'SSs-l General Notes. 377 



Odd Nesting Habits of the Blue Yellow-backed Warbler in Missouri. — 

 Mr. Otto Widmann has kindly sent me a nest of the Blue Yellow-backed 

 Warbler (Parula americana) which he took near St. Louis, Mo., June 8, 

 18S5. It differs in every particular from the delicate pensile nest which 

 the species commonly builds in the East, where hanging lichens abound 

 on the trees. Mr. Widmann writes me: "It was situated in a bunch of 

 dead leaves and rubbish, such as is often found hanging from those 

 branches of trees which are reached by high water in creeks, freshets, etc. 

 The tree from which I took the nest is a birch, and the twig a long pendu- 

 lous one, the terminal three feet of which had been immersed bv the last 

 high water and had caught and retained a bulky conglomeration of straw, 

 sticks, and dry leaves. At the time of collection (June 8) the nest was 

 6-8 feet above the water (of Meramec River, St. Louis Co.), and contained 

 five young ones about ten days old." 



The nest itself is a small, open, cup-shaped affair, composed chiefly of 

 small rootlets, fine grass, and a moss, intermixed with a few tufted seeds 

 of some plant, and sparingly lined with horse hairs. It measures, ex- 

 ternallv, 70 mm. in diameter by 70 mm. in depth; internally, 45 mm. in 

 diameter by 40 mm. in depth. — C. Hart Merriam, Locus/ Grove, N. T. 



Swainson's Warbler in Jamaica. — The following note is intended to 

 supplement the information already contributed to this Journal bv Mr. 

 Brewster and others concerning the distribution of Swainson's Warbler 

 ( He I in a ia sxva in s ni). 



In the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London for 1879, Prof- 

 Alfred Newton of Cambridge, England, records the capture of a single 

 specimen of this species from Jamaica. He says : "It is an extremely rare 

 species and I doubt whether a second example has ever been seen in this 

 country. The present was killed by ray brother at Hope, in the parish of 

 St. Andrew, February 8. 1S79, anc ^ was found by him to be a male. I 

 am indebted to the kindness of Mr. Ridgwav. of the Smithsonian Institu- 

 tion, for the determination of this specimen of a species I never saw 

 before" (p. 552). 



The above example proved to be the first of a series of eight taken in 

 Jamaica by Mr. Edward Newton and now in the Museum of Zoology at 

 Cambridge, England. Through the kindness of Professor Newton, I 

 was permitted, last April, to examine these specimens and transcribe the 

 following data concerning the dates and places of capture : 



$ Feb. 8. 1879. Hope, St. Andrews Parish. 



? Feb. 18, 1879. Port Royal Mt, St. Thomas Parish. 



9 April S. 1S79. Hermitage. St. Andrews Parish. 



? Oct. 1. 1S79. Mt. Elizabeth. 

 Oct. 7. 1S79. Mt. Elizabeth. 



$ Dec. 21, J SS 1 . Mt. Elizabeth. 



? March 16, 1882. Mt. Elizabeth. 



$ March 16, 1882. Mt. Elizabeth.— C. Hart Merriam. M. I)., Locust 

 Grove, New York. 



