90 
LAND-BIRDS. 
more than three feet high ”; another “ was built within a 
brace-hole in a mill ”; and a third “ in a hollow snag, about 
five feet from the ground, in the river bottom.” The eggs 
average .68 X .55 of an inch, and are cream white, with lilac, 
purplish brown (and black) markings. 
c. The Prothonotary Warblers have little or no right to be 
included in the list of the birds of Massachusetts, and I have 
never seen them here (unless perhaps once a pair, at dark in 
October). They prefer the borders of streams, and neigh, 
borhood of water, to drier ground, and swampy thickets to 
the woods and forests. Otherwise, their habits are essentially 
like those of the Worm-eating Warbler and other allied species. 
d. Their ordinary note is said to be like the feeble tsip of 
the White-throated Sparrow, but of more characteristic notes 
I know nothing.* The “ Prothonotaries ” strongly resemble 
the Blue-winged Yellow Warblers, who are much more likely 
to occur in southern New England, and therefore should an 
inexperienced student meet either in his rambles through this 
State, let him carefully note which it is. 
VI. HELMINTHOFHILA. 
A. pinus. Blue-winged Yellow Warbler. No one, I be¬ 
lieve, has reported the presence of this bird in New England, 
except Mr. Samuels.^ 
a. About five inches long. Like the Prothonotary War¬ 
bler ; but rump (like the back), olive, wing-bars and tail- 
blotches, white (or nearly so), 
* The ordinary song 1 is a loud peet, 
tweet, tweet, tweet, varied to peet, tsweet, 
tsweet, tsweet, or tsweet, tr-sweet, tr-sweet, 
tr-sweet. At a distance the notes resem¬ 
ble those of a Solitary or Spotted Sand¬ 
piper, but near at hand they possess a 
peculiar penetrating quality. The bird 
has another and very different song, 
which it utters while flying slowly with 
a trembling, fluttering motion of the 
wings, carrying the head high and the 
tail wide spread. Although so low and 
feeble as to be inaudible many rods 
away, this song is very sweet. It some- 
and eye-stripe, or lore, black. 
what resembles the song of the Canary, 
given in an undertone with trills or 
water notes interspersed. — W. B. 
t This Warbler is a common sum¬ 
mer resident of southern Connecticut, 
but is not known to occur regularly north 
of Hartford, and is most numerous in 
the country immediately bordering on 
the Sound and the lower valley of the 
Connecticut River. Several specimens 
have been taken in Massachusetts, 
where, however, the species does not 
seem to have attained a permanent 
foothold. —W. B. 
