SVIAR'OLID.l-: Tlll^ WAUULEIIS. 275 



h//aiiK/is)iiiu\ the ('liii»|»in,i; S]taiTi»\v. Tliev \*ivvi\ in old l>nisliy i»astuivs,uii(l 

 very early, iR'stinj; aluiij^'sidu of some little knoll, and, I think, always upon 

 the ground. The lu.st is very wannly lined with feathers.' 



Mr. Mac('ull(»;h, in the paper already referred tt», states that dnrinj^' their 

 autumnal mi-jratinns they seem invariahlv to exhiitit the hahits of true St//- 

 ciroliihr, j^leaniui,' anions hranehes n)[ trt-es for the smaller insects, and not 

 unfretpuntly \isitin^ the windows of dwellinj^s in search of spiders and 

 insects. 



In their migrations throu di Massachusetts these Warl tiers are everywhere 

 (juite ahundant in the spring, l)ut in their return in autumn are not ohserved 

 in the eastern part of th<' State, thoiii^h very common in the western from 

 September into \uv»'mher, remaining h)ng after all the other Warhlers are 

 gone. Xont' remain during the summer. 



In Western Maine, Mr. Verrill states, it is ((uite common both in spring 

 and in fall, arriving in A]>ril, carlii'r than any other Warbler, and again 

 becoming al>und.int the last of Septend>er. 



I found it {.Icntiful in the vicinity of Halifax, where it occurs throughout 

 the sunnuer from May to Sej)tember. 



Mr. l;idgway gives this species as ]>erhaps the most numerous of the tran- 

 sient visitants, in sjuing ami fall, in S.uithern Illinois. It is very terrestrial 

 in its haltits, keei)ing much on the ground, in orchards and open jdaees, and 

 its movements are said to be wonderfully like those of AittJmx Indovicianus. 



In the viliratdry motions of its tail, especially when upon the ground, 

 these birds greatly rcsemlde the Wagtails of Europe. They have no other 

 song than a few simple and feeble notes, so thin and weak that they might 

 almost be mistaken for the sounds made by the common grasshopper. 



The Ked-roU usually selects for the site of its nest the edge of a swampy 

 thicket, more ov less o])en, ]dacing it invarialdy ui)on the ground. This is 

 usually not large, about three and a half inches in diameter and two and 

 a half in dejtth the diameter and depth of the cavity each averaging only 

 half an inch less. The walls are compactly and elaborately constructed 

 of an interweaving of various tine materials, chietly fine dry grasses, slender 

 strips of bark, stems of the smaller ]dants, hypnuni, and other mosses. 

 Within, the nest is warndy and softly lined with down and feathers. 



^Ir. Ivennicott met with a nest of this bird at F(n-t liesolution, June 18. 

 It was on the ground, on a hummoc^k, at the foot of a small spruce, in a 

 swamp. When found, it contained five young birds. 



Their eggs are of a rountled-oval shape, and measure .70 of an inch in 

 length by .;").'» in breadth. Their ground-color is a yellowish or creamy- 

 white, and their blotches, chietly about the larger end, are a blending of 

 purple, lilac, and reddish-brown. 



