Loe raamatut: «A History of North American Birds, Land Birds. Volume 1», lehekülg 37

The nests were similar in their construction to those of the Bank Swallow, composed of dry grasses, straws, and leaves, and lined with a few feathers; but a much greater amount of material was made use of, owing, perhaps, to the exposed positions in which they were built.

The eggs, six in number, in every instance that we noticed, were pure white, about the size of those of the riparia, but a little more uniformly oblong in shape and pointed at one end. Their length varies from .78 to .69 of an inch, the average being .75. Their average breadth is .53 of an inch.

Genus COTYLE, Boie

Cotyle, Boie, Isis, 1822, 550. (Type, Hirundo riparia, L.)

Gen. Char. Bill small; nostrils lateral, overhung by a straight-edged membrane. Tarsus about equal to middle toe without claw; feathered at upper end, especially on inner face, and having also a small tuft of feathers attached to posterior edge near the hind toe. Middle toe with basal joint adherent externally to near the end, half-way internally, the claws comparatively little curved, the lateral reaching beyond the base of the middle. Tail slightly forked. Color dull lustreless brown above, in riparia white beneath with gray pectoral band. Nests in holes in banks; eggs white.

Cotyle riparia.

20641

Many American birds have been referred to Cotyle, but the only one really belonging to the genus is the cosmopolitan C. riparia. The peculiarity of the genus consists essentially in the tuft of tarsal feathers at the base of the hind toe, and the unusual length of the lateral claws, combined with the lateral nostrils overhung by membrane. By these characters the genus is very easily distinguished from Stelgidopteryx.

Cotyle riparia, Boie

BANK SWALLOW; SAND MARTIN

Hirundo riparia, Linn. S. N. I, 1766, 344.—Wils.; Aud.—Lembeye, Aves de Cuba, 1850, 47, lam. vii, fig. 3.—Jones, Nat. Hist. Bermuda, 34 (occasional, Aug. and Sept.). Cotyle riparia, Boie, Isis, 1822, 550.—Cassin.—Brewer, N. A. Oöl. I, 1857, 105, pl. iv, fig. 49 (eggs).—Cab. Jour. 1856, 4 (Cuba).—Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 313; Rev. 1864, 319.—Ib. 1861, 93 (Costa Rica [?]).—Gundlach, Cab. Jour. 1861, 330 (very rare in Cuba).—March, Pr. A. N. Sc. 1863, 297 (Jamaica; very rare). Heermann, P. R. R. X, 36 (California; abundant?).—Dall & Bannister, 280 (Alaska).—Cooper, Orn. Cal. 1, 1870, 110.—Samuels, 258. Hirundo cinerea, Vieill. Hirundo riparia americana, Max.

Sp. Char. Adult. Above grayish-brown, somewhat fuliginous, with a tendency to paler margins of the feathers. Beneath pure white, with a band across the breast and the sides of the body like the back. Length, 4.75; wing, 4.00; tail, 2.00.

Young birds have less emarginate tails, and the feathers of back, rump, and wings edged with whitish.

Hab. The whole of North America; Bermudas; Greater Antilles; Costa Rica; Western Brazil (Pelz.). Also found in the northern parts of the Old World.

A critical examination has failed to reveal any difference between European and American specimens of this bird.

Cotyle riparia.

Habits. The common Bank Swallow as we know it, or Sand Martin as it is called in England, is nearly or quite cosmopolitan in its distribution. Found throughout Europe in the season of reproduction, and in portions of Africa in the winter months, it is equally common throughout North America in the summer, and probably winters in Mexico and in Central and South America, though it is not mentioned by Sumichrast as a bird of Vera Cruz. It is said to occur in various parts of the continent of Africa, and in Europe it extends its migrations to the extreme northern regions. It has also been met with in India and in Siberia. Mr. Salvin obtained several specimens at Duenas, Guatemala, in September, 1861, having previously observed it about the Lake of Yzabah.

On both continents it is somewhat local in its distribution, in favorable localities being quite abundant, and in others not known to exist. It is an early spring visitant wherever found, appearing in England by the 24th of March, and even in our high Arctic regions early in May, often in such inclement weather that it is obliged to take refuge in holes. Mr. Dall met with this species in Alaska, in favorable situations, in immense numbers. He counted on the face of one sand-bluff over seven hundred nest-holes made by these birds, and all of them apparently occupied, so that the bluff presented the appearance of an immense honeycomb alive with bees. He states that it takes the bird four days to excavate its nest. Rev. F. O. Morris, on the other hand, who has closely watched their operations in England, says that it requires a fortnight, and that the weight of sand a pair of these birds removes is twenty ounces in a day. Pebbles of more than two ounces in weight have been known to be taken out by them.

