the head and fore-neck mottled like the back ; a broad white band, in the
form of the letter V reversed, on the throat and sides of the neck. The
rest of the under parts greyish-white, transversely, marked with undulating
bars of dark-brown ; lower tail-coverts white, with a few dark bars ;
under wing-coverts blackish-brown, with white tips.
Length 9^ inches, extent of wings 23 £ ; bill along the back \ , along
the edge 1 T
A
2 ; tarsus ^.
Adult Female. Plate CXLVII. Fig. 2. 2.
The colouring of the Female is similar to that of the Male, but the
dark parts of the former are browner, and the white parts more tinged
with red ; the white wing-spot smaller, the band on the throat brownishwhite,
and the white spots on the tail-feathers wanting.
Length 9.
The full-fledged young bird resembles the female.
THE WHITE OAK.
QUERCUS AI.BA, Willd. Sp. PI. p. 449. Pursh. Fl. Amer. Sept. vol. ii. p. 633. Mich.
Arbr. Forest, vol. ii. p. 13. pi. 1.—MONOZCIA POLYANDRIA, Linn. AMENTACE^J,
Juss.
Leaves oblong, pinnatifido-sinuate, downy beneath, their lobes oblong,
obtuse; fruit rather large, with a cup-shaped tubercular cupule, and
ovate acorn. The White Oak is abundant in most parts of the United
States from Maine to Louisiana, and is one of the most useful trees of
the genus, the wood being strong and lasting; and, as it is of large dimensions,
it is employed for numerous purposes, especially ship building,
and the manufacture of carriage-wheels, and domestic utensils. It attains
a height of seventy or eighty feet, with a diameter of six or seven.
THE P I N E SWAMP WARBLER.
SYLVIA SPHAGNOSA, BONAP.
P L A T E C X L V I I I . MALE AND FEMALE.
I HAVE met with this homely and humble little Warbler, on the low,
almost submersed Keys of the Floridas, about Key West, in considerable
numbers. This happened in the month of April. One was caught in a
house at Indian Key some days before. In a short time, however, they
all disappeared. Like many other species of this extensive and interesting
family, they seem to cross directly from Cape Florida to Cape Hatteras,
as none were seen in Louisiana, Georgia, or the lower parts of the
Carolinas. It is not improbable that it comes from the West Indies,
resting a few days on the lower islets of Florida, before proceeding northward.
In the early part of May, I have found it in New Jersey, as well
as in Pennsylvania, particularly in the Great Pine Forest, where I drew
a pair of them, and found their nest. During my progress eastward, I
saw them frequently. In the State of Maine, I found them exceedingly
abundant near Eastport, and on the other islands in that vicinity; but
there their progress appeared to have stopped, for I did not see one of
them beyond the Island of Grand Manan, while on my way to Labrador.
The Pine-Swamp Warbler delights in the dark, humid parts of thick
underwood, by the sides of small streams. It is very active, seizing
much of its prey on wing, as well as among the leaves and bark of low
trees. During the breeding-season, the male utters a few clear notes, resembling
the syllables wheet-te-tee-hU, the last note being the loudest and
shortest. At all other times, it is a very silent bird.
The nest which I found in the Pine Forest was placed in one of the
forks of a low bush, not more than five feet from the ground. It was
neat, compact, of small size, and formed of moss, stripes of vine-bark, and
fibres of a kind of wild hemp, with a lining of fine bent-grass, and a few
horse-hairs or fibres of moss. The eggs were five, roundish, of a delicate
buff-colour, with a few spots at the larger end, where they appeared to be
all collected. The female was so gentle that I put my hand close over
her before she moved; and when she did so, she flew only a few feet, returning
to her eggs whenever I retired a few yards. The male expressed
his sorrow by a low tweet, but made no attempt to molest me.