nest. 



Double Nest of the Parula Warbler. 



nv It. B. Mil LAUIiHLlN, STATES VII.LE, N. C. 



Some j^ears ago while out in searcli of eggs, I 

 noticed some moss hanging to a dead limb of a 

 maple sapling. Its resemblance to a bird's 

 nest was suflieient to induce me to climb up, 

 although I was not sure what it was. This 

 proved to bo a double nest of the Blue Vellow- 

 baelied or Parula Warbler (Cumpsothiypis amer- 

 icana) and a single bird, reiterating a feeble 

 note of distress, flew about me as 1 cut oft' the 

 limb. 1 



Getting it safely to the ground, I found two 

 eggs in one nest and one in tlie other. The 

 two eggs were perfectly fresh and easily blown ; 

 the one egg had settled to one side of the shell, 

 ' partially dried and could not bo blown, which 

 shows it had remained in the nest for some 

 weeks. 



My opinion is that a nest was built, one egg 

 laid and for some cause — possibly the death of 

 the male bird— it was deserted and another 

 one was built beside it, the full number not i 

 having been laid wlien found. I 



The Blue Ycjlow-backcd Warble r and the 

 niupgray (inaljiitel tw- are two species of our 

 prlnciiwl breeding binis; l)ul llicir nests are diffi- 

 cult to discover on account of tlic exuberance of 

 moss and foliage of our trees, amongst wliich 

 these birds breed. 



C.&O. X.Dec.ibB5.p. /?/ 



Nesting of the Blub Ykmow-backed Warbler in Southern 

 Georgia. — In reading Mr. Loomis's interesting paper in the last Bulle- 

 tin upon the Birds of Chester County, South Carolina, 1 noticed that he 

 emphasizes the occurreu<;c in summer oJ; the Blue Yellow-backed Warbler 

 (Parula arnericana). I fiml in some notes made at St. Mary's, Camden Co., 

 Ga., ft record of a nest of this species, wliicb was found in April, 187 7. 

 The female was shot just as she was entering her nest, which until then had 

 been unnoticed in the hanging tillandsia moss. The nest was finished, 

 but no eggs were laitl. — W. Buewstbe, Cambridge, Mass. 



BuaN.O.O. 5, Jan.,1880, P. -V^ 



n Parula arnericana 

 Bi.ER.-This was ronnd to be or 

 Memphis, Vicksburg. and Ja. 

 ^hile bnnting for other spec, 

 .aid to be nowliere abundant. 1 

 would. I think, convince an.s 

 „0 doubt uhatcvertluU.t^b.ec< 



J B/. Bi.uic Ykiaow-backf.i 

 ;„f tlie mostcor.imonortbc smal: 

 ton Wewerecon-tantly.-^booti. 



IV, tl.e -History of N. A; ni.- 

 ul ihuV hunt in tlie Mi-^i^^Pl" ' 

 nil!iolo:j;ihl Ili.il ^ l/ui^ i- an tu-r'-' 



;r birds 

 ^ them 



ot tlic 



Mr. Otto Widmi 

 Warbler ( R„rah, aiitpyicaiii, 

 i8Sv It dillcrs in ,-\-prv p 

 tlie species comnionlv Iniild 

 on tlie trees, Mr. Widiu.u 

 dead leaves and rubliisli, 

 branches of trcivs vvliich are 

 The trc 



iliiil d 

 I han-iM 



Ions one 

 lii-li wa 



. 11. e tcrtninal 

 1 111 1 h I 1 I 1 



h 1 1 



0 S iLCl 



id drv leaves 



live you 



1- ones uliout 



The n 



1 t 1 lII 1 1 



small ro 



itlets. line or 



ol some 



plain, and s| 



ternallv, 



70 mm. in Av. 



tiiametei 



bv 40 mm. Ml 



wliii-li I took the nest 

 (hree leel of 



At the 

 (o( \k, I 



cR 



old.' 



open, cup-shaped aflai 



n posed c 

 ,■1 tcwtiill 



;bieHv or 



depth. — C. Hart 



[OLOGIST 



[Vol. 6 



1 liuh u itei 111 ( lu ks lusluts , li 

 sa biich, and toe twig a longpendu- 

 'Inch had been immersed iiv the lasi 

 ed a bulky conglomeration ol straw 

 llection (fune S) the ne.st was 

 .St. Louis Co. ). and contained 



Curious 



Set of Eggs 

 arnericana. 



of Parula 



Odd Nesting Habits of the Blue Yellow-backed Warbler in Missouri — 



Ir. nitn W„Tm,,n„ liasknidly sent me a nest of the Blue Yellow-backed 

 itrHKiini) which betook ni>ar St 



Mo.. June S, 

 e nest which 

 hens abonrnl 

 n a hunch ol' 

 . Ironi (hose 



Auk, 2. Oct.. 1885. p. S 7/, 



I have lately received a set of five eggs of 

 the Blue Yellow-hacked Warbler (Pamla 

 arnericana), which are in some respects the 

 most remarkable of any of this species that I 

 liave ever seen. 



I They were taken near Taunton, Mass., on 

 .June 13, 1888, and wore sent to me without 

 the nest; the collector not thinking it neces- 

 sary to take up so much room in the box as it 

 would occupy if packed with the eggs. When 

 the eggs came I doubted their identity, and 

 : did not believe that tliey were the eggs of 

 Parula muericana. In fact they looked so 

 exactly like some sets of Chickadee {Pants atri- 

 capillus) in my series of that species that I 

 was inclined to think the collector had made a 

 mistake, and to assign them to that bird. 

 However, I determined to write him for the 

 nest in which he found them, and which ho 

 : told me he had preserved. It came, and at 

 1 once settled all doubts as to identity of the 

 eo-gs. It is a large bulky nest, composed en- 

 thely of usnea, and attached to a small twig 

 from which it is pendant. 



Now as I had a series of thirty-eight sets of 

 eggs of this species in my cabinet before the 

 arrival of this last set, and had studied them 

 very closely, I felt sure of being able to dh'^tin- 

 guish eggs of Parula from all others found in 

 Massachusetts. With all liumility I must con- 

 fess my defeat. This .set is a complete puzzle. 

 They are white, without any of the gloss that 

 is characteristic oi the eggs of this species, 

 and their shape is different from any of tlie 

 other thirty-eight sets in the series. They 

 are more rounded at the smaller ends, and 

 they are also very much smaller than usual. 

 The markings are almost wholly confined to 

 the larger ends, but instead of forming an in- 

 distinct wreath as is usual, the spots become 

 confluent, and form nearly a solid piece ot 

 color. This is cinnamon-rufous, but there are 

 a few specks of lavonder-gray — so few, how- 

 ever, as not to bo noticeable unless closely 

 looked for. They measnre : .5(! x .44 : ..57 x .44 ; 

 .58 X 46 ; .59 X .44 ; X>9 x .43. P- N. 