The flight of this species is rapid, but unsteady and flickering. In searching for their food they skim low over the surface of both land and water, dropping upon the latter, as they fly, to drink or to bathe. Their food consists of the smaller kinds of winged insects, which they pursue and capture, dashing at them at times even on the water. They usually feed their young with larger kinds than they eat themselves.

It has not been observed in Greenland, but Richardson found it in colonies of thousands at the mouth of Mackenzie’s River, in the 68th parallel. It is a very social bird, usually breeding together in large communities, and is more independent of man than most of its family, owing him no other favors than those incident to excavations through sand-banks, of which it avails itself. The nests of these Swallows are placed in excavations made by them in the banks of rivers, cliffs by the sea-shore, and similar favorable situations. These are usually as near the surface of the ground as the nature of the soil permits to be readily penetrated, though the bird has been known to work its way even through hard gravel. Their depth varies from fourteen inches to four feet, though two feet is the usual distance.

Mr. Augustus Fowler mentions a remarkable instance of sagacity and provident forethought in these birds, not easily separable from reason. In the town of Beverly, in a stratum of sandy loam, he observed each season a colony of some twenty or thirty pairs of these birds. In this place these birds never burrowed more than two or three feet. Within a mile of this place another colony excavated a bank in which the layer of loam was mixed with small stones. In this bank they excavated to the depth of five, seven, and even nine feet. Why was there this extraordinary difference in the length of burrows made by the same species, in situations not more than a mile apart? The reason for this difference, upon examination, became very obvious. We give the explanation in Mr. Fowler’s own words: “In one bank, where the earth was of a fine sandy loam, easily perforated, from the entrance to the extremity the burrows did not exceed three feet in length; while in the other bank, with harder loam to work in, one burrow was found nine feet in length. After examining six holes of nearly equal length, it appeared that these little birds had sufficient reason for extending their labors so far into the earth. In every instance, where they met with a spot free from stones they finished their burrows; thus showing great care for the welfare of their eggs or young by avoiding, in the stony soil, a catastrophe so great as would befall their treasures if by accident one of these stones should fall upon them.”

The work of perforation they perform with their closed bill, swaying the body round on the feet, beginning at the centre and working outwards. This long and often winding gallery gradually expands into a small spherical apartment, on the floor of which they form a rude nest of straw and feathers. The time occupied in making these excavations varies greatly with the nature of the soil, from four or five days to twice that number.

Their eggs are five in number, pure white, and when unblown have a fine roseate hue. They are oval in shape, larger at one end, and pointed at the smaller. Their average length is .72 of an inch, and their average breadth .47.

We now come to the consideration of three families of Oscine birds, of pre-eminently dentirostral type, having certain common characters by which they are distinguishable, with but little difficulty, from all others. In their close relationship it has been questioned by many whether they do not all belong under one head, but they are more generally considered distinct. The common characters, and those peculiar to each, are as follows:—

Common Characters. Bill stout, and considerably hooked at tip, or with the point bent abruptly downward; with a deep notch, and sometimes a tooth or lobe just behind the notch; the tip of the lower mandible likewise frequently bent up, and with a notch behind it. The nostrils lateral, the bristles of the mouth generally well developed. The primaries are ten (except in a few Vireos), the outer from one fourth to one half the second. Tail variable. Tarsi scutellate anteriorly; sometimes with a tendency to division on the lateral plates; hitherto not met with. Basal joints of toes more adherent. Separated from Turdidæ by greater adhesion of toes; from Troglodytidæ by notched and hooked bill, etc.

A. Basal phalanx of anterior toes abbreviated; that of median toe decidedly shorter than the basal of inner, or the two basal of outer, and adherent for its whole length on both sides to the lateral (i. e. not free at all). Lateral plates of tarsus undivided, except at extreme lower end.

Vireonidæ. Gonys more than half the length of lower jaw (from tip to angle of mouth), usually longer than width of mouth, which is narrow. Bill conical, much compressed, decurved at end and notched, but scarcely toothed. Frontal feathers bristly and erect, or bent but slightly forward. Nostrils overhung by membrane. Tarsus longer than middle toe and claw. Lateral toes generally unequal; outer claw reaching half-way along middle claw.

