ORNITHOLOGIST 
- A^s D- 
OOLOGIST. 
$1.00 per 
Annum. 
Joseph M. Wade. Editor and Publisher. 
Established March. 1875 
Sinttle Copy, 
10 Cents. 
VOL. VI. 
NORWICH, CONN., OCTOBER, 1881 . 
NO. 8 . 
Blue-winged Yellow Warbler. 
ITS NESTING HABITS, &C. 
The pretty Helminthophaga pinus is to 
be found in nearly all kinds of wooded 
country in southern Indiana and Illinois. 
It seems to prefer open woods with under¬ 
growth of bushes and briers, and the open 
ings in and about the bottom woods. It is 
easily found by its notes which can be called 
neither song nor warble, but resembles the 
inhaling and exhaling ol the breath in a jie- 
culiar rasping tone, unlike any other bird of 
my acquaintance. It made its appearance 
at Wheatland, Indiana^ April 25th, and be¬ 
came plentiful in a day or two. It is not 
suspicious, allowing a near approach, and 
seems to make a thorough search of one 
branch before going to another.. While 
thus engaged it adapts its position to the 
place to be examined, often hanging head 
downwards. Whether searching for food, 
or while sitting still, the male at short in¬ 
tervals lifts his head and gives his wheezy 
notes. It generally inhabits the bushes or 
lower limbs, frequently near the ground but 
seldom in the tops of tall trees. The fe¬ 
males arrive soon after the males and they 
are soon mated and begin their household 
preparations. Though I could not catch 
them at their work of building, I was sev 
eral times aware of the close proximity of 
an unfinished nest by the anxiety betrayed 
hy the female, who seemed as interested in 
me as I was in her. But owing to the 
bushes it was impossible to keep at a dis¬ 
tance and watch her. 
As soon as his mate is sitting, the male 
enlarges on his music, giving quite a pretty 
warble, but it was seldom indulged in, and 
I heard it but a few times. While opposite 
Mount Carmel, Illinois, in Indiana, on May 
19th, I missed a Hooded Warbler, but soon 
heard it sinking a long distance off, and 
just contrary to the course I was pursuing. 
Usually 1 kept on my way and took the 
chances of finding another, but at this par¬ 
ticular time I meant to have that bird I 
killed it, and when within a few feet of 
where it lay, a bird started from the ground 
My instant thought was of the Hooded 
Warbler, but as quickly recognized the 
Blue-winged Yellow Warbler which alighted 
on a bush near by and began to chirp in the 
manner of most of the Warblers. My joy 
may be imagined when, on jnishing adde 
the leaves of a bush by my side near the 
ground, I beheld five little rosy-tinted eggs, 
perfectly fresh, in a nest situated between 
the three or four stems of the bush. The 
nest was sunken to the level of the ground, 
and about the size of that of a Maryland 
Yellow-throat, only deeper, being three 
inches in depth inside It was composed 
of a quantity of oak leaves sparingly mixed 
with a rather coarse grass, and lined with 
fine grass and one or two horse hairs. The 
ground color of the eggs are white, rather 
sparingly spotted and streaked with light 
purplish brown and a few dark jnirple 
specks. They are among the lightest col¬ 
ored Warblers’ eggs. 
Not desiring the birds I let tliem live, and 
they chirped about me till I left 1 picked 
the Hooded Warbler up cirefully, thinking 
^s I did so that death t > him was fortune 
to me in more than his own value. 
The Blue-winged Yellows were anxious 
birds about the middle of June, the young 
then being just out of their nests. They 
moult in July and become (juiet.— Fred. T. 
/eticks, Providence, R. /. 
