THE OOLOGIST 



297 



taining four fresh eggs, wreathed 

 about the larger end with beautiful 

 markings of chocolate brown and lilac. 

 After carefully examining the nest and 

 eggs I withdrew to a secluded spot 

 nearby and waited for the return of 

 the bird, which within five minutes 

 time stole quietly back to the nest. 

 I then crept up so close to the nest 

 that I could of reached out my hand 

 and touched the bird, had it not been 

 for frightening her. 



She was a beautiful little bird, being 

 olive green on the back shading into 

 greenish yellow on the throat and 

 cheeks, having a slight band of black 

 on the breast, small white wing bars 

 and tail notches. 



The nest was composed of fine dead 

 hemlock twigs and strips of bark, 

 fine dead grasses, hair and a few feath- 

 ers. It was saddled on the horizontal 

 limb of a large hemlock tree, eleven 

 feet above the ground, and ten feet 

 out from the body of the tree, located 

 beside an old wood road. 



Two weeks later on the 2oth of 

 June I found another nest built on the 

 lower branches of a hemlock overhang- 

 ing a small brook at the foot of a 

 ravine, and about fifty rods below the 

 first nest. It contained your young, 

 only a few days old. The parent bird 

 made frequent visits to the nest with 

 food, which gave me a good oppor- 

 tunity of studying her at close range. 



It is usually quite difficult to get in 

 close view of these little warblers, as 

 they seem to spend most of their time 

 high up on coniferous trees, the dense 

 foliage keeping them well hidden from 

 view, while they continually render 

 their sharp little notes, as described 

 above. C. G. Hart. 



Civilization and the Green Heron. 



It is curious and interesting to note 

 the effect that civilization is having 

 upon the Green heron, Butorides vires- 



cens, and its nesting habits in this lo- 

 cality, where it breeds quite commonly 

 in suitable situations. 



Some years ago, when there were 

 few residents living outside of what 

 was then the small town of Stamford, 

 the Green heron nested freely, plac- 

 ing its nest in such low places that 

 climbing was quite unnecessary. The 

 data of a set in my collection, taken 

 on May 14, 1897 reads: Four eggs, 

 incubation begun. Nest placed on a 

 dry mound in a swamp. Composed of 

 sticks and old reeds. To quote an- 

 other — May G, 1898. Four fresh eggs, 

 nest a frail platform of twigs, placed 

 on a tussuck in a swam]), twelve 

 inches above the ground. 



These sets were taken fourteen and 

 thirteen years ago respectively. As 

 the country became more settled in 

 the neighborhood of the herons' fav- 

 orite haunts, the birds kept placing 

 their nests at higher elevations as will 

 be seen by the following data of two 

 sets taken by the writer in 1907. Xo. 



1, May 12, 1907. Two fresh eggs. 

 Xest in Red cedar, twenty feet from 

 the ground and close to the main 

 trunk. Composed of small twigs with 

 a slight cavity in the center. Eggs 

 could be seen from the ground 

 through bottom of nest. Birds de- 

 serted after laying second egg. Xo. 



2, May 31, 1907. Four eggs, incuba- 

 tion 1-3 advanced. Xest twenty-five 

 feet from the ground in a Red cedar. 

 Constructed of twigs with slight hol- 

 low at one side for eggs. Solid enough, 

 however, to prevent their being seen 

 from the ground. 



These 1907 nests were the last easy 

 ones to reach. In 1908, 1909, 1910 and 

 1911 the nests were placed in maple 

 trees, so high up and among such 

 slender branches that it was not worth 

 the risk to life and limb to go after 

 them. One of these nests must have 



