TENNESSEE WARBLER, 261 



BACHMAN'S WARBLER. 



Hel.minthophila bachmani. 



Char. Above, olive ; head dull ashy ; black band across crown ; fore- 

 head and underparts yellow, with large patch of black on the breast ; 

 yellow band on wing. Length 4j^ inches. 



iVest. In a low tree. 



£i;gs. 4; dull white, heavily wreathed around larger end with dark 

 brown and spotted with lilac; 0.74 X 0.60. 



This species was first obtained a few miles from Charles- 

 ton, S. C, in July 1833, by Dr. Bachman, after whom it is 

 named. It appears to be a lively, active species, frequenting 

 thick bushes, through which it glides after insects, or occasion- 

 ally, mounting on wing, it seizes them in the air. Several 

 individuals were seen in the same neighborhood. 



Nothing more was heard of this interesting bird than the little 

 told by Audubon and Nuttall, until 1883, when Mr. H. B. Bailey 

 described the nest and eggs from examples collected in Georgia, 

 by Dr. S. W. Wilson, somewhere between 1853 and 1865. The 

 male and female secured by Dr. Bachman were the only specimens 

 taken until 1886, when a third was shot by Charles S. Galbraith, 

 in Louisiana, and announced by Mr. George N. Lawrence in "The 

 Auk " of January, 1887. A fourth, taken in Florida in March, 1887, 

 was announced by Dr. Merriam, and during that year others were 

 reported. Since then the bird has been discovered to be fairly 

 common in the South Atlantic and Gulf States. 



It is described as an active, quarrelsome bird, wary and difficult 

 to approach. When searching for food, its manner is suggestive of 

 the Parula. It frequents both shrubbery and high trees, but shows 

 a preference for the latter and for a rather thick growth. 



TENNESSEE WARBLER. 



Hel^iinthophila peregrina. 



Char. Above, olive, brightest on rump, shading to ashy on head ; 

 wings and tail dusky ; beneath, white, with faint tint of yellow ; sides tinged 

 with gray. Length ^Yz to 434^ inches. 



A^est. On a low bush in open woodland ; made of grass, moss, and 

 vegetable fibre, lined with hair. 



