7o 



THE OENITHOLOGIST AND BOTANIST. 



is but one white flower on a scape, un- 

 less it is a freak of nature, while the 

 Jonquils have two or more. 



However, "Jonquil" is not so common 

 a mistake as Daffodil," or as I once 

 heard an old lady call them, "Daffy-dil- 

 dillies." 



Of course there are many other kinds 

 of Narcissus, but these are the most 

 common, and for some reason their 

 names are very much confused. If any 

 one is ever tempted to call the white 

 flower a daffodil, he should repeat the 

 lines: 



"I saw a crowd, 

 A host of golden daffodils," 

 and then he will not make such a blun- 

 der. 



THE HOODED WARBLER 



BY J. W. P. SMITHWICK, SANS SOUCI, N. C. 



The hooded warbler — our commonest 

 breeding warbler — is tolerably abun- 

 dant in every piece of woods in the 

 spring and summer. Their nests are 

 very easy to find, if you will go in the 

 woods early in the morning and listen 

 to the female leave or come to her nest. 

 At this time she utters a few loud chips 

 "chip, chip, chip" several times; now 

 wait until she ceases and not forgetting 

 the directions in which you last heard 

 her, you may start to search for the 

 nest. Keep going, all the time looking 

 into the little bushes for it. If you have 

 gone right, and have not been deceived 

 in the bird, you will be very apt to find 

 it. During the three years that this 

 warbler has come under my notice, I 

 have collected about fifteen sets, all of 

 which, were very near alike, both as to 

 situation and material of which they 

 were composed. I have found nests 

 four or five hundred yards away from 

 any water, and have also found them 

 placed over water in bunches of reeds. 



Below is a partial list of the nests I 

 have found. 



No. 1, was placed in a little myrtle 



bush two and one half feet from the 

 ground, about fifty yards from a small 

 ravine. It yielded four fresh eggs, four 

 days after finding it. 



No. 3, was found late in the season, 

 with iucubation so far advanced that 

 they could not ba blown. This nest 

 was placed in a bush, growing on a 

 small tussock in a swamp. I found the 

 nest one evening, near dark, by listen- 

 ing to the female go to it. This nest 

 contained four eggs slightly incubated 

 on finding. The nest was cup-shaped 

 and made of dry leaves and shreds of 

 bark lined with fine grass and hair. 



No. 3. This nest was in a very ex- 

 posed position. It was within twenty- 

 five yards of a much traveled path, 

 and in a very open place. It was 

 placed in a myrtle bush three and a half 

 feet up. and was not near so bulky as 

 the first two mentioned. I found this 

 by listening to the female go to it about 

 ten o'clock in the morning. It con- 

 tained three fresh eggs. 



No. 4, was found early in the morning 

 by listening to the female. It was 

 placed in a clump of reeds three and a 

 half feet up. The reeds were growing 

 in a swamp, and w^re entirely surround- 

 ed by shallow water. This nest con- 

 tained four eggs, with incubation about 

 half advanced, and were p repared with- 

 out much trouble. 



In this locality the hooded warbler 

 commences nesting by the first of May, 

 and from then until the fifteenth is the 

 prime time to search for nests. The 

 nests always have a striking resem- 

 blance, but there is some variation in 

 the marking of the eggs. Some nests 

 that I found were lined with very fine 

 grass, while some few were lined almost 

 entirely with a kind oc black hair. 



He who knows what sweets and vir- 

 tues are in the ground, the waters, the 

 plants, the heavens, and how to come 

 at these en-chantments is the rich and 

 royal man. — Emerson. 



