Nests and Eggs of Helminthophaga pinus. — Mr. S. N. Eoads, of 

 West Chester, Pa., writes respecting two nests of this bird, the iiidifica- 

 tion of which is as yet none too well known. On the 12th of June, 1878, 

 he found a pair of these Warblers showing unmistakable signs of having 

 a nest, which latter he soon discovered, as he saw the male fly to it with 

 a worm in his bill. It was built in the midst of a clump of tall swamp- 

 grass, on the outskirts of a forest where there was a good deal of weedy 

 undergrowth not over two feet high. The nest rested slightly on the 

 ground, and was quite bulky for the size of the bird ; the cavity was 

 nearly three inches deep by two inches in width. The structure was com- 

 posed externally of beech and oak leaves of the preceding year, which 

 " seemed to have been carelessly strewn and stuck in as if to form a barri- 

 cade around the brim." The lining consisted of fine strips of grape-vine 

 and inner bark of the oak, together with some straws. This nest contained 

 four young birds about two days old. 



Mr. Roads shortly afterward procured two eggs from another nest which 

 he found about a quarter of a mile from the same spot. These were pure 

 white, dotted with red at the greater end, and were of just the size of 

 those of Chnjsomitris tristis, but less pointed. He also examined another 

 set of eggs procured by a friend in the same vicinity. — Elliott Coues, 

 Washirigton, D. 0. 



BaU.N.O.C. 3,0ct..l878. p. /f^- 



Nesting of the Blue-winged Yellow 

 Warbler in Chester County, Pa. 



The record of nests of this rare Warbler 

 that have been found in Cliester County is as 

 follows: 



Mr. Thomas H. Jackson has found three 

 nests, one of which contained five eggs, the 

 other two contained young birds. 



Mr. Samuel B. Ladd has two sets of eggs in 

 his collection, consisting of four and five eggs 

 respectively, which were taken by Mr. Wm. 

 Hall, near the Westtown school, this county. 



Mr. Ladd found two nests himself this year, 

 one of which contained three young Warblers, 

 one Warbler's egg (which was nearly hatched) 

 and one young Cowbird. The other nest was 

 found June 16, and contained three eggs of 

 the Warbler and one of the Cowbird. Both 

 these nests were placed on the ground at the 

 foot of a bush, in a clearing. 



On May 29, 1889, I had the good fortune to 

 find a nest of this Warbler. 



I was looking through a good-sized and (in 

 places) swampy woods, where two years be- 

 fore I had found a nest of the Maryland 

 Yellow Throat (Geothlypis trichas) and which 

 is a favorite nesting place for the Acadian 

 Flycatcher (Empidonax acadicus) three or four 

 pairs of which breed there every yeai\ 



I had been there for some time and not 

 found anything at all, when suddenly a 

 small bird, which I did not at first recognize, 

 got up about two or three feet off from me. 

 Putting my collecting box on the ground I got 

 down on my hands and knees and began to look 

 around carefully, tearing up the weeds, ferns, 



Z2- 



)LOGIST 



[Yol. 14-No. 9 



etc., for I had no desire to repeat an experi- 

 ence I had last year with a Golden-crowned 

 Thrush's nest, which I stepped on and broke 

 jthe eggs. 



For quite a long time I was unable to find 

 any nest, having in the meanwhile made a 

 bare spot of about fifteen feet square. 



By this time I was beginning to get dis- 

 couraged, and I walked back to where I had 

 left my box. As I stooped down to pick it 

 up I saw it was almost resting against a 

 nest, which contained five eggs, and which I 

 at once recognized as belonging to the Blue- 

 winged Yellow Warbler (UelminthopMla 

 pinus). 



The nest is a beautiful structure. It is 

 quite large, and is composed of leaves, grape- 

 vine bark, and a few pieces of straw, and is 

 lined with fine grass and horse-hair. It was 

 placed on the ground between the forks of a 

 small bush, on a piece of level ground about 

 thirty-five yards from a stream of water, and 

 at the bottom of a slight hillside in a rather 

 open spot in the woods, not more than one 

 hundred and fifty yards from a road. 



While I was looking for the nest the female 

 was joined by the male, and they both tlew 

 from branch to branch of the neighboring 

 trees (usually at a considerable distance from 

 the ground) uttering notes of distress. There 

 can be no question as to the identification as 

 I saw both birds plainly. On blowing the 

 eggs I found that they contained small 

 embryos. J. P. Wnrr^o r.. 



O &0. XIV 



