Feb., 1886.] elliott society. 113 



way Ms paradise can be easily invaded, and tlien there is no danger of encount- 

 ering the deadly water mocassin. 



During incubation and while rearing their young these Warblers are emi- 

 nently gregarious, all raising their respective families together in ])erfect har- 

 mony. During this period they appear to confine themselves almost exclusive- 

 ly to the trees that grow in the water, for all those I have shot then have fallen 

 in the water. Afterwards they wander away a little from the swampy growths, 

 and I have shot them then on oaks gromng on the high land and even on the 

 ground. They are arboreal birds, however, and it is seldom that I have en- 

 countered them otherwise. They do not confine themselves to a particular size of 

 growth like certain other warblers which are never seen except on low buslies, 

 for I have observed them on the top branches of the giants of the forest, on 

 small, thick bushes, and even on logs floating in the water. 



The Prothonotary Warbler lays its eggs usually in a hole in a tree, noc unfre- 

 quently in an excavation previously made by a woodpecker. The number of 

 its eggs is from four to five. They are quite round and boldly blotched with 

 dark brown and red — the shell markings being of a neutral tint upon a whit- 

 ish ground. They raise two broods during the season, and, if their eggs are 

 removed, they will lay as often as five times. I have known one pair to do this, 

 and ever}^ time in the same hole. 



The characters of this charming little bird are so well known that it is almost 

 unnecessary to describe them again. The male is of a rich jessamine yellow 

 with bluish wings, and the tail feathers blotched with white. The female is 

 very similar, although a little less brilliant in color. Some males approach a 

 shade of orange, and, singular to say, the fall plumage is brighter than the 

 spring. 



The word Prothonotary signifies a Scribe, a Notary, a Judge. The applica- 

 tion is quite appropriate, for members of those professions in days long past 

 wore as their ofiicial robes long yellow mantles, and the colors of the bird re- 

 minded those who first described it of the colors of those garments. This 

 Warbler arrives among us in April, as early as the middle, and leaves again, to 

 winter in the far South, in September. 



A letter of resignation from Gen. Del. Kemper was read and ac- 

 cepted. 



Mr. Mazyck exhibited specimens of Selenites Duranti, Newc. 

 and S. caelata, Mazyck, and read the following description of the 

 latter species : 



VOL. n. 15 Published Dec, 1886. 



