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C U V I E R ' S REGULUS.
REGULUS CUVIERII.
P L A T E L V . MALE.
I HAVE named this pretty and rare species after BARON CUVIER, not
merely by way of acknowledgment for the kind attentions which I have
received at the hands of that deservedly celebrated naturalist, but more
as a homage due by every student of nature to one at present unrivalled
in the knowledge of General Zoology.
I shot the bird represented in the Plate, on my father-in-law's plantation
of Fatland Ford, on the Skuylkill River in Pennsylvania, on the
8th June 1812, while on a visit to my honoured relative Mr WILLIAM
BAKEWELL. The drawing which I then made I have kept to this date,
without having described the bird from which it was taken. I killed this
little bird, supposing it to lie one of its relatives, the Ruby-crested Wren,
whilst it was searching for insects and larvae amongst the leaves and blossoms
of the Kalmia latifolia, on a branch of which you see it represented,
and was not aware of its being a different bird until I picked it up from
the ground. I have not seen another since, nor have I been able to learn
that this species has been observed by any other individual. It might,
however, be very easily mistaken for the Ruby-crowned Wren, the manners
of which appear to be much the same.
My excellent friend CHARLES LUCIAN BONAPARTE, to whom also I
shewed my drawing of this bird in London, proposed naming it Regulus
Carbunculus; and I should probably have introduced it to you, kind
reader, under that appellation, had I not changed it for that of Regulus
Cuvierii, on my fortunately becoming acquainted with the highly celebrated
and equally kind Secretary of the Royal Institute of France.
The Kalmia latifolia grows in great profusion in the State of Pennsylvania,
and along the range of the Alleghanies, in all rocky and hilly
situations.
R E G U L U S C U V I E R I I.
Plate LV. Male.
CUVIER'S REGULUS. 289
Bill short, straight, subulate, very slender, compressed, with inflected
edges; upper mandible nearly straight in its dorsal outline, the edges
slightly notched close upon the slightly decimate acute tip; lower mandible
straight, acute. Nostrils basal, elliptical, half closed above by a
membrane, covered over by the feathers. The whole form slender. Legs
rather long; tarsus slender, much compressed, longer than the middle
toe, covered anteriorly with a few indistinct scutella; toes scutellate, the
lateral ones nearly equal and free; hind toe stouter ; claws weak, compressed,
arched, acute.
Plumage very loose and tufty Bristles at the base of the bill; a
small decomposed feather covering the nostril. Wings of ordinary length,
the third and fourth primaries longest. Tail of twelve feathers, emarginate.
Bill black. Iris hazel. Feet yellowish-brown. The general colour
of the upper parts is dull greyish-olive. Forehead, lore, and a line behind
the eye, black. A semilunar band of the same on the top of the
head, the middle space vermilion. Wings and tail dusky, edged with
greenish-yellow. Secondary coverts tipped with greyish-white. Under
parts greyish-white.
Length 4£ inches, extent of wings 6 ; bill along the ridge nearly
along the gap nearly £ ; tarsus |.
THE BROAD-LEAVED KALMIA, OR LAUREL.
K A L M I A L A T I F O L I A , Willd. Sp. PI. vol. ii. p. 600. Pursh, FL Amer. vol. i. p. 296.—
D E C A N D R I A M O N O G Y N I A , Linn. R I I O D O D E N D R A , JUSS.
This beautiful species is characterized by its scattered, petiolate, elliptical
leaves, which are smooth, and nearly of the same colour on both
sides; and its terminal, viscid, and pubescent corymbs. It is a middlesized
shrub, sometimes attaining a height of eight or ten feet. The leaves
are evergreen, as in the other species, and the flowers of a delicate pink.
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