44 



THE BAY STATE OOLOGIST. 



Nesting of the Nashville Warbler in Fulton County, III, 



BY PHILO W. SMITH, JR., GREENVILLE, ILL. 



This beautiful little warbler is among our early summer arrivals, though no- 

 where over abundant ; still, a number remain here to breed. My first acquaintance 

 with it was in the Spring of 1879. It was a lovely day, the 12th of May, when 

 Prof. John Wolfe (State Botanist) and myself started out from the town of Can- 

 ton on a day's hunt after rare plants and eggs. 



We had proceeded about two miles in a south-westerly dire M;ion, when we came 

 to a large clearing (on a hillside in the timber) covered with hazel bushes. 



As there were a great many Chats about, we began to look for their nests, and 

 were meeting with very good success, having secured about twenty fine sets, when 

 the Professor flushed a small bird from the foot of a hazel bush a few feet in front 

 of us. It uttered a few quick notes and hopped about, showing by its uneasiness 

 that its nest was not lar off. While it was going through its performance, we had 

 plenty of time to thoroughly identify it, and my friend at once pronounced it to 

 be a Nashville Warbler (Helminthopaga ruficapilla). 



We retreated a short distance and on coming back saw her (as 1 afterwards 

 proved it was a female) on the nest. That is ; we saw a very small part of her, as 

 the nest was so deep that only the tip of her tail and her bill were visible. On ap- 

 proaching, she left the nest and disappeared and was not seen again by us. The 

 male never once showed himself all the time we were thus engaged. 



The nest was placed in a hollow at the foot of a hazel bush, nearly covered over 

 with dead grass and leaves, and was composed of grass, weeds, rootlets and shreds 

 of bark from the grape-vine; lined with fine grass and horse hair ; the whole being 

 placed on a thick bed of leaves. The nest was deep and cup-shaped, resembling that 

 of the Maryland Yellow-throat although a trifle larger and more frail in construction. 



The eggs were fresh — six in number — about the size of House Wren's. Before 

 blowing the eggs, the ground color had a pinkish tint which faded away into cream 

 after blowing. They were sprinkled sparingly over the entire surface with minute 

 reddish and purplish specks, although larger and more numerous at the larger end. 



We secured four sets the same day. Up to the present date, I have secured 

 twenty sets of eggs of this Warbler, and find the nests and location to be about the 

 same as the one described. The average number of eggs in a set is 5 ; sometimes 

 4 and even 6 eggs are laid. I am convinced that but one brood is raised in a season 



