U8 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 16-No. 10 



female Tanager with her plain yellow-throated 

 garb. 



I think that there is about as much dissimi- 

 larity in the outward appearance of the two 

 sexes of this bird, as will be found in the list of 

 American birds, and their companionship is 

 not so close as to couple them in tlie eyes of 

 any but a very close observer. 



The demands of the inner man turned us 

 toward the house for breakfast, but did not 

 prevent us from following a White-throated 

 Sparrow, who kept hopping along in the 

 underbrush and low .scrubby pines which 

 bordered the woodland. 



These birds breed with us here but we never 

 find them in their perfection until we reach 

 the mountainous regions to the north of us. 

 Tlie song is shorter here an<l the bird more 

 retiring, although it indulges in its midnight 

 song, the same as it does farther north. 



The versatility of this bird is wonderful and 

 the weary traveller has often been cheered on 

 his way by the sweet notes of this happy 

 little creature rising suddenly from the thicket 

 by the roadside in a burst of melody. 



Breakfast over we turued to the southward 

 toward a large meadow, where the numerous 

 bogs and rivulets made long lines of wooded 

 hillock interspersed with swampy thickets. 



This is usually the favorite resort of small 

 birds, both while breeding and on the migra- 

 tion. Why ? Perhaps because the damp hill- 

 sides and decaying vegetation of the swamps 

 furnish them with an abundance of food, and 

 perhaps it is something else, Qiiien sahe f But 

 the fact remains that this is the sort of a 

 place to find birds and this locality was no 

 exception to the rule. 



Not a twitter was heard as we stepped over 

 a brook and stood upon one of these knolls, 

 all sound having ceased when wc came within 

 hearing. 



Seating ourselves beneath the branches of a 

 big oak we silently awaited developments. 

 The first to break the silence was the ubiqui- 

 tous Titmouse, who saucily fiitted before our 

 eyes and piped his chick-a-dee-dee in our faces, 

 as much as to say " Who the dickens are 

 you ?" 



Next caller was a fine male Redstart, decked 

 out in holiday garb of black and red, and then 

 came in rapid succession a Maryland Yellow- 

 throat, a Blackburnian, a Pine-creeping 

 and several Black-throated Green Warblers, 

 and on a sandy knoll, covered with pitch pine, 

 was a nest of the latter. 



Tiring of this we returned again to the grove 



visited this morning, found the Tanagers out 

 in force, and had a pleasant visit to these 

 shy birds, learning a great deal of their inside 

 character. 



Another direction in the afternoon added 

 to the list a Black-throated Blue Warbler, 

 beside a repetition of some of the forenoon 

 experiences. 



Warblers seem to love the vicinity of high 

 pines at this season of the year, as well as the 

 localities previously referred to, but in nearly 

 all cases there are hard wood hillsides near 

 by. Seldom liave I found many small birds in 

 the deep pine woods. 



Train time then called me back to the city, 

 but I made a mental memorandum that the 

 place was worth visiting again. 



Frank- A. Bates. 



Nesting Notes, i8go. 



April 1.3. Red-shouldered Hawk. T lok 

 two sets of three, and two sets of four eggs, 

 from nests situated in the vicinity of Highland 

 Park, a suburb of Detroit. Tlie nests were 

 generally situated in beech trees, about forty 

 feet from the ground, in high, dry woods. 



May 18. Yellow Warbler. I found a four- 

 storied nest of this bird in a small thorn bush. 

 The first story contained one egg of the Cow- 

 bird firmly placed in the bottom of the nest; 

 the second story one egg, each, of the Yellow 

 Warbler and Cowbird; the third, two eggs of 

 the Cowbird; and the last story a set of four 

 fresh Yellow Warbler's eggs. I have aUo 

 found a threc-stcuied nest of this bii-d. 



May 24. Olive-backed Thrush. Four eggs 

 and one Covvbird's in a nest situated in a low 

 bush. The nest was a very handsome struc- 

 ture, being composed of twigs with the green 

 leaves on them. 



May 2.5. American Woodcock. While col- 

 lecting to-day I came across the nest of this 

 bird situated under some bushes in a swamp. 

 The nest was quite large, and was composed 

 of dried grasses and leaves. I also found 

 three nests with young. 



May 26. Rose-breasted Grosbeak. A set of 

 five placed in a hemlock tree. I could see the 

 eggs from the gi'ound, the nest was so 

 fragile. I never found more than four eggs 

 before. 



June 1. Myrtle Warbler. Set of four fresh 

 eggs from a nest placed in a small hemlock, 

 ten feet from the ground. The nest was com- 

 posed of fibers, down and small twigs, making 



