64 GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER 



"While the female is incubating the eggs, her mate moves 

 about the tips of branches and tops of saplings, searching for food, 

 all the while singing his little ditty, which is a simple little bit of bird 

 music hard to put into print. At some distance the song can be 

 distinguished by the syllables zee-se-se-se-ze, beginning slowly and 

 proceeding more rapidly and ending in a slightly higher pitch. When 

 near the bird this song sounds somewhat different, and is now hard 

 to imitate in type. The best I can do is to write it zee-n-ee'-zee-u-ee'- 

 zee-u-ee' zee-u-zwee' , with the u barely articulated. I have several 

 times heard the song continued to the middle of July, and again on still, 

 sultry days in August. At this time, however, it is not so strong 

 and complete as during the early summer. While emitting this song, 

 the bird stands quite erect, stretched up to its full height, the throat 

 extended until the feathers ruffle. The head pointing about 70 degrees 

 upward when the first syllable is uttered, is turned farther upward at 

 the close of the song. The alarm note of both sexes, when the nest or 

 young is disturbed, consists of a sharp chip like that of the Chipping 

 Sparrow, but sharper and repeated oftener." {Jacobs.^) 



Nesting Site. — The following quotation from Jacob's^ admirable 

 monograph of this species seems to apply to the bird throughout its 

 nesting range : "The nest is hardly ever placed away from some sub- 

 stantially supporting stalks of weeds — new or dead — ^briers, elders, 

 sprouts, etc., of not sufficient abundance to hinder a good growth of 

 grass. One nest was placed above ground, being three inches up in 

 a clump of iron-weeds in a marshy place." 



jSfest. — "The domicile is rather compact and neatly cupped, but 

 on the whole is very bulky for a bird so small. The base is composed 

 of dry oak and beech leaves, and other leaves which dry hard, glossy, 

 and without crumpling ; on top of this heap a more compact structure 

 is made, the leaves being placed points downward ; then comes a goodly 

 supply of strips of grapevine bark and shreds of inner tree bark, so 

 placed that the rough ends extend beyond the rim of the nest. A 

 lining is then put in place consisting of fine grass stems and, in some 

 cases, long horse-hairs. A strict lining is not alway put in place, 

 some birds being content to rest the eggs on the grapevine bark and 

 a few intermingling grass stems. Although constructed of coarse 

 materials, the inside of the nest presents a neat appearance, the long 

 shreds of bark and grasses crossing diagonally, much resembling 

 basket work. The opening is not straight down, but slightly tilted, 

 the jaggy leaf-stems and bark sometimes reaching two or three inches 

 above the rim of the nest proper. * * * Two days seem to be 



