264 



THE OOLOGIST. 



ou a plau to Ije accomplished only by 

 the combined help of all Illinois work- 

 ers. 



This state has many ornitJiological 

 students in the field and by bringing 

 their observations together and combin- 

 ing them, very satisfactory results could 

 be obtained. It is desired to make a 

 thorough investigation into the distri- 

 bution, nesting, arrival and departure 

 of the birds throughout the state; to 

 publish the same and give due credit 

 to each observer. Therefore all Illi- 

 nois workers are invited to help and to 

 send in their names at once in order 

 that circulars may be sent. This work 

 cannot be carried on unless a sufficient 

 number of stations be established. It 

 is intended to commence work by the 

 fii'st of January, 1893, and your early 

 and prompt reply will oblige. 



Wm. E. Loucks. 

 Peoria, Ills. 



Cerulean Warbler. 



In our rambles through the wood in 

 the neighborhood of ButTalo, N. Y., I 

 have often noticed some beautiful 

 Warblers, mostly in the middle df May, 

 when the foliage is not yet fully devel- 

 oped. Those wood that contain -high 

 and old beech trees, seem to be their 

 favorite places, perhaps that insect life 

 is more abundant there. Toward the 

 end of May until th(; middle of June 

 I stayed wilh friends near Buffalo aud 

 there observed on the border of a large 

 wood in an elm tree a pair of Warblers 

 building their nest. They seemed to be 

 a species that differed from those that I 

 had observed before. It was with a 

 great deal of difficulty to watch them 

 as the nest was on a very small iimb 

 quite a distance from the trunk of the 

 lai'ge elm tree, I should .iudge not less 

 than 40 feet from the ground. The 

 construction of the nest and its final 

 completion must have taken at least 

 from 8 to 10 days. In the earlier pait 



of those, say 8 days, the male sang on a 

 neighboring tree in the morning and 

 toward evening splendid, but I am at a 

 loss to give a resemblance of the notes. 

 When the nest was completed and the 

 female on it I would onljr occasionally 

 hear a few notes which sounded like 

 zee zee zeep, tliis is as near as I can ex- 

 press it in words. It was a great treat 

 to see these bright azure blue colored 

 birds fiit through the not yet whole 

 developed leaves. They seemed to me 

 with their parti}' light colored tail 

 feathers similar to our American Red- 

 start, but they are smaller in size. 

 After, saj^ 8 or 10 days not a sound was 

 heard by me, when I came near the 

 nesting place and it took a minute 

 watching to see the male bird, and on- 

 ly in one instance I observed the male 

 close by 'the nest, pei'haps bi'inging 

 some nourishment to the ferpale. On 

 the 15th of June I thought it might be 

 brightest time for me to see whether a 

 full complement of eggs were laid. 

 After a hard climb I came in a straight 

 line of the nest, By walking out on a 

 lower branch, I was within reach of the 

 nest. The female looked at me with 

 its bright e3'es and staid on the eggs 

 until I almost touched her. Four of 

 the nicest eggs of a blueish white color 

 speckled with reddish brown spots, 

 partly lilac, almost uniform on the 

 larger end, the largest the size of not 

 quite a pin's head, were levealed to my 

 gaze. Only one of them is a trifle 

 smaller and the spots are fewer, per- 

 haps the last laid egg. When-- blown 

 the color changed into a clear white. 

 The eggs were fresh. I cut the nest off 

 which is in my possession. It is more 

 a hanging nest, 3 inches in diameter 

 aud 1| inches deep, you might say wov- 

 en to a slender fork of an elm twig, 

 constructed of ffne gi'asses aud hair- in 

 the inside, being from 3-16 to 5-16 of an 

 inch thick, interwoven with spider webs 

 and covered artistically on the outside 

 with light grey colored lichens, ^which 

 gives it a most charming appearance. 



