]J)S NORTH AMERKWX KIRDS. 



In jMassai'lmsctts it has so far ln'i'ii found in only a fi>\v ri'stiutwl locali- 

 ties, Andovi'V, Lynn, and Hudson, tliouuli it unv'.oulttt'dly occurs clsewlicro. 

 About till' time Wilson olitained his first s|u'ciini'u, a livinj; l)ird of tliis 

 .s])ccii's Hew into the ])arlor of tlii' late Colonel Tiiomas II. IVukins of IJrook- 

 line, and is n(t\v in tiie lollection of his <;randson, Dr. Caliot. Tlie latter 

 {jentlenian states (liat when he first lieiian niakinj;; collections this AV^ar- 

 l)ler was a very rare visitaut to his nei,nid)orhood, but has of late become 

 nuu'h more common, tiiou!,di varyinji' greatly in this respect in din'ercnt 

 seasons. Specimens have been obtained in Western Iowa by Mr. II. W. 

 Parkt'r, of (Irinnell. 



A few instances of its occin'rence west of tiie ]\Iissi.ssi])]ii Valley are known. 

 One of tiieso was by Xantus near Kort Tejoii ; anotiier near Like Talioe, in tiie 

 Sit-rra Nevada, liy Mr. (Jruber; and in the Kast Humboldt Ah>untains, Nevada, 

 by Mr. IJidnway. SiM-ciiniens of this Warbh-r were obtained in tlu^ winter by 

 JM. Uoucard at Oaxaca, Mexico. 



in the sunnuer of IH*)-!-, Mr. Charles S. Paine fimnd it Itreeding in IJaii- 

 dolph, \t., but was unable to discover tiu! nest. " They spend the sum- 

 mer," he wrote, " amonu hiw liuslies, and ]»roiial)ly build their nests anioiijf 

 tiie thickets. I have watciied their movements on several occasions. Once 

 1 detected an old bird witii food in iier iiill about to feed her younj,'. I ciuild 

 hear tiie younjj binls, yet was unalile to find the nest." Two years later, 

 Mr. (}eor{,'e O. Welch, of Lynn, found the nest of this Warliler on the 

 ground in a small tliicket. It contained younn' jiartially Hedged, and t)ne 

 egg uiihatched. Tiie nest was built in a slight depression, in a ilry jtlace, 

 among fallen leaves and in the siicltcr of a thicket of young ouk-trees. 

 Tliis egg in sliai>e was of a rounded oval, and measured ."I'.t by .oO of an inch ; 

 one end was sliglitly more pointed than the other. The ground-color was 

 while, slightly tinged with pink, and marked over the entire surface with 

 purplisli-lirown dots. Around tiie Lirger end these spots form a beautiful 

 wreath of eonlhient markings. Since then otiier nests have been found in 

 the same locality, all on tiie ground and built in like situations. Tliey have 

 a diameter of four and a hcigiil of two inches The cavity has adiameter 

 of two and u (le|tth of one ami a tiuarler inches. Tlie outer portions are 

 built of dry mosses, intermingled with strijis of tlie Itark " the wild grajie 

 and the red cedar and a few hcrbaceinis twigs, and lined with a thick layer 

 of dried carices, small haves of the v. Iiite pine, and line grasses. The whole 

 structure is loosely ]»ut together. 'I'lii' nests are generally concealed by over- 

 arching leaves, which, howi'ver, form no ]iart of the ni'sl it.sclf. 



The late Klijali I'. Harrow, of Anilovcr, Mass., a young natnrali.st of much 

 jtromise, found several nests of this rare Warbler, all of which were con- 

 cealed liy grass. The eggs he found varied in ItMigth from StU tii .(il of an 

 in(!li, and in breadth from ,."i(l to .."il of an inch. I»otli jiarents, as observed 

 by Iiim, were entirely silent. 



The Nashville Warbler has been .said to be a comparatively silent and 



