Widmann — A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 215 



breeder in Reynolds Co, in 1892, and Mr. E. S. Woodruff found 

 it common in Shannon Co., and met with it in Carter Co., May 

 30, 1907. It begins to arrive on its breeding ground April 20, 

 and full numbers are present the first of May. It leaves us early 

 in September, the latest record for St. Louis, September 20, 

 1890. 



*640. Helminthophila bachmanii Aud. Bachman's Warbler. 



Sylvia bachmani. Helinaia bachmanii. Helminthophaga backmani. 



Geog. Dist. — Southern United States; on the Atlantic coast 

 to Virginia; in the Mississippi Valley to southeastern Missouri, 

 Kentucky, northeastern Arkansas ; formerly to southern Indiana. 

 To Bahamas in migration. Winters in Cuba. 



In Missouri found to be a fairly common summer resident 

 on the islands in the St. Francis basin, where nests with eggs 

 were found on Culp Island, May 17, 1897, and May 14, 1898. 

 The occurrence of the species in Missouri was discovered May 7, 

 1896, and reported in Auk, vol. 13, p. 264. The discovery of 

 the first nest ever found was described in an article titled: 

 "The Summer Home of the Bachman's Warbler no longer un- 

 known," by O. Widmann, Auk, vol. 14, 1897, pages 305-310. 

 Nest and eggs (3) were presented to the Bendire Collection of 

 Eggs in the National Museum at Washington. The finding of 

 a second nest with three eggs on the same island was announced 

 in Osprey, vol. 3, page 13 ; it is in the Parker Norris collection 

 at Philadelphia. The species arrives on its breeding grounds 

 about the middle of April; males in full song were present April 

 17, 1898, in Dunklin Co. The range in Missouri has been ex- 

 tended since the above was written by Mr. E. Seymour Wood- 

 ruff's capture of a male on May 2, 1907, near Ink, Shannon Co., 

 in some low bushes in the dry bed (its normal state) of Spring 

 Valley and again by his finding a Bachman's Warbler near 

 Grandin, Carter Co., May 23, 1907. Of this he kindly wrote 

 me the following: "This time it was in what I consider a more 

 suitable location — a dense tangle near the bank of a stream. 

 I heard a song which I recognized at once as a Bachman's 

 though I only had heard it that once up in Shannon Co. It 

 took me some little time before I could lay my eyes on him, 

 for he was fearfully shy and moved about rapidly. I did not 

 attempt to secure him to confirm identification until I had spent 

 over two hours there in hopes that I might find the nest, but 



