110 



OEOTTHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 12-No. 7 



Nesting of the Worm-eating Warbler. 



BY SAMUEL B. LADU, WEST CHESTEK, I'ENN. 



After having devoted all luy spare time the 

 past season to my favorite J7f'Zm,/)/i/j()«7j(;j-«« cOTjij- 

 ?'on(s, Worm-eating Warbler, and having been 

 even more suueessful than I had anticipated, I 

 shall be glad and feel recompensed, if, in giv- 

 ing my fellow collectors a few points, 1 can 

 assist them in taking their eggs in the future. 



First, 1 found it a great help in tramping last 

 fall over localities where these birds would be 

 likely to breed, and noting places whore old 

 nests were found; the lining of the nests ren- 

 dering their identity, as tlie birds when not dii 

 turbed would probably retui-n to the sani 

 ground. Then 1 began looking for and watch- 

 ing them this spring, (about May 1st, is early 

 enough) and when 1 found them apparently 

 satisfled with their position, and not moviiig 

 about uneasily in the tree tops, I was almost 

 invariably right in my conjectures. The pe- 

 culiar trill of the male is of little assistance, 

 but the cliirp of the female often will be, aftei- 

 their full complement is laid, and lead you to 

 their home. J have found eighteen nests con- 

 taining eggs and six nests with young this sea- 

 son, from May 24th to June loth, inclusive. 



1 have observed that these birds are not con- 

 tined necessarily to hill-sides, as was heretofore 

 supposed, as I have taken three sets on level 

 ground and in i-ather open places, with little 

 shade. The experience of Mr. Thomas H. Jack- 

 son of this place, who has taken ten nests this 

 year, corroborates this fact, f have found that 

 without exception their nests are lined with 

 Folytrichian oi- hair-moss. Sometimes tine 

 grass and horse-liair are used as part of the 

 lining. The body or outside of the nests are 

 composed of leaves oidy, and they were placed 

 at the foot of either a sapling or small bush on 

 the ground. 



The eggs make a beautiful series, owing to 

 their variation in markings, size and shape; 

 some being very faintly marked with light red- 

 dish spots, mostly around the larger end, while 

 some are very heavily blotched with lavender 

 or a rich chestnut. The size ranges from .75 to 

 .02 in length by .58 to .50 of an Inch in width. 

 Their shape varies from equal ended to quite 

 pointed. The most I'emarkable set I have taken 

 was on June 11th. After a hard and unsuccess- 

 ful day's tramp, I heard a female Worm-eater 

 chirping in an unusual place, and merely 

 walked that way from habit, as I did not ex- 

 pect to find their nest in a spot with so little 



shelter. However, after sitting on a stump 

 near the bird for some time, and not caring to 

 have her wake the neighborhood with her cries, 

 as she did not seem to be inclined to lead me to 

 her nest, I hunted the ground pretty thorough- 

 ly, and soon found the nest in an open space 

 where one would scarcely think it worth the 

 time to look. It contained a young Cowbird 

 nearly full fledged, also a Cowbird's egg, which 

 contained a partly formed but decaying emhryo, 

 with five eggs of the Worm-eating Warbler, 

 which might well be called a dwarf set. They 

 a,i-e perfect in tlieir shape and in their colora- 

 tion and size of markings; in fact, perfect, ex- 

 cept that tliey contained no yolk. Their meas- 

 urements were respectively, .40 x .30 ; .40 x .30 ; 

 .45 X .37 ; .42 x .30, and .42 x 36. 



Onp wnnl,3 nat,M.jlK, V, -J 



^ ^ - Brief Notes. 



- ^ Nesting of the Wobm-eating Warblek, 

 (UchnintJwthents mrmivorm,) m CirESTBE Co., 

 » ' Pa.— Though by no means a common resident 



with us, the Worm-eating Warbler is frequently 

 met with in fixvoraUe localities. It frequents the 

 most solitary parts of the woods, making but little 

 noise that would attract the attention of passers 

 by, and might easily be overlooked. 



In such localities the nest may he looked for. ^ 

 Three of them found by the writer, two several 

 years since and one on June 9th the present Sum- 

 mer (1885), were all located almost precisely alike, 

 and all within a radius of a quarter of a mile. 

 ! They were situated on steep, wooded hillsides, 



sunk into the ground, and so overhung and con- 

 cealed by dry leaves as to make it impossible to 

 detect them without the birds betraying the pres- 

 ence of the nest. 



The nest found the present season contained 

 five eggs of the Warbler, and one Cowbird's, all 

 well advanced in incubation. The birds evinced 

 great uneasiness at my presence, coming to with- 

 in a few feet, and offering a good opportunity for 

 identification without my being compelled to 

 shoot them. The nest outwardly is constructed 

 of dry leaves, nolioeably those of the Beech, very 

 loosely put together, then fine rootlets and stems, 

 and Anally the inside lining is made of the fine 

 flower stalks of the Hair Uoss—PolytricJuvm. 



This last peculiarity existed in all three of the 

 nests, and would, I think, alone be suflicient to 

 identify the species. I would like to know the 

 experience of other collectors with regard to this 

 circumstance. 



The eggs, five in number, are of a clear glossy 

 white ground, spotted more abundantly toward 

 the greater end with varying shades of brown, 

 similar in size and shape to those of the Pro- 

 thonotary Warbler, {Proionoiarm ciirea).—Thomasi 

 H. Jackson, West GlmUr, Pa. 



O.^O. X.KOV.1885.P. //Ce 



