JOURNAL OF MAINE ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



37 



Oologist, February 1893, page 14. 

 The circumstances connected with 

 their discovery I now propose to re- 

 late in detail for the first time, and to 

 fully describe the spot where the first 

 recorded nest and a majority of the 

 subsequent ones taken or found in the 

 United States and this State have 

 been discovered. 



From the northeastern part of the 

 City of Bangor a road called Still- 

 water Avenue runs from Bangor 

 through Veazie and Orono to the town 

 of Stillwater (now part of the city of 

 Oldtown) some ten miles distant. At 

 a point about half way to Stillwater, 

 and partly in Veazie and partly in Oro- 

 no this road runs for a quarter of a mile 

 through a bog which has been locally 

 known as Bangor Bog or Orono Bog. 

 This bog extends some three miles 

 northwest to Pushaw Pond, and 

 hence along the eastern side of the 

 pond for nearly seven miles. Near 

 Stillwater Avenue this bog consists 

 of large open expanses thickly car- 

 peted with sphagnum mosses, and 

 dotted with numerous small trees and 

 shrubs. Among the characteristic 

 plants may be enumerated Hackma- 

 tack (Larix laricina Du Roi); Swamp 

 Spruce (Picea brevifolia Peck); Lab- 

 rador Tea (Ledum grcenlandicum 

 Q5der);Rhododendron(Rhodora cana- 

 densis Linn.); Swamp Laurel (Kal- 

 mia glauca Ait.); Wild Rosemary 

 (Andromeda polifolia Linn.); Low 

 Birch (Betula pumila Linn.); Pitcher- 

 plant (Sarracenia purpurea Linn.); 

 Buckbean (Menyanthes trifoliata 

 Linn.); Arethusa (Arethusa bulbosa 

 Linn.); Calopogon (Limodorum tu- 

 berosum Linn.); and many species of 

 Sedges. Such is the region preferred 

 by this Warbler as its summer home, 

 and in such spots it may be confident- 

 ly looked for in the nesting season. 

 In places the growth on the bog be- 

 comes of a different character, and 

 the growth is thicker, and the carpet 

 of moss is lacking, and here the Yel- 

 low Palm Warbler does not tarry to 

 nest. 



On Memorial Day, 1892, a friend, 

 Charles Whitman, had visited this 

 bog to collect a certain rare butterfly, 

 Chionobas jutta, which is said to be a 

 relic of the Glacial Period and not 

 known to occur in 1892 at any other 

 station in the United States. Mr. 

 Whitman was also an ornithologist 



and on his return reported that he 

 had discovered a nest with young of 

 the Yellow Red-poll Warbler. He 

 readily agreed to visit the locality 

 with me on the following Saturday, 

 June 4, 1892. We started for the bog 

 in due time and on our arrival found 

 the nest previously discovered. Dur- 

 ing the interval the young which he 

 had said were newly hatched when 

 discovered had not only developed 

 their natal down, but well developed 

 pin-feathers containing the juvenal 

 plumage were to be seen. The pa- 

 rent birds were both in the immediate 

 vicinity, and were much excited 

 uttering frequent chips and vigorous- 

 ly wagging their tails and hopping 

 from bush to bush. The nest was at 

 the foot of a small spruce shrub and 

 was well imbedded in the sphagnum 

 moss and concealed by the shrub 

 above. Its construction, situation 

 and appearance was so similar to 

 others discovered later that one de- 

 scription will practically do for all. 



As we could hear other individuals 

 of this species singing near at hand 

 we decided to seek further, though 

 no thoughts of really finding another 

 nest seriously entered our minds. 

 My friend led the way, and as I fol- 

 lowed close at his heels a small bird 

 suddenly fluttered from under my 

 very feet and seemingly from the 

 very spot at the foot of a small spruce 

 whence he had just lifted his heel. 

 One glance downward and five near- 

 ly fresh eggs of the Yellow Palm 

 Warbler greeted my eye. The small 

 spruce was only a foot high and quite 

 bushy, so that the nest was well shel- 

 tered by it, and like the first one well 

 imbedded in the moss. It was com- 

 posed of fine dry sedges and grasses, 

 lined with a veiy few feathers and 

 one or two horsehairs. Its external 

 diameter was three inches and its 

 internal diameter at the top two 

 inches. Its depth outside was two 

 and a half inches and the depth in- 

 side one inch. The ground color of 

 the eggs was a peculiar roseate buffy- 

 white. They were very sparsely and 

 finely spotted toward the smaller end, 

 while on the larger end the spots be- 

 came more numerous and blotchlike 

 tending to form a rather close wreath. 

 The color of the spots were reddish- 

 brown, lavender and lilac. The eggs 

 are before me as I write, and careful 



