NOTES ON NESTING OF WARBLERS.
At Fort Ancient, Ohio.
Ray Densmore.
During the latter part of May of the present year Mr. Tyler and myself spent some time collecting in and around Fort Ancient, Warren County, Ohio. The Fort is situated on the summit of a hill surrounded by gullies 200 to 300 feet deep, with rather steep sides. The Little Miami River runs by on the west.
The sides of the gullies are springy and covered by enough bushes and small trees to make it an ideal resort for many of the warblers. The most common was the yellow-breasted chat. Nearly every clump of bushes was inhabited by one or more pairs of these well named birds. Several nests were found and two sets of four eggs each were taken. One set is heavily marked with reddish blotches; the other is typical in coloration, but one egg is nearly a runt. Oven birds were numerous, but no nests were found. Kentucky warblers were abundant in the lower part of the gullies. Three nests were found, one containing four eggs in an advanced stage of incubation, one containing three fresh eggs and a cow bird’s egg and one nest just completed. There was but little variation in the material used in construction, appearance or location of the nests. The foundations were composed of tightly packed leaves, the bases of which were outward, and a lining of fine rootlets or in one a small amount of horse hair.
A nest of the worm-eating warbler, containing six eggs, was found by Mr. Tyler in a depression in the side of a bank under a bush. The bird sat very close and allowed us to approach within three or four feet before she would leave the nest. We were able to identify her very certainly. The species must have been rare in the locality, for no other specimens were seen during our trip. The nest was composed of a foundation of leaves, loosely placed, and lined with fine rootlets and weed stems.
The Louisiana water thrush was abundant along the streams. One nest was found containing four young birds about a week old. It had a foundation of weed stems and twigs and was lined with rootlets. Its situation was in the side of a bank a few feet above the water.
A Maryland yellow throat was heard on the flats of the Little Miami River, and two other warblers were seen that I was unable to identify, although one may have been the chestnut-sided.
Perry, Lake County, Ohio.