156 ^'^ESTS AND EGGS OF BlllDS. 



very often on a slope ; frequently a hedge of grasses stands about 

 the nest, and sometimes, as the older ornithologists invariably 

 mentioned, the whole is roofed over like that of the golden- 

 crowned wagtail ; but this dome is not an integral part of the 

 structure, being simply leaves, etc., dragged over it into self- 

 supporting shape as a disguise. The framework seems to be 

 slighter at the south than in the north ; and Mr. Herrick tells 

 me that at Grand Menan the yellow-throats find the climate so 

 cold that they embed their eggs in feathers. Mr. Mearns, in his 

 valuable memoir on tRe ornithology of the Hudson Highlands, 

 records that one nest of this bird, found in a wet meadow, was 

 built over a little watercourse, being suspended to the interlaced 

 grasses which were brought from each side and fastened together. 

 He also adds, that its nest is very often found suspended to 

 the rushes of the marshes that border the Hudson. 



The five or six eggs of the Geothlypis are begun to be laid 

 as soon as the nest is completed. They are very pretty, being 

 pure, semi-transparent white, "dotted, blotched and marbled 

 around the larger end with purple, reddish brown and dark um- 

 ber." These markings are laid on very iiTegularly : in some 

 specimens scarcely anything but a confused rim about the butt 

 appears ; in others a few scattered blotches ; in others sparse 

 and diffused dots ; while occasional examples are almost or quite 

 immaculate. The size and shape also are highly variable, the 

 length ranging from .74 to .55 of an inch and the breadth from .58 

 to .48. All sizes and forms occur in the same nest. In Dr. 

 Brewer's collection the largest eggs are from Kansas and the 

 smallest from Georgia ; but this no doubt is mere accident. It 

 is rare to find a nest w^ithout one or more eggs of the cow- 

 bird in it ; but never, Audubon thought, in the nests of the second 

 brood. 



Incubation is said to devolve wholly upon the female, and to 

 continue about ten days. During this time the male is assiduous 

 and affectionate in the collection of food for his mate and guard- 

 ing her safety. Relying upon the admirable concealment of their 

 home for protection, the birds rarely show any open solicitude 



