46 MNE WAltiiLKlt. 



only when tliey eoiuleyci'iid to alight on some lov; branch, to 

 fly to the gTonnd, or to cling for a moment to the rongh hark 

 of their favorite pine, in ordei- to capture some insect, that 

 their plumage can he distinctly seen. I haye spent many an 

 hour studymg the haliits of this wai'liler, l)oth in ^^ew Eng- 

 land and in the south. ^Vll winter long the yast extents of 

 j)ine woods in Florida are enliyened by the songs and flitting 

 forms of these Avarblers. Here the}^ are yery restless, sweep- 

 ing oyer the wide, park-like ])ineries in great w^ayes, in com- 

 jKiny with Bluebirds, Woodpeckers, and other species of 

 warblers. During a few moments many of the trees about 

 (me will be filled with hundreds of moying birds, and the air 

 will be resounding with bird notes. Then gradually all will 

 disappear; their songs will die away in the distance, and not 

 a liying creature w^ill remain in sight, saye, perhajjs, a Vul- 

 ture circling high in air, and not a sound will be heard, save, 

 ])erchance, the faint cry of an Eagle, coming from some far- 

 away lake, near which he has his nest; the avian wave has 

 i-olled past, and an hour or more may go by before another 

 will a|)pear. 



AVith us, here in Alassachusetts, the Pine AVarblers are 

 more solitary in habit. One or two pairs to each grove of 

 their favoi'ite tree is a])out the number that we usually find. 

 The}^ still retain, however, some of the restless habits ac- 

 cjuiredin the south. Before nesting time ( with the males ev- 

 en after this ) they are seldom quiet, but move about from 

 tree to tree, often in a circular direction, thus constantly re- 

 turn, but at somewhat irregular intervals, to certain places. 



Although in spring, es])ecially when migrating, they are 

 sometimes found in deciduous trees, they never go far from 

 the pitch pine groves. In the fall they wander more, and 

 then often associate with other warblers in mixed growths of 

 trees. 



Breedestg Habits. The nest of the Pine Warbler is 

 built about the first week in May. The young of this brood 



