26 PROCEEDINGS OP THE 



The appearance of the cock was soon announced by strange 

 high-pitched wiry notes resembling much the cry of some young 

 bird. 



The nest, which contained five fresh-laid eggs, was shaped 

 like a high cone, exceedingly deep for its width, the depth 

 within being If inches by 1^ inches, lined with small feathers 

 from some good Plymouth Rock on the nearest farm. It was 

 secured only after considerable maneuvering which required the 

 cutting away and lowering down of a section of the main limb. 

 The eggs, of the customary pale blue, varied considerably in size 

 and shape from pointed to rounded oval, with profuse and 

 lightly spotted specimens. To one interested in bird architecture 

 this small member of the feathered tribe will attract the ad- 

 mirer's attention as can few others, for not even the Humming- 

 bird can excel the ingenuity and beauty of its workmanship. 

 Twice later in the day, although the wind had risen somewhat, 

 we were attracted by the peculiar squeaks of the Gnatcatcher, 

 and observed a male in the tree-tops and closer search would 

 have doubtless revealed the nest. 



On three other trips ^ during the season we discovered their 

 homes through having our attention arrested by their feeble 

 cries. All the others contained young — one built in a swamp 

 maple in woods which had been partly cleared, far out on a 

 horizontal branch some fifty or sixty feet up, and another in a 

 yellow birch sapling growing out of the water, in a crotch on 

 the main stem and almost at the top. The parents seemed ex- 

 cellent foragers, returning to their young with food alternately 

 every three or four minutes. 



In the same swampy country and always bordering on the 

 water the Prothonotary makes its home. Bearing the distinction 

 of being the only warbler to occupy the interior of an old branch 

 or stub, the bird has many traits to fascinate the observer. The 

 clear loud call, or the beautiful warbled song, resembling that 

 of the Water-Thrush — which, however, we were only fortunate 

 to hear uttered once during all our visits — the ball of gold, as 



' Mr. Stewardson Brown accompanied the writer on the second expedition, 

 and Mr. Samuel Scorill on the third. 



