72 
ORNITHOLOGIST 
[Vol. 6-No. 9. 
Hooded Warbler. 
Myiodioctes mitratus. 
This beautiful warbler is one of the live¬ 
liest of the family. It does not seem to be 
I)articularly shy, but extremely restless. 
Instead of making flights from branch to 
branch in j)ursuit of its prey, which it catch¬ 
es on the wing, it goes from tree to tree, and 
is rarely still While following it by its 
song, it is heard first here, and then there, 
and I have followed one hither and thither ( 
for fifteen or twenty minutes, at least, with- i 
out catching a glimpse of it, and then if it j 
chanced to stop singing it must be given j 
up. They would be very difficult to ob- 1 
tain were it not for their warble, which to | 
me is among the sweetest of bird-notes. It 
usually consists of two or three notes, some¬ 
times more and is delivered quickly in very | 
clear, sweet tones. They seldom go above 
the lower limbs, and are often in bushes 
and on sticks close to the ground—the mat 
ter of a perch being the same to them as 
to tlie Flycatchers. 
The localities best liked in this section 
are the densest bottoms, and Mr. Ridgway ! 
says they prefer sections where there is ! 
cane. Certain it is that they are plentiful 
opposite Mt. Carmel, in Indiana, where i 
cane grows, but they are also common I 
where there is none. This bird has to an ' 
ornithologist more than ordinary charms. ! 
Its difficulty of capture, song and beauty, 
the black and yellow of the head showing 
up so beautifully amidst the foliage, gives 
it few rivals. j 
The males and females arrived about the j 
same time during the last week in April, j 
and began to build two or three weeks la- ^ 
ter. The three nests which 1 found were | 
all in bushes, about two and a half feet ] 
from the ground, composed outwardly of 
leaves and bark, inside of which is fine 
bark and stems,* and lined with hair. 
but one nest had eggs, and this the fe¬ 
male left so (juietly that 1 did not see her 
and had to sit for a short time and await 
her return. On her beginning to chirp, the 
mate put in an appearance, anxious, also. 
The eggs were four in number and a cow 
bird’s. They were partly incuba'ted. The 
eggs of this species are subject to great va¬ 
riation, but several sets in my possession 
more nearly resemble the Maryland Yellow- 
throat, in both size and markings, than 
any other. 
Red-headed Woodpeckers 
IN SOUTHERN CONN. 
The most noticeable bird movement re¬ 
cently here is the recurrence of the Red¬ 
headed Woodpeckers, which are here in old 
oak groves in great numbers, something 
which has not before occurred since 1872, 
when they abounded in the same places. 
They came as before in .September, and are 
mostly the young of the year without the 
red head. They make the grove resound 
with their chatter which resembles the 
Tree-toad’s song, and their rapping on the 
branches, dashing from one tree to another 
and to the ground, and again in the tree- 
top chasing each other with varied manoeu¬ 
vres, making a very pretty sight, with their 
bright tricolor, red, bl.ick and white, make 
them very conspicuous. Flying out among 
the leaves they seize an acorn in their 
beaks and taking it to some suitable place 
they secure it in a crotch or crack in a 
dead branch and hammer it with their 
beaks till they break the shell and secure 
the contents, which they swallow piecemeal. 
I hope they will tarry as they did on the 
former occasion, through the winter, and 
some tarried and nested here in the spring. 
Besides these two occasions I have never 
observed them here except single speci¬ 
mens on their migration, and then very 
rarely. I know there are places where the 
bird is an abundant summer resident, but 
I always understood not in any part of 
New Enghind, and it is an interesting 
(juestion with me, whence these sudden in¬ 
fluxes came and what vagaries caused them’ 
— J. A'. Clark, Saybrook, Conn. 
Southwick &: Jencks' new catalogue is out. 
