made among them in the Middle Districts, they follow the coast, and
reach the rice plantations of the Carolinas in such astonishing numbers,
that no one could conceive their flocks to have been already thinned.
Their flesh is extremely tender and juicy. The markets are amply supplied,
and the epicures have a glorious time of it.
By the end of October, few are found remaining in the States of New
York and Pennsylvania; and by the first of December they have left the
United States.
The food of these birds varies according to the seasons, and consists
of grubs, caterpillars, insects of various kinds, such as beetles, grasshoppers,
crickets, and ground-spiders, and the seeds of wild oats, wheat,
barley, rice, and other grasses. They cling or climb along the stalks of
rank weeds, reeds, and corn, with great activity and ease, and when at
roost place themselves as near the ground as possible.
I C T E R U S A G R I P E N N I S , Ch. Bonaparte, Synops. of Birds of the United States, p. 53.
E . M B E R I Z A O R Y Z I V O R A , Linn. Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 311.—Lath. Ind. Ornith. vol. i.
p. 408.
R I C E B U N T I N G , Lath. Synops. vol. iii. p. 188.—Wils. Amer. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 48,
PI. xii. fig. 1, 2.
Plate LIV. Fig. 1. Adult Male in summer.
Bill of ordinary length, robust, conical, compressed ; upper mandible
narrower, inflected at the edges, the dorsal outline a little convex, the
ridge slightly prolonged on the forehead, the palate furnished with a hard
tubercle; under mandible with the dorsal outline convex, as are the sides,
the edges inflected; the gap line much deflected at the base, straight.
Nostrils basal, oval, in a short deep grove, nearly concealed by the
feathers. Head large, neck thick, body full. Feet of ordinary length,
rather strong; tarsus compressed, anteriorly covered with six scutella,
posteriorly acute; toes scutellate above, the outer united at the base;
claws arched, compressed, acute, the hind one very long.
Plumage compact, glossy. Wings of ordinary length, the second
quill longest. Tail of ordinary length, composed of twelve acuminate
feathers.
Bill dark brown above, bluish-grey beneath. Iris hazel. Feet light
reddish-brown. Upper and fore part of the head, cheeks, tail, quills,
and the whole under parts, black. Back of the head and neck brownishyellow.
Fore part of the back black, the feathers margined with yellow,
as are the secondary quills and coverts. Lower back, tail-coverts and
scapulars, pure white.
Length 7 inches, extent of wings 1 1 ; bill along the ridge T
7
2 , along
the gap § ; tarsus 1 \, middle toe 1
Adult Female in summer. Plate LIV. Fig. 2.
The female is somewhat less than the male, and differs greatly in the
colours of the plumage, the upper parts being light yellowish-brown, longitudinally
streaked with blackish-brown, the under parts pale greyishyellow,
the sides longitudinally marked with dark brown. There is a
broad band of dark brown on each side of the head, beneath which is a
yellowish streak over the eye, and a blackish spot behind it. The quills
and tail-feathers are wood-brown, the former, as well as the coverts, margined
with yellowish.
Notwithstanding the somewhat greater length of the bill, this bird
evidently approaches very nearly to the genus Emberiza, or is one of the
connecting links between it and the genus Icterus. The female in colouring
bears a striking resemblance to Emberiza miliaria.
THE RED MAPLE.
A C E R R U B R U M , Willd. Sp. Plant, vol. iv. p. 984. Pursh, Flor. Amer. vol. i. p. 265.
Mich. Arb. Forest, de l'Amer. Sept. vol. ii. p. 210. PI. 1 4 — O C T A N D R I A MONOG
Y N I A , Linn. A C E R I N E J E , JUSS.
This species, which is known by the names of Red Maple and Szcamj)
Maple, is distinguished by its five-lobed or three-lobed leaves, which are
cordate at the base, unequally and deeply toothed, and glaucous beneath;
its sessile umbels, elongated pedicels, and smooth germens. The flowers
and seeds are red. It is very extensively distributed, and in the Swamps
of Pennsylvania and New Jersey attains a height of from sixty to eighty
feet. When young, the bark is smooth, and covered with large white
spots, but it ultimately cracks and becomes brown. The wood is hard
and close, and takes a good polish. It is extensively used for various
purposes.