342 Wright, Nesting of the Blue-Winged Warbler. [oct k 



In the vicinity of the nesting spot of the Bluewings I heard among 

 other songs the songs of Wood Thrush, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, 

 and Scarlet Tanager. Two Canadian Warblers also sang there. 

 Whether these were summer resident or migrant birds I could 

 not determine at that time. Also not far away I came upon 

 a silent Hermit Thrush. The date was late for a migrant bird, 

 and it may have been, therefore, a summer resident. Two miles 

 away in the same town on May 12 I had heard a Hermit Thrush 

 sing as freely and finely at mid-day as the voices of the species 

 are regularly heard in the White Mountains, and I could not 

 think that this beautiful songster was other than a resident bird. 

 In three separate pieces of woodland in this town of Sudbury the 

 song of the Blue-headed Vireo was also heard up to the end of May, 

 and one pair of the birds was seen, indicating probable nestings of 

 that species. 



On June 6 the next visit to the nest was made by Mr. Caduc. He 

 wrote me: " I found the female bird at home and on the nest. The 

 ferns had been gnawed off close to the ground by some animal. 

 There were but four eggs in the nest. (Our query had been whether 

 it would be found that another egg had been laid by the warbler or, 

 perchance, that the Cowbird had deposited another egg.) I was 

 not able to either see or hear the male bird." 



On June 9 another visit was made. Mr. Caduc writes: "Again 

 the mother bird was at home to receive me. As she left the nest, 

 I observed that there were three little bald birdlings there and that 

 the last egg had a crack in it, showing the wee thing in frantic 

 efforts to be liberated. I remained just long enough to see this 

 and then left. Again she gave no cry of alarm on leaving the nest. 

 She lit on a bramble near by, and I could see with my glass that 

 she was all of a tremble. I found other visitors also at the little 

 nest and learned what it was that destroyed the ferns, a mother 

 cottontail and four little ones. They were having such a feast on 

 what was left I hated to frighten them away. There were young 

 in the Wood Thrush's nest also. I also found near the thrush's 

 nest a nest of flying squirrels." 



Mr. Caduc again visited the nest on June 15. He writes: "Well, 

 Mr. and Mrs. Bluewing and their four children send you their 

 greeting and hope you have enjoyed yourself to-day as much as 





