44 Wayne, Nest and Eggs of Bachman's Warbler. [f&n 



During the spring of 1906, I made a special effort to find the 

 nest and eggs of this rare warbler, and knowing that the birds 

 which I had seen and did not molest in 1905 would return to the 

 same swamp to breed the following spring, I determined to devote 

 my entire time with the hope of finding a nest. On April 17 I 

 succeeded in finding two nests, each of them containing four eggs. 

 The first nest was placed upon a dead palmetto leaf, being supported 

 by a small aquatic bush, and was completely hidden by a living 

 palmetto leaf which overhung the nest, like an umbrella. It was 

 in a dense swamp, two feet above the ground, and contained four 

 pure white eggs, almost ready to be hatched. 



The second nest, which was within one hundred yards of the 

 first one, was built in a bunch of canes (Arundinaria tecta), and 

 supported by a palmetto leaf. This nest was three feet above 

 the ground, in a comparatively dry situation, and contained four 

 pure white eggs in an advanced stage of incubation. The females 

 were incubating when the nests were found, and I could scarcely 

 realize that I had at last found the nest and eggs of Bachman's 

 Warbler, for which I had looked in vain for nearly twenty-five 

 years, in almost every swamp from the neighborhood of Charleston 

 to the Savannah River. 



The female is a very close sitter; indeed so close that I found it 

 necessary to touch her before she would leave the nest. This 

 habit was the same in both females. Having carefully marked 

 the nests, I searched the swamp for others, but was unsuccessful 

 that day. Upon returning to the nests about three hours later, 

 the females were still incubating, and would not leave until they 

 were actually touched with my finger. 



The two nests are similar, being constructed of fine grass, cane 

 leaves, and other leaves, the latter skeletonized. The second 

 nest, taken April 17, is 6^ inches high, 6 inches wide, 2 inches 

 wide at rim, and 2 inches deep. It is composed almost entirely 

 of dead cane leaves, a little Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides), 

 and a few skeletonized leaves. The eggs measure .60 X .47, 

 .61 X .46, .62 X .46, .61 X .47 inches. This nest and four eggs 

 is now in the collection of my friend Col . John Eliot Thayer of 

 Lancaster, Mass. 



Knowing that the birds would at once commence to build new 



