Auk. XV, Oct., 1898, P- 331 . 
Curious Nesting of American Redstart. —On June 5, 1S9S, while 
hunting through a great timber swamp in Yates Co., N. Y., in company 
with Mr. C. F. Stone, I saw a Vireo’s nest and the bird on it appeared to 
be new to me, but as I drew near it left the nest, dropped to the ground 
and fluttered away, when I recognized it as a female American Redstart 
( Setophaga ruticilla ) . Mr. Stone then came up and we examined the 
nest and found it to be an old Red-eyed Vireo’s ( Vireo olivaceus ), newl v 
lined by the Redstart with the fine red bark fiber that it usually uses to 
line its nests with in this locality, and it contained three fresh eggs 
of the Redstart. — Verdi Burtch, Penn Van, N. Y. 
Another Example of Curious Nesting of the American Redstart. — Mr. 
Verdi Burtch, in the October Auk, 1S9S, recorded a curious example of 
the American Redstart’s nesting, and having had, a somewhat similar 
experience, it may be of interest to record it. 
June 3, 189S, I had been collecting about a swamp in the vicinity of 
Dorchester, Mass., and at noon sought the shade of a wood lot near. A 
female Redstart (Setofhnga ruticilla) at once attracted my attention by 
her queer ways. I retired for a short distance and the bird settled upon 
a Vireo's nest, which was situated four and a half feet above the ground 
in a sapling. It contained five Redstart eggs. One of these was entirely 
buried beneath the others, in a thick lining of horse hair. The yolk of 
this egg had settled and hardened. The other four were fresh. 
As numbers of Redstarts’ eggs are annually stolen by boys from this 
wood, it may be possible that the following theory accounts for this 
strange thing. An incomplete set of Redstart eggs was taken ; the female 
laid in the Vireo nest during the absence of the owners rather than deposit 
her egg upon the ground. TheVireos deserted, and the Redstarts liking 
the nest lined it up with the usual material chosen in this locality and 
retained the nest as their own. The nest, I think, was the property of a 
pair of Yellow-throated Vireos (Vireo Jiavifrons) which I had often 
observed about. The nest and eggs are now in the collection of Mr. 
Brewster. — Francis J. Birtwki.i., Dorchester, Mass. 
Ank, XVI, April, 1899, p 
