AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 



65 



HABITS. 



BOUT ten years ago, Prairie Warblers 

 were very common in suitable places 

 about Worcester. From then on they 

 have gradually disappeared and for 

 nearly ten years I know of no record of 

 their having been seen. Two years ago, 

 three pairs nested in a small hollow 

 covered with scrub oaks, chestnuts and 

 barberry bushes. Last year there were 

 at least a dozen pairs there. Why they 

 ever left is a mystery; as far as we 

 know, nothing was ever done to dis- 

 turb them in any way, and nothing oc- 

 curred to induce them to return again; 

 yet here they are and they will always 

 find a welcome as long as they care to 

 remain. Like the other members of 

 the warbler family, they are not blessed 

 with musical voices to correspond with 

 YOUNG PRAIRIE WARBLER. their beautiful dress, but their sharp, 

 jerky song has a business like air about it that commands atten- 

 tion. They seem to be very nervous and restless at all times, and rare- 

 ly stay in one place more than a few minutes at a time, except perhaps 

 during the nesting time, when the male is perched upon an outer dead 

 branch of a pine tree, within sight of his home, and continually gives 

 voice to his peculiar little song. 



Although many pairs of these sprightly little birds may nest within a 

 comparatively small area, each seems to have his own section and look- 

 out tree, and many an exciting chase occurs when the head of one 

 household encroaches on the domains of another; a flash of yellow is 

 all that can be seen- of the bewildering conflicts as they dash in and out 

 among the underbrush, each one finally going to his own perch and 

 crowing or rather chirping his victory. These petty warfares are all 

 forgotten when any danger from an outside source threatens the home 

 of any one of them. Then the whole colony appears as if by magic 

 and joins in their common protest against the trespasser. Their nests 

 are quite difficult to find as they are almost without exception built at 

 the top of a low shrub, just at the point where the leaves cluster thick- 

 est, and as there are hundreds of shrubs that are just suited to their 

 needs, and the nest can only be found by inspecting the tops of each 

 individual bush, unless the female can be surprised, a feat that is not 

 often accomplished. 



