South Fkamihgham.— One of your circulars 

 lia!3 the statement tliat you would like " par- 

 ticulars in taking rare specimens." 



To-day's egging was rewarded by a "find" 

 of nest and four fresh eggs of the Golden- 

 winged Warbler, [Ilelmmthopliaga chrynoptera), 

 and it seems to mo that the bird is uncommon 

 enough, as a ISTew England breeder, to make 

 au interesting item. 



The female was flushed from her nest and 

 shot. The nest itself was placed at the base 

 of a few alder shoots (upright between the 

 stems), and at the edge of a low thicket of 

 new growth oaks and 

 spot. Outwardly the 

 loosely built with dea( 

 coarse grasses and gr 

 lining of line, dry grasst 

 tlie Yellow-throat's nes 

 The eggs are of tht 

 white, with small dots 

 points of Vandyke bJ 

 [ larger end, but not fori 

 I have found two se 

 htdovicianiiJi, one of 7^! 

 nest of Black and White 

 three young and an eg{ 

 I saved in halves. 



Have found an unootj 

 which, from its small g 

 Solitary (or 'blue-headf! 



A sot of five almost; 

 eggs (fresh) was a curio 

 ago. — [F. E. Coombs. > 



Nest and Eggs of the Golden-' 



soptera). —Th\^ bird selects a se 

 bushes, in which to nest. It coran 

 June. Tlie nest is placed on the 

 three or four bushes situated fron 



/inged Warbler {Hehniuthophila chry- 

 mi-swampy situation, overgrown with 

 lences to build the last of May or first of 

 ground, and is supported laterally by 

 four to five inches apart. It is com- 



posed externally of dry leave! 

 bark fibres, interspersed with 

 measures, inside, three and or 

 one half to two inches in d- 

 slightly contracted above, 

 bushes and leaves. 



3 placed edgewise, and well lined with fine 

 a few coarse hairs. The nest when finished 

 le-half to-four inches in depth, and one and 

 iameter; the sides are nearly parallel, only 

 It is well concealed by the overhanging 



O.^O, 16. Jn] 



NESTING OF THE GOLDEN- WINGED WARBLER r//2?itf/ivri70 

 PHAGA CHRYSOPTERA), IN MASSACHUSETTS. 



BY J. WAEEEN. 



Of all our warblers there are few that surpass the Golden- 

 wing in elegance of plumage. Though comparatively common 

 with us during the spring migrations but few appear to remain 

 to breed, and yet our State has been considered about its north- 

 ern limit on this coast. They arrive in eastern Massachusetts 

 Irom the second to the third week in May, when they are very 

 active, ilitting through the trees and young growth, diligently 

 searchmg for their food, which consists of insects and thdr lar- 

 va, occasionally giving vent to a rather loud, peculiar and un- 

 mistakable song, which, though not so musical as that of most 

 of the other individuals of this family, is very pleasing. The 

 Golden-wings do not seem to confine themselves wholly to 

 swampy situations, as is usually stated, but are sometimes found 

 on higher ground, quite remote from such places. They pair 

 shortly after arriving, and commence to build from the latter 

 part of May to the first of June. The first authentic nest found 



NUTTALL ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 



in this section of the country was that collected by Mr. C. J. 

 Maynard, June 12, 1869, and admirably described by him on 

 page 100 of the "Naturalist's Guide." This nest was placed on 

 a slightly elevated tuft of moss, near a swampy thicket, within 

 a short distance of a traA'elled road, and contained four eggs, 

 and also one of the Cow Bird {Molothrus pecoris), which were 

 within a few days of hatching. Since this nest was found there 

 have been no others taken, to my knowledge, until the past year 

 when three were discovered ; one each by my friends, E. B. 

 Towne, Jr., and W. W. Eager, who have kindly allowed me to 

 use their notes, and the third by my brother and myself. 



We were out collecting on the afternoon of June 8th, 1875, 

 and while passing through a strip of swampy land on the out- 

 skirts of a small wood, flushed a bird from under a plant known 

 as " Skunk Cabbage," ( Symplocarpus fmtidm.) 



Upon searching we found the nest concealed by the large 

 leaves of the plant. It was raised about two inches above the 

 wet ground by dead oak and maple leaves which were quite 

 damp. The owner soon came back, and hopping excitedly from 

 branch to branch of an alder thicket a few yards away, almost 

 continually uttered a sharp chirp of alarm, betokening her strong 

 dislike to the intruders ; but, strange to say, her mate did not 

 make his appearance, although we could hear him distinctly 

 zee-zee-zeeing, a few rods away. As it was fast growing dark, 

 and feeling satisfied that she had laid her set, we shot her. 



The nest, which closely resembles that of the Maryland Yel- 

 low-throat ( Geothlypis trichas ), is composed outwardly of dry 

 oak and maple leaves, interspersed with long stripes of the out- 

 er bark of the grape vine ; and is lined with fine fibrous shreds 

 of the same of a reddish tint, interwoven with one or two very 

 small pieces of dry grass. The measurements are as follows : 

 height, 2.75 inches ; width, 4.25 ; diameter inside, 2.30 ; depth 

 inside, 1.60. 



The eggs are three in number, two ptcre luhite ; the third 

 sparsely spotted on the larger end, and measured respectively, 

 .69X.53, .68x.51, and .65x.49. One of tiiera was out of the nest, 

 and had three small holes close to each other on the upper side, 

 through which a little of the albumen had leaked out and dried. 

 I cannot with certainty account for this, as I feel quite positive 

 that no other person had ever molested the nest, but think that 

 a squirrel, or other rodent, had eaten one of the eggs, pulled 



