August, 1886.] AND 
OOLOGIST. 


Nesting of the Bay-breasted Warbler. 

BY WILLIAM L. KELLS, ONTARIO, CANADA, 

Some nine years ago I determined to put into 
execution a design that I had long conceived— 
that of making a collection of the eggs of all the 
birds found to nest in this vicinity, for with other 
collectors I had then no acquaintance, and but an 
imperfect knowledge of how to prepare my 
specimens. So after making a collection of all 
the specimens found nesting around home, and 
prepared them as best I could—some by a hole in 
each end, and some by a hole in the small end—I 
set off one day in the early part of June for the 
wild, swampy woods to the northwest of the 
town. After penetrating some distance into the 
first piece of wood that I entered, the first nest 
that I discovered was placed about eight feet 
from the ground, between some leafy twigs and 
the trunk of a small birch tree. This was com- 
posed outwardly of fibrous bark, especially birch 
rootlets, and was neatly lined with pine hair, and 
the interior was a little over two inches in 
diameter by one in depth. It contained three 
fresh eggs, of a clear white, with a bluish tinge, 
thickly spotted with brownish spots, especially 
towards the large end. These, in size, were a lit- 
tle larger than are those of the more common 
Chestnut-sided Warbler (Dendraca  Pennsyl- 
vanica). I did not see the bird to which this nest 
belonged, nor would I then have been able. to 
identify it if Thad. The next season, however, 
I saw a little bird forming its nest on the horizon- 
tal branch of a small water elm that stood on the 
edge of a drain, in a piece of low woods south of 
the town. Of the size and markings of this 
species I took particular notice, for she exhibited 
little fear, and the nest site was only about twelve 
feet from the ground, and the nest when finished, 
and the eggs therein deposited, were exactly like 
those above described. This bird I afterwards 
identified as the Bay-breasted Warbler (Dendraca 
castanea). Some days after I first discovered this 
nest I visited it and found that it contained one 
egg, and in three days more I plucked the bird 
off and found that the nest contained but three 
eggs, which I concluded was the full set, and so 
took them. Later on in the season, in another 
swampy wood, I found (in the top of a small 
hemlock, about fourteen feet off the ground), 
another nest of the same species, containing four 
fresh eggs. Since then I have seen no nests of 
this bird, save one, which, however, contained 
no eggs. This, like the others, was formed on 
the outside with fine pieces of birch bark, but 
was placed between a small limb and the trunk 
of a small cedar, about five feet from the ground. 
The general habitat of this species, according to 
my observations, is low, swampy woods, where 
there is an intermingling of evergreens with 
black ash, birch, water-elm, and other soft woods, 
and as it does not appear to make its advent here 
until the season is pfetty well advanced, and the 
trees are putting on their summer garb, and as 
their food-seeking avocations are usually pursued 
high among the tops of the underwood, where 
they are well concealed from observation among 
the green foliage, so that even should man enter 
such places in the spring or early summer days, 
their existence would scarcely be known were it 
not for their pleasing: song notes, which are 
warbled at this period with considerable clearness 
and animation. The majority of this species, 
however, appear to move on further north, where 
in deep, wild woods, little haunted by the human 
race, they find more secure and favorable breed- 
ing places, though from the causes above men- 
tioned, more of them may nest in this province 
than is now supposed to be the case, and, from 
their haunts and habits, it may be also inferred 
that the smaller species of insects constitutes their 
chief food. 
Nesting of the Great Horned Owl 
ing bexas, 

BY J. A. SINGLEY, GIDDINGS, LEE COUNTY, TEXAS. 

This species, (Bubo virginianus), while not 
common, is still abundant enough not to be called 
“rare” in this county. I have located some eight 
or ten pairs in my range, covering a good day’s 
ride. They frequent the uplands exclusively, 
and I have never found them in thebottoms. All 
the eggs of this species that I have found were in 
large nests built of sticks—sometimes a few leaves 
in the lining, but very often there was no lining 
except the down feathers from the breast of the 
Owl. They are very local in their habits, re- 
maining in the same piece of woods and occupy- 
ing the same nest, as a rule, year after year, even 
though the eggs are taken out every spring. 
One nest that I found in February, 1888, con- 
tained young birds nearly ready to leave the nest. 
In passing the same nest again in the following 
March a Red-tailed Hawk, (Buteo borealis), flew 
off, and on going up to the nest I found it con- 
tained three eggs of that species. I have taken 
from this nest first a set of the Owls and later a 
set of the Hawks, each season during 1884 
and 1885. This year the nest was deserted. 
A nest found in 1885 that contained two young 
birds I visited January 30th this season and took 
