SVLVICOLinj': — THE WAHBI-EHS. 



239 



nccniinfc of its habit of kve]m<i .•(.iu'0iil(3(l among tlie douse loliu^ro, Air. 

 ISoiinlinan givos tli(f saiue uccouiit of its lesiduiico in siiiiiiuur in tiu. noi^h- 

 liorliood of ( 'alais. 



Mr. Audubon did not rogard this bird and his " Ilcmloek Warbiur " as tiu! 

 same spccii-s, but gavo distiiu^t and diirorcnt accounts of their habits. We 

 liavc therefore, to receive witli caution these records of peculiarities. He 

 found the I'.lackburnian WaHder breeding in Xortlieastern ^biine, in Xew 

 I'muiswick, in the .^raj,'(hdeine Islands, and in Labrador and Xewfoundiand. 

 He states, correctly, that it has a, very sweet son,i; of five or si.x notes, nnu;h 

 louder than .seemed jwssilde from the size of the bird. It pursues its 

 insect prey among the branches of the fir-trees, moving along after the man- 

 ner of the common Ifedstart. 



Mr. ^rc( "ulloch, of Ilalifa.x, gave Mr. Audubon a nest of this bird with 

 three eggs. The nest was formed externally of ditlerent textures, lined 

 with fine delicate strips of I,ark and a thick bed of feather.s and horse-hair. 

 The eggs were small, conical, with a white gromid spotted with light- red 

 at the larger end. The nest was in the small fork of a tree five feet from 

 the ground, and near a brook. 



The nest obtained in IJoxbury was in a bu.sh, a few feot from the ground, 

 in a very wild region of ibrest and rocks. Externally, except in its length,' 

 which M'as less, it resend.lcd a nest of the (,'. trir/im, being made of coarse! 

 dry grasses. Fnternally it was uuu'ii more warndy lined with leathers and 

 soft fur than is the case in ne;4s of the Yellow-Throat. The eggs were of 

 a crystal whiteness, marked at their larger end with dark purple, and but 

 for their smaller size might have been mistaken for those of (/. tnchus. 

 The position of the nest, however, was conclusive in regard to this ]>oint. 

 The egg from Coventry was substantially similar, except that reddish-bmwn 

 dots were mingled with the purple markings, in the form of a wreath around 

 the larger end. 



Wilson describes this Warl)ler as .songless, but attri1)utes to its counter- 

 part, the Hemlock Warbler, a very sweet song of a i'ew low notes, — a \ery 

 different account from that given by Audubon of the song of the Black- 

 burnian. 



Mr. I'aine states that this species is resident during the summer months in 

 Randolph, Vt. It is, h(. says, a very close com])anion of the D. viirn.% arriv- 

 ing at the same time with it even to a day, or about the Kith of :^ray. Its 

 dry eliiri)ing song may th(in be heard in striking contrast with the sweet 

 notes of the rircm. He was not able to find its nest. 



Mr. C. W. VVyatt met with this species as a winter resident at Alto, in Co- 

 lombia, South America. Its upward range seemed to be terminated oidy by 

 the ])aramos. Among the oaks on the I'amiilona road he found it very coni- 

 mon just under the paramo, the bright orange throat of the male making it 

 a v(>ry conspicuous bird. He was led to believe that they were nut found 

 then; at a lower elevation than five thousand feet. 



