274 BIEDS — SYLVICOLID^. 



Rare summer resident ; in particular localities only. Breeds. Audu- 

 bon notes it as occurring ia Southwestern Ohio. Dr. Kirtiand (1. c, 

 quoted on page 193) mentions its breeding in the Ticinity of Cleveland. 

 Mr. Langdon gives it as a rather common summer resident in the vicin- 

 ity of Cincinnati, frequenting upland thickets from May to September. 

 I have never met with it in this vicinity. 



Mr. Ridgway (1. c.) says: 



" It is a very common summer bird in Southern Illinois, where it arrives in the Wabash 

 Valley Towards the last of April. It is a wood-loving species of terrestrial habits, like 

 thtt Seiuriis aiirompnius, but generally frequents rather different situations from the latter 

 biid, liking better the undergrowlh of 'bottom' woods than that of dry forests. In all 

 its Luanuers it closely resemljles the Seiiiri, especially the two aquatic species, ludovicianus 

 and noveboracensis, having the same tilting motion of the body, and horizontal attitude 

 when perching, so characteristic of these birds. 



"The usual note of this warbler is a sharp tship, almost precisely like that of the 

 Pewee, uttered as the bird perches on a twig near the ground, continually tilting its 

 body, or ia changed into a sharp rapid twitter as one chuses another through the thicket. 

 Their soug is very pretty, consisting of a line whistle, delivered very much in the style 

 of the Oardiuiil Grosback, though much tiner in tone, and weaker." 



Mr Langdon (1. c. Bull.) gives the following interesting account of its 



nesting: 



"Although the Kentucky Warbler has long been a well-known summer resident of 

 Southwestern Ohio, its nest and eggs have hitherto eluded the vigilant search of our 

 local oraiihologists, and have, in consequence, been classed among their especial desfd- 

 erata. As the nesting habits of this species have been recorded in hut a few instances, 

 and only once in Ohio (Kirtiand, 1. c.,), a notice of a nest and eggs recently taken near 

 Miidisouville may be of interest to the readers of the Bulletin. 



"The locality chosen for this nest was a gentle slope, well wooded and covered with 

 niidergrowth, situated within a short distance of a small woodland stream on the border 

 of an open glade. The nest, which was placed on the ground at the root of a small elm 

 sapling, was concealed by a sparce growth of weeds, and consisted of two distinct por- 

 tions. The foundation was a saucer-shaped mass of beech and maple leaves loosely in- 

 terwoven with a few weed stems, and retained its shape sufficiently well to permit 

 careful handling without injury; surmounting this basal portion was the nest proper, a 

 rather bulky and inelegant structure, elliptical in shape, composed of dark-brown root- 

 lets and weed stems, with which were interwoven >. few dried leaves. There was also 

 a trace of an effort at horsehair lining, a half-dozen hairs perhaps being disposed around 

 its interior. Its measurements are as follows: Internal long diameter, 2i inches; in- 

 ternal short diameter, 2 inches ; depth ol cavity, IJ inches ; average thickness of nest 

 proper, about finch; ditto of foundation, about 1 inch. The eggs, which are four in 

 number (exclusive of the Cowbird's egg which accompanies them), are oblong-oval in 

 shape, spotted and speckled everywhere with reddish-brown and lilac on a glossy -v^hite 

 ground, the markings on two specimens being massed, at the larger end, while those on 

 the other two form a distinct 'wreath' around the rather blunt apex. They were far 

 advanced in incubation (May 28), and measure, respectively, .72 by .54, .73 by .56, .75 



