SYLVICOLID.E — T "■. W/ "HLEilS* 231 



western portion of WashinLjtnn Teiiitoiv. Xcai Fort Steilaeooni it was 

 found princi] tally anions: the oak-trees on the plains. 



Dr. AVoodhouse I'muihI it alnimlant in New Mexico, j'ontinini,^ itself tr» the 

 timbered and mountainous districts, and es])ecially plentiful amouL,' tli.' San 

 Francisco Mountains, feedinjjj aniouLT the tall j)ines. Dr. Coues found it ex- 

 ceedingly comm(»n in Arizona, where some spend the winter, and a few pos- 

 sibly remain in the summer to breed. 



Dr. Heermann found them nunaininfj in the Sacramento Vallev throuirhout 

 tlie winter, and quotes Dr. Kennerly as tinding these birds on the Iioca 

 Grande nmX at ditlerent points in Sonora. Mr. (lambel found these AVarblei*s 

 on all his route from Xew Mexico to California in great abundance, their 

 habits givatly resend)ling those of the I), corona t^t. They display a givat deal 

 of familiarity, entering the towns, resorting to the gardens and lu'dge-rows, 

 and even the corrals of the houses, descending also to the ground in c(»m[)any 

 with Blackbirds and Sparrows. 



This "Warbler is thus shown to have a very extended distribution. It is 

 now known to be found, at diiferent seasons, from Central America to British 

 Columbia, and from Xew Mexico to the Pacific. 



We are inde!)te(l to the late Mr. Hepburn for all the knowledge we possess 

 in reference to its nests, eggs, and breeding-habits. He i)rocured their nests 

 and eggs in Vancouver's Island. Tliev were built in the forkeil br.inches of 

 small shrubs. Anmnd these the materials of which they were built were 

 strongly bound, and to it the nests were thus securely fastened. Thev Mere 

 quite long an<l large for the bird, being four inches in height, and three and 

 a half in diameter. The cavity is small, but deep. The external peri- 

 phery of the ucNt is made of coarst; stri])s of bark, long dry kaves of wild 

 grasses, and strong stalks of [dants, internnngled with finer gras.ses, pieces of 

 cotton cL»th,and other materials. Tlie inner nest is also a singular cond»ina- 

 tion of various materials, yet carefully and elaborately put together. It is 

 made u]) of fine grasses, feathers, lichens, mosses, fine roots, etc.. all felte«l to- 

 gether and lined with a warm bedding of fur and feathers. Mr. IIv;i>burn's 

 observatitms, so far as they go, seem to show that this bird does not usually 

 build in sucii lofty positions as Xuttall and others (jonjectared. 



According to Mr. Hepburn, they arrive in Vancouver's Island in the middle 

 of Aprd, and generally fre<[uent Ingh trees, constructing their nests in the 

 u})per branches, though also fre([uently building in low bushes, a few feet 

 from the ground. The nund)er »)f tlieir eggs is four. These, he states, have 

 a pure white ground, ami are spotted, usually chiefly about the larger end, 

 with red markinu:s. 



^Ir. Salvin met with both this sjiecies and the D. roronafa at San (Jeroni- 

 mo, Xovend)er, ISol). They congregated together on the ground, where they 

 principally obtained their food. 



Dr. Coo]>er, in his paper on the fauna of Montana, mentions this Warbler 

 as the only one of the genus seen by him between Fort Benton and Fort 



