THE OOLOGIST. 



225 



of a Quaker clad little fellow, who sits 

 with drooping wings and tail, comes the 

 plaintive notes of pe-a-wee, ]ie-awee. 



Our tirst liud was a Redstart's nest 

 containing two fresh eggs, next a Wil- 

 son's Thrush with four, and a Black 

 billed Cuckoo's with five eggs. Then 

 followed several nests of the same spe- 

 cies and others of like catalogue value. 



While we were traversing a small 

 wooded swamp, trying all the while to 

 dodge the attaks of numberless mosqui- 

 toes, and to keep our feet from sinking 

 in the black and treacherous looking 

 mud, I caught sight of what, at first 

 sight, 1 supposed to be a Redstart's nest 

 placed on the nearly horizontal branch 

 of an elm tree about thirty feet from 

 the ground on investigation the nest, 

 which was admirably concealed, was 

 found to contain four incubated eggs. 

 These did not look like the majority of 

 Redstart's eggs Avhich we had seen, so 

 on the strength that it might be some- 

 thing rare, we hung around for some 

 time to see if we could get a glimpse of 

 the owner. At last our patience was 

 rewarded by seeing a small bird slip qui- 

 etly on the nest. On attempting to climb 

 up again she flew off and darted down 

 to within a few feet of us. where she 

 alighted on a small twig, thus giving us 

 ample opportunity to identify her as a 

 female Black-throated Green Warbler. 



Leaving the nest and eggs to be col- 

 lected on our way home, we struck off 

 through the neighboring pines to an ap- 

 ple orchard where two weeks before a 

 female Ruby-throat had been seen loit- 

 ering among the apple blossoms. We 

 had advanced about half way through 

 the Orchard without finding anything 

 beyond two nests of the Red-eyed Vireo, 

 when our advance was suddenly check- 

 ed by the humming sound made by mi- 

 nute wings. We quietly settled down 

 into the deep grass and proceeded to 

 follow the movemenis of Mrs. Ruby- 

 throat. She flew about for some time, 

 and then alighted on a dead twig where 



she proceeded to make her toilet. Af- 

 ter she had completed her ablutions 

 she suddenly left her perch, darted into 

 the air and after hovering over us, seem- 

 ingly to discover whether we had any 

 designs upon her home or not, she al- 

 most as quick as a flash, darted under 

 the spreading branches of an apple tree, 

 and after poising for the space of half a 

 second, settled down upon her lichen- 

 covered home. 



Few collectors need a description of 

 the nest or eggs of the Ruby-throated 

 Hummingbird, and so I will not attempt 

 a description of my find, but I must say 

 that although I have in the course of 

 my wanderings over field and wood- 

 lond, found several of these beautiful 

 fairy like structures yet the feeling of 

 exultation is just as strong and every 

 newly found nest seems to be more 

 beautiful than all its predecessors. 



By this time we felt thoroughly satis- 

 fied with our days success, and although 

 regardless of the fact that we had not 

 eaten our lunch, we set out for home, 

 and were soon enjoying all the discom- 

 forts of a "cold dinner." 



On visiting the situation of the Ruby- 

 throat's nest two weeks later, another 

 nest was discovered in the process of 

 construction, in the same tree and with- 

 in a yard of the old nest. This nest was 

 never fully completed, possibly on ac- 

 count of the heavy rains which came 

 the next week. 



Walter C. Jones, 

 Bradford, Mass. 



The Genus Thryothorus- 



Thryothorus ludovicianus 

 Thryothorus bewickii. 



The genus Thryothorus in North 

 American ornithology embraces two 

 species, Thryothorus ludovicianus, and 

 Thryothorus beivickii, commonly known 

 as the Carolina and Bewick's Wrens. 



The habitat of the first is in the south 



