BIRDS OF PENNSYLVANIA. 
275 
part of tlie country. The first authentic account which we had of the 
nest and eggs of this species was published* by Mr. Thomas H. Jack- 
son, of West Chester. This account, with a few additional remarks, 
have been kindly given to me by Mr. Jackson, and are as follows: 
“ On the 6th of June, 1869, I found a nest of this species containing 
five eggs. It was placed in a hollow on the ground much like the nest 
of the Oven-bird (Seiurus aurocapillus) and was hidden from sight by 
the dry leaves that lay thickly around. The nest was composed exter¬ 
nally of dead leaves, mostly those of the beech, while the interior was 
prettily lined with the fine thread-like stalks of the hair-moss (. Poly - 
trichium). Altogether it was a very neat structure, and looked to me as 
though the owner was habitually a ground-nester. The eggs most 
nearly resemble those of the White-bellied Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) 
though the markings are fewer and less distinct. So closely did the 
female set that I captured her without difficulty by placing my hat over 
the nest. During the twenty years following the finding of this nest I 
have probably found and examined fifty others, and none of them vary 
in any important particulars from the original nest. Every one has 
contained the hair-moss lining, though the eggs, when examined in 
series, show a wide degree of variation.” 
The stomach contents of fifteen of these warblers which I have ex¬ 
amined consisted chiefly of remains of beetles, spiders and larvae. 
Genus HELMINTHOPHILA f Ridgway. 
% 
Helminthophila pinus (Linn.). 
Blue-winged Warbler; Blue-winged Yellow Warbler. 
Description (Plate 19). 
Bill and legs (dried skins) former blue-black, the latter dark-brownish. Top of 
head, most of sides of same, chin, neck in front, breast, sides and belly rich yellow; 
black patch in front of eye and a narrow black streak behind it; under tail-coverts 
mostl v white ; wings have two white (or whitish in some specimens) bars. Rest of 
upper parts olive-green, brightest on rump ; the inner webs of three outer tail 
feathers are more or less extensively marked with white ; the general color of upper 
j surface of wings and tail is slate or pale bluish-gray. Female and young very simi- 
, lar but duller. 
Length (male) 5; extent 7 \; wing ; tail 1.80. 
Habitat .—Eastern United States, from southern New York and southern New 
| England southward. In winter, Mexico and Guatemala. 
This beautiful little warbler usually arrives in Pennsylvania early in 
May, but I have on two or three occasions seen individuals in Chester 
county as early as the 27th of April. The Blue-winged Warbler is a 
common summer resident in southeastern Pennsylvania, where it re- 
* Am. Nat.. Vol. 3, December. 1869. p. 556. 
t Birds of this genus have elongated, conical, very acute and unnotched bills, the outlines of which are 
nearly straight; no rictal bristles; tail nearly even or slightly emarglcate. 
