62 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[V0I..6-N0. 8. 



Blue Yellow-backed Warbler 



NESTING ON SHELTER ISLAND. 



I think most of the ornithological writers 

 have been mistaken in naming the breed- 

 ing range of the Parula americana. 



Minot says in "Land and Game Birds of 

 N. E.," page 416, "Very rare in summer 

 so far south as Massachusetts. Maynard, 

 in " Birds of Eastern North America," 

 says: '' A few remain in southern New 

 England to breed, but the majority spend 

 the summer in the more "northern section." 

 The Blue Yellow-backed Warbler breeds as 

 abundantly in this town, if not more so, 

 than in any part of Northern New Eng- 

 land, as I have collected sixteen sets of 

 their eggs, and seen fully as many more, 

 within the past three years, and have at- 

 tained a pretty accurate knowledge cf their 

 habits. They arrive about the first of May 

 and usually spend two or three weeks in 

 mating before they begin to build. The 

 nest is invariably built in a bunch of long 

 green moss, and lined more or less with the 

 same dun colored plant down that the Yel- 

 low VVarblers use for the same purpose, 

 but the Blue Yellow-backs use it more spar- 

 ingly. They sometimes weave one or two 

 horse hairs and rarely a piece of fine grass 

 into the nest; and these are the only mate- 

 rials used on this island. 



The first nest that came to my notice was 

 neither globular nor pensile, as they usually 

 are, but completely open at the top like a 

 Yellow Warbler's, and placed in a small ce- 

 dar bush not three feet from the ground, on 

 high land, being a very unusual position. 

 The nest is usually placed in a bush or 

 small tree in swamps or swampy places, and 

 usually about ten or twelve feet up. I have 

 seen two nests that were attached to the 

 side of the trunks of large trees at the same 

 height. The number of eggs laid is four 

 and sometimes five. I found one nest 

 that contained eight eggs, six of which are 

 in my collection now, the other two having 

 been broken in removing them from the 

 nest. The nest is of the usual size, and 



the eggs were piled upon each other in two 

 layers. They must have been laid by two 

 females as part of them were addled. The 

 nest is generally purse-shaped, with the en- 

 trance at the side near the top, and differs 

 in bulk according to the size of the bunch' 

 of moss in which it is built, and I believe 

 that more moss is brought in some instan- 

 ces to finish the nest. The Blue Yellow- 

 backs breed commonly on Gardiner's Isl- 

 and, as I saw two nests there nearly ready 

 for the eggs on May 17th, 1879, which is 

 about two weeks earlier than they lay on 

 Shelter Island. If collectors had known 

 the right place to look for the nests, they 

 would have been found long ago in greater 

 numbers and further south than most writ- 

 ers on the subject have led us to believe. — 

 W. W. Worthins;ton. 



Black-capped Yellow Warbler. 



ITS NESTING HABITS. 



The beautiful little Myiodioctes pus-sillus 

 arrives here about the twentieth of April 

 the males coming about one week before 

 the females. They raise two broods each 

 season The first nest I found was on May 

 i6th and the young had come to maturity 

 and flown. This nest was placed in a wild 

 blackberry vine two and one-half feet from 

 the ground, and in the very thickest part of 

 the vine The nest was composed of very 

 fine dry grass, bits ot moss and dead leaves, 

 and lined with fine fibrous roots. The fe- 

 male alone builds the nest, but the male can 

 be seen following her around and singing 

 to cheer her in the work. I can discover 

 no difference between the song of this War- 

 bler and that of the Yellow Warbler {Den- 

 drxca cestiva.) I found another nest on 

 June 15th containing a set of four eggs. In- 

 cubation had begun. The eggs, when 

 fresh, have a pinkish color like most of the 

 Warblers. This effect is produced by the 

 yelk showing through a transparent shell. 

 When blown the ground color is white with 

 fine reddish spots around the larger end. 

 This nest was in blackberry vines eight feet. 



