Oct. 1887.] 



AND OOLOGIST. 



171 



Nesting of the Pine-creeping 

 "Warbler. 



BY R. B. MCLAUGHLIN, STATESVILLE, N. C. 



The Pine-creeping Warblei', {Dendroica pimis) 

 is noL uncommon with us tliroughout the year. 

 Its nest is rather difficult to find and the only 

 way to have satisfactory results is by watching 

 the bird go to it when building. It usually 

 builds sooner than the collector would suspect; 

 so when he climbs up to its nest the chances 

 are he is greeted by open mouths. I have seen 

 its nest filled with snow, and at times sur- 

 rounded by icicles. Referring to my note-book 

 for the last season, I observe that I found my 

 first two nests on March 16th ; the one nearly 

 completed, the other well begun; and took first 

 set of four eggs on March 25th, incubation 

 having commenced. The individuality of the 

 eggs comprising this set is so marked that I am 

 confident I have found the nest of this pah- of 

 birds in the piece of pines in which it was taken 

 for several seasons. 



The male is generally close by where the fe- 

 male is building, giving vent to a song which, 

 though louder, is not at all unlike that of Spi- 

 zeUa domestica and often have my steps been 

 quickened by the song of the latter; in truth, 

 such happens each year. I have never seen the 

 male feeding his mate on the nest, though I 

 have often watched him. To compensate for 

 this, however, I am quite sure that he takes 

 part in incubation, taking the female's place 

 about noon. I have often called at the nest 

 early in the afternoon and as late as sunset, 

 and invariably found him seated upon it. 



In this section the nest is usually placed on a 

 horizontal limb thirty — but varying from eight 

 to sixty — feet from the ground. The outer 

 portion consists of long thin strips of bark 

 from grape vines, bits of dead weeds and the 

 stems of dry oak leaves, intermixed with a very 

 fine silken web or cocoon which the bird gath- 

 ers from openings in the pine bark ; web of the 

 caterpillar is also often used. It lines freely 

 with feathers, using a respectable quantity of 

 horse-hair and dead tops of sedge also. The 

 bottom consists mostly of feathers, and on the 

 whole the nest is quite warm and neatly built. 

 The nest complement is found occasionally 

 three, and in three or four nests I have seen 

 five. The eggs are white with a bluish or pur- 

 plish tinge, spotted with purple, brown and 

 black — the spots are not infrequently of a red- 

 dish brown — and when so, I have found the 



ground color white, the bluish or purplish 

 tinge entirely wanting. Notwithstanding the 

 variation to which the &g,g, is subject, I have 

 seen no other which a dishonest collector could 

 palm oft' for it. 



If the bird is successful in nuiring one brood, 

 I do not think it attempts a second, but when 

 disturbed in any way will build three times or 

 perhaps oftener, in a season. I have never 

 found it breeding, and seldom feeding, outside 

 of pine timber. 



Nesting of the Yellow-throated "War- 

 bler. 



BY It. B. MCLAUGHLIN, STATESVILLE, N. C. 



The Yellow-throated Warbler, (Dendroeca 

 dnminicn) first came under my observation ou 

 April 9th, 1887. I was out in search of nests 

 of the Pileated Woodpecker and had entered a 

 small tract of primitive woods consisting most- 

 ly of oaks interspersed with a very large species 

 of pine, usually called "lumber" pine here, to 

 contra-distinguish it from a smaller variety 

 which is found on the barrens. These pines 

 with their lofty trunks rugged and bare, and 

 their limbs all clustering around in a circle near 

 their tops, which waved majestically twenty or 

 thirty feet above the surrounding timber, wore 

 strikingly picturesque and formed the most 

 conspicuous feature of the landscape. From 

 the tops of these pines came the peculiar song 

 of a bird entirelj^ new to me, and though I 

 thought it a migrant, which were then plenti- 

 ful, some unknown to me. yet I became so 

 much interested in the song tliat I decided to 

 shoot one of the birds for identification. 



I think the pines were fi'oni a hundred and 

 ten to a hundred and twenty-five feet high, and 

 the birds had a preference for the top which 

 was verjr decided, and on leaving one pine flew 

 to another, never seeming to feed in the other 

 ti'ees, though I saw a savage fight between two 

 males in the top of an oali. Judging from their 

 songs, there were about eight males in all whit-h 

 were well scattered over the piece of woodland, 

 and I guess I gave about all of them a call, but 

 found them so high that it was useless to do 

 anything but hold my powder. I suppose the 

 females were arriving since a fight ensued 

 whenever the males met; at any rate, I saw 

 four. I returned a week or more later with 

 murderous intentions and found them still in 

 the tops of the pines, but after some ineffective 

 shooting, killed one, which Dr. A. K. Fisher 

 very kindly identified for me. 



