SVLVICOLID.K — THE WAPJILKR.S. 189 



The same (»bservin«' uniitliolojist informs me tliat this AVail>h'r arrives in 

 reniisylvaiiia eailv in Mav, and makes the most solitary i>art of the woods 

 its home, ontside <»f whicli it is rarely seen. True to its name, it is ever 

 husy hunting out and devouring the worms that lurk among the forest foli- 

 age, pui-suing its avoeation in silence, with the exception oi' a faint note 

 uttered oceasionallv. This si>eeies is not as shy as many of our Warl tiers that 

 fre([uent the woods. Towards the latter part of ^Fay they eonunence con- 

 structing their nests. Mr. Jackson adds that the nest above referred to was 

 found on a thickly wooded hillside, a few yards above a runninjij stream. So 

 neatly was it embedded in the grouml and covered with dry leaves, that 

 discovery wouhl have l>een imi)ossiI»le had not the female betrayed its 



•-'1 *■ 



position. Both birds exhibited the greatest alarm at his presence, but on 

 his retiring to a short distance the female returned to the nest, where she 

 was easily captured. The base and peri])hery of the nest were com})osed 

 of dry beech-leaves, while the inner lining was made of tine hair-mosses 

 (Po/i/frirlutnii). 



In the latter part of June, 1871, Mr. Jackson found another nest of this 

 species, containing five young birds about half grown. He was seated on 

 a log, resting altera hard trani]), when a AVorm-eating Warbler alighted near 

 him, havii!"' a lar-jje »»reen worm in its beak. After at first manifestin*^ much 

 uneasiness, and scolding as well as she could, she suddenly became silent and 

 Hew to the gTound. On his going to the spot both parents Hew from the 

 nest. It was in all respects, in regard to materials, manner of construction, 

 and situation, the exact counterpart of the other. IJoth were placed on steep, 

 wooded hillsides, facing the east. 



Two of the eggs of this Warbler thus identified by Mr. Jackson, and kindly 

 loaned to me by him, are of a somewhat roumled-oval sha}»e, less obtuse at 

 one end. They have a clear, crystal-white ground, and are sj>otted with 

 minute dottimjs of a briuht red-l)rown. These are much more numerous in 

 one than in the other, and in both are conHuent at the larger end, where 

 they are beautifully intermingled with cloudings of lilac-brown. These eggs 

 measure, the one .78 by .GO of an inch ; the other, .7(' by .')(} of an inch. 



Another nest of this species, found by Mr. Joseph H. Batty of Xew York, 

 on the side of a hill near Montclair, X. J., was also built on the ground, in 

 a part of the woo<ls where there was no underbrush, and was placed in a 

 slight hollow, with dry oak-leaves collected around it, and }>artly covering it. 

 The nest was made of dry leaves, and lined with grasses and fine roots. It 

 contained four eggs, alike in their marking, and corresponding exactly with 

 those obtained by Mr. Jackson. Mr. Batty nearly stepped on the bird with- 

 out her leaving the nest. 



Dr. Cones found the Worm-eating Warbler a rather uncommon summer 

 resident near Washington, breeding there but sparingly. It arrives there 

 during the fii-st week in ^lay, and remains until the third week in !Sei»tember. 

 He describes it as slow and sedate in its movements. 



