144 BLUE GROSBEAK.
moderate length, third and fourth primaries longest. Tail rather long,
emarginate.
Bill pale greyish-blue beneath and on the edges of the upper mandible,
the rest of which is dusky. Iris brown. Feet dusky. The general
colour of the plumage is deep purplish-blue. Lore, chin, and a line round
the base of the mandibles, black. Quills and larger coverts brownishblack,
the primaries edged with blue, the secondary quills, secondary coverts
and first row of smaller coverts light reddish-brown. Tail feathers
brownish-black, edged with blue, as are the under tail coverts.
Length 7^ inches, extent of wings 1 1 ; bill along the ridge T
7
a , along
the edge \ tarsus 1.
Wsft « tfotdw ihmtnrfl •-.•:•'• = * ff»b
Adult Female. Plate CXXII. Fig. %
Bill as in the male, but paler. Feet brown. Head and hind part
of the back, as in the male; the back, sides of the neck, and forepart of
the breast greyish-brown, tinged with dull blue. The rest of the under
parts yellowish-grey. The wings are nearly as in the male, but lighter,
and the black at the base of the bill is wanting. The dimensions are
somewhat less than those of the male.
Trtfl'i^ Vilmjo'j V» nole«93iBO(T0>I-ii't o$ hjfdurjHRB had modi lo ynnxj rta
Young Bird fully fledged. Plate CXXII. Fig. 3.
Bill yellowish-grey, dusky above. Feet brown. The general colour
is light greenish-brown, the upper part of the head, the back, smaller
wing coverts and upper tail coverts tinged with dusky. The wings and
tail are as in the female.
THE DOG WOOD.
CORNITS F L O R I D A , Willd. Sp. PI. vol. i. p. (561. Pursh, Flor. Amer. vol. i. p. 108.
— T E T R A N D R I A M O N O G V N I A , Linn. C A P R I F O L I A , Jttss.
See vol. i. pages 45. and 376.
( 145 )
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T H E B L A C K A N D Y E L L O W W A R B L E R ,
SYLVIA MACULOSA, LATH.
P L A T E C X X I I I . MALE A N D F E M A I ft
F E W of our Warblers have a more varied plumage, or are more animated
in their motions, than this beautiful little bird. In Louisiana it is
met with now and then as early as the middle of March, but there its
occurrence appears to be merely accidental, as is indeed the case in Kentucky,
Ohio, or any portion of the Middle States, through which a few
are to be seen on their passage to more northern regions. In autumn I
have seen them in great numbers near the Pocano Mountains, accompanied
by their young, proceeding southward, as I thought, along the direction
of that range. While in Maine, on my way to Labrador, in the
month of May, I observed them to be very abundant by the? roads, in
the fields, the low woods, and even the orchards and gardens. In fact,
so numerous were those interesting birds, that you might have fancied that
an army of them had assembled to take possession of the country. Scarce
a leaf was yet expanded, large icicles hung along the rocky shores, and I
could not but feel surprised at the hardihood of the little adventurers.
At night they roosted in numbers in the small evergreen trees, and by
day they were to be seen flitting about wherever the sun shone. If the
morning was cold, you might catch them with the hand, and several specimens,
procured in that manner by children, were brought to me. This
happened in the neighbourhood of Eastport. By the end of a fortnight,
the greater part of them had pushed farther north. I met them whereever
I landed in the neighbouring islands, and along the shores of the
Bay of Fundy, as well as in the Straits of Cansso, the Magdeleine Isles,
and Labrador. I have no doubt that the extraordinary congregation
which I saw near Eastport, was caused by the foresight of the tiny travellers,
aware that they could not at so early a period proceed farther
without imminent danger. Many of these birds, however, remain and
breed in the State of Maine, and in the British Provinces.
The Black and Yellow Warbler has a clear and sweetly modulated
song, surpassing that of many other birds of its tribe. It sings in the interior
of the low woods, to which it seems at all times to give a deeided
VOL. II.