'id.G Brewster on Swainson's Warbler. [October 



ADDITIONAL NOTES ON THE NEST AND 



EGGS OF SWAINSON'S WARBLER 



(HELINAIA SWAINS ONI). 



BY WILLIAM BREWSTER. 



Shortly after the publication of my first article on this subject* 

 Mr. Wayne sent me two more nests of Swainson's Warbler, 

 taken respectively June 27 and June 30, 1SS5. The first was 

 built in a cane over a pool of stagnant water, at a height of about 

 five feet ; the second, also in a cane, was at a height of at least 

 eight feet, and over clear, running water. The females of both 

 nests were shot, thus rendering identification absolute. 



The second nest was "found when the birds had just begun 

 work, and I watched them repeatedly at their labors. They 

 would fly up from the ground and, hovering like a Hawk or 

 Kingfisher, fix the leaves in place with their bills. The female 

 laid her first egg June 26, and one on each of the following two 

 days. I took the nest on the fifth day, when dissection of the 

 female showed that the set was complete." 



The nest taken June 27 contained two eggs, chipped and on 

 the point of ■ hatching. Unfortunately both were broken in 

 blowing, but Mr. Wayne describes them as "dead white without 

 spots." He sends me the shells of one, which are quite immacu- 

 late. 



The set of three eggs just mentioned is also before me. The 

 specimens are in perfect condition and measure, respectively, 

 •75 x -58' -77 X .58, and .74 X .58. They are all oval, with 

 the smaller end decidedly blunt and rounded, and in general shape 

 closely resemble the smaller egg of the set described in • Forest 

 and Stream.' Their ground-color is also similar — dull white, 

 with a faint but appreciable bluish tinge. One is perfectly plain ; 

 another, like the larger egg of the first set, has two or three 

 minute specks which may be genuine shell markings ; while the 

 the third is unmistakably spotted and blotched with pale lilac. 

 Over most of the surface these markings are fine, faint, and 

 sparsely distributed, but about the larger end they become 

 coarser, thicker, and deeper-colored, forming a well-defined ring 



* Forest and Stream, Vol. XXIV, No. 24, July 9, 1885, p. 468. 



