Breeding of Lawrence Warbler in New York City. — It is with 

 pleasure that I am able to place on record some notes of the breeding of 

 Lawrence Warbler [Hebninthofhila laivrencei). This is, I believe, the 

 twelfth individual of this species to be recorded, and the first instance of 

 its breeding, the other eleven birds being migrants. 



The discovery of the nest was first made by Dr. Wiegmann early in 

 June of the present year, and many of the following notes are from his 

 observations. 



Occurrence. — On May 15, 1903, Dr. Wiegmann observed a Lawrence 

 Warbler in the New York Zoological Park, and on June 6 of last year I 

 made a note of this species in my journal, but the glimpse I had of the 

 bird was so brief that I then recorded the identification as not sufficiently 

 certain for publication. The bird was first observed in the Park on May 

 18 of this year, and almost every day thereafter until June 16. 



Plumage. — The individual Lawrence Warbler under consideration was 

 exactly like the type specimen of Herrick as described in Ridgway's 

 'Birds of North and Middle America' (U. S. Nat. Mus. Bull. No. 50, 

 Part II, p. 452) except that the gular patch of black extended over the 

 ■entire chin. The bird was in finest plumage, the markings of the throat 

 and lores being jet black. The wing bars were white with just a tinge of 

 yellow when seen in a favorable light at short range. 



Habitat.— The bird's breeding place in the Zoological Park was in an 

 open hardwood growth, near one of the Society's buildings, hardly a 

 stone's throw from the Bird House. 



Song.— This resembled very closely the dreamy zree-e-e, zwee-e-e-e of 

 the Blue-winged Warbler (//. p-nus). An acute ear, however, could 

 detect that the first phrase was a typical chrysoptera syllable, while the 

 second was a perfect pinus syllable, thus; shree-e-e, zivee-e-e-e, the first 

 syllable penetrating and somewhat harsh, the second long-drawn, dreamy 

 and wheezy. 



Habits.— Yevy similar to pinus. The male Lawrence Warbler was 

 mated with a typical female Blue-winged Warbler. The nest was placed 

 on the ground among a thick layer of dead leaves, and was arched over 

 and almost concealed from view by sweet-brier vines. It was a well-made 

 cup of dried leaves lined with strips of cedar bark. On June 13 there 

 were six vigorous young birds in the nest, all in the typical nestling 

 plumage of H. pinus, showing no traces of the black markings of //. 

 laivrencei. Within five minutes after our arrival, both parents appeared, 

 carrying mouthfuls of green cut-worms. The birds were very tame, 

 allowing us to approach within eight feet without showing fear. At 

 other times the birds were within a yard of the observer. Both parents 

 kept up the sharp chips of warning to the young. The young birds left 

 the nest in safety on June 16, and though search has been since made, 

 they have not again been observed. 



It is hoped that this interesting and rare species, whether it be a hybrid 

 or, as I half suspect, a species in the process of making, will make the 

 Zoological Park its home for a third year. It has seemed to us that when 

 the identification is as certain as in this instance, the interests of science 

 may best be served by permitting the bird to breed unmolested, rather 

 than by simply adding a twelfth skin to our collections, and by so doing, 

 put an end to all hope of future observations of the bird or its offspring. 

 I wish that ornithologists would do likewise more often in the case of 

 extra-limital records of species where the identification of the living bird 

 is certain.— C. William Bbebe, Curator of Orniiholosv, J^e-w York 

 Zoological Park. ^ uly . 1904, ]:■ J 9 ?- 3 S 



