[OLOGIST [Vol. 14-^o. 6 
Nesting of the Oven-bird. 
The Oven-bird ( Seiurus aurocapillus) is a 
common summer resident in Chester county, 
Penn., arriving about the last week in April, 
and, as a rule, making its home in the denser 
parts of the woods. 
On the twenty-sixth of May, 1888, while 
tramping through a wood bordering on a 
creek, I happened to see an unfinished nest on 
the ground, which attracted my attention. It 
was on a steep hillside facing the North, and 
not more than one hundred yards from the 
road. The nest was then simply a mass of 
dry chestnut leaves and grass and looked much 
like an old one. 
On June 6th I again visited the nest, which 
now contained four eggs, including that of a 
Cowbird. Although I waited probably half 
an hour in the vicinity of the nest, the birds 
did not put in their appearance, and I was un- 
able to determine to what bird the eggs be- 
longed. Three days later, June 9th, I again 
went to look at the nest, which still contained 
but four eggs, including the Cowbird’ s. The 
bird was in the vicinity of the nest when I 
reached it, and I recognized it as the Golden- 
crowned Thrush, or Oven-bird. I sat down 
upon a fallen tree trunk near by to watch it, 
and soon it began to approach the nest, making 
a circle around it. Had I not known its loca- 
cation previously, it would not have been a very 
difficult matter to discover it then. 
Upon blowing the eggs, I found that incuba- 
tion had begun in all of them, thus showing 
that the bird had ceased laying. The Cow- 
bird’s egg seemed to be more fully developed 
than those of the Oven-bird. The spots on the 
eggs were a rich lavender and brown, and 
chiefly in a ring around the larger end. The 
nest was composed of chestnut leaves, grass, 
a few stems of the “maiden-hair” fern, and 
lined with a little horse-hair. It was domed 
over, and was quite bulky. 
West Chester, Pa. 
Willard L. Maris. 
O &0. XIV. June. 18B9 
Nesting of the Goklen-Crowned 
Thrush in Chester County, Penn. 
Although a common breeder in Chester 
County, Penn., the nest of this species (Seiurus 
auricapillus) is by no means easy to find, and 
it was not until this year that I succeeded in 
obtaining any sets of their eggs. 
My first nest was found on June 12, 1887, and 
contained young birds. It was placed on the 
ground in woods near a stream of water. 
The next nest I found was on Juno 6, 18r8. 
T was searching in a thick woods when sud- 
denly a Golden-crowned Thrush got up and 
ran along the ground as if she had a nest. It 
was on the bank of a stream, and the ferns 
and small shrubs were growing plentifully, so 
that I looked for some moments without suc- 
cess. Finally I raised a small dead branch and 
threw it out of the way. I then noticed a 
small piece of dried grass, and on stooping 
down to investigate it, it proved to be the nest. 
Imagine my disgust, however, on finding that 
I had unconsciously trodden on it and broken 
three of the live eggs which it contained. 
In 1889 1 found two more nests but was un- 
successful in obtaining sets of eggs from them. 
The first one was found on June 9th, and con- 
tained three young birds and two eggs which 
were about ready to hatch. This nest was an 
unusually large one, and its top was at least 
three inches from the ground. It was placed 
near a large tree, in a rather open spot in the 
woods. The birds displayed great uneasiness 
at my presence; the female running along the 
ground and trying to decoy me off. 
Another nest was found on the 21st of June, 
1889, and contained five eggs, but as they w'ero 
nearly ready to hatch I did not disturb them. 
The way in which this nest was found was 
somewhat peculiar. It was almost at the 
foot of a dead tree near the top of which 
wa,s a Flicker’s hole. I rapped on the trunk 
of the tree and out came a Flicker. Just at 
the same minute my cousin, who was with me, 
called my attention to a Golden-crowned 
Thrash which- had just gotten up at my feet. 
The nest was very cleverly hidden, only a 
small corner of it being visible and the rest 
was concealed in a hole in the bank. 
It was not until the 22d of May, 1S90, that 
I was able to obtain any sets of eggs. On 
I that date I was fortunate enough to obtain 
I two fine nests of five each. The first was 
situated on a steep hillside in a woods. The 
bird got up right under my feet, and it was an 
easy matter to find the nest. The Golden- 
crowned Thrush is very courageous and docs 
all in its power to prevent you from disturbing 
its eggs or young, and this one was no exception 
to that rule, making a great fuss while 1 was 
packing up the eggs. 
T1 le second nest was found in a different 
part of the same woods. It was situated on a. 
level piece of ground, under a hunch of ferns, 
and near a stream of water. Both these sets 
were perfectly fresh. 
On the next day (May 23d) I found two 
more -sets of three and four eggs respec- 
tively. Each of these nests contained a Cow- 
bird’s egg. They were both in the same 
woods within twenty-five or thirty yards of 
each other. Each of them was near a stream 
of water and towards the centre of the woods. 
This Warbler does not seem to have the same 
fondness for building its nest in or near the 
edge of woods that other Warblers in this 
neighborhood seem to have. Another nest was 
found on the 2d of June containing the unusual 
number of six eggs. It was placed on the 
ground near a stream of water like nearly all 
the others. 
My last nest was found on the 3d of June, 
and contained young birds. 
My younger brother, Henry Norris, also found 
two nests, one of which taken on June 1st con 
taiued three eggs and a Cowbird’ s (unfortu- 
nately too much incubated to he preserved) 
and another on June 7th containing young 
birds. Botli of these nests were on hillsides 
in the woods. 
So far J have had more difficulty in finding 
nests of the Golden-crowned Thrush than of 
the Kentucky Warbler although the former is 
much the commoner bird. The principal diffi- 
culty in finding the nest is the fact of their 
being domed over, and looking so much like a 
bunch of dried grass; while the Warbler’s 
nest being open at the top makes it easier to 
discover. 
The time to look for their eggs in this local- 
ity seems to he from the 20th of May to the 
1st of June, and it. is hard to say exactly what 
kind of a woods they prefer, hut a level spot 
near a stream of water where the ground is 
covered with ferns, etc., is about as good as 
any. 
In conclusion I would remark that in .my 
opinion the eggs of this bird are among the 
prettiest of the Warbler’s, and it is well worth 
the collector’s time to obtain a series of them 
as nearly every set is different. 
J. P. Norris, Jr. 
Philadelphia, Penn. 
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