39G DIVISION I. VEUTEBKAL ANIMALS. — CLASS II. AYES. 



The Ovcn-l)ird feeds jiriiieipally upon small insects anil smooth caterpil- 

 lars, wliieli it olitains usually on the ground, among the fallen leaves. A\'hen 

 berries are in season, it feeds occasionally upon them; and it seems particu- 

 larly fond of small spiders, with which we have sometimes found its stomach 

 filled. About the li'th or l.')th of September, after the young birds have 

 become capable of providing for themselves, the whole family leave for the 

 soutii. 



The Pine-creeping Warbler {Deialroica j^inus) is also abundant in the 

 Eastern States, arriving from the soutli very early, often before the last 

 snow-storm of the season, and remains in the deep swamps of hendocks or 

 jiines until the weather opens. The nests are built in forks of pine trees, 

 about twenty feet from the ground. They are constructed of the bark of 

 the cedar and leaves of the pine. These materials are entwined into a neat 

 structure, which is wai'mly lined with mosses, and hairs of different animals. 

 The eggs are of a hkiish-whitc, with a slight roseate tint. This primary 

 color is dotted with spots of two shades of brown and reddish, and some 

 spots of purple. Dimensions of eggs vary from .69 by .50 inch to .07 by 

 .51 inch. 



In the migrations, these birds associate in detached flocks. In the spring 

 they are in company with the lled-poll Warblers, and in the fall, with the 

 Yellow-rumps. 



Tiiey are, in the summer, almost always observed in the pine groves, 

 actively traversing the limbs and branches, sometimes with the movements 

 of the Creepers and Titmice, sometimes with those of the AV^arblers, and 

 often flying from the foliage and seizing an insect 021 the \\ ing, like the Fly- 

 catchers. 



Their song is now somewhat similar to that of the Field Sparrow, or per- 

 haps more like a mixture of that and the song of the Indigo-bird, if such 

 can be imagined. It consists of the syllables ticcct, 'wcet, ^irect, 'irecf, 

 ^iccct, 'iccrt, uttered at first slow and faint, but rapidly increasing in utter- 

 ance and volume. IJesides this it has a sort of trilling note, YikeJ're, 'ye, '?'e 

 Ve, '/-p, 're, uttered softly and listlessly. 



In the autunm, they add to their usual insect food small berries and seeds. 

 They are now nearly silent, having only a quick, sharp chirp. They are 

 scattered through the fields and woods, and seem to be as much on the 

 ground as in the trees. They depart for the south by the Kith or 15th of 

 October. 



The Chestnut-sided Warbler (D. PeimstjJvaniat) is a sununer iidiabitant 

 of the Ignited States, and is plentiful in ^Massachusetts and the states south, 

 gradually growing rare as we advance ncirth. It makes its appearance 

 from the south about the first to the middle of May, according to latitude, 



