206 ORNITHOLOGY AND OOLOGY. 



vious to water. 1 The eggs are laid about the last week in 

 May or first week in June. They are variable in size and 

 markings, but are usually five in number. To illustrate 

 the difference in size and markings, I will describe five eggs 

 found in a nest in Milton, Mass. : No. 1 is creamy-white in 

 color, with numerous spots of dark-brown and obscure spots 

 of lilac ; these markings are thinly scattered over the eggs, 

 but are quite thick at the larger end : dimensions, .70 by 

 .52 inch. No. 2 has the same ground-color, but the mark- 

 ings consist of numerous spots and confluent blotches 

 of light-brown and lilac at the large end of the egg : dimen- 

 sions, .70 by .56 inch. No. 3 is pure-white, with thinly 

 scattered spots of brown and black running like a ring, 

 around the larger end of the egg ; dimensions, .74 by .50 

 inch. No. 4 is of a pure-white color, with thinly scattered 

 spots of light-brown around the larger end : dimensions, 

 .66 by .52 inch. No. 5 of the same color, size, and mark- 

 ings as No. 4. Other eggs of this species in my collection 

 exhibit other markings from spots and blotches of lilac and 

 brown at the larger end to thinly scattered dots of reddish 

 over the entire surface ; and one specimen has numerous 

 irregular lines in a circle around the larger end of the egg. 

 This species rears two broods in the season in southern 

 New England. I have found nests often as late as the 

 middle of July. The habits of the Maryland Yellow-throat 

 are well known. He is first noticed in the swampy thickets, 

 darting in and out through the tangled shrubbery. Soon 

 he makes his appearance in the flower-garden and orchard, 

 where he may be seen at almost all times through the breed- 

 ing season, busily engaged searching for his insect food ; 

 occasionally pausing to carol his pretty song, whe-tit-te-tee, 

 whe-tit-te-tee, then darting away for a discovered insect, then 

 caressing his mate, or flying to his nest with food for their 

 young. 



1 A nest sent me from Delaware is constructed of grasses, which are woven into 

 a loose fabric, quite different from northern specimens. 



