BULLETIN 



OF THE 



Michigan Ornithological Club 



PaBLisHED Quarterly in the Interests of" Ornithology 



IN THE Great Ijake Recjion. 



Vol.. V. JUNE, 1904. No. 2. 



SOME NOTES ON THE LIFE HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN 



REDSTART. 



J. CLAIRE WOOD. 



Here in the County of Wayne, the Redstart {Sctophaga ruticilla) is sur- 

 passed in abundance only by the Yellow Warbler {Dendroica oestiva) , and as 

 it is a common species throughout the eastern United States and well 

 * known to every bird student, I will not dwell upon the much written subject 

 of its general characteristics and song but limit myself to some personal 

 observations regarding its nesting habits. Exclusive of the present season I 

 have found 143 nests containing eggs (nothing said of young) and have 

 examined as many more found by other members of our field party, and 



upon this data the following is based : 



The typical nesting site is about seven feet above the ground in the 



main upright fork of a sapling amid the dense second growth in the heart 



of a large woods. It is also commonly placed in the crotch formed by a 



limb branching from the main trunk. Not more than a dozen were upon 



horizontal forks and I recollect only two cases of nests being saddled to 



a limb without other support. The most remarkable situation was in a 



grape vine. This vine reached downward about ten feet from the first limb 



of a large oak and thence upward to within a foot of the starting point, 



forming a swing, and at the bottom of this loop the nest was placed. It 



was a windy day and the nest swung over a space of five feet, but madam 



clung to her treasure perfectly unconcerned. Another nest, worthy of 



mention, was placed within an old one of the Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo 



olivaceus), and yet another was partly sunken into the ground at the base 



of a gooseberry bush, between two logs. The other extreme was fully 70 



feet up a great oak, but only five per cent, of all the nests were more than 



30 feet above the ground. Many were found along the forest margin, but 



none in the open bush land 300 yards beyond. The average nest is three 



inches in exterior depth, but where the crotch is narrow the birds continue 



to build until a sufficient height is reached to give a satisfactory width, and 



