64 GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER 



"While the female is incubating the eggs, her mate i 

 about the tips of branches and tops of saplings, searching for 

 all the while singing his little ditty, which is a simple little bit o 

 music hard to put into print. At some distance the song c 

 distinguished by the syllables zee-ze-ze-ze-ze, beginning slowl; 

 proceeding more rapidly and ending in a slightly higher pitch, 

 near the bird this song sounds somewhat different, and is now 

 to imitate in type. The best I can do is to write it zee-u-ee'-zee- 

 zee-u-ee' see-u-zwee' , with the u barely articulated. I have s 

 times heard the song continued to the middle of July, and again o 

 sultry days in August, At this time, however, it is not so s 

 and complete as during the early summer. While emitting this 

 the bird stands quite erect, stretched up to its full height, the 

 extended until the feathers ruffle. The head pointing about 70 d( 

 upward when the first syllable is uttered, is turned farther upw 

 the close of the song. The alarm note of both sexes, when the r 

 young is disturbed, consists of a sharp chip like that of the Ch: 

 Sparrow, but sharper and repeated oftener." (Jacobs.^) 



Nesting Site. — The following quotation from Jacob's^ adn 

 monograph of this species seems to apply to the bird throughc 

 nesting range: "The nest is hardly ever placed away from som 

 stantially supporting stalks of weeds — new or dead — ^briers, 1 

 sprouts, etc., of not sufficient abundance to hinder a good groA 

 grass. One nest was placed above ground, being three inches 

 a clump of iron-weeds in a marshy place.-' 



Nest. — "The domicile is rather compact and neatly cuppe 

 on the whole is very bulky for a bird so small. The base is con 

 of dry oak and beech leaves, and other leaves which dry hard, j 

 and without crumpling ; on top of this heap a more compact str 

 is made, the leaves being placed points downward ; then comes a 1 

 supply of strips of grapevine bark and shreds of inner tree bj 

 placed that the rough ends extend beyond the rim of the ne 

 lining is then put in place consisting of fine grass stems and, it 

 cases, long horse-hairs. A strict lining is not alway put in 

 some birds being content to rest the eggs on the grapevine bai 

 a few intermingling grass stems. Although constructed of 

 materials, the inside of the nest presents a neat appearance, th 

 shreds of bark and grasses crossing diagonally, much rese: 

 basket work. The opening is not straight down, but slightly 

 the jaggy leaf -stems and bark sometimes reaching two or three 

 above the rim of the nest proper. * * * Two days seem 



