AoS CoUES, Nesting of the Prairie Warbler. [October 



irregular, it is also the shallowest nest I have seen, being only 

 about one inch deep inside by one and three-quarters inches across. 

 The shape of the construction no doubt depends upon the site, as 

 the bunch of grapevine tvv^igs affords a foundation very different 

 from an upright or oblique crotch. The brim is also exception- 

 ally formed of seven comparatively large brown feathers about 

 three inches long, all woven in for about two-thirds of their 

 length, excepting one which is woven only at the tip, the rest of 

 its length being simply laid down upon the brim of the nest. 

 Thus six of the feathers protrude for about an inch above the 

 brim, giving it a rough, bristling appearance, especially since it 

 is the quill-end of each of these feathers that sticks up. This 

 nest contained three eggs, incubation of which had just begun. 

 The bird left it quietly on my near approach, and with her mate 

 was seen hopping unconcernedly about as long as I stayed. 



The nests here described and also others examined have nearly 

 the same capacity (average depth and diameter both about one 

 and a half inches) , but vary considerably in outside measurements, 

 owing in part to the different thickness of the walls, in part to 

 their shape as a whole; the latter is influenced in every case, to 

 a greater or less extent, by the direction of the supporting twigs. 

 Exceptions aside, the Prairie Warbler's nest may be characterized 

 as a neat, cup-shaped structure with a firm, somewhat contracted 

 brim, composed of vegetable down or soft fibre mixed with 

 some fine straws and a few leaves or feathers, lined with hair 

 and very fine straws, and placed in an upright or oblique crotch, 

 preferably one formed in part by the main stem of a bush, from 

 one and a half to five feet from the ground, in a rather open, 

 scrubby, hilly locality. The eggs appear to be oftenest four in 

 number, sometimes only three. In no case were five found. 

 They are too well-known by descriptions in standard works to 

 require notice here. I need only add that the identification of the 

 specimens above described is absolute, and that they now form 

 part of my collection. 