B. Basal phalanx of middle toe about as long as the basal of inner, or the two basal of outer; free externally, at least for about one third its length, internally for about one half. Lateral plates of tarsus with decided tendency to subdivision (except in Myiadestinæ).

Ampelidæ. Gonys decidedly less than half the length of lower jaw, or than width of mouth, which is very broad and deeply cleft. Bill triangular, much depressed, decurved at end and notched, with moderate though decided tooth. Frontal feathers rather soft, scarcely bristly or erect. Nostrils overhung by membrane. Tarsus equal to or shorter than middle toe and claw. Lateral toes nearly equal; outer claw reaching only to base of middle claw.

Laniidæ. Gonys about half the length of lower jaw; about equal to width of mouth. Bill very powerful and raptorial, much compressed, with a strongly marked hook, notch, and tooth at end. Frontal feathers very bristly, and directed forwards, so as to conceal nostrils and base of bill. Nostrils with bony walls, except behind. Tarsus longer than middle toe and claw, sometimes much scutellate on sides. Lateral claws nearly equal; outer claw reaching a little beyond base of middle claw.

Family VIREONIDÆ.—The Vireos

The essential features of this family appear to consist in the combination of the dentirostral bill, notched in both mandibles; the ten primaries (except Vireosylvia), of which the outer is usually from one fourth to one half the second; the rather short, nearly even tail, with narrow feathers, and the great amount of adhesion of the anterior toes,—the whole basal joint of the middle being generally united on both sides to the adjacent joints, and decidedly shorter than the basal of inner or two basal of outer. The outer lateral toe is generally appreciably longer than the inner, reaching considerably beyond the base of the middle claw. The tarsi are always distinctly scutellate anteriorly. The young are never spotted, or streaked as in the Thrushes; nor, indeed, do the adults exhibit such markings.

The Vireonidæ are peculiar to the New World, and are widely distributed, although but one genus belongs to the United States.

Genus VIREO, Vieill

Vireo, Vieill. Ois. Am. Sept. I, 1807, 83. (Type, Muscicapa noveboracensis, Gm.)

No great violence will be done by considering all the American Vireos as belonging to one genus, divisible into three subgenera, as, however different the extremes of the series may be from each other, the gradation is quite complete.

The North American species take a wide range during their southern winter migration, only paralleled in this respect by the Sylvicolidæ; they do not visit the West Indies, save as very rare stragglers to Cuba (V. olivaceus, solitarius, flavifrons, and noveboracensis). They all have a melodious song, and, so far as known, make a deep nest, suspended by its upper edge between the forks of a horizontal twig. The eggs are white, generally with a few reddish or brown blotches.

Quite a number are characterized by having the eyes white, red, or yellow.

Subgenera

Vireosylvia. Bill compressed, narrow; culmen and commissure straight, the tip abruptly curved (or, if this is not the case, there is no trace of light bands on the wing; see section “b”). Superciliary stripe continued back to the occiput. No trace of light bands on the wing. No conspicuous ring round the eye.

a. No spurious primary. Bill compressed, its tip abruptly hooked; culmen and commissure straight. Crown decidedly more ashy than the back … Sp. flavoviridis, barbatulus, olivaceus, philadelphicus.

b. An acute spurious primary. Bill depressed, the tip only slightly hooked; culmen slightly curved. Crown scarcely more ashy than back … Sp. gilvus.

Lanivireo. Bill compressed, stout; culmen arched from the base, commissure curved. Superciliary stripe stopping at posterior angle of the eye and curving under it, enclosing the eye in a conspicuous orbital ring, interrupted only in front. Two conspicuous white bands on the wing.

a. No spurious primary … Sp. flavifrons.

b. With an acute spurious primary … Sp. solitarius, plumbeus.

Vireo. Bill stout, scarcely compressed, sub-cylindrical. First primary not spurious, or, if so, not acute.

a. Two conspicuous light bands on wing … Sp. atricapillus, noveboracensis, huttoni.

b. One distinct light band on wing, and this not sharply defined, the anterior one being almost obsolete … Sp. belli, pusillus, vicinior.

Subgenus VIREOSYLVIA, Bon

Vireosylvia, Bon. Geog. Comp. List, 1838. (Type, Muscicapa olivacea, Lin.)

Phyllomanes, Cab. Arch. 1847, I, 321. (No type mentioned; name proposed as substitute for Vireosylvia.)

