500 Wright and Harper, The Birds of Okefinokee Swamp. [bet 



most frequently in the early morning, even the extreme heat of midday does 

 not deter this most versatile of our Vireos. 



58. Protonotaria citrea. Prothonotary Warbler. — Abundant 

 throughout the cypress ' bays,' where it is one of the most characteristic 

 forms. The birds were observed most frequently at the edges of the growth 

 along the watercourses, such as Billy's Lake and the Suwannee River. 

 They repeatedly fly back and forth across the lake, and the male occasion- 

 ally gives a spirited and surprising flight song. The Prothonotary appeared 

 more responsive to the ' squeak ' than any other bird of the swamp. 



Four nests were found: one with four eggs, May 10, in a low stump in a 

 cypress pond on Billy's Island; another with four fledglings, May 16, in a 

 cavity of a small tree, about three feet above the water, Billy Island Bay: 

 a third with several eggs, Ma} - 18, in the broken top of a living black gum 

 sapling, about five feet above the water, Billy Island Bay; and, finally, 

 one with four eggs, June 8, about ten feet up in a cypress on Billy's Lake. 

 In each case the nests were not in deep holes with narrow openings, but in 

 open cavities where the eggs or young could be plainly seen. 



Several hours were spent on May 19 in an umbrella blind beside the first- 

 mentioned nest, which then contained young. For the first hour or so the 

 parent birds did not venture to the stump, but remained in the vicinity, 

 frequently uttering a nervous chip. The male also sang occasionally. 

 Finally he showed himself the more courageous or unsuspicious of the two, 

 for he fed the young several times before the female came. 



59. Helinaia swainsoni. Swaixsox's Warbler. — To find that this 

 famed and elusive Warbler is a not uncommon inhabitant of the deep 

 Okefinokee thickets, was one of the rarest pleasures of our sojourn in the 

 swamp. We recorded it in the ' bay ' on both sides of Billy's Lake, in 

 the tangled growth along the west fork of the canal, in Billy Island Bay, 

 on the edge of Mixon's Hammock, in the canebrake of Floyd's Island 

 Hammock, and finally in some of the wildest and densest cypress woods 

 of the swamp, between Minne's Lake and the Minne Lake Islands. Here 

 on June 13 and 14, while lost and camping ' on top of the swamp,' we had a 

 good chance to make its acquaintance. The song began early in the morn- 

 ing, continuing frequently until about 7 a. m., and at longer intervals for 

 another hour or so. Thereafter it was heard only occasionally until late 

 afternoon, when it began again to be given more regularly. 



Swainson's Warbler remains under the close cover of the thicket's in- 

 terior, and in order to secure a glimpse of it, one must push his way through 

 a tangled barrier of bushes, vines, and thorns. But stalking alone will 

 scarcely suffice. After cautiously approaching the spot whence the song 

 seemed to come, we generally resorted to the ' squeak,' and in this way 

 succeeded more than once in luring the singer to within a very few yards of 

 us. On one occasion, when the ' squeak ' failed, an imitation of the song 

 itself immediately brought the desired effect. 



60. Compsothlypis americana americana. Parula Warbler. — 

 Abundant. Widely distributed in the swamp, but found in greatest num- 



