THE OOLOGIST 



107 



they have to perform. The pairs are 

 quite a distance away from the other 

 of their specie, as a close neighbor 

 will cause an everlasting lot of trouble 

 and fight. 



Nest building begins the last week 

 in May, and up to the 20th of June 

 nests containing fresh eggs may be 

 found, but the largest per cent build 

 about the 25th of May. The nests are 

 always very carefully hidden in a 

 thick clump of bushes or weeds and 

 the fast growing fern is calculated to 

 complete the work of screening it. 

 It is built quite loosely and bulky; 

 dry twigs, grasses, weedstems, vines, 

 bark strips and sometimes moss, en- 

 ter into the outer composition, while 

 the lining consists of fine weed root- 

 lets, round grass stems or hair, oc- 

 casionally a few feathers and some 

 cocoon silk is also used. The eleva- 

 tion is from slightly above the ground 

 till to six feet up. Those of the maxi- 

 mum elevation are built in the tops 

 of close little fir trees or cedar trees. 

 The number of eggs in a full com- 

 pliment, ranges from three to six, 

 that is the largest I have ever seen, 

 although I have been told by quite a 

 reliable observer that he has seen a 

 set of seven eggs. By far the most 

 clutches consist of four eggs. 



During nest construction and lay- 

 ing the birds are quiet and shy and 

 it takes considerable time and pa- 

 tience to identify the nest of the 

 birds; even during the first ten days 

 of incubation it is exceedingly diffi- 

 cult to catch the bird at home. As 

 soon as the nest is approached and 

 no matter how cautious that is under- 

 taken the female seems ever alert, 

 and will slip off from the nest, oppo- 

 site from the direction where the in- 

 truder comes and all by what its 

 movements can be traced is the light 

 trembling of the weeds and ferns as 

 she hops in a large circle around the 



nest. When incubation advances and 

 after the young fill the nest the par- 

 ents are not near as cautious as in 

 the first stage but will greet the in- 

 truder with vehement chipping. The 

 male is the boldest, but the female 

 shows plainly and joins her mate in 

 the scolding chorus. In two instances 

 the birds were bold enough to fly up 

 against my face in their attempt to 

 draw my attention away from their 

 nest and half-grown brood. The 

 young remain in the nest for 18 days; 

 and after leaving the nest they cling 

 to some bush and are continually 

 calling for food, both parents are kept 

 busy in supplying nourishment for 

 the ever open mouths. Old and young 

 remain in the vicinity of the nesting 

 place until they congregate for mi- 

 gration. 



I will close by giving the reader 

 some notes and data from my field 

 book, regarding the nesting of Opor- 

 ornis Tolmier, Tolmie Warbler, as 

 No. 1, Date, May 30, 1908; In a 

 patch of slashed over land; with 

 heavy sallal growth; built beside a 

 log in sallal bushes, 16 inches above 

 the ground, well concealed by growth 

 of ferns. It was composed of long 

 weed stems, several dry sallal leaves, 

 shreds of fern, lined with fine grass, 

 rootlets and a few horse hairs. The 

 nest contained four eggs apparently 

 far incubated. However, when ex- 

 amined June 10, the eggs were not 

 yet hatched; June 16, four young oc- 

 cupied the nest. 



No. 2, Date, June 9, 1908; On a 

 steep, brushy hillside, in ranky 

 growth of ferns, sallals and hazel 

 brush; built in a clump of hazel, 19- 

 inch elevation. It was saddled on a 

 number of small twigs, composed of 

 weedstems, much dry fern leaves and 

 strips of fern bark, lined entirely 

 with black rootlets. It was very frail 

 and loosely put together; contained 



