The Wilson Warblers 



tsew tsew tsee tsee tsee whhhack- 

 ity, — the last note, somewhat 

 whimsically represented here, 

 being an intense guttural trill 

 very difficult to characterize. 

 In the Monterey section 

 this bird nests abundantly 

 throughout the brush-cov- 

 ered areas tributary to 

 streams; and it is especially 

 partial to the shelter of black- 

 berry vines. Mr. O. P. Silli- 

 man, of Salinas, who prob- 

 ably has had more experience 

 with the Golden Pileolated 

 Warbler than any other liv- 

 ing collector, tells me that as 

 a lad he has taken as many 

 as ten sets in a single morn- 

 ing "on the way to school" 

 near the Pajaro River. He 

 found them nesting in late or 

 middle April, and again in later May. A nest before me from this section 

 is made of materials culled from river drift, — dirt-incrusted twigs, root- 

 lets, and macerated bark, together with the wastage of trees, — leaf skeletons, 

 catkins, and the like. The lining is of fine rootlets, skeletonized leaves, 

 and a few strands of horsehair. This structure represents an enormous 

 amount of labor; but it is quite outdone by an exquisite moss-ball from 

 Humboldt County, which was collected by John M. Davis, of Eureka. 

 This was placed two feet high in a cluster of ferns, and consists of little 

 else than most exquisitely compacted moss, with walls over an inch in 

 thickness. I cut through one side of this nest with a razor, intending 

 to count its component strands, but I was appalled by the task presented 

 and promptly sewed it up again. This birdie assuredly has more time 

 than a busy bird-man. And it is a satisfaction to know that when one 

 home is requisitioned in the name of science, another as exquisite is pre- 

 pared within a week or ten days. 



Such birds as are impelled to nest along the willow-lined streams 

 of the San Diegan district appear to adjourn to the higher levels for the 

 summer session. Whether, indeed, any pair of birds of any species does 

 nest twice in the same season at different levels, is an open question. All 



Taken in Mono County Photo by the Author 



A GLIMPSE OF A GOLDEN WARBLER 



517 



