100 
ORNITHOLOGIST [Vol. 11-No. 7 
so I would make use not of the rope alone, but of 
the tree also. 
One of the trees I climbed on this occasion con¬ 
tained eleven nests, but most of them were so far 
out on the limbs that I dared not venture to reach 
them, but had to content myself by standing in 
the main top above them all and looking down 
upon the thirty beautiful eggs which they con¬ 
tained. The usual number to the nest seemed to 
be three, but several nests seen that day contained 
but two, and not a few contained four as the full 
nest complement. In no case did I find more 
than four eggs in any set. While the majority of 
the nests contained eggs, quite a number were 
filled with young of various sizes—some just from 
the shell, others almost ready to fly. In fact one 
young fellow that I tried to catch attempted to 
fly to another limb, missing which, he fell to the 
water below, his life paying the penalty for his 
rashness. 
From all indications it is safe to say that as 
early as the middle of May the nesting in this lo¬ 
cality is at its height. 
But our day in the swamp was not devoted 
wholly to the Herons. These were not the only 
birds which make it their summer home. The 
Red-winged Blackbird, {Agelwus phwniceus), was 
there in great numbers and their nests were seen 
hanging in the tall reeds or resting in the crotches 
of the buttonwoods. The Crow Blackbird, 
(Quisealus quiscula), next to the herons the most 
numerous and noisy bird found there, was feeding 
its young in the nests built in large knot holes, 
tops o( snags, forks of trees, and even in deserted 
and decaying Woodpecker holes. The Redstart 
flitted across the open space like a flame, and we 
found its beautilul, fluffy nest' with three hand¬ 
some eggs in a small elm tree. The Maryland 
Yellow-throat hid in the coarse grasses along the 
edges of the marsh, and we felt sure its nest was 
there, though we did not find it. And in the 
thickets and haw-trees on the banks we found 
Doves, Catbirds and Brown Thrashers living to¬ 
gether and rearing their young in peace and con¬ 
tentment. And with what a thrill of delight did 
we discover that this swamp was the breeding 
place of the Golden Swamp Warbler, {ProtSM- 
taria citrea I had never before seen this beauti¬ 
ful bird alive and was delighted to find it nesting 
here in considerable numbers. 
Shortly after entering the swamp I caught a 
glimpse of a rather bright-colored bird as it flew 
from a hole in a small dead snag not far away 
and disappeared in a thicket near by. In exam¬ 
ining the snag to see what the hole might contain, 
I broke it off easily a few feet below the hole, 
and, with my fingers, could feel the eggs in the 
nest. Not feeling sure that I knew the bird, I 
stood the snag up against a tree and awaited its 
return. I had not long to wait, for soon the bird, 
solicitous for its treasures, came by short flights 
toward the nest. After she had entered the hole 
I scared her out again, and with a light load of 
“dust,” secured her for my cabinet. Presently the 
male came about and suffered a like fate. 
The nest contained five beautiful fresh eggs. 
Later in the day several other pairs were seen and 
four more sets of eggs were secured. The nests 
were found occupying deserted Sapsucker holes 
in usually small rotten trees or saplings, and varied 
from four to ten feet from the ground. The first 
one found was about six feet from the ground, in 
a very rotten snag not over four inches in diame¬ 
ter. The shell left by the excavation of the hole 
was very thin, less than half an inch. The cavity 
was about four inches deep and was filled nearly 
to the top by the nest, which was composed 
almost entirely of some species of moss. All the 
other nests were similarly situated and constructed 
from similar materials. 
The eggs which are now before me vary con¬ 
siderably in markings as well as ib measurements. 
