Dendroica auduboni (I, 229). In July, 1870, Dr. Cooper found families of this species fully fledged, wandering through the woods, at the summit pass of the Central Pacific Railroad, 7,000 feet altitude, confirming his supposition that they breed in the high Sierra Nevada. There they are very numerous in summer, following the retreating snow to this elevation about May 1, when the males are in full plumage, retaining it till August. Their song is always faint, and similar to that of D. æstiva.
Dendroica cærulea (I, 235). A nest, containing one egg, of the Cærulean Warbler, was obtained in June, 1873, by Frank S. Booth, the son of James Booth, Esq., the well-known taxidermist of Drummondville, Ontario, near Niagara Falls. The nest was built in a large oak-tree at the height of fifty feet or more from the ground. It was placed horizontally on the upper surface of a slender limb, between two small twigs, and the branch on which it was thus saddled was only an inch and a half in thickness. Being nine feet from the trunk of the tree, it was secured with great difficulty. The nest is a rather slender fabric, somewhat similar to the nest of the Redstart, and quite small for the bird. It has a diameter of 2½ inches, and is 1¼ inches in depth. Its cavity is 2 inches wide at the rim, and 1 inch in depth. The nest chiefly consists of a strong rim firmly woven of strips of fine bark, stems of grasses, and fine pine-needles, bound round with flaxen fibres of plants and wool. Around the base a few bits of hornets’ nests, mosses, and lichens are loosely fastened. The nest within is furnished with fine stems and needles, and the flooring is very thin and slight. The egg is somewhat similar in its general appearance to that of D. æstiva, but is smaller and with a ground-color of a different shade of greenish-white. It is oblong-oval in shape, and measures .70 of an inch in length by .50 in breadth. It is thinly marked over the greater portion of its surface with minute dottings of reddish-brown. A ring of confluent blotches of purple and reddish-brown surrounds the larger end.
Dendroica blackburniæ (I, 237). Obtained at Ogden, Utah, in September, 1871, by Mr. Allen (Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl. III, No. 5, p. 166).
Dendroica dominica (I, 240). A superb nest of the Yellow-throated Warbler was taken by Mr. Giles, near Wilmington, N. C., in the spring of 1872. The nest was enclosed in a pendent tuft of Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides), and completely hidden within it. Its form is cup-shaped, and it is made of fine roots, mixed with much downy material and a few soft feathers, and, except in its situation, does not differ much from other nests of this genus. Other nests have since been received from Mr. Giles; also a nest of Parula americana similarly situated. Mr. Ridgway, from an examination of the nests, infers that this situation is not constant, but that in other localities where the moss is not found this Warbler may build in thick tufts of leaves near the extremity of drooping branches, or in other similar situations.
Dendroica dominica, var. albilora (I, 241). See Am. Nat, VII, October, 1873, p. 606.
Dendroica graciæ, var. decora (I, 244). See Am. Nat. VII, October, 1873, p. 608.
Dendroica castanea (I, 251). This Warbler is cited by us as exceedingly rare in Eastern Massachusetts, though not unknown. A remarkable exception to this otherwise general rule occurred in the spring of 1872. For several days, in the latter part of May, they were found in great abundance in the vicinity of Boston. As the same unusual occurrence of this species in large numbers was noticed by Mr. Kumlien in Southern Wisconsin, it is probable that along the 42d parallel something occurred to cause a deviation from their usual migrations. The long pause of this species in its spring migrations, and its appearance in large numbers, are not known to have occurred before.
Mr. Salvin (Ibis, April, 1872) expresses the opinion that this Warbler, in its southern migration, does not pause in its flight from the Southern United States to stop in any of the West India Islands, nor in any point of Central America north of Costa Rica. It is by no means rare at Panama during the winter. We may therefore infer that in both its southern and its northern migrations long flights are made, at certain periods, over sections of country in which they do not appear at all, or where only a straggling few are ever seen, and that their abundance in 1872 was exceptional and due to causes not understood.
Dendroica nigrescens (I, 258). Obtained in El Paso County, Colorado; Aiken.
Dendroica occidentalis, D. townsendi, and D. nigrescens (I, 258, 265, 266). While travelling over the Cuyamaca Mountains east of San Diego, in April, 1872, Dr. Cooper found D. occidentalis, for the first time, quite common. They seemed to be still migrating during the last week of April, but perhaps were only moving upwards, being numerous between the elevation of 1,500 and 4,000 feet, while heavy frosts still occurred at the latter height. They probably go in May as high as 6,200 feet, the summits of the highest peaks, which are densely covered by coniferous trees. D. townsendi and D. nigrescens were in company with occidentalis in small flocks, among the oaks, and all seemed to be following an elevated route northward. In 1862, Dr. Cooper found them among the chaparral along the coast, but he regards this as exceptional and probably occasioned by a severe storm in the mountains, as he saw none in 1872 in a spring of average mildness. They occur about Petaluma as early as April 1.