256 NOKTll AMKIMCAM JilKDS. 



TViiiictt on ]\r<)Uiit Hdlyukr duiiiiLi: tin* lnccdiiiL^-senson, and by Mr. !>. TTos- 

 turd on llic western ri<l<^i's during; the sanic ])ei'iod. 'riu-y arc common, Mr. 

 Jioardman staU's, in tlie thick wood.s alM»ut Calais, tlnoniili all the lavcding- 

 season. 



In rJamaica, durinu" tin* winter, it exclusively t're([uents the edi^es of tall 

 wchkIs in unlKMjuentcd mountainous localities. They are found in that island 

 from OctolM'r 7 until the '.>th of Ai)ril. Mr. (Josse, who has (dosely observed 

 their hahils durim:: winter, sjH-aks of their jdayim;- together with nmch s|»irit 

 for half an hour at a time, chasing eacli other swiftly round and round, (»cca- 

 sionally doduiu^ throui;h tlie Inishes, and utterin.uat intervals a ]>ehl)ly rjici'i}. 

 They never remain lonii; alighted, and are ditlicult to kill. Restlessness is 

 their great characteristic. 'I'iiey often alight transversely on the long ]>endent 

 vines <»r slender trees, hopping u]> and down without a moment's intermission, 

 jiecking at insects. They are usually very [>luni]> and fat. 



I)e la Sai^ra states that this l)ird occaslonallv breeds in Cuba, vounu: birds 

 having been killeil that had evidently been hatidied there. The record of 

 this Warbler, as jaesented by ditferent authors, i^ aj)j>arently inconsistent and 

 contradictory: rare with some observers, abun<lant with othcMS ; remaining 

 in rfaiuaica until well into A]>ril, yet common in South Carolina in March, 

 and even aj)|»earing in ^lassachusetts in midwinter; su}>j»osed to breed in 

 the highlands of Cuba, yet, except in the case of the nest taken near Halifax, 

 its manner of bree<ling was unknown until lately. It is probably rare in low- 

 lands everywhere, and n(»where common exce])t auKUig mountains, and, while 

 able to endure an inclement season where food is abundant, is influenced in 

 its migratory movements by instinctive ])romi)tings to change its (piarters 

 entirely in reference to a supply y^ f(»o(l, and not by the temperature merely. 

 It presence in l>oston in winter was «>f course a singular accident; but its 

 ])lum]) condition, and its contented stay so long as its supjdy of food was 

 al)undant,suiiiciently attested its ability to endure severe weather for at least 

 a limited jieriod, and while its food was not Manting. ^Ir. Trippc states that 

 these birds reach X<trth' rn Xew Jersey during the first week of May. and 

 stay a whole month, remaining there longer than any other s]»ecies. At first 

 they have no note but a simjde chiq) : but, before they leave, the males are 

 said to have a singular drawling song of four or five notes. 



Mr. Paine states that this Warlder is a resident, but not very c<)mmon bird, 

 in lJandol]>h, Vt. Tie has usually noticed it in tlie midst of thick woods, 

 not generally in tall trees, but auKUig the lower branches or in bushes. The 

 song he describes as very short an«l insignificant, its tones shar]» and wiry, 

 and not to be heard at anv "jreat distance. He kn(»ws n(>thini; as to its nest. 

 They arrive at Handolph from the South about the middle of May. 



We are indebted to Mi-. John burroughs for all the knowledge we ]»ossess 

 in relation to the .lest and eg^s of this s])ecies, which had previoiLslv baf- 

 f.ed the search of other naturalists. He was so fortunate as to meet with 

 their nest in the sumuicr of 1.S71. Early in July, in ccunpany with his 



