THE YOUNG ORNITHOLOGIST. 



echo of its alarm note in breeding- 

 time — eree-e-e-e-ee. long drawn and 

 like that of the Vireos — it keeps to 

 the lower story of the woods, and is 

 not at all shy, thus giving nie a good 

 opportunity to note its manners, as 

 it is gleaning diligently. As it peers 

 gracefully among the tender foliage, 

 who can fail to admire its gentleness 

 and beauty. Among the smallest 

 (4.25 long and 8.10 in extent) and 

 the most delicately formed of its 

 genus, its color is really brilliant — 

 Bosom a sky-blue, margined on the 

 sides with white ; forehead, cheeks, 

 back, wings and tail blackish ; throat, 

 rump and under-parts, bright lemon- 

 yellow, the latter heavily blotched and 

 streaked with jet black ; lower eyelids, 

 wing-circuits and large central patch 

 on the inner web of most of the tail- 

 feathers, pure white, thus giving a 

 striking effect as the tail spreads in 

 its various flitting motions, — this little 

 beauty would do justice to the Tropics. 

 The female is less Vtrilliant and not 

 so distinctly marked. But, excepting 

 its sojourn in winter, which extends 

 entirely south of the United States, 

 this is especially a Northern bird, 

 breeding from northern New England 

 to Hudson's Bay. Mr. C. J. May- 

 nard describes a nest, taken at Um- 

 bagog the second week in June, 1870, 

 as follows: "-It was placed on the 

 forked branch of a low spruce, about 

 three feet from the ground, on a rising- 

 piece of land, leading from a wood" 

 path. The nest, which contained four 

 eggs, was constructed of dry grass, 

 spruce-twigs, roots &q., and was lined 

 with tine black roots, the whole being 

 a coarse structure for so daintv a 

 warbler. The eggs were more spher- 



ical than any Warbler's I have ever 

 seen. The ground-color is a creamy 

 white, blotched sparingly over with 

 large spots of lilac and umber." An- 

 other, which was taken June 8, 1871, 

 was "• composed outwardly of a few 

 scattered dead twigs of larch, inter- 

 woven with stalks of weeds and dry 

 grass. It is lined with black horse- 

 hair ; this dark lining forms a strange 

 contrast with the faded appearance 

 of the outer part. The whole struc- 

 ture is very light snd airy in appear- 

 ance, strongly reminding one of the 

 nest of the D. Pennsylvanica." This 

 is in harmony with a note from Mr. 

 Andrew Downes, of Halifax, N. 8., 

 who says, '' 1 once found the nest of 

 this bird on a hard-wood bough, 

 breast-high ; it was composed of ver}^ 

 light material, I could" see through 

 it." From a nest in H. A. Ward's 

 cabinet at Rochester, N. Y., and 

 which was taken in Maine in June, 

 I have the following note: "Placed 

 in a fir-bush two feet from the 

 ground, shallow, and so frail that one 

 can see through it, made of dried 

 grasses and rootlets, and lined with 

 fine rootlets and a little horsehair. 

 The four eggs are creamy white, 

 spotted and speckled with red, brown 

 and lilac, forming a delicate wreath. 

 Size, .62 X .50." Like other Warblers, 

 maculosa has a strictly insect diet, 

 and contributes greatly to the preser- 

 vation of our forests. 



/'^/om Rev. J. H. Langille's 



•• Our Birds in their Haunts''' 



We have received a copy of the 

 new Oologist's Directory published by 

 Davis & Baker, and are well pleased 

 with it. We have no doubt it will 

 have a larae sale. 



