66 HOODED WARBLER.
On such occasions I have approached them near enough to touch them
with my gun. By the middle of September they all retire farther south.
The plant on which I have represented a pair of these birds, is common
in the localities which they usually prefer. Although richly coloured,
it has no scent.
HOODED FLYCATCHER, MUSCÍCAPA CUCULLATA, Wils. Amor. Ornith. vol. iii. p. 101,
PI. 26. Fig. 3. Male—NuUall, Manual, vol. i. p. 373.
SYLVIA JIITRATA, Lath. Index Ornith. vol. ii. p. 528.—Bonaparte, Synops. of Birds
of the United States, p. 79-
Adult Male. Plate CX. Fig. 1.
Bill of moderate length, straight, subulato-conical, acutej nearly as
deep as broad at the base, the edges acute, the gap line a little deflected
at the base. Nostrils basal, elliptical, lateral, half-closed by a membrane.
Head rather small. Neck short. Body rather slender. Feet of ordinary
length, slender; tarsus longer than the middle toe, covered anteriorly by
a few scutella, the uppermost long ; toes scu tell ate above, the inner free,
the hind toe of moderate size; claws slender, compressed, acute, arched.
Plumage soft and blended. Wings short, a little rounded, the second
and third quills longest. Tail longish, slightly emarginate. Rather strong
bristles at the base of the bill.
Bill blackish above, paler below. Iris brown. Feet flesh-coloured.
Forehead, sides of the head, and the chin deep yellow, as are the breast
and belly. Hind-head, throat, and lower part of the neck black. The
general colour of the upper parts is yellowish-olive; wings dusky; three
lateral tail-feathers white on the terminal half of their inner webs.
Length 5\, extent of wings 8; bill along the ridge nearly T%.
.nti-rf bnwofB too(do orgrrrg n daingoosn Jon hluoo brm .Irrgrad nmbhora
Adult Female. Plate CX. Fig. 2.
The Female has the forehead, the sides of the head, and all the lower
parts yellow, the hind part of the head dusky; in other respects she resembles
the male.
Dimensions nearly the same as in the male.
This species more resembles a Flycatcher than a Sylvia in its habits,
as well as in the bristles at the base of the bill, and, in fact, is very nearly
allied to the Muscícapa Selbii, vol. i. p. 46.
T H E LOST ONE.
A " Live-oaker" employed on the St John's River, in East Florida,
left his cabin, situated on the banks of that stream, and, with his axe on
his shoulder, proceeded towards the swamp in which he had several times
before plied his trade of felling and squaring the giant trees that afford
the most valuable timber for naval architecture and other purposes.
At the season which is the best for this kind of labour, heavy fogs not
unfrequently cover the country, so as to render it difficult for one to see farther
than thirty or forty yards in any direction. The woods, too, present
so little variety, that every tree seems the mere counterpart of every other;
and the grass, when it has not been burnt, is so tall that a man of ordinary
stature cannot see over it, whence it is necessary for him to proceed with
great caution, lest he should unwittingly deviate from the ill-defined trail
which he follows. To increase the difficulty, several trails often meet, .in
which case, unless the explorer be perfectly acquainted with the neighbourhood,
it would be well for him to lie down, and wait until the fog should
disperse. Under such circumstances, the best woodsmen are not unfrequently
bewildered for a while; and I well remember that such an occurrence
happened to myself, at a time when I had imprudently ventured
to pursue a wounded quadruped, which led me some distance from the
track.
The live-oaker had been jogging onwards for several hours, and became
aware that he must have travelled considerably more than the clis
tance between his cabin and the " hummock"" which he desired to reach.
To his alarm, at the moment when the fog dispersed, he saw the sun at its
meridian height, and could not recognise a single object around him.
Young, healthy, and active, he imagined that he had. walked with
more than usual speed, and had passed the place to which he was bound.
He accordingly turned his back upon the sun, and pursued a different
route, guided by a small trail. Time passed, and the sun headed his
course : he saw it gradually descend in the west; but all around him continued
as if enveloped with mystery. The huge grey trees spread their
giant boughs over him, the rank grass extended on all sides, not a living
being crossed his path, all was silent and still, and the scene was like ;i
dull and dreary dream of the land of oblivion. lie wandered like a for