o[dqi0) 



rT Vol. V. 



JANUARY, 1881. 



No. II. 



Nesting of the Hooded Warbler. 



This species will always be remem- 

 bered with pleasure by me, as myself 

 and a friend first found it as a summer 

 resident in this vicinity, in the woods 

 bordering on the shores of Lake Onta- 

 rio, in northern Cayuga County, N. Y. 



I say woods, but by this I do not 

 wish it understood that this bird is 

 found in all the woods that one may 

 chance 'to penetrate in that vicinity; for, 

 like many others of the feathered tribe, 

 it has favorite spots in which to dwell. 



Hemlock woods interspersed with 

 beach and maple, and likewise rendered 

 dense by the smaller second growth of 

 these trees, seem to be its choice. 



Here in spots where a fallen tree or 

 two has been over grown by rank weeds, 

 and through which one can hardly pen- 

 etrate, will the male bird often be heard 

 singing. 



In these same favorite localities it also 

 builds its nest. My friend, F. S. Wright, 

 and myself have secured several of these 

 nests, three of which contained eggs. 

 We found our first nest July 25th, 1878. 

 It contained three young, ready to fly, 

 and one addled ^^^^. The nest was 

 placed in a small fork of a maple sap- 

 ling, and was about four feet from the 

 ground. It was composed of strips of 

 vine and bark, outwardly interwoven 

 with a few feathers, and was lined with 

 fine fibres, a few rootlets, and some 

 feathers and horse hairs. This nest 

 was built higher than any we had yet 

 found. We afterwards found another 

 from which the young had flown, very 

 similar in every respect to the first, but 



it was built at a height of 2^ ffeet. 



June 6th, 1880, I secured the first 

 nest containing eggs. It was composed 

 outwardly of a lew leaves, next were 

 fine strips of inner bark of some vine 

 or shrub, and it was lined with fine 

 wirey stems, grasses, and rootlets. Ex- 

 ternal measurements were 3^ inches 

 high by 3 inches wide ; and inside 2f 

 inches wide by 1^ inches deep. 



The eggs, two in number, can be de- 

 scribed as follows : — 



No. 1 measures .69 inches by .53 inch- 

 es. The ground is white, speckled with 

 fine dots of a brownish and brownish- 

 red color, which are principally scatter- 

 ed on the larger end, and about which 

 they form a wreath. On some parts of 

 this G,^^ they are so thick as to form 

 .small confluent spots. 



Measurements of No. 2 are .67 inches 

 by .50 inches. Ground color same as 

 the other, with numerous small spots 

 or dots of a brownish color scattered 

 over its surface, and principally on the 

 larger end. In shape these eggs are 

 (jitue pointed, much like a Plover's ^^^. 

 There were also two Cow Bunting's eggs 

 in this nest. I did not find a second 

 set until July 4th following. The nest 

 in this case was very similar to the one 

 first found this season ; indeed one can 

 hardly tell them apart. It was placed 

 in a fork of a maple sapling', about \\ 

 feet from the ground, and contained 

 three fresh eggs, and they are the most 

 beautiful Warbler's eggs I have ever 

 seen. 



No. 1 measures .77 inches by .57 inch- 

 es. The ground is of a creamy white, 

 marked principally on the larger end 



