740. Notes from Greenfield, Mass. Bj S. W. Comstock.- Nesting of 

 Dendrxca blackburtiim and Sitta carolinensh, etc. O, & O. Vol, VIIJ "70 



Dendroica blackburniae. — The peculiar beliai 

 ground-nesting species, of a female Blackbur 

 with three young and an infertile egg I found 

 Lynnfield, a small town near Boston, may be a 



iour, akin to that of many 

 lian Warbler whose nest 

 in June 2i of this year in 

 -thy of note. The nest 



was at the end of a long branch of a hemlock, being i8 feet out from the 

 trunk and 30 feet from the ground. Before any attempt was made to 

 crawl out on the branch, the female, alarmed doubtless by a slight move- 

 ment of the limb, suddenly tumbled out of the nest and fell, in fluttering, 

 fledgling style, straight down through the foliage to the ground, recov- 

 ering herself at the last moment before touching the earth and flying up 

 into the underbrush. The helpless way in which she fell led me to 

 believe for a moment that a full-grown young bird had dropped out of the 

 nest. Even when there were young in a nest, I never before noticed 

 such behaviour on the part of a tree warbler nesting at such a height. 



Dendroica blackburnim is a rare but regular breeder in the town of Lynn- 

 iield. It also probably breeds in the adjoining well-wooded towns of Mid- 

 dleton and North Reading, as I have observed the species in summer 

 in b oth places. . .3^?, 



The Lynnfield JJlackburnian's nesi al)0vc refen-ed to agrees with a nest 

 of the same species taken in Winchendon, Mass., bv Mr. Brewster in re- 

 sembling "rather closely the nest of the Chipping Sparrow" (Auk, Oct., 

 1888, p. 392). It is composed of fine hemlock twigs and lined with a few 

 pine needles. It was set firmly in among twigs and was beautifully con- 

 cealed from view above by a long, full-leaved, horizontal spray, which, 

 arching over within two inches of the structure, made a miniature A-tent 

 for the sitting bird. 