Vireo olivaceus.

40089

Gen. Char. Wings long and pointed, one third or one fourth longer than the nearly even or slightly rounded tail. First quill very small (less than one third the second), sometimes apparently wanting. Second quill longer than the seventh, much longer than the secondaries. Tarsi short (scarcely exceeding .70 of an inch); toes rather long. Body slender and elongated. Bill slender, narrow, straight; the culmen straight for its basal half, the commissure quite straight; light horn-color, paler beneath. Feet weak. Type, V. olivaceus.

Species and Varieties

Common Characters. All species olive above, white or yellowish beneath. An ashy or brownish cap, contrasting more or less abruptly with the olive back. A whitish superciliary stripe extending to the nape, and a dusky one to and behind the eye. No light bands on the coverts. Inside of wings (flanks sometimes) and crissum yellowish, otherwise usually white beneath.

No spurious primary Series I.

A spurious primary Series II.

Series I. (No spurious primary.)

A. A dusky “mustache” or cheek stripe along each side of the throat.

1. V. calidris. Eyes red?

a. No distinct dusky line along side of the crown.

Light stripes of the head dingy brownish-buff; crown scarcely ashy; back olive-brown; crissum and lining of the wing pure pale yellow. Wing, 3.20; tail, 2.25; bill, .42. Hab. Jamaica; Santo Domingo, Porto Rico, Santa Cruz, St. Thomas, and Sombrero. … var. calidris.⁷⁰

Light stripes of the head dingy grayish-white; crown distinctly ashy; back grayish-olive; crissum and lining of the wing scarcely yellow. Wing, 3.20; tail, 2.35; bill, .42. Hab. Cuba, Bahamas, and South Florida … var. barbatulus.

b. A distinct dusky line along each side of crown.

Colors as in barbatula, but “mustache” broader and more conspicuous, and crown much purer ash. Wing, 3.30; tail, 2.50; bill, .48. Hab. Barbadoes … var. barbadense.⁷¹

B. No “mustache.”

a. A dusky line along each side of crown.

2. V. olivaceus. Grayish olive-green above; beneath white, tinged laterally with dull olive; crissum and lining of wing scarcely yellow; inner edges of quills white. Eyes red.

1. Wing, 3.30; tail, 2.40; bill, .38. Hab. Eastern Province of North America, south to Northern South America … var. olivaceus.

2. Wing, 2.50; tail, 1.80; bill, .33. Hab. Eastern South America. … var. chivi.⁷²

3. V. flavoviridis. Yellowish olive-green above; beneath white medially, bright greenish olive-yellow laterally; crissum, lining of wings, and inner edges of quills, light yellow. Eyes yellow.

1. Wing, 3.15; tail, 2.55; bill, .41. Hab. Middle America north of Panama … var. flavoviridis.

2. Wing, 2.80; tail, 2.25; bill, .36. Hab. South America, from Buenos Ayres northward; Guatemala … var. agilis.⁷³

b. No dusky line on side of crown.

4. V. magister.⁷⁴ Large. Above sooty-olive, more virescent posteriorly; crown without ashy tinge. Beneath similar, but lighter, whitish medially. Crissum and lining of wing very faintly yellow; inner edges of quills white. Eyes? Wing, 3.05; tail, 2.40; bill, .45. Hab. Honduras (Belize).

5. V. philadelphicus. Small. Above grayish-green; crown ashy. Beneath light yellow, deepest on the jugulum, whitish on belly. Eyes? Wing, 2.70; tail, 1.95; bill, .27. Hab. Eastern Province of North America; in winter south to Costa Rica.

Series II. (A spurious primary.)

C. No dusky line along side of crown. No “mustache.”

6. V. gilva. Eyes hazel (in all?).

a. Crown nearly like the back.

Above olive-gray, rump more virescent; crown more ashy. Beneath dingy whitish, with a strong tinge of dingy buff from bill along sides and across breast. Bill, .14 deep, .30 long; wing, 2.85; tail, 2.05. Hab. Eastern Province of United States … var. gilvus.

Similar, but above more grayish, and beneath with the buff tinge almost absent. Bill, .11 deep, and .22 long; wing, 2.80; tail, 2.15. Hab. Western Province of United States … var. swainsoni.

b. Crown very different from the back (dark brown).

