GNATCATCHERS. 55 



arrival of spring, when they sometimes give utterance to a 

 twittered warble which resembles the weaker song-notes of the 

 Chickadees. In their summer homes they have a song, which 

 Mr. Maynard has described as " a series of low, shrill chirps, 

 terminating in a lisping warble " ; and when with their young, 

 they twitter constantly, as do also many other birds. 



NOTE. Cuvier's " Kinglet" (Megulus cumeri) is a source 

 of conjecture to all modern ornithologists. It was obtained 

 by Audubon near the banks of the Schuylkill River, in June, 

 1812. Only one specimen was taken, which differed from sa- 

 trapa in having the crown-patch entirely vermilion and two 

 black stripes on each side of the head. I have suspicions of 

 having seen this species in New England, but they are too 

 vague to render the supposed circumstance probable.* 



II. POLIOPTILA. 



A. CJERULEA. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. A very rare or 

 exceptional summer resident in New England.f 



a. 4 4J inches long. " Clear ashy blue, bluer on head ; 

 forehead, and line over eye, black (wanting in 5) ; outer tail- 

 feather white." Bill, feet, and rest of the tail, black. Under 

 parts, (bluish) white. 



b. " The nest is placed on a tree, from ten to fifty feet 

 above the ground, and is cup-shaped, firm, but small and 

 neat." An egg in my collection measures .60 X .48 of an inch, 

 and is pale greenish blue, dotted with reddish brown and a 

 little obscure lilac. 



c. d. The Blue-gray Gnatcatchers are said to have wan- 

 dered to Massachusetts, but their usual habitat is further to 

 the southward. They are insectivorous, and dart " about from 

 one part of the tree to another with hanging wings and erected 

 tail, making a feeble chirping, tsee, tsee, no louder than a 

 mouse." (Wilson.) They generally hunt " on the highest 



* No second specimen of Cuvier's head-marking or a hybrid between JR. 



Kinglet is known to have been taken, satrapa and R. calendula. W. B. 



and there can be little doubt that the t A rare and probably only acci- 



bird described and figured by Audubon dental summer and autumn visitor, not 



was either abnormal with respect to the known to breed. W. B. 



