394 NOTES ON THE 



he has been on the ground. Birds of all species, seem to 

 ' 'give themselves away" by a kind of nervousness in their manner 

 when they have just now arrived. But it is soon at work, 

 busily searching for insects, on the ground, on the bushes, 

 and in the air where it seizes them readily in short excursions 

 on the wing. It clings closely to the vicinity of moist 

 places bordering thickets of low trees, or tall brush. It 

 breeds limitedly in the northern sections of the State. 



The nest is quite uniform in structure and in the materials of 

 which it is composed. Always on the ground, and fairly con- 

 cealed by a bush, or a tussock of grass, with dry leaves to com- 

 plete the protection, the rest is constructed of weeds and 

 grasses at the bottom, on which are imposed layers of fine 

 roots and finer grass, over which are down, caterpillar's silk, 

 hairs, fine grasses and moss. It is then lined with fine roots, 

 thus constituting a deep nest in which are deposited three eggs 

 of roseate white color, spotted and blotched at the larger end 

 with brown and reddish. 



The young are out of the nest by the 25th of June. Indivi- 

 duals of this species are seen in the autumn late in October 

 occasionally, but it is so secluded in its habits that it is difii 

 cult to determine its time of departure very accurately. For 

 the same reason, I have obtained less notes from correspond- 

 ents in different parts of the country embraced in the survey. 

 They are principally found during summer in the northern 

 counties, at least I have had a larger number of reports from 

 that section. I met them in their characteristic haunts late in 

 May in the vicinity of Minneapolis, and Mr. Lewis reports 

 them in Becker county a month later. Others have given 

 them, associated with the young in August in various localities. 



SPECIFIC CHARACTERS. 



Head above chestnut red; rest of upper parts brownish 

 olive-gray, the feathers with darker centers, the color brighten- 

 ing on the rump, upper tail coverts and outer margins of 

 wing and tail feathers, to greenish-yellow; a streak from nos- 

 trils over the eye, and under parts generally, including the 

 tail coverts, bright yellow, paler on the body; maxillary 

 line, breast and sides finely but rather obsoletely streaked 

 with reddish brown; checks brownish, (in highest spring 

 plumage, chestnut like the head) ; eyelids and a spot under the 

 eye, olive-brown; lores dusky; a white spot on the inner web 

 of the outer two tail feathers at the end. 



Length, 5; wing, 2.40; tail, 2.25. 



Habitat, eastern United States to the Mississippi river. 



