HERMIT WARBLER 169 



Nesting Site. — Three nests discovered by Allen and recorded by 

 Brewster' were placed in 'pitch pines', from twenty-five to forty feet 

 above the ground, on thick, scraggy limbs, where it would have been 

 impossible to find them except by watching the birds. Beck' found 

 a nest in Eldorado County, California, forty feet from the ground in 

 a slender pine at the end of the limb, and Barlow* records a nest found 

 by Carriger at Fyffe, California, only two-and-a-half feet up in a 

 cedar sapling; and another from the same locality, twelve feet up 

 near the top of a small cedar. Barlow^, however, found a nest forty- 

 five feet up in a yellow pine near the end of the limb. 



Nest. — Brewster* describes a Blue Canon nest as "composed of 

 the fibrous stalks of herbaceous plants, fine dead twigs, lichens (Ever- 

 nia vulpina), and a little cotton twine, and is lined with the soft inner 

 bark of some coniferous tree and fine long hairs apparently from the 

 tail of a squirrel. The bright, yellow Evernia, sprinkled rather plenti- 

 fully about the rim, gives a touch of color to the otherwise cold gray 

 tone of the exterior and contrasts agreeably with the warm, reddish 

 brown lining. Although the materials are coarse, and wadded, rather 

 than woven, together, the general effect of the nest is neat and tasteful. 

 It does not resemble any other Warbler's nest that I have seen, but 

 rather recalls the nest of some Fringilline bird, being perhaps, most 

 like that of the Lark Finch. It measures externally 4.50 inches in 

 width by 2 inches in depth. The cavity is 1.25 inches deep by 2.50 

 inches wide at the top. The walls at the rim average nearly an inch 

 in thickness." Barlow* describes his nest as "very prettily constructed, 

 the bottom layer being of light grayish weed-stems, bleached pine 

 needles, and other light materials held securely together by cobwebs 

 and woolly substances. The nest cavity is lined with strips of red 

 cedar bark (Libocedrus) and the ends, instead of being woven 

 smoothly, project out of the nest. The inner lining is of a fine 

 brownish fiber resembling shreds of soap-root." 



Eggs. — Barlow* describes a set of 4 eggs as spotted, chiefly in 

 wreaths at the large end, with varying shades of lilac, brown and 

 chestnut. They measure, .66X.52, .68X.53, .67X.53 and .67X.53. 



Nesting Dates. — Blue Cation, Calif., June 2, two eggs (Brewster) ; 

 Eldorado Co., Calif, June 10 (Beck) ; Fyflfe, Calif., June 8, four eggs 

 badly incubated (Barlow) ; Tacoma, Wash., June 11, 1905 — only nest 

 found, rather rare and very local. June 21 female seen feeding young 

 recently from nest (Bowles). 



Biographical References 



(i) L. Belding, a Partial List of the Birds of Central California, Proc. 



