Nesting of the Worm-eating Warbler (Hclmitheriis vermivorus) in 

 Virginia.— Although of late years the nest of the Wonn-eating Warbler 

 has been met with sufficiently^ often to dispel the obscurity which previous 

 to 1869 rested upon the breeding habits of this bird, its discovery, espec- 

 ially in localities where it is not known to have been already found, is still 

 a matter of considerable interest. While walking along an unfrequented 

 road through the woods near Cobham, Albemarle County, Virginia, on 

 May 19. 1SS4, my attention was attracted by the notes of a bird evidently 

 in anxiety, and on looking for their source I found that they proceeded 

 from one of these Warblers, which are not very rare in that vicinity in 

 the spring. I remained quite still, and the bird, which came very close 

 to me, finally betrayed the position of its nest by flying towards it. This 

 was situated about fifteen feet from the road ; placed as_ usual on the 

 ground, which was covered with dead leaves. It was embedded in a 

 slight depression, and was partially concealed by a diminutive plant 

 which grew alongside. It was neatly but not elaborately constructed of 

 dry leaves and catkins, and was lined inside with the small, flexible, red- 

 dish brown stalks of a small plant, its dimensions being approximately as 

 follows: external width, si inches; internal width, 2-\ inches; external 

 depth, 3i inches ; internal depth if inches. It contained four freshly laid 

 eggs, the appearance of which corresponded to the descriptions of other 

 observers, their color being white, dotted with spots of various shades of 

 light reddish-brown, running together at the larger end, and intermingled 

 with a few spots of lilac. They measured respectively .66 X .54. -68 X .54- 

 .67 X .54, and .67 X .54 inches. As far as I have ascertained, the nest of 

 this species has not before been definitely reported from any point south 

 of the neighbourhood of Washington.-WiLLiAM C. Rives, Jr., M- D. 

 Newport, R. I. AXlk. 2, Jan. , 1885. ^, 103 - lO'f 



Worm Eating Warbler, {Ildminthotherus ver- 1 

 mworns). June 19tli, while going through a high 

 open part of the wood.s on Wissahickon Creek. I 

 discovered a ne.st of this bird situated on the 

 ground at the foot of a small laurel bush, and 

 mid- way on the side of the hill. The bird sat on 

 the nest until I was within three feel of it, when 

 it fluttered along on the ground just out of my 

 reach. The nest contained two eggs partly in- 

 cubated. It was composed of pine needles, lined 

 with thin narrow strips of grape-vine bark, and 

 was very pretty. There was no attempt what- 

 ever at its concealment, as I had a very good look 

 at the bird there can be no mistake. These hirds 

 can be seen during the coldest day in Winter 

 hopping around the lower limbs of trees, and are 

 not shy, but will allo w of a ^c^ gpP^;'lTan. 1886. p. ^ 



Runt Eggs and Their Cause. 



Eggs of a smaller size than those usually laid 

 by the species in question, are, if the difl'erence 

 is very marked, known as " runts." They usu- 

 ally occur in small numbers and are quite rare. 

 It is seldom that more tliau one runt is found 

 in one set of eggs, though a very notable ex- 

 ception to this rule will be referred to below. 



Their cause seems to be twofold — either they 

 result from exhaustion of the bird from laying 

 an unusually large number of eggs, or thay are 

 the product of young females. 



A set of eggs of Wood Thrush {Hijlooichla 

 mustelina) found near Milton, Mass., on May 

 26, 1883, has two of the eggs much lai^er than 

 usual, measuring 1.13 x .94 and 1.09 x .82, while 

 the other two measure only .87 x .63, and .88 x 

 .63, and are runts of the most pronounced type. 



A set of eggs of Downy Woodpecker {Piciis 

 /riihrsri'iis) collected near Nazareth, Penn., on 

 .June 8, 1882, has Ave eggs, four of which are 

 normal size, while the fifth only inea.-sures .66 x 

 .54. 



The most remarkable runt egg.s, which have 

 ever been found are probably a set of live of 

 the Worm-eating Warbler (Helmintljptherus y^er- 

 'miuoj;M^. found by Mr. Samuel B. Ladd near 

 West Chester, Penn., on June 11, 1887, and de- 

 scribed in Thk OiiNrniOLOfiisT and Oologist 

 for July, 1887 (Vol. XII., p. 110). The average 

 size of the egg of this species is about .68 x 54. 

 but Mr. Ladd"s wonderful set measure .46 x .36 ; 

 .46X.36; .45x.37; .42x.36 and .42x.36. In 

 shape and colorings they are perfect miniatures 

 of the full-sized eggs of this Warbler. As they 

 were the seventeenth set which Mr. Ladd took 

 in the same locality they were probably the 

 last effort of a female who had laid two previ- 

 ous sets, which she had beeu deprived of. 



A runt egg of the Yellow Warbler {DendnKca 

 wstiva) measures .45 x .35 and is perfect in its 

 shape and coloration. 



0.& O. XII. Dec. 1887 p. JLtf 3 . 



