WILSON'S WARBLER 277 



slightly harsh chut much like the Yellow-throat's commonest call, but 

 easily distinguishable." {Thayer, MS.}. 



"Rarely sings in migration. May 25, 1897 o"e sang repeatedly 

 a full chord-like chee-chee-chee followed by a Goldfinch-like trill, 

 the latter varied somewhat, but the opening notes are all usually 

 the same. Another time I heard the jumbled warble without the clear 

 chee-chee-chee." (Farzvell, MS.) 



Nesting Site. — A nest found by Spaulding^ at Lancaster, N. H., 

 "was situated among some short bushes on a small grassy knoll in 

 wet, swampy land. The nest was sunken in the ground and well con- 

 cealed by fine swamp grass." 



At Pittsfield, Maine, Morrell- has found two nests ; one was 

 placed "at the base of a small shrub," the other was "in the side of a 

 depression on the ground, well concealed by overhanging grass and 

 shrubs." Swain^ records a nest, found near Bangor, Maine, "under 

 a thick mass of grasses and weeds at the foot of an alder bush." 



Nest. — Spaulding's^ nest "was almost wholly of fine dry grass, 

 lined with a very few hairs, deeply cupped and quite substantial for a 

 Warbler." Morrell describes the first nest found by him as "mainly 

 constructed of short pieces of grass, fairly well woven together, with 

 a very few hairs mingled with the grass lining, and some moss and 

 leaves exteriorly." Morrell's second nest resembled the first "with 

 the exception of the hair, in the place of which were a few black, hair- 

 like roots." The nest found by Swain^ "was made up outside of fine 

 dead grasses (neatly woven, yet a frail structure), lined with fine 

 grasses and a few horse-hairs." 



Eggs. — Usually 4. A set collected by Mr. F. B. Spaulding^ is 

 described by him as follows : "The ground color of the eggs is pure 

 white ; number one has a light wreath of small dark specks about the 

 crown, number two has the crown completely covered by larger spots, 

 number three is the same but has in addition some large light-brown 

 splashes over half of the egg, and number four has large light-brown 

 splashes and spots that cover the small end." 



Nesting Dates. — Lancaster, N. H., June 6 (Spaidding) ; Bangor, 

 Me., June i-June 19 (Knight). 



Biographical References 



(i) F. B. Spaulding, Nesting of Wilson's Black-capped Warbler, (in N. 

 H.), Nidologist, II, 1894, 13; cf. also Journ. Me. Orn. Soc, VI, 1904, 70. (2) 

 C. H. Morrell, Osprey, III, 1899, 5. (3) J- M. Swain, Contributions to the 

 Life History of Wilson's Warbler, Journ. Me. Orn. Soc, VI, 1904, 59. 



