SYLVK'UMIU; - THE \VAUULER8. 275 



/t//cwrt//,s) and the Cliij)])!!!",' Sjiiirntw. They lirced in o\d Imisliy pnstiiivs.iind 

 very uiiily, ni'stini,' iil(ini;si(h) of some little knoll, and, I tliink, always njion 

 the j^ionnil. Tlic nc^t is V(My warmly lined witli ffathers." 



Mr. Mad iiiluih, in tiu' iiaper already referred to, states that duriny their 

 autnmnal niigiations lliey seem invrriably to exhiliit the haliits of true .S///- 

 vini/ii/(i\ j^leaninLT amoni; hranelies o.' trees for the smaller insects, and not 

 nnfre(iuentiy visiting the windows of dwellings in search of spiders and 

 insects. 



In their migrations throngh Ma.ssachnsetts these Warlilers are everywhere 

 tpiite ahnndant in the spring, l)ut in their relnrn in autnnni are not observed 

 in the eastern ])art of tin; Stale, thongh very connnon in the western from 

 September into Xoveinlier, remaining long after all the other Warl)lers are 

 gone. Xone remain dnring the summer. 



In Western Maint^ Mr. Verrill states, it is ([uitc connnon both in spring 

 and in fall, arriving in April, earlier than any other Warbler, and again 

 becoming aliundant the last of Sejttember. 



I found it plentiful in the vicinity of Halifax, where >• occurs throughout 

 the summer from ^lay to Septemlter. 



Mr. liidgway gives this species as jjcrhaps the most, numerous of the tran- 

 sient visitants, in .spring and fall, in Southern Illinois. It is very terrestrial 

 in its habits, keeping naieli on the ground, in orchards and open ])laces, and 

 its movements are said to be wonderfully like those oi' ^liiflnis /luloiucidnn.s. 



In the viliratiirv motions of its tail, especially when upon the ground, 

 these birds greatly resemlile the Wagtails of Kurojie. They have no other 

 song than a f(iw simple and feeble notes, .so thin and weak that they might 

 almost be mistaken for llu' soun<ls made by the connnon grasshopper. 



The lied-roU usually selects for the site of its nc^t the edge of a swampy 

 thicket, more or less o])en, ))lacing it invariably u])on the ground. This is 

 usually not large, about three and a half inches in diameter and two and 

 a half in depth, the diameter and depth of the cavity each averaging only 

 half an incii less. The walls are compactly and elaborately constructed 

 of an interweaving of various line materials, chietiy fine dry grasses, slender 

 stri])S of bark, stems of the smaller ])lants, hypnum, and other mosses. 

 Within, the nest is warndy and softly lined with down and feathers. 



Mr. Kennicott met with a nest of this Ijird at Fort Kesolution, June 18. 

 It was on the ground, on a hummock, at the foot of a small spruce, in a 

 swam)). When found, it contained live young birds. 



Their eggs are of a rounded-oval shape, and measure .70 of an inch in 

 lengtli by fu) in l)readth. Tlieir ground-color is a yellowLsh or creamy- 

 white, and their blotches, chietiy about the larger eud, are a blending of 

 purple, lilac, and redtlish-browu. 



