THE OOLOGIST. 



77 



Nest and Eggs of the White-eyed 

 Vireo (Vireo noveboracensis). 



rPHE White-eyed Vireo is the smallest of 

 a very interesting class of Flycatchers. 

 It is mostly found in low thickets and 

 swamps. The first nest of this species that 

 I collected Avas on June 10th, 1877, at 

 Longwood, Mass., in a maple tree about 

 thirty feet high. ' From its height I at first 

 supposed it to be a nest of the Red-eyed 

 Vireo ( Vireo olivaceus) , neither of the par- 

 ent birds being present, but when ascending 

 to the nest, they soon put in their appear- 

 ance, flying close to my head with startling 

 rapidity, so that at first I could not note 

 them, but after a while the female alit close 

 to me, scolding violently, and it was then 

 that I recognized the species. The nest 

 was a large, firm structure, measuring out- 

 side, Si inches in diameter, and 2i inches 

 in depth, and was composed of grape-vine 

 and cedar bark, feathers, horse-hair (which 

 formed the lining), dried grass, pieces of 

 the outside of hornets' nests. The nest 

 contained four eggs, of an almost oval form, 

 slightly larger at one end. The ground 

 color was almost pure white, spotted at the 

 larger end with small irregular blotches of 

 dark reddish brown, and they measured 

 about .73 of an inch in length and .51 in 

 breadth. This species feeds on insects and 

 various kinds of berries. It measures five 

 inches long and eight inches in extent. 



W. E. Sawyer. 



Nesting of the Maryland Yellow- 

 throat. 



A' 



S Mr. C. A. Hawes and myself were 

 passing throiigh a very bushy and 

 swampy field, he espied amid the thick fo- 

 liage of a small shrub, a piece of wool, of 

 which we did not take notice, until, pro- 

 ceeding farther a bird which we took to be 

 a Yellow Warbler {^Dendroeca cestiva) plac- 

 ed himself in front of us, scolding and chat- 

 tering with vehemence. Mr. H. pronounc- 



ed it to be a Maryland Yellow-throat, and 

 we supposed the wool to be the foundation 

 of his nest, and abstracting some wool from 

 our egging-boxes, we placed it in .conspic- 

 uous positions near it. 



On visiting the place a fortnight after- 

 ward, we beheld in the bush a most beau- 

 tiful nest, of which I present you a rough 

 sketch* (if Mr. Editor will allow me room) 

 which contained four eggs. 



The nest was composed of the softest 

 grasses, intermixed with leaves and hair, 

 and was lined exclusively with our wool, 

 but probably the bird usually lines it with 

 soft grass or hair. In the body of the nest 

 are several twigs to give it a firmer sup- 

 port on the branch on which it was placed. 

 The nest cavity is about IHnches in depth, 

 and the nest as a whole, is a most beauti- 

 ful structure 9i inches long and three inch- 

 es wide at the top. 



Tlie eggs are slightly larger than a Yel- 

 low Warbler's, more enlongated, the spots 

 being darker and arranged in a rough cir- 

 cle around the larger end. 



After being deprived of its eggs and nest, 

 the bird commenced building a new one in 

 an adjacent bush, but it was discovered by 

 others before its complement of eggs was 

 laid. The bird was hardly distinguishable 

 from the surrounding foliage, but when once 

 dist;erned, it seemed to be of a very joyful 

 temperament, hopping about amid the 

 shrubs, and pouring forth continuous tor- 

 rents of song. In New England it is very 

 rare[ ?] , this species not being identical with 

 the common Chat of the south. About the 

 last of August these birds depart for the 

 extreme south, where they I'emain until 

 spring. G. Stuart Smith. 



We would call the attention of our friends 

 to our prospectus, which appears in the sup- 

 plement with this number. Our patronage 

 has been such as to guarantee the improve- 

 ments there promised. 



*0n account of want of room, we have been 

 unable to publish the sketch here ; it will ap- 

 pear in our next issue. 



