THE OOLOQI8T 



89 



Series of Nests of the Cerulean Warblers. 

 Dickey. 



Prepared by S. S. 



May 26, I again entered the woods and 

 made my way to the tree that held 

 the nest. I found the female sitting 

 upon four greenish-white eggs, beauti- 

 fully wreathed and speckled with van- 

 dyke brown. 



May 18, I crossed the creek which 

 lies below town and walked up a high 

 ridge to a woods of mixed growth, con- 

 sisting principally of sugar maples, 

 white ashes, American lindens, yel- 

 low locusts, slippery elms, American 

 beeches and red and white oaks. Two 

 male ceruleatis were singing as I ap- 

 proached the place, but a tiring 

 search revealed no nests. Upon going 

 farther out the ridge I detected a 

 male singing and was so fortunate as 

 to see the female as she gleaned in- 

 sects or larvae from the foliage of a 

 red oak. By keeping a careful watch 

 I was enabled to follow her to the 

 nest. It was built in a horizontal 

 sugar maple branch and was hidden 

 in a cluster of leaves. By climbing 

 a: red oak tree I was close enough to 

 the nest to see that it held two eggs. 

 Two days later I returned to the nest 

 nnd found the female sitting upon 



four eggs. These were quite faintly 

 marked specimens in comparison tc 

 a number of others which I examined. 

 The nest was built 25 feet abov^. the 

 ground, was composed of fine bark 

 sirips and fine dry grass, and was dec- 

 crated with light colored weed strips, 

 spider cocoons, and pieces of white 

 rotten wood. 



May 22, I went to search for Ceru- 

 lean's nests in an extensive woods of 

 oaks which partly lies in deep ravine 

 and extends over a neighboring ridge 

 and down its farther side. Several 

 iiiales were singing as I entered the 

 woods, but it was some time b^^Jore a 

 female could be found. Finally, as I 

 passed along a path near the entrance 

 to the ravine, I saw a female feedin?,' 

 in some low branches of a hickory. I 

 watched this bird a while and soon 

 fche evaded me, flitting away through 

 Ihe higher foliage. Upon crossing the 

 l.ill I heard several males singing 

 from the tops of some giant oaks, but 

 they were so far away fhctt ,,ro+^v •., .. 

 them was impossible. Late in the af- 

 ternoon, as I passed the upper border 

 of an arm of the woods, I heard a 



