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The Breeding of Brewster's Warbler near Boston. — On May 19, 1907, in 

 the Arnold Arboretum, near Boston, Mass., I heard a bird song which I 

 supposed at first was that of a Golden-winged Warbler. Upon investiga- 

 tion, I found the bird on a low birch tree, feeding and singing by turns. 

 To my surprise, though, it had the broad yellow wing-bars, bluish gray 

 back, and yellow crown which I had expected to see, there was only a 

 narrow black line through the eye, and an entire absence of black on the 

 cheeks and throat, the entire under parts being silky pearl-white. Though 

 I was entirely unfamihar with Brewster's Warbler in life, I had seen stuffed 

 specimens and had read with much interest the latter-day discussions of 

 its relation to Golden-winged and Blue-winged Warblers. A few days 

 later I was allowed to see, through the kindness of Mr. Walter Deane, 

 Mr. Brewster's specimens of all three species, Helminthophila pinus, Hel- 

 ■minthopila chrysoptera, and Helminthophila leucobronchialis, among which 

 was the type specimen of leucobronchialis taken by Mr. Brewster in New- 

 tonville, Mass., on May 18, 1870. The resemblance between the type 

 specimen and the bird in the Arboretum, as I remembered it, was absolute, 

 except that there was a very slight wash of yellow on the breast of the 

 type specimen which I had not observed on the living bird. Interest in 

 the Arboretum bird quickly spread and it was soon seen by many other 

 observers, all of whom agreed that it was a Brewster's Warbler; the first 

 record for Massachusetts, I understand, since the taking of the type speci- 

 men thirty-seven years ago. On June 8, a thorough search of the vicinity 

 was made by several of our more expert local ornithologists, and the 

 female, nest, and five eggs were discovered, the nest being located, I believe, 

 by Mr. C. J. Maynard. The nest is on the ground, at the foot of a tiny elm 



tree situated among other low trees and shrubs, and is within six or seven 

 feet of the main driveway through the Arboretum. Across the driveway 

 at this point is a spring and the beginnings of a small brook. In the 

 structure of the nest are interwoven brown leaves with upturned stems, 

 after the fashion of the Blue-winged Warblers as stated in Mr. Chapman's 

 'Handbook of the Birds of Eastern North America.' 



A number of interesting circumstances are to be noted: first, the female 

 has blackish areas on the throat and cheeks, shaped like those on a Golden- 

 wing, but has also a still blacker, narrow fine extending through the eye; 

 second, a pair of Golden-winged Warblers has been known to breed in the 

 Arboretum, in the immediate vicinity of the present nest, for a number 

 of years; third, this year the Golden-wings seem to be absent, 



Of course the most intense interest centers in the expected young, and 

 it is to be fervently hoped that so accident will befall to prevent the suc- 

 cessful hatching of the eggs and rearing of the young birds. — Helen 

 Granger, Cambridge, Mass. Auk, 24, July, 1907, 1' 3'Yi-?>¥/ 



