58 PROTHONOTARY WARBLER 



and a ringing penetrating quality becomes apparent in the Warbler's 

 song. It now sounds like peet, tsweet, tsweet, tsweet, or sometimes 

 tweet, tr-szveet, tr-sweet, tr-sweet. When the bird sings within a few 

 yards the sound is almost startling in its intensity, and the listener 

 feels inclined to stop his ears. The male is a fitful singer, and is 

 quite as apt to be heard in the hot noontide or on cloudy days, when 

 other birds are silent, as during the cool morning and evening hours. 

 The ordinary note of alarm or distress is a sharp one, so nearly like 

 that of the Large-billed Water-Thrush (Seiurus motacilla) that the 

 slight difference can only be detected by a critical ear. When the 

 sexes meet a soft tchip of recognition common to nearly all the War- 

 blers is used. In addition to the song above described the male has 

 a different and far sweeter one, which is reserved for select occasions, 

 an outpouring of the bird's most tender feelings, intended for the 

 ears of his mate alone, like the rare evening warble of the Oven-bird 

 {Seiurus aurocapillns) . It is apparently uttered only while on the 

 wing. Although so low and feeble as to be inaudible many rods 

 away, it is very sweet, resembling somewhat the song of the Canary 

 given in an undertone, with trills or 'water notes' interspersed. The 

 flight during its delivery is very different from that at all other times. 

 The bird progresses slowly, with a trembling, fluttering motion, its 

 head raised and tail expanded. This song was heard most frequently 

 after incubation had begun." {Brewster^.) 



Nesting Site. — Brewster^ writes that to give an account of all 

 the situations in which he has found nests of this species "would 

 entail a description of nearly every conceivable kind of hole or cavity 

 that can be found in tree-trunks. The typical nesting-site, however, 

 was the deserted hole of the Downy Woodpecker or Carolina Chickadee. 

 The height varied from two to fifteen feet, though the usual eleva- 

 tion was about four.'' Barnes's^ observations agree with Brewster's 

 but he adds that, rarely, nests are found as high as twenty-five feet. 

 Both writers state that the height of the nest and its distance from the 

 water depend upon the fall in the water after the site has been 

 selected. 



A wide, and apparently not infrequent departure from the type 

 of nesting-site just described is the vicinity of houses (Ganier^) and, 

 in one instance, a railroad bri.ige (Roberts^) when, bluebird-like, the 

 bird accepts nest-boxes or similar situations. 



Nest. — The nest is constructed by the female. The male accom- 

 panies her on her search for material and rarely brings a small bill 



