. During the year another 

 will be sent out. The volume will then 

 close with the year and prevent confusion. 

 For want of room much newsy and valuable 

 matter is left over each month. An enlarge- 

 ment or a semi-monthly issue is very desir- 

 able. Our thanks are tendered to those 

 who have sent us additional subscribers. 



Publications. 



"Forest and Stream," Bird Notes. An 

 index and summary of all the ornithologi- 

 cal matter contained in " Forest and 

 Stream," Vols. I to Xn. Compiled by H. 

 B. Baily. Forest and Stream Publishing 

 Co., N. Y., 1881. Price not given. The 

 above is a very valuable work for students 

 in ornithology who have access to a full 

 file of Forest and Stream. The "siunma 

 ry" is valuable of itself, but the title "Bird 

 Notes" is misleading. The name of the 

 author is a sufficient guarantee that the- 

 work is well done. 



"Birds Nesting. A hand book of in- 

 struction in gathering and preserving the 

 Nests and Eggs of Birds for the purpose 

 of study, by Ernest IngorsoU, Salem. Geo. 

 A. Bates, 1882." Price conditional — from 

 90 cents to $1.25. We have read this work 

 with much interest and some profit. Mr. 

 Ingorsoll has written the book in a plain, 

 straightforward manner that all can under- 



stand and appreciate. It is not by any 

 means above criticism, but Mr. Ingorsoll 

 has done so well that we have not the inch- 

 nation to criticise, even if we had the room. 

 Every collector should get a copj' for it is 

 well worth the low price asked for it. 



Blue Yellow-backed ^Al^arble^. 



ITS SUMMER HOME. 



The long, pendulous tree moss, so- 

 called, in which the Blue Yellow-backed 

 Warbler builds its nest and breeds, is a 

 lichen of the genus Usnea ( U. barbata, var. 

 hirta) and ( U. triohodea). The filamen- 

 tous thallus of the latter is coarser and 

 longer than the former, specimens often 

 measuring more than two feet in length. 

 Both species are often found in the same 

 nest, V. barbata, or the finer parts of U. 

 trlchodea, being used for the nest proper. 



Of the nine species recognized by 

 Nylander three are European and six are 

 possessed by us. U. barbata. var. Flori- 

 da is very common in our woods, but is 

 hardly pendulous enough for the purposes 

 of the Warbler in question. It may be 

 readily distinguished by its numerous 

 peltate apothecia, with radiate margins 

 and whitish faces. The longer species 

 mentioned above {var. hirta), is found on 

 juniper or savins in exposed localities on 

 our highest hills ; old scraggy trees, partly 

 dead, furnish the greatest supply. I have 

 found none on young trees. The filaments 

 of this lichen are very fine and hair-Uke. 

 The finest specimens of U. trichodea are 

 found in our densest swamps on the 

 white cedar {Ciqyresstis thijoides) and on 

 other swamp trees. 



In appearance these lichens are related 

 to our northern cedar swamjjs very much 

 as the Spanish or black moss ( Tillandsia 

 usetioides) is to the southern ; though the 

 latter is not a lichen, belonging as it does 

 to the pineapple family, it is nevertheless 

 an epiphyte. Lichens are all hardy air 

 plants and simply require a foothold, when 

 they are able to thrive mider the most 



