iSgi I BrewsTkr on BacliniaHS W'arhlcr. J^S 



iiiinal Icatlcts with a peculiar, slow, listless motion, keepin*;' it 

 there a. second or two, antl repeating' the leisureh' thrust nianv 

 times in succession without clian^iny; its foothold. The action is 

 like that of several other meml)ei's of the t^cnus — notably //. 

 pimis \\w<\ H. chrysoptera — under similar conditions, and sug- 

 gests the sucking in of liquid food, perhaps honey or dew. Not 

 infreqiienth' a l)irtl would hang back tlownwards beneath a twig 

 and {<iC({ trom the under sides of the leaves in the manner of a 

 Titmouse. The Parula Warblers did the same thing — and many 

 fell to our guns in consequence." 



When in maple, hackberry, or magnolia trees the male LJach- 

 man' s Warbler was not difficult to recognize, especially if it 

 showed its throat and breast against a background of solid foliage, 

 for then the black cravat and rich, uniform yellow of the luider 

 parts were conspicuous and unmistakeable. In such a position 

 it might have been mistaken for a Black-throated Green Warl)ler, 

 but this species, fortunateh' for us, was not among the birds 

 found on the Suwance River. 



Many of the hackberry trees along the banks of this stream 

 contained compact bunches — nearly as large as a child's head — 

 of dead leaves blackened by exposure to wind and weather. These 

 bunches probably sheltered insects or their larvaj, for they at- 

 tracted several species of birds, especially the Bachman's War- 

 blers which would work at them* minutes at a time with loud 

 rustling, sometimes burrowing in nearly out of sight and sending 

 the loosened leaves floating down to the ground. Upon exhaust- 

 ing the supply of food or becoming tired of the spot — whether 

 one of the leaf bunches or the extremity of a cypress branch — the 

 bird almost invariably started on a long flight, often going hun- 

 dreds of yards through the woods or crossing the river, instead of 

 merely passing to the next branch or tree as almost any other 

 Warbler would have done under similar circumstances. This 

 habit seemed to us characteristic of the species. 



The sexual organs of all the specimens examined, especialb 

 those of the females, were only slightly developed, which ma\' 

 account for the fact that the males sang so seldom. Probably 

 none of the birds which we killed would have bred for three or 

 four weeks. Hence there is no proof that they were not all mi- 

 grants boiuid to some point further north, and simply following 



*Mr. Atkins hns niso observed tliis at Key West. See Auk, VII, )an. i8go, p. 17. 