The ground color is an enamel white with quite a 
number of dull lilac spots which appear as if im¬ 
bedded beneath the surface. Above these are 
numerous other large chocolate spots and blotches 
which are more or less confluent about the larger 
end, where they frequently tend to arrange them¬ 
selves in an irregular ring, from which they de¬ 
crease in number toward the smaller end. A 
set of four in my collection from Muscatine, Iowa, 
has the blotches perceptibly smaller and less pro¬ 
nounced, and more evenly distributed over the 
entire surface. In general shape the egg is an 
elliptical ovoid, tapering but slightly toward the 
smaller end. One set of five measures ,75x.57, 
.73x.5C, .75x.5G, ,70x.55, and .75x.57; another, 
,73x.55, ,72x.55, .74x.54, ,73x,55 and ,72x.54; and 
still another, the Iowa set, ,6ox.55, ,68x,57, .G8x.54 
and ,71x.55. The first two may be regarded as 
typical sets from this State, while the other is 
lighter in color markings and considerably shorter 
or more elliptical than any I have seen from 
Indiana. 
All the eggs we obtained were fresh or nearly 
so, and it is more than likely that but few, if any 
of the sets were completed. Most of those which 
were taken contained either four or five eggs each; 
others were examined which had from one to 
three eggs, and still others which were not yet 
completed. It thus seems probable that the full 
nest complement may be more than five, perhaps 
even six or seven. 
July, 1886.] 
AND OOLOGIST 
101 
Again on May 2, 1885, it was my good fortune 
to visit this swamp and learn more of this beauti¬ 
ful and interesting warbler. The season this year 
had been much more backward than when I 
visited the swamp before, and as a consequence, 
the Protonotarias had not yet begun laying. 
Several unfinished nests were found, but no eggs. 
On my first visit and when the birds were all 
mated and the females were busy with household 
cares, no song was heard,.nothing but an occa¬ 
sional note of alarm when disturbed, which 
seemed much like the syllable piph, piph, uttered 
sharply and liurridly. 
But to-day even the pairing of the birds had 
not yet been settled, and many a combat between 
rival males did I witness. Near the centre of 
their breeding ground was perhaps half an acre of 
comparatively clear space, a pond, in fact, covered 
with a thick growth of water lilies. Standing near 
the edge of this, I would often see a couple of 
males dart by me and cross the open space or 
make the circle of the pond, the one in close pur¬ 
suit of the other. Often they would cross and 
recross the pond, circle around its margin, and 
then dart off through the trees and disappear from 
view, only to return again after a time to repeat 
the same wild race. Sometimes the one was not 
always a coward, but stood his ground, when a 
fierce conflict would ensue, and frequently they 
would clinch and fall nearly to the water before 
letting loose. Often they would ascend in a spiial 
flight far up among the tops of the trees only to 
return to the pond again. And sometimes I 
would see a male flying alone in a slow fluttering 
way across the open space toward the place where 
the female was busy constructing the nest. His 
wings were bent downward, the tail spread so as 
to show the white very plainly, and as he flew he 
gave expression to his happiness in a somewhat 
excited but pleasing song. Once he perched upon 
a limb above me where he warbled forth a very 
pretty song which I listened to intently then and 
at other times, and tried to represent by syllables. 
I refer to my memoranda made at the time and 
find “twue, twne, t'whee, t’whee, t’whee, t’whee, 
t’whee, t’wliee, t’wliec.” The first two syllables 
are lowest and most subdued, the t being more 
prominent than in the other syllables which vary 
from six to eight in number and are uttered 
rapidly and with slightly increasing volume. The 
interval between the second and third syllables 
was longest, and I sometimes thought the sylla¬ 
bles were uttered in pairs throughout. I have 
always been more less skeptical as to the possi¬ 
bility of correctly indicating on paper the songs 
of birds, for it is not so much the particular note 
or order of notes which determines the character, 
which makes the melody of the song, as it is the 
cadence, the way in which these notes are made 
to blend or follow one another, and the quality or 
timbre of the note itself. I imagine that it would 
require a very skillful musician to imitate, even 
approximately, the song of any bird which he had 
never heard, if he were to depend entirely upon 
the syllable representations as given even by our 
best ornithologists. To test the matter I have 
often submitted such representations to various 
ones of my musical friends, al ways with laughable 
results. What is more painfully ludicrous than 
the attempted imitation of the Bobolink, as given 
by the average elocutionist. To him who has 
heard the delicious song of the happy bird such 
imitations are sim ply excruciat ing. ^ ^ ^ July . 1S8 0.p. A 
M-W 
