94 LIFE-HISTORIES OF BIRDS 



externally, and internally, of soft, decayed leaves 

 and dry grasses, and lined with a thin layer of 

 black hair." Mr. Burroughs speaks of a nest 

 which he discovered as being "placed upon the 

 ground at the foot of a stump, and in such a posi- 

 tion that the color of the young harmonized per- 

 fectly with the bits of bark, sticks, etc., lying 

 about." 



The parents are both affectionate and consider- 

 ate toward their young, and manifest no uneasiness 

 in the presence of strangers. 



•The eggs vary in configuration from a rounded 

 to an oblong-oval. Their ground-color is a creamy- 

 white with an apparently pinkish tinge, which is 

 imparted thereto by the bright red dots and 

 blotches which are scattered more or less pro- 

 fusely over their surfaces. In size they vary from 

 .70 to .75 in length and from .50 to .52 of an inch 

 in breadth. 



Parula Americana, Bonap. 



The Blue Yellow-backed Warbler is one of the 

 most attractive of its family. It arrives, in Phila- 

 delphia during the first week in May, and by the 

 28th of the same month, it has retired to its more 

 northern breeding-quarters. 



During its early stay, it is a frequenter of 

 high, open woods, bordering swampy grounds, 

 wherfe amid the blossoms and foliage of the tallest 

 trees it delights to forage. A true Warbler in 

 most of its attributes, it possesses many of the 



