136 SUMMER HOME OF DENDRGCA C@RULESCENS. 
THE SUMMER HOME OF DENDRG@CA CdERU- 
LESCENS. 
BY JOHN S. CAIRNS, WEAVERVILLE, N. C. 
HicH up on the heavily timbered mountain ranges of 
Western North Carolina is the summer home of the Black- 
throated Blue Warbler. Here, in precipitous ravines, 
amid tangled vines and moss-covered logs, where the sun’s. 
rays never penetrate the rank vegetation and the air is. 
always cool, dwells the happy little creature, filling the woods. 
from dawn to twilight with its song, and always busy search- 
ing the foliage for insects. ‘The female, though less gayly 
dressed, is the more interesting of the two. Well does she 
understand the art of building a beautiful specimen of bird- 
architecture. Nesting begins early in May and continues 
until the end of June. The nests are placed in various 
shrubs, such as laurel, wild gooseberry, and chestnut, but the 
blue cohosh or papoose-root (Caulophyllum thalictroides). 
seems to be the favorite. These thick weeds grow rapidly toa. 
height of from three to five feet, entirely hiding the ground, 
and thus afford the birds considerable protection. 
The nests show little variation in their construction, 
though some are more substantially built than others. 
Exteriorly they are composed of rhododendron or grape-vine 
bark, interwoven with birch-bark, moss, spider-webs, and 
occasionally bits of rotten wood. The interior is neatly 
lined with hair-like moss, resembling fine black roots, mixed 
with a few sprays of bright red moss, forming a strikingly 
beautiful contrast to the pearly eggs. The female gathers 
all the materials, and builds rapidly, usually completing a 
v 
