4 AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 



in swamps or beside brooks, with the bottom resting on the ground 



while the top is elevated several inches and not sunken in as are many 



of Sparrows and Warblers' nests. If the weather is favorable their 



nests are completed by the middle of May and by the latter part of the 



month the sets of four or five and rarely six eggs are laid. The eggs 



are white, specked and spotted with reddish brown and umber, heavily 



at the large end and usually in minute dots over the entire surface.;: 



size .72 X .56. 



HABITS. 



The center of abundance of this beautiful species is in the Lower 

 Mississippi Valley; they are only locally abundant in some of the east- 

 ern states. Their haunts are similar to those frequented by Oven-birds 

 but they are much more conspicuous in their actions than are the latter. 

 Their songs are loud clear and attractive, being perhaps more so than 

 any others of the Warblers. Their call note is a loud sharp whistle 

 while their song is a varied musical succession of notes. They are 

 very noisy during the breeding season and the male will sing for many 

 minutes at a time to his mate who is quietly sitting in a shady nook on 

 her white treasures Especially is his song merry beside a running 

 brook, the rippling and murmuring of which seems to incite him to 

 melody. While their nests are bulky they are not easy to find as it is 

 difficult to flush the bird from the immediate vicinity of the nest for 

 she will run along for several feet beneath the low foliage before tak- 

 ing wing. When their home is approached their notes take the form 

 of an excited chip, it usually being accompanied by a flirt of the tail for 

 emphasis. 



CONNECTICUT WARBLER. 



A. O. U. 678. (Geothlypis agilis).. 



RANGE. 



Eastern North America breeding north of the United States and win- 

 tering at the equator. 



DESCRIPTION 



This and the two following species are very similar in many respects,, 

 and in some plumages are difficult to separate. The present species 

 is always marked by a white or light ring completely encircling the 

 eye. The adult male has the entire head, neck and upper breast bluish 

 slate in high plumage becoming very bright and quite dark on the 

 breast but never black as in the Mourning Warbler. The remainder of 

 the upper parts, and the sides, are greenish, unmarked, and the under- 

 parts are yellowish. The female and young have the head, throat and 

 breast an olive brown color of a shade not differing greatly from the 

 back; the eye ring is distinct in all plumages and ages but not as white 

 as in the old males. 



