the Atlantic coast, and as far in the interior as I have travelled. The
delicious odour of its leaves never fails to gratify the person who brushes
through patches of it, while the delicate tints of its flowers reminds one
of the loveliness of female beauty in its purest and most blooming state.
Truly a " sweet home n must be the nest that is placed in an eglantine
bower, and happy must be the bird that in the midst of fragrance is
cheered by the warble of her ever loving mate.
T H E C O N N E C T I C U T W A R B L E R .
SYLVIA AGILIS, WILS.
P L A T E C X X X V I I I . MALE AND FEMALE.
I PROCURED the pair represented in the Plate, on a fine evening, nearly
at sun-set, at the end of August, on the banks of the Delaware River, in
New Jersey, a few miles below Camden. When I first observed them,
they were hopping and skipping from one low bush to another, and
among the tall reeds of the marsh, emitting an often-repeated tweet at
every move. They were chasing a species of spider which runs nimbly
over the water, and which they caught by gliding over it, as a Swallow
does when drinking. I followed them for about a hundred yards, when,
watching a fair opportunity, I shot both at once. The weather was exceedingly
sultry ; and although I outlined both by candle-light that evening,
and finished the drawing of them next morning by breakfast time,
they had at that early hour become putrid, so that their skins could not
be preserved. On opening them I counted upwards of fifty of the spiders
mentioned above, but found no appearance of any other food. The sexual
distinction was very apparent, and die brace proved a pair. They were
not in the least shy, and in fact seemed to take very little notice of me,
although at times I was quite close to them. These being the only individuals
I ever met with, I am of course unable to say where the species
breeds, or what are its migrations.
The plant on which they are placed grew abundantly on the spot
where I procured them; and as they had just alighted on it when I shot
them, it being moreover a handsome species, I thought it best to attach it
to them.
SYLVIA AGILIS, Ch. Bonaparte, Synops. of Birds of the United States, p. 84.
CONNECTICUT "WARBLER, SYLVIA AGILIS, Wils. Amer. Ornith. vol. v. p. 84, pi. 3 9 ,
fig. 4. Nuttall, Manual, part i. p. 399.
Adult Male, Plate CXXXVIII, Fig. 1.
Bill short, straight, conico-subulate, acute ; nostrils basal, lateral, oval,
exposed ; head of moderate size; neck short, body rather slender; feet ot
p g