80 



THE OOLOGIST. 



thickly marked with minute specks of 

 lilac and vinaceous cinnamon. The 

 first set for the season is deposited be- 

 tween the 20th of April and the first of 

 May, the dates varying according to the 

 season. 



While out collecting on the first of 

 May. 1897, I found a nest of this species 

 in a blackberry thicket 6 feet from the 

 ground. The bird remained on the 

 nest until I had placed my hand on the 

 edge of it; then she dropped out on the 

 other side, fell to the ground and flut- 

 tered oft' through the bushes dragging 

 her wings and uttering at the same 

 time a plaintive cry. 1 suppose that 

 this ruse was intended to draw me 

 away from the nest which contained 

 one pipped egg and three young birds. 



Of course after this display of intelli- 

 gence I left the youngsters to be a "joy 

 forever" (v) to their mother. 



These birds are often trapped and 

 placed in bird-houses where they pre 

 sent quite a striking appearance with 

 their beautiful black and orange plum- 

 age. They thrive quite well in confine- 

 ment. 



Wm. L. Atkinson, 

 Santa Clara, Calif. 



Nesting of the Blue-winged Warbler. 



This handsome little fellow is proba- 

 bly one of the most common warblers 

 in south-west Connecticut. Unless one 

 is well acquainted with the song, it 

 would rarely be noticed during the 

 breeding season. 



They make their appearance here 

 during the first week of May and by 

 the middle of the month most of the 

 birds have started to build their nests 

 and the song can be beard on ;.n sides. 



I have found fresh egg^ ■-- late as 

 June 5th, and have seen yon .-^ birds a 

 week old on June 6th. 



The female is very hard to flush, often 

 allowing one to touch her with his fing- 

 er before she will leave the nest. 



Dry ground at the edge of woods and 

 not far from water seems to be the fav- 

 orite site for the nest in this locality. 



The nest is built on the ground and is 

 hidden by a clump of blackberry bushes 

 or golden rod and high grass. 



All of the nests I have seen were com- 

 posed of dry leaves, strips of wild grape 

 bark and lined with fine strips of wild 

 grape bark, very tine grass and occas- 

 ionally a few horse hairs. 



In some of the nests a large quanity 

 of leaves were used, making a loose and 

 bulky affair, while in others only a few 

 making a very compact and pretty nest. 



From 4 to 5, rarely 6 eggs, of a white- 

 ground color, speckled with burnt um- 

 ber and seal brown, are laid. I have 

 seen several sets entirely without mark- 

 ings. 



These birds, like many others, will 

 frequently return to the same breeding 

 place for several seasons. 



I have taken a set 2 years in succes- 

 sion from the same spot and have from 

 10 to 100 yards distant from last year's 

 nest and aQ;ain have not seen a bird 

 where the season before there were sev- 

 eral pair breeding. 



As I am unable to take any notes in 

 the fall, I do not know when E. pinuf^ 

 takes leave of us. 



Jesse C. A. Meeker, 

 Bridgeport, Conn. 



The Hooded and Pine Warblers in 

 North Carolina. 



The Hooded Warbler arrives gener- 

 ally about the first of April. My notes 

 for 1896-7-8 show the following dates: 

 April 1, 1896. April 6, 1897, and April 

 10, 1898. 



Soon after they arrive they choose 

 their mate. The males arrive a day or 

 more in advance of the females. 



Nest building begins in the latter part 

 of April or first of May. On the second 

 day of May I found a nest containing 



