VOL. X. 



The Oologist. 



ALBION, N. Y., JULY, 1893. 



JSO. 7 



A Study in Orange and Black. 



Thinking that an article on the Amer- 

 ican Redstart, oue of the most notic- 

 able birds in the woods of this region, 

 might interest some of the readers of 

 the Oologist, I have embodied in this 

 article my experience with, and notes 

 on, this bird since 1889. Most of my 

 observations were made during 1890 

 and 1892, when they were very abund- 

 ant here, probably because these sea- 

 sons, being unusually wet, were char- 

 acterized by an abundance of small 

 insects, especially flies and mosquitoes 

 upon which this bird seems to live to a 

 large extent. 



In 1891 they were very scarce after 

 the migration ceased, (which was late 

 on account of the cold spring) very few 

 of them staying to breed. I think it 

 quite possible that their southern limit 

 may be found to vary in this way, with 

 the seasons. 



The first males are usually seen about 

 May 5th and the females follow closely. 

 They will increase to the 15th or 20th 

 when the migrants will move on north. 

 During the spring of '91 they did not 

 come in any numbers until the loth and 

 nearly all passed on in a few days. 

 During this period of migration the 

 male with his striking colors seems to 

 be everywhere in suitable woods, which 

 are those of a swampy character, com- 

 posed mostly of deciduous trees. A 

 few will be seen in the more open 

 groves and orchards, and even along 

 the roadsides, in dooryards, etc. 



It must not be supposed that the 

 female is there in any fewer numbers, 

 but from her tamer colors and more 

 retiring disposition is not so often seen 

 at this time. Being plainly attired she 

 is much more likely to escape observa- 

 tion than the male, which may be of 



some value to her at times, though as 

 we shall see later on, she is just as well 

 calculated to defend herself as her mas- 

 ter, if not more so. 



I think that the mating season comes 

 very soon after the migrants reach here, 

 probably from May 15th to June 1st. 

 During this period the male is in full 

 song, and the woods of his choice echo 

 and re-echo with the shrill notes of his 

 song delivered in a succession of rather 

 high-pitched and decided notes. His 

 mate also gives utterance to a sweet 

 trill which is difficult to locate if she is- 

 far off. Later on th male's song be- 

 comes subdued to a finely modulated 

 trill, and the female, except for her 

 shrill warning call to him, is silent 



From June 1st to the 5th the majority 

 of the Redstarts commence building, 

 though one nest found May 29th must 

 have been commenced about the 20th 

 as the eggs were slightly incubated. 

 By the 12th or 14th of June full sets 

 can be found in any suitable wood. 

 The nesting site is generally the up- 

 right crotch of some small and not very 

 brushy tree. Young, hard maples 

 ranging in diameter from one inch up 

 to four inches are the favorites. Have 

 also found nests in the following: elms, 

 beeches, soft maples, blue beech 

 shrubs, black ash and basswood. 



Although as I have said they general- 

 ly select the main upright crotch they 

 sometimes build between the trunk and 

 a small limb, aud I would mention two 

 exceptional cases as follows: 



First. The nest was placed 20 ft. 

 from the ground in the top of a 6 in. 

 hard maple which had been broken off 

 and sent out a number of small branch- 

 es, forming a sort of basin. The nest 

 was securely placed here and was near- 

 ly invisible from the ground. 



Second. The nest was placed out on 



