28 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 9-No. 3 



leave us for their Winter home, of which 

 we as yet know very little, as well as of 

 their lines of migration. — A. W. Butler, 

 Jiroolcville, Ind. 



II. 

 My first acquaintance with this neat and 

 pretty little Warbler was made one day 

 in August, at the beginning of the Fall 

 migration, a number of years ago. In 

 cbmpany with my friend, Mr. F. S. Wright, 

 I was collecting a few birds in a small 

 piece of oak and chestnut woods near 

 Auburn. He, while looking at the tops of 

 some of the larger trees, espied a Warbler, 

 which, on shooting, proved to be a good 

 male of this species. It was the first that 

 either of us had ever seen, but we knew 

 what it was ; and very pretty it looked as 

 he held it in his hand. After duly admir- 

 ing it, the bird was carefully put away in 

 my friend's collecting basket. During the 

 next half hour we shot four more, all of 

 which were of the same sex as the first; 

 and when the time arrived for us to go 

 home, we were more than pleased with our 

 day's success. Since then both of us have 

 very often met with the Blue Warbler ; for 

 it has proved to be a regular Summer resi- 

 dent in our locality. Arriving from the 

 South during the second or third week in 

 May, according to the mildness of the 

 season, one is quickly aware of its pres- 

 ence somewhere near by, from hearing its 

 peculiar song. In order to see the bird, 

 you need to look near the tops of the largest 

 trees ; for this species is eminently a tree 

 Warbler in every sense of the word. Dur- 

 ing rainy weather it will be found nearer 

 the ground, following its insect food wher- 

 ever it goes. But on a bright, pleasant 

 morning high in the treetops will you hear 

 it singing. I have found these birds most 

 abundant in wet woods, where the swamp 

 ash and elms grow to a good height. Al- 

 though this seems to be its favorite place, 

 it may also be found sparingly in the dry 

 woods with other Warblers. This is more 

 rarely the case however. There is no 



doubt that the Blue Warbler breeds with 

 us, but I have never heard of its nest 

 being found near here. This is not sur- 

 prising, for from what we read of its nest- 

 ing habits — the nest being built well up in 

 large trees, and generally saddled on a 

 limb — they must be very hard to find. 



On Howland's Island, in the Seneca 

 River and about eleven miles distant from 

 Auburn, you can find this sjjecies quite 

 abundant throughout the breeding season. 

 Here, as elsewhere, their favorite haunts 

 seem to be in the tall trees in the swampy 

 parts of the island, or in the equally as 

 heavy timber along the river's sides. And 

 in the larger trees do they undoubtedly 

 rear their young. Let one go to this local- 

 ity on a warm day in May, and almost 

 everywhere can a male bird be heard sing- 

 ing. This song once heard can be easily 

 remembered, for the ending is long drawn 

 out, and of a buzzing sound. The female 

 bird is hard to see, and is seldom shot; at 

 least such seems to be my exjDerience. No 

 doubt, because it lacks the song of the 

 male and utters only the common chirj of 

 most of our Warblers. I have met with 

 this bird, wherever I have been in our 

 County, and at any time from the middle 

 of May into the Summer. It seems to be 

 quite evenly distributed in this section, 

 but will be found more common in such 

 places as I have named. It remains with 

 us until about the last of August, and by 

 the 10th of September all the residents 

 and migrants seem to have departed, for I 

 have never seen it after that date. Then 

 must we patiently await the coming of 

 another Spring ere it again puts in an iq>- 

 pearance among us. — S. F. JRathbun, Au- 

 burn, N. T. 



Doubts still existing in some quarters 

 (see New England Bird Life, Part I, pp. 

 129-130,) as to the Blue Warbler having 

 been taken in New England, I am induced 

 to present my own testimony on the sub- 

 ject. May 22, 1879, was one of those soft, 

 mild morning's which are so favorable for 



