AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 7 



Wildwood Fa nil, a small bird flushed out from a thicket of vines 

 within a few feet of where I was passing. A little research revealed a 

 a new-made nest, which I inferred belonged to a mourning warbler; 

 though at the time I had got only a glimpse of the builder; yet, though 

 all the members of this genus ot the warbler family compose nests, 

 and deposit eggs much alike, there is always some variation on the 

 part of each species, by which the attentive student of bird architecture 

 can distinguish the owner, even in most cases without seeing the bird, 

 much less without resorting to the crime of murdering the mother, and 

 in this section of country I know of no other member of the family 

 except the Maryland yellow-throat that nests in a similar manner and 

 situation; and even between these near relatives there is a distin- 

 guishing difference which will be noted hereafter. This nest was not 

 sunk in the soil, nor yet in the herbage in which the builder evidently 

 desired to conceal it; but its foundation rested on some dry vine stalks 

 elevated a few inches above the ground; and the first strata was 

 formed of dry leaves and vine stalks placed loosely over each other, 

 and not pressed down in the centre, as is the manner oi the Afaiy lander. 

 On the top of this mass of dead leaves and stalks, and partly supported 

 by the growing vines, the nest proper was placed. This was quite 

 compactly put together, as though the materials were damp with rain, 

 or the morning dew, when used by the builder, and may have been 

 further moistened by the saliva of the bird when engaged in placing 

 the particles together. The materials used were mostly dry leaves, 

 fine fibres of vine stalks, rootlets, and some cattle hair. The inside 

 was about two inches in diameter; by one and a half deep, the top of 

 the nest was quite open, their being no artificial attempt at concealment, 

 as is the habit of the Maryland Yellow-throat. Six days after, I 

 revisited this nest, the mother bird was at home and on flushing she 

 did not rise on the wing, but ran off among the herbage in a mouse- 

 like manner, for about 20 feet, when she rose and took a position on 

 the top of a log, about two feet off the ground, and here she remained 

 about a minute, twitching her wings and tail, a peculiarity of this 

 species when excited. She flew off and disappeared in some under- 

 wood; but on neither occasion did she utter a note that I could hear, 

 but there was no doubt of her identity as a female mourning warbler; 

 on parting the canes and viewing the nest I found it contained four 

 beautiful fresh eggs; but I inferred that the set was complete and 

 incubation begun. The general color of these eggs was white, with a 

 rosy blush, but less dotted with reddish brown spots than have been 

 other sets of the eggs of this species previously observed. 



