46 
THE C CERULEAN WOOD-WARBLER. 
Henderson. Iu Louisiana, where it is as numerous as other Sylviae, I have 
several times shot five or six during a single walk, towards the end of 
August, when the young are nearly full coloured. 
The nest is placed in the forks of a low tree or bush, more frequently on 
a dog-wood tree. It is partly pensile, projecting a little above the twigs to 
which it is attached, and extending below them for nearly two inches. The 
fibres of vines and of the stalks of rank herbaceous plants, together with slen- 
der roots, compose the outer part, being arranged in a circular manner. The 
lining consists entirely of the dry fibres of the Spanish moss. The female 
lays four or five eggs, of a pure white colour, with a few reddish spots at the 
larger end. When the female is disturbed during incubation, she trails along 
the twigs and branches, with expanded tail and drooping wings, and utters a 
plaintive note, resembling in all these circumstances the Blue-eyed Warbler. 
I am not sure that they raise more than one brood in a season. When the 
young abandon the nest, their plumage partakes of a greenish tinge, and no 
difference can be perceived between the sexes without dissection. The little 
family move and hunt together, and exhibit much pleasure in pursuing small 
insects on wing, which they seize without any clicking sound of their bill. 
They seem at this period to evince a great partiality for trees the tops of 
which are thickly covered by grape vines, amongst the broad leaves of 
which they find ample supplies of food. They also sometimes alight on 
the tall weeds, and pick a few of their seeds. The males or females do not 
assume the full brilliancy of their plumage until the following spring. 
In the course of my late journey to the Texas I found the Azure Warbler 
entering the United States from Mexico, early in April, when it was in 
perfect plumage. On an island on which we landed, about an hour before 
sunset, some hundreds had stopped to pass the night, the appearance of the 
weather being threatening. My friend Edward Harris and my son shot a 
number of them. Next day few were seen, and in about a week they had 
all proceeded eastward. The whole breadth of our country, from the At- 
lantic shores to those of the Pacific, is visited by this bird, which was found 
alon the Columbia river at Fort Vancouver by Mix Townsend. The most 
eastern point at which I have known it to be procured is the neighbourhood 
of Pictou, Nova Scotia. It is not mentioned by Dr. Richardson. 
As to the Sylvia rara, my doubts regarding its specific distinction from 
Sylvicola ccerulea, are as great as ever, especially as no one has found its 
nest. I mentioned this to the Prince of Musignano, who has placed it in 
his list as the young of Sylvia azurea. 
0 cerulean Warbler, Sylvia coerulea, Wils. Amer. Orn., vol. ii. p. 141. Male. 
Blue-green Warbler, Sylvia rara, Wils. Amer. Orn., vol. iii. p. 119. Young. 
