JOURNAL OF MAINE ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



39 



anxious actions of the parent birds 

 the young were in the immediate 

 vicinity we were able to see them in 

 the act of feeding one only which 

 could essay a feeble flight at our ap- 

 proach. 



The spring of 1893 found us sure of 

 Yellow Palm Warbler finds, but 

 though we visited the bog frequently 

 from the middle of May to the mid- 

 dle of June, and though we heard and 

 saw many of the birds, not a nest re- 

 warded our persistence. 



In spite of frequent visits in 1894 

 my notes do not record any finds un- 

 til June 2nd when a nest containing 

 four nearly fully fledged young was 

 discovered, and later in the day a 

 bird was flushed from a nest contain- 

 ing five quite fresh eggs. These were 

 similar to those previously described, 

 and measurements which were taken 

 at the time have since been mislaid 

 but I remember they did not differ 

 materially from those of my first set. 

 This nest is now in the collection of 

 J. Parker Norris. 



In spite of yearly visits my note 

 book does not again mention the 

 home of this bird as being discovered 

 in the bog until June 9th, 1901, when 

 a nest containing four nearly fledged 

 young was found. This was in a 

 hummock of moss in a very open spot 

 and the usual shrub for a shelter was 

 lacking. 



The first day of June, 1902, found a 

 party of four, including Mr. Swain, 

 Mr. Hall, Mr. Billings and myself on 

 the way to a bog in the town of Her- 

 mon for scientific purposes. This bog 

 is very similar to the Orono Bog in 

 every respect save that it is much 

 smaller. We heard the song of the 

 Yellow Palm Warbler in various 

 spots, and while searching for rare 

 plants Mr. Billings flushed a bird 

 from a tuft of grasses, and Mr. Swain 

 discovered a nest containing five in- 

 cubated eggs of this Warbler. "The 

 nest was placed in a tuft of grass be- 

 side a small spruce bush" as recorded 

 by Mr. Swain in this Journal for July 

 1902, p. 41. Mr. Swain describes the 

 nest as composed of dry grasses, 

 dead spruce twigs, and with feathers 

 of the Canadian Ruffed Grouse work- 

 ed throughout the structure." It was 

 lined with cattle hair, fine grasses 

 and feathers of the Grouse and also 

 of what was seemingly the Hermit 

 Thrush. Its outside diameter was 



four and a half inches and its inside 

 diameter two and three-fourths 

 inches. Its depth outside was two 

 and a fourth and its depth inside one 

 and a half inches. The eggs were 

 creamy white, speckled and blotched 

 with reddish brown and lilac spots 

 which were heaviest about the larger 

 end. They measured .65x.51, .64x.50, 

 .65X.50, .66X.51, .65x.51 inches, and 

 were far advanced in incubation." 



In this Journal for 1902, p. 40, Mr. 

 Swain records a nest of this species 

 containing four young apparently 

 about a week old which he found in 

 dry waste rather wet land in which 

 were scattered patches of grey 

 birches. This was between Burnham 

 and Unity. 



On May 27, 1891, the late C. H. Mor- 

 rell found a nest of this bird near 

 Pittsfleld, and while his set is the first 

 authentic one taken in Maine I am 

 unable to ascertain that it has ever 

 been previouslj' recorded. His notes 

 of which I have a copy before me de- 

 scribe this nest as composed of grass 

 and leaves, lined with grasses and 

 situated on the ground. It contained 

 two eggs of the Warbler and two of 

 the Cowbird. It was in a pasture on 

 side of a knoll at foot of a small fir 

 bush. The eggs of the Cowbird were 

 advanced in incubation and those of 

 the Warbler fresh. 



On June 25, 1893, Mr. MorrelPs 

 notes record a second nest which was 

 situated in a bushy pasture between 

 two small bushes. The nest was out- 

 wardly composed of fine wire -grass 

 or June -grass and some feathers, 

 lined with feathers and a few fine 

 grasses. It contained five eggs. 



On June 13, 1894, Mr. H. H. Johnson 

 collected a set near Pittsfield. The 

 nest was in the edge of a "cutting" in 

 a small growth of trees, and was 

 placed about four inches from the 

 ground in a small spruce bush. It 

 was composed of weed stalks and fine 

 roots of grass and fine grass, lined 

 with feathers which were seemingly 

 those of the parent bird. The eggs 

 were fresh. 



The foregoing is in brief all that is 

 known of the nesting localities of this 

 species in the United States and of 

 the nests which have been found. 



In his Catalogue of the Birds of 

 Portland Mr. Brown records this 

 species as arriving in that vicinity 

 between April 15 and April 25, tarry- 



