270 Noinil AMKHICAN niTiDS. 



liioie from tlic lirniiiid, aiul is usually fastt-iiecl to the twi^s of a small Itraiuli. 

 Tn Massaeliusctts il lias l»ut a single liiuod in a seasuii, but at the South 

 it is said to have three. 



Tlie lli^ht of this \Varli]«'r is short, and exliihits uuduhitinj^ curves of «ir"at 

 eleu^anee. Its sonj^ is descrihed as mo?h)tonous, cousistinu niertdy of contin- 

 uous and trenudous sounds. Mr. Auduhon fotmd none lu'Voud New Jiruns- 

 wick, and it lias never been found in Nova Scotia so fur as I am aware. 



Both old and youn^ liirds remain in Massachusetts until late in October, 

 and occasionally l»irds are seen as far to the north as Philadelphia in mid- 

 winter. At this season they abound in the ])ine forests of the Southern States, 

 Mherc tlifv are at that time the mo.st numerous of the Warblers, and where 

 some are to be found throu^diout the vear. 



In the summer their food consists of the larva* and e^Ljs of certain kinds 

 of insects. In the autumn they frecjuent the Southern gardens, feeding' on 

 the berries (^f the cornel, the box ^rape, and other small fruit. Mr. Xuttall 

 states that their song is deficient both in compass and in variety, though not 

 disagreeable. At times, he states, it ap])roaches the simpler trills of the 

 canary; but is usually a reverberating, gently rising or murmuring sound like 

 cr-i'-r'r I'r r-{ih, or in the sju'ingtime like fin' tire-ti'' tu- td'-fir tv.\ and some- 

 times like fsh-fsh-tsh-tir-fir-ttr-tir, exhiliitiug a pleasing variety in its ca- 

 dences. The note of the female is not unlike that of the Black and White 

 Cree}>er. 



On the 7th of June, Mr. Xuttall discovered a nest of this Warbler in a A"ir- 

 ginia juniju'r-tree in Mount Aul»urn, some h)rty feet from the ground, and 

 lirndy Hxed in the upright twigs of a close branch. It was a thin but very 

 neat structure. Its principal material was the idd and wiry stejus of the 

 Polygonum tcnvc, or knot- weed. These were circularly interlaced and inter- 

 wound with rough linty til)res of asclepias and caterpillai-s' webs. It was 

 lined with a few bristles, slender root-fibres, a mat of the ilown of fern-stalks, 

 and a few feathers. Mr. Xuttall saw several of these nests, all made in a 

 similar manner. The eggs in the nest described were four, and far advanced 

 towards hatching. They were white, with a slight tinge of green, and were 

 freely sprinkled with small pale-brown spots, most numerous at the larger 

 end, where they were aggregated on a more purplish ground. The female 

 made some slight com])laint, but immediately returned to the nest, though 

 two of the eggs had 'oeen taken. 



Mr. Xuttall ke])t a male of this s])ecies in confinement. Tt at once be- 

 came veiy tame, fed gratefully fnun the hand, from the moment it was 

 caught, on flies, small earthworms, and minced flesh, and would sit con- 

 tentcilly on any hand, walking directly into a dish of water offered for drink, 

 without any precautions, or any signs of fear. 



Mr. J. G. Shute found a nest of these Warblers in Wolnirn as earlv as 

 May 8. It contained four eggs, the incubation of which had commenced. 

 Three other nests were also found bv him in the same localitv, all of them 



