138 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 14-No. 9 



The number of eggs laid is usually three, 

 although sometimes only two, and it is not un- 

 usual to find two well incubated eggs, thus 

 proving that no more would have been laid. I 

 have never found four eggs in one nest, and 

 have never seen or lieard of any authentic set 

 of that number. 



The Cowbird does not often trouble this 

 species, as it is unusual to find their eggs in 

 nests of the Acadian. 



The ground color of the eggs varies from a 

 light to a dark cream, spotted usually at the 

 larger end, with different shades of reddish- 

 brown and chestnut. In some specimens the 

 spots are smaller and are scattered sparingly 

 all over the surface, while in others (and this is 

 the typical marking) the spots are larger, and 

 all near the larger end. — ./. P. N.] 



Nesting of the Blue winged Yellow 

 Warbler in Chester County, Pa. 



The record of nests of this rare Warbler 

 that have been found in Chester County is as 

 follows : 



Mr. Thomas H. Jackson has found three 

 nests, one of which contained five eggs, the 

 other two contained young birds. 



Mr. Samuel B. Ladd has two sets of eggs in 

 his collection, consisting of four and five eggs 

 respectively, which were taken by Mr. Wm. 

 Hall, near the Westtown school, this county. 



Mr. Ladd found two nests himself this year, 

 one of which contained three young Warblers, 

 one Warbler's egg (which was nearly hatched) 

 and one young Cowbird. The other nest was 

 found .June Ki, and contained three eggs of 

 the Warbler and one of the Cowbird. Both 

 these nests were placed on the ground at the 

 foot of a bush, in a clearing. 



On May 29, 1889, I liad the good fortune to 

 find a nest of this Warbler. 



I was looking through a good-sized and (in 

 places) swampy woods, where two years be- 

 fore I had found a nest of the Maryland 

 Yellow Throat (Geotldypis trirhnfi) and which 

 is a favorite nesting place for the Acadian 

 Flycatcher (Einpidonax acadicux) three or four 

 pairs of which breed there every year. 



I had been there for some time and not 

 found anything at all, when suddenly a 

 small bird, which I did not at first recognize, 

 got up about two or three feet off from me. 

 Putting my collecting box on the ground I got 

 down on my hands and knees and began to look 

 around carefully, tearing up the weeds, ferns, 



etc., for I had no desire to repeat an experi- 

 ence I had last year with a Golden-crowned 

 Thrush's nest, which I stepped on and broke 

 the eggs. 



For quite a long time I was unable to find 

 any nest, having in the meanwhile made a 

 bare spot of about fifteen feet square. 



By this time I was beginning to get dis- 

 couraged, and I walked back to where I had 

 left my box. As I stooped down to pick it 

 up I saw it was almost resting against a 

 nest, which contained five eggs, and which I 

 at once recognized as belonging to the Blue- 

 winged Yellow Warbler {Hebniittfiojifiila 



phlKS). 



The nest is a beautiful structure. It is 

 quite large, and is composed of leaves, grape- 

 vine bark, and a few pieces of straw, and is 

 lined with fine gi'ass and horse-hair. It was 

 placed on the ground between the forks of a 

 small bush, on a piece of level ground about 

 thirty-five yards from a stream of water, and 

 at the bottom of a slight hillside in a rather 

 open spot in the woods, not more than one 

 hundred and fifty yards from a road. 



While I was looking for the nest the female 

 was joined by the male, and they both fiew 

 from branch to branch of the neighboring 

 trees (usually at a considerable distance from 

 the ground) uttering notes of distress. There 

 can be no question as to the identification as 

 I saw both birds plainly. On blowing the 

 eggs I found that they contained small 

 embryos. ,/. P. Norrls, Jr. 



Nesting of the Pied-billed Grebe. 



The doubts that existed in my mind in re- 

 gard to whether Grebes sit on their eggs to in- 

 cubate them are entirely eradicated. A good 

 opportunity has presented itself in both the 

 Eared Grebe (Colymhua ni(jHrollis raliforniciis) 

 and the Pied-billed Grebe {PodilymhuK podi- 

 ceps) and I took advantage of it to watch their 

 nidification. 



A pair of Pied-billed Grebes built their 

 nest in the moss in a lake in full view of my 

 house, and near enough to distinctly see the 

 eggs of which six were laid. The old birds 

 sat on them persistently for about four 

 weeks, and only on three occasions during 

 that time did I see the nest vacated, and then 

 only for a few minutes, and this July lias been 

 the hottest month I ever experienced here. 

 They have hatched out their brood and there 

 is now a pair that has a nest with four eggs 



