(J. If. Merrldiii — lilnls of ('oiuncdciit. 53 



mil ul' llu' s:uiu' year. I lirst iioliri'il i( on tlic 'Jllli ol' .M;ii(li iln> 

 season (1877), and Mr. Sage found it at IVntlaud, Coim., on tlic iioiti. 

 In the fall it remains till, or after, tlie middle oC October (< )(t. 7, 

 1874; Oct. 13, 18, 1875). Breeds abundantly under tlie gable-ends, 

 or on exposed beams, of houses and outbuildings, in old she<ls, ami 

 under bridges. The primitive habit of building on the side of sonu' 

 roeky elitf is still adhered to in some parts of the State, and the most 

 beautiful nest I have ever seen was found by Prof Daniel (). Eaton 

 and myself, while botanizing near Mt. Carnu'l, on the 23d of May, 

 1875. It was placed in a small wedge-shai)ed niche in the face of 

 the rock, and its exterior was composed entirely of delicate green 

 mosses. It contained five pure white, unspotted, fresh eggs. An- 

 other beautiful nest, similarly placed, was found on the " Hanging 

 Hills of Meriden," by my friend, Mr. William H. I'atton, on the 12th 

 of May, 1877. It contained four fresh eggs, one of which is dislinctlv 

 sprinkled, chiefly at the larger end, with small brownish-red spots. 

 It alsi> breeds on the faces of Pine and West Itocks near New 

 Haven. 



123. ContopUS borealis (Swaluson) Bainl. Olive-sided Plycatflicr. 



Rare; probably a few sometimes breed in tlie more iioithein :ind 

 hilly portions of the State, as they are known to do in Massachusetts. 

 Not previously recorded from Connecticut, except by Linsley, who 

 gave it, with a query, from Stratford. On the 18th of October, 1875, 

 attracted by its characteristic note, " which is a short whistle resemb- 

 ling the syllables 0-whe6, O-whed., O-ioheb^'' uttered several times in 

 succession, "with the accent on the w/tc, and the voice falling on tlie 

 last o,"* I caught a momentary glimpse of one, perched on the t<)]» of 

 a tall tree ; but the bird was very shy and I did not succeed in getting 

 a shot. Mr. Erwin I. Shores writes me that he took a male at Suf- 

 field. Conn., August 5, 1874. This is strong evidence of their breed- 

 ing in the hills about that portion of the State, for migrants would 

 hardly appear in Connecticut during l\\ii, first of August. On turning 

 to my manuscript notes on the birds of Easthampton, Mass., I lind the 

 following : " Ureeds. Not so rare as it should be. Four specimens 

 procured: one shot Sept. 10, 1873, and another May 23, 1874, in a 

 small grove of pines northwest of tOAvn ; two shot May 28, 1874, on 

 Mt, Nonotuck [part of Mt. Tom], where they appear to be ([uite 

 common. Their alimentary tracts contained coleopterous insects, 



* Am. Nat., vol. vii, No. I'i, p. 750, Dec., 1873. 



