228 NORTH AMERICAN 151 RD8. 



Spiinislitowii, this s]n'cies lias Uioii kiiuwii to breed. In view of the faet that 

 tliis bird is rejj;arded, witli <food reason, as one ot" our most northern speeies, 

 breedinji' to tiie very shores of the frozen seas, the ocenrrence seems erratic 

 and remarkable. Yet it is not without eorrespdudin^ vaj^aries in other sjje- 

 eie.s, the cara/cacnui breeding in Cuba and the tiyrinu in St. Dominjfo and 

 Jamaica. 



Afr. I'aine, of East Ifandoljili, Vt, .states that these AVarblers arrive in his 

 vicinity about tiie first of .May, and remain tluic nearly two weeks, and then 

 all i)ass north. They do nut return on their southern lli;j;ht until the la.st 

 of S('])teniber, when tiiey remain aboiit three weeks. It is a very active, rest- 

 less bird, chiri)ing eoutiuually and very sharply as it tlies around in search 

 of insect.s, but has not, so far as he knows, any sonj,'. 



In Southern Illinois, as Mr. IJid^way inbirms nie, this l)ird is a common 

 winter sojourner, remaining- late in sjning with the migratory s])ecies. It is 

 very abundant throughout the winter in woods, orchards, and door-yards. 



^Ir. Salvin found this species l're(|Uenting the more ojien districts aliout 

 Duenas, (iuatemala, apparently jn'eferring scattered bushes to the denser un- 

 derwood, and was an abundant sjiecies there thnuighout the Avinter sca.s(Ui. 



It is but tpiite recently that we have known with ci'rtainty its place and 

 manner of breeding. Neither Wilson, Xuttall, noi' Audubon a])])ear to have 

 met with its nest, though the lutter received one from Professor McCuUoch 

 of Halifax. 



In the suuMiier of IS.");"), early in July, I obtained a nest of this species 

 in Tarsboro', Nova Scotia. It was built in a low bush, in the midst of a 

 small village, and contained six eggs, flie parents were very shy, ami it 

 was with great dilliculty tlia) one of tlicni Mas secured i'or identilieation. 

 Tiiougli late in llu^ season, inculmlion had Imt just conunenced. 



The nest was built on a horizontal brancii, the smaller t\\ igs of which were 

 so interlaced as to admit of its being built upon them, though their extremi- 

 ties were interwoven into its rim. The nest was small for the bird, being 

 only two iiK'hes in depth and fmii' and a half in diameter. The cavity 

 is one and a half inches deep and two and a half wide. Its base and exter- 

 nal ])orti<Mis consist of fine, light, dry stalks of wild grasses, and slender 

 twigs and roots. Of the last the firm, .strong rim of tlu' nest is exclu- 

 sively woven, ^''•"thin, the ne.st is compo.sed of soft, fine gra.sses, downy 

 feathers, and the fine hair of the smaller mammals. 



^Ir. Audubon, who observed very closely tlie haliits of these birds during a 

 vinter in Kioiida, descrilies thi'in as very social among themselves, skipping 

 along the jiia/./a, lialaiicing theniseh cs in the air opposite the sides of the 

 house in search of sjiideis and insects, diving through the low bushes of the 

 garden after larva' and worms, and at nig'ii roosting among the orange- 

 triics. In his visit to Maine Ih^ found the i; very aliumlant in early May. 

 The woods seemed alive witii them, and wiierever he landed, on his way to 

 Labrador, he found them in great numbers. 



