The Increase of the Chestnut-Sided Warbler 79 



equally difficult to give any reason for the marked decrease in the number 

 of the Brown Thrashers and apparent decrease in the Song Sparrows dur- 

 ing the breeding season. The Thrashers used to be very common, but 

 during the past two years they have been, as already stated, noticeably 



scarce. . 



All the Chestnut-sided Warbler's nests that I have found in this region 

 in question, were placed in azalea and huckleberry bushes, mostly the for- 

 mer, and always within three and a half feet of the ground, usually very 

 much lower. The situation chosen was in most instances near a fair-sized 

 tree, not one being found in the more open part of the clearing. About 



CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER FEEDING HER YOUNG ON THE AUTHOR'S HAND 



the last week in April the birds arrive and their nests are built between 

 May 20 and the middle of June. The nest, which requires from two to 

 four days to build, is composed of light-colored plant-fiber and bark, with 

 a lining of very fine grass and roots. 



Notwithstanding all that has been said about the extreme tameness of these 

 birds, those that I have seen were very much less confiding than the Blue- 

 winged and Worm-eating Warblers. In trying to secure photographs o 

 them with their young I met with most scanty success, in spite of the 

 many hours spent in the attempts. Once the young had left the nest the 

 old birds seemed to lose some of their shyness, and in one case I succeeded 

 not only in obtaining photographs of the parent bird with its young perched 



