224 



OVEN-BIRD 



chock used as a song-note. The fourth kind of abnormal song was in 

 some ways the most remarkable of all, inasmuch as it contained hardly 

 a suggestion of any Oven-bird notes, and was quite unrecognizable. 

 Nothing short of watching the bird sing, at close range, and on various 

 perches, could have convinced me of the song's true authorship. 

 Fortunately, I had just these essential opportunities. There, on low 

 branches, walked and sat the little orange-crowned rascal, singing, 

 over and over again, a fluid, warbling song, rich-toned and sweet, 

 though not very loud, and lasting only about five seconds. It suggested 

 a Fox Sparrow singing somewhat in undertone, or a Purple Finch 

 heard at a little distance. But, taken all together, these queer perch- 

 sung performances are but rare breaks in the abundant monotony of 

 the Oven-bird's regular singing. Each of those I have described is as 

 yet unique of its kind, in my experience" {Thayer, MS.) 

 Miss Paddock sends the following notation and writes: 

 "The words usually given for this song, teacher teacher, seem to 

 me to be begun with the second syllable thus: cher-tea cher-tea 

 cher-tea." 



pe-chee pe-chee pe-chee pe-chee. 



"Toward the end of June the song of this bird, which has been 

 so constantly accentuated through our woodlands for two months, be- 

 comes less frequent, and though heard into July, comparatively few 

 individuals sing through the month. In some seasons I have missed it 

 after the first week. * * * j^iy 23 is my latest date. 



"The second song-period occurs in August, and is transient and 

 irregular; with varying seasons shifting a little to either side of the 

 middle of the month" (Bicknell.) 



Nesting Site. — Norris^ records a nest of the Oven-bird found at 

 Weaverville, N. C, in the "end of a large pine log," but with this 

 exception I know of no instance of the Oven-bird's departing from its 

 habit of building on the ground. The site selected may be at the 

 foot of a bush or tree or simply among dead leaves in more open spaces. 



"The wooded upland, hillside or lowland are all alike to this bird. 

 The nest is placed at the foot of a small bush or sprout of the huckle- 

 berry, laurel, dog^vood, chestnut, sassafras, blackberry, or beside some 

 debris. I can discover no particular significance in the position of the 

 entrance in relation to exposure." (Burns, MS.) 



