149
Lake Umbagog.
Staples Place, near Great Island
1897.
June 14
(No.4)
  Watrous had previously found two Warblers' nests in a
grove of large hemlocks close to the shore near the "Gut." 
One proved to be an old nest but the other was
a Yellow-rump's with four eggs rather far advanced in
incubation. This nest was in a hemlock on a stout
horizontal branch about 5 ft. from its extremity, 10 ft. from
the main trunk, 35 ft. above the ground, and the same
distance from the top of the tree.
[margin]Nest of
Yellow rump
Warbler[/margin]
  The [female] Yellow-rump was sitting and for some time she
absolutely refused to leave her eggs. Watrous first shook the 
branch and then with a long stick poked and struck
smoothing the twigs within an inch or two of her head. At
length she hopped out of the nest and stood for a minute
or more on its rim looking about her. Then she fluttered
down towards the ground with quivering wings and wide spread
tail moving slowly and alighting several times on a branch
or cluster of twigs where she would lie prostrate for a moment
beating her wings feebly and simulating the movements of
a wounded or otherwise disabled bird. In short she behaved
precisely as one of the ground-nesting birds (Seiurus for
example) will do under similar circumstances. Watrous
secured this nest & set in the same manner as that
by which he took the Bay-breasts earlier in the day.
The nest was lined with feathers as usual but beneath
it looked so nearly like a Bay-breast's that we were
all deceived. Indeed we could distinguish no differences
whatever the general effect being previously the same.
  Gilbert on the 12th had found a nest of D. caerulescens, 
finished but empty, in these woods. It had two eggs today.
I attempted to reach it but my sprained foot gave me so much
[margin]Nest of
D. caerulescens[/margin]