Dendrceca ca!ru/esceus.--Despite the fact that three identified nests of 

 the Black-throated Blue Warbler have been found in Connecticut, " its 

 local distribution in New England" cannot fairly be considered as " coin- 

 cident" with that of Dendrcsca virens. The latter breeds regularly 

 throughout the whole of New England and is, if anything, rather com- 

 moner in summer in the pine woods of Eastern Massachusetts than among 

 the spruces and firs of the more northern States, while the Black-throated 

 Blue Warbler is, to say the least, mainly confined to the Canadian Fauna. 

 The statement that "it has been observed in summer in Massachusetts" 

 presumably relates to Allen's record (Birds of Springfield, p. 62) of its 

 being " found in the breeding season on Mt. Holyoke (C. W. Bennett) 

 and along the ridges in the western part of the State (B. Horsford) " 

 But these elevated places are both outlying spurs of the Canadian rlln 

 and many strictly Canadian species, such as the Black Snn,„h- a , 

 ly breed there. TI,e occurrence of "^"^ ^'"'^'^ ■'effular- 

 certainly hard to understand, but the 1 M*^t*4 ^ ^^«le^ -^^f««<2&<i^ 



in some peculiar feature of the local . J jM^ P ^. 

 events there are at present no suffici H f^^^fu^p^. M..l>. 



other than exceptional examp'-- ' 



BuU, N.0,0, 9,0(| 



August, 1886.] AND i 



I DEHDROICA CjERULESCENS. 



] Black-throated Blue Warbler, 



j This species arrived a little in advance of D. 

 j hlackburriim, being first observed in Monroe coun- 

 I ty April 18th, but in very limited numbers, with 

 no perceptible increase until May 3d, when they 

 were seen in considerable numbers in the large 

 I' tracts of rhododendron and along the cultivated 

 fields and pastures. Their numbers considerably 

 lessened, and by May 13th only a few remained. 

 I A close search could not discover them, but a few 

 ' were found on the mountains at an altitude of 

 ! about 3,500 feet at the edge of the evergreen 

 growth. In Roane county, on May 16th, they 

 were fairly common on Walden's ridge, at an alti- 

 tude of about 4,800 feet. On May 31st, the day 

 before ascending Great Smoky Mountain, I saw 

 a pair in a small grove of red maples i^Acer ru- 

 brum), and again on May 34th, the same pair 

 (presumably) were seen carrying material for a 

 nest into a dense laurel thicket. They coulu not 

 be restricted to any faunal limit , the preference, 

 if any, being for the intermediate station. I was 

 especially fortunate in observing the nidiflcation 

 of this species, in a small laurel swamp, which 

 witli the assistance of three obliging lumbermen, 

 I thoroughly searched on May 39lh. Three nests 

 were found, but many wore overlooked as the 

 swamp was alive with these warblers. The first 

 was placed in a laurel bush about a foot from the 

 ground. It was similar in appearance to that of 

 the Maryland Yellow-throat, but considerable 

 cotton entered into its composition. It was 

 empty, the birds evidently had just completed it. 

 The second nest was in a similar position to the 

 first, being a little higher from the ground. Its 

 structure was more ornamental, a great deal of a 

 flaxy material being woven into the outside. 

 This nest contained four fresh eggs, pinkish-white 

 marked with a few reddish-brown spots ; one egg 

 differs from the others in not possessing any 

 markings whatever save a few light-brown ones 

 on the larger end. Dimensions as follows : .03x.49, 

 .63X.50, .61X.48, .03x.49. 



The third nest was also in like situation, but 

 built more compactly and neatly than either of 

 the preceding. It contained only two eggs, 

 which were not taken. 



