Mar., t9o6 I THE HERMIT WARBLER IN WASHINGTON 4I The hermits make their first appearance early in May and the fact is only to be known thru their notes; for they frequent the tops of the giant firs which cover large sections of our flat prairie country. The song was described by my brother, Mr. C. W. Bowles, while summering in the mountains of southern Oregon, and later quoted in an article by the late Chester Barlow. It consists of four distinct notes, as a rule, and is described as, "zeegle-zeegle, zeegle-zeek," uttered somewhat slowly at first but ending rather sharply. About the middle of July both young and old assemble in good-sized flocks and frequent the water holes in the smaller growths of timber. At such times I have never seen them associating with any other kinds of birds. In the midst of the dense foliage of the fir branches, and at a distance of from two hundred to three hundred feet from the ground, these birds cannot be satis- factorily studied even with the aid of the best glasses. They are so small and active that one is continually losing them, and it was only by the merest accident that I happened on a method of getting into close touch with them. I had found a nest of the Cassin vireo containing young, and stood watching the different small birds that always gather to inquire into the vigorous scolding of these most solicitous of parents. Suddenly from the towering firs overhead a sinall bird swooped down and joined the rest, soon to be followed by another. My suspicions were immediately aroused, and, carefully keeping them distinguished from the others, the black throat and yellow hermit's cowl quickly identified the new- comers as male and female Z). occidentalis. Soon they became the most inquisitive of all, and hopping close around me were truly "the observed of all observers." It was on this occasion that I noticed a peculiar habit of these warblers, and my brother has since seen them do the same thing. After examining me closely and apparently deciding that I was a new kind of stump, the female commenced feeding, but her attention was soon attracted to a last year's nest of the russet- backed thrush. She at once flew to it and, hopping in, crouched down and com- menced trampling the bottom, turning around, putting the material on the sides into shape with her bill, and altogether acting as if she had nest-building well under way. This was about the middle of May and, as I subsequently discovered, almost a month too early for her to lay her eggs. Nevertheless the nest was care- fully watched, tho with no further results. Their food consists of small spiders, caterpillars, tiny beetles, and flying in- sects which they dart out and capture in a manner worthy of that peer of fly- catchers the Audubon warbler. What might be called a typical nesting site is purely a matter of conjecture, though the few nests that have been taken in California were built rather low down. In Washington, however, it is probable that the nest is placed one hun- dred or more feet up in the great Douglas firs. The only nest I hi, re ever seen, either old or new--the nest cannot be ntistaken for anything else--was found dur- ing the past' season, on June ttth, I9O 5. I was looking for nests of the black- throated gray warbler in a grove of young hundred-foot firs near a small swamp, when I caught sight of what looked to be a typical nest of the Audubon warbler on an overhead limb. The bird's tail showed plainly over the edge of the nest, and while climbing up I was surprised that she did not come to meet me as Z). auduboni always does. Instead she allowed me to sit on the limb and look down at her, and my feelings may be better imagined than described when, instead of the small yellow-crown patch of an Audubon, I saw the lemon-yellow head of a hermit. She sat so close that I was forced to lift her from the nest with my hand; and she then flew only a few feet where she remained chipping and spreading her
