320 THE BAY-BREASTED WARBLER. 



curves of its more prolonged flight, as also in structure, it 

 is a genuine Wood Warbler, and keeps for the most part to 

 what Thoreau calls "the upper story" of its sylvan domain. 

 Its song, which is frequent, and can be heard for some dis- 

 tance, may be imitated by the syllables, rheet, rheet, rheet, 

 rheet, ridi, idi-e-e-e-ee, beginning with several soft warbling 

 notes, and ending in a rather prolonged but quite musical 

 squeak. The latter and more rapid part of the strain, 

 which is given in the upward slide, approaches an insect 

 quality of tone, which is more or less common to all Blue 

 Warblers. 



This song is so common here as to be a universal character- 

 istic of our tall forests. The bird is shy when startled from its 

 nest, and has the sharp, chipping alarm note of the family. 

 The nest is saddled on a horizontal limb of considerable 

 size, some distance from the tree, and some forty or fifty 

 feet from the ground. Small and very neatly and com- 

 pactly built, somewhat after the style of the Redstart, it 

 consists outwardly of fine dried grasses, bits of wasp's-nest, 

 gray lichen, and more especially of old and weathered 

 wood-fibers, making it look quite gray and waspy. The 

 -lining is of fine dried grasses, or of fine shreds of the wild 

 grape-vine, thus giving the inside a rich brown appearance 

 in contrast with the gray exterior. The eggs, 4 or 5, some 

 .BOX-'i'?, are grayish or greenish-white, pretty well spotted 

 or specked, or even blotched, especially about the large 

 end, with brown and deep lilac. They do not possess that 

 delicate appearance common to the eggs of most of the 

 Warblers. 



THE BAY-BREASTED WARBLER. 



In a small ash tree, a little out from the woods and alone 

 in the field, I spy a Warbler somewhat larger than most of 

 the family, and rather slow in its movements. Shooting it. 



