T H E N A S H V I L L E WARBLER.
SYLVIA RUBRICAPILLA, WILS.
PLATE LXXXIX. MALE AND FEMALE.
I HAVE shot only three or four birds of this species, and these were
all that I ever met with. I found them in Louisiana and Kentucky. A
few specimens belonging to Mr TITIAN PEALE of Philadelphia, and
which he, with his usual kindness, lent me for a few days, to compare
their colouring with my drawings and notes, were the only others that I
have seen. It is probable he had procured them in Pennsylvania, although
I cannot now recollect if this was really the case.
The flight of this little bird is short, light, and entirely similar to
that of the numerous species of Sylvia already described. Its food consists
of insects and larvae, which it procures by searching diligently and
actively amongst the leaves and buds of low trees. It does not pursue
insects on wing. With the exception of a few low, eagerly repeated,
creaking notes, I have not heard any sounds from them. While uttering
these notes, which are all the species seem to have in lieu of song, the
male stands erect and still. I am not aware of its nest having been discovered
or described by any naturalist.
The plant on a twig of which two Nashville Warblers are represented,
is usually called the Swamp Spice. It is a low bush, grows in
the water, in swampy and muddy ground, and occurs from Georgia to
New York. The berries, which are seldom eaten by birds, have little
pulp, and consequently a large seed.
SYLVIA RUBRICAPILLA, Ch. Bonaparte Synops. of Birds of the United States, p. 87.
SYLVIA RUBRICAPILLA, NASHVILLE "WARBLER, Wils. Amer. Ornith. vol. iii. p. 120.
PI. 27, fig. 3 .
Bill rather short, slender, tapering, nearly straight, as deep as broad
at the base. Nostrils basal, lateral, elliptical, half-closed by a membrane.
Head of ordinary size, neck short, body full. Feet of ordinary length,
slender; tarsus longer than the middle toe, anteriorly scutellate; toes
free, scutellate above; claws slender, compressed, acute, arched.
N A S H V I L L E WARBLER. 451
Adult Male. Plate LXXXIX. Fig. 1.
Plumage soft, blended, tufty. Wings short, curved, the first and
second quills longest. Tail short, forked, of twelve rounded feathers.
Bill greenish-brown. Iris dark brown. Feet yellowish-green. Head
and cheeks brownish-grey, the upper part of the head dark red. A circle
of white round the eye. The general colour of the upper parts is
brownish-green, of the under greenish-yellow, brighter on the throat and
breast. Inner webs of the wing and tail-feathers dusky, the outer
brownish-green, and of the primaries bright yellow.
Length 4 £ inches, extent of wings 7 ; bill along the ridge along
the gap i} ; tarsus f.
Adult Female. Plate LXXXIX. Fig. 2.
The female is much duller ; the head and hind-neck dark brownishgrey,
tinged with green, the former without the red patch, the under
parts more mixed with grey, the sides olivaceous, and the yellow of the
wings less pure.
THE SWAMP SPICE.
ILEX PRINOIDES, Wild. Sp. PL voL i. p. 7 0 9 . Pursh, Flor. Amer. vol. 1. p. 1 1 8 .—
TETRANDRIA TETRAGYNIA, Linn. HIIAMNI, JUSS.
Leaves lanceolate, attenuated at the base, slightly serrated; peduncles
one-flowered. The leaves of this species are deciduous, the berries
bright red.
í f 2