412 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



It is locally a common summer resident in various localities of central 

 and western New York, especially Tonawanda swamp, Howland island, 

 Potter swamp, Penfield swamp, Stockbridge hill and many open deciduous 

 woodlands of the central lowland. In eastern and southeastern New York 

 this species is extremely rare, only three migration dates coming from New 

 York City. A single summer date, Hyde Park, July 4, 1895, comes from 

 Lispenard Horton. Evidently it has invaded this State from the Mississippi 

 valley and its migrations each year follow this route. It arrives from the 

 3d to the 14th of May, the 5th being the average date on its breeding 

 grounds in Yates county. No reliable dates of departure are before me. 

 Personally, I have never seen it later than the third week in August. 



Haunts and habits. Mr Stone thus describes the breeding habits of 

 the Cerulean in Potter swamp: " They are numerous in the maple woods 

 on the hillsides overlooking the swamp, as well as in the swamp itself, 

 and in the vicinity of Branchport they also occur in isolated pairs during 

 the nesting season. In the heavily timbered Urbana and Scottsville swamp 

 about 5 miles south of Prattsburg they also occur, but less commonly 

 than in the Potter swamp. The Cerulean spends most of its time cavorting 

 through the highest tree tops in the most lively manner, singing almost 

 constantly its ' zwee-zwee, zwee, wee-ee,' during the nesting season. During 

 rainy days they descend to the lower limbs where they may easily be 

 observed. When gathering nest materials they give no heed to the presence 

 of human beings but fly to the ground or along the logs and fallen trees 

 within a dozen feet, carrying the materials directly to the nest. This is 

 situated anywhere from 15 to 60 feet above the ground and on all sorts 

 of limbs from 20 inches to 20 feet from the body of the tree. Sometimes 

 they sit squarely on a big limb; again in the fork of a limb just like the 

 Wood pewee; and again, 15 to 20 feet out in the tip end of a branch. I have 

 found nests almost concealed in a thick cluster of twigs on the knotty 

 portion of a horizontal branch. The nests are sometimes very shabby 

 and fragile, but usually they are works of art, made of strands of weed 

 bark, wild grapevine bark, fine grasses, lined with fine reddish rootlets 



