576 BREWSTER'S WARBLER. 



of Rowley, but not many remained to breed there. Here in Newton t!iey are always to 

 be found alonu- a line of hills which lies in the center of tlie city, a,nd fortunately the settle- 

 ment of this section does not appear to have driven them away, for I saw sever.il there 

 durinc June of this year, 1895, inhaljiting the little parks in the vicinity <jf t!ie houses. 



It was on this hill, on the side of a little valley, the ))ottom of which was occupied 

 by a swampy thicket, that I fomid the first well authenticated nests of tliis species th; t 

 had ever been taken. This was on June I'ith, twenty -six years ago. Since that time, 

 however, quite a number of nests have been found in the vicinity, all of them on slopes 

 which rose from swampy thickets. The nest which I found was placed in an oi)en 

 <>-lade and the same was true of some of the others which have since !)cen taken. The 

 exact spot in which I found my nest is now included in tlie grounds of a residence, but 

 aside from a few changes made by the landscape gardener who laid ont the estate, the 

 direct environment remains nnicii as it was when I first s;\w it. 1 even heard a Goideti- 

 wino- siniJ'ing near, last June, and can well lielieve that either he or anotlier had a nest m 

 the same little valley. 



The sonf>- of the Golden-winged Warbler is one of the most characteristic (jf the 

 groups, and consists of four or five rather harsh lisping notes, often given as the bird sits 

 upon the topmost bough of some high tree, at which time lie gives his entire attention to 

 his rather lunnusical efforts, but at other times he sings as he feeds, tiying restlessly from 



tree to tree. 



This species leaves Massachusetts by September 1st, but I filled to lind it at Watson- 

 town among the great migration of warblers during the Hrst and second week of this 

 month, and thus it is possible that these l)irds may pass furtiier west on their way to the 



South. 



Helminthophaga chysoptera !eucobronchia!is. 



Brewster's Warbler. 

 Plate XXII. Adult male in Spring, (upper figure). 



DESCRIPTION. 



Sub Sp. Ch. Size, form and general color of the Golden-winged Warbler, but lacks the black of the 

 breast in the male and the slaty in the female, and the black of the checks is reduced to a narrow line pass- 

 ing through the eye. The white of the lower parts is very slightly tinged \\itli yellow on the breast, 

 and lacks the bluish tinting of the sides, being pure silky white everywhere. 



OBSERVATIONS. 



This bird has proved a puzzle to ornithologists ever since its discovery by Mr. Bi-ewster, twenty-five 

 years ago. The chief difficulty appears to be that some specimens which have been taken show consideralile 

 yellow below, have whitish wing bars and in some other ways exhibit an approach to the Blue-winged Yellow 

 Warbler, H. pinus. Hence, these and all other speciinens of Brewster's Warbler have been considered as 

 hybrids, between the Golden-winged Warbler and the Blue-winged Yellow by some ornithologists. Others, 

 however, maintain that Brewster's Warbler is a color phase of the Golden-winged. The hybid theory is 

 partly coroborated by some apparent evidence tliat Brewster's Warbler mates with buth the Blue-winged 

 Yellow and with the Golden-winged. Now I have carefully read all of the published statements which I can 



