Wildwood Minstrels 45 



That was trying beyond expression to think that all the 

 efforts of the pretty couple, all their intense solicitude, 

 was wasted on a great, hulking imposter like the cowbird. 

 He had just scrambled from the nest, from which he had 

 doubtless previously crowded the rightful heirs of the 

 family to perish from starvation on the ground. I found 

 the nest only about a foot away from the perch of the 

 young bird a deep, neat little basket, compactly felted 

 with down and plant fibers, set in the crotch of a slender 

 bush of the thicket. It was certainly too small to accom- 

 modate any tenants besides the strapping young cow- 

 bird. In the spring of 1902 another hooded warbler's 

 nest rewarded my search. Its holdings were four callow 

 bantlings, all of which were carried off by some marauder 

 before my next visit. 



Another little charmer of the woodland, especially of 

 thick second-growth timber, is the blue-winged warbler, 

 which glories in the high-sounding Latin name of Hel- 

 minthophila pinus . Wherever seen , he would attract atten- 

 tion on account of the peculiar cut and color of his clothes. 

 A conspicuous black line reaching from the corner of the 

 mouth back through the eye is a diagnostic feature of 

 his plumage, while his crown and breast gleam in bright 

 yellow, almost golden in the sunshine ; his wings and tail 

 are blue-gray, with some white trimmings, and his back 

 and rump are bright olive There you have an array 

 of colors that makes a picture indeed. Madame Blue- 

 wing wears the same pattern as her lord, but the hues 

 are less brilliant. 



