The Yellow Warblers 



some stout horizontal or 

 ascending fork of bush 

 or tree. As a result the 

 bushes are full of Warb- 

 lers' nests, two or more 

 seasons old. A fleecy 

 lining, or mat, of plant- 

 down is a more or less 

 conspicuous feature of 

 every nest. Upon this 

 as a background, a 

 scanty horsehair lining 

 maj 7 exhibit every one 

 of its strands; or again, 

 as in the case of a nest 

 taken on the Chelan 

 River (in Washington), 

 the eggs themselves may 

 be thrown into high re- 

 lief by a coiled black 

 mattress. In colder sec- 

 tions feathers are em- 

 ployed as an auxiliary 

 lining. I have one 

 taken at Goose Lake 

 after a June snow-storm 

 where white chicken 

 feathers figure 

 prominently. 



The male Yellow is 

 very domestic in his 

 tastes, insomuch that, 

 quite unlike other Warb- 

 lers, he will often ven- 

 ture to sing from the very bush in which his mate is sitting. Unless 

 well accustomed to the presence of humans, the female will not sit patient- 

 ly under the threat of close approach. She slips off quickly, and her 

 vigorous complaints serve to summon her husband, when both flit about 

 close to the intruder, and scold roundly in fierce, accusing notes, which 

 yet have a baby lisp about them. 



Taken in Washington 

 Photo by the Author 



NEST AND EGGS OF CALIFORNIA YELLOW WARBLER 



465 