Above olive-brown; rump more virescent; crown dark snuff-brown. Beneath uniform light yellow, throat whitish. Bill, .15 deep, .30 long; wing, 2.60; tail, 2.10. Hab. Middle America, from Ecuador to Honduras … var. josephæ.⁷⁵

Vireosylvia calidris, var. barbatulus, Baird

FLORIDA GREENLET

Phyllomanes barbatulus, Cab. Jour. III, 1855, 467 (Cuba).—Gundlach, Cab. Jour. 1861, 324 (Cuba).—Ib. Repertorio, Cuba, 1865. Vireosylvia barbatula, Baird, Rev. Am. B. 1864, 331. Vireo altiloquus, Gambel, Pr. A. N. Sc. 1848, 127 (Florida).—Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 354 (Florida). Vireosylvia altiloqua, Cassin, Pr. A. N. Sc. 1851, 152.—Ib. Illust. 1854, 8, and 221, pl. xxxvii (Florida).—Bryant, Pr. Bost. Soc. V, 1859, 113 (Bahamas).—Lawrence, Ann. N. Y. Lyc. 1860 (Cuba).

Sp. Char. (No. 25,958 ♂, Cuba.) Proportion of quills as in var. calidris, 2 = 3, 4, 1, 5, but the tips of the quills closer together, and the first quill about half or a little less than half the distance between fifth and fourth; the quills narrower.

Vireosylvia barbatulus.

25958

Colors similar to those of var. calidris, but of a purer and paler olive above; the back tinged with ash; the cap purer ash, and better defined, without olivaceous wash, its dusky edge more distinct. The superciliary stripe whitish or grayish, with the cheeks paler, and both, as well as the chin, without the buff tinge. Under parts nearly pure white, very faintly tinged across the breast with ashy; the sides olivaceous; the crissum and axillars pale sulphur-yellow. Total length, 5.50; wing, 3.15; tail, 2.50; difference of first and second quills, .18; of fifth and second, .22; length of bill from forehead, .82, from nostril, .46, along gape, .89; tarsus, .72; middle toe and claw, .60; claw alone, .21; hind toe and claw, .50; claw alone, .23.

Hab. Cuba; the Bahamas; and Charlotte Harbor, Florida. (Western Coast.)

PLATE XVII.

1. Vireosylvia barbatula, Caban. ♂ Fla., 24282.

2. Vireosylvia olivacea, Linn. ♂ Pa., 1440.

3. Vireosylvia gilvus, Vieill. ♂ Pa., 988.

4. Vireosylvia philadelphica, Cass.

5. Lanivireo flavifrons, Vieill. ♂ Pa., 2217.

6. Vireo atricapillus, Woodh. Tex., 6818.

7. Vireo vicinior, Coues. ♂ Ariz., 40697.

8. Lanivireo solitaria, Wils. ♂ D. C., 37497.

9. Lanivireo cassini, Xantus. ♂.

10. Lanivireo plumbea, Coues.♂  Ariz., 37011.

11. Vireo noveboracensis, Gm. ♂ D. C., 29248.

12. Vireo huttoni, Cass. ♂ Cal., 3725.

13. Vireo belli, Aud. ♂ Neb., 1296.

14. Vireo pusillus, Coues. ♂ Cape St. Lucas, 16354.

This Vireo has been taken several times at Charlotte Harbor, in Florida, and is thus entitled to a place in our fauna. Its distinction from a closely allied race in Jamaica, Hayti, etc., var. calidris, is shown on page 359.

A specimen belonging to Mr. Salvin (“No. 187.), from “Isthmus of Panama,” we cannot distinguish satisfactorily from typical examples of the present race, with which it is to be compared, and not with calidris. The colors are quite identical with those of barbatulus. In size it is slightly larger, the wing measuring 3.25 instead of 3.15; the tail 2.50, instead of 2.35 (from exposed base of feathers); the bill is thicker, being .20 instead of .18 deep; the third quill is longest, the second intermediate between it and the fourth; the first intermediate between the fourth and fifth. In barbatulus the second is longest, the third and fourth successively a little shorter. It is not improbable that other specimens from that locality may show greater differences, as the specimen under examination is in rather worn plumage, and has the tip of the bill broken off.

Habits. This species only claims a place in our avifauna on the ground of its presence in Florida. How abundant it is there is not determined, further than it has been observed within a restricted locality by Dr. Heermann. This was at Charlotte Harbor, on the southwestern coast. They appeared to be visitors only, from a more southern clime. They reached Florida in their northern migrations, remaining only for a short season, but evidently staying long enough to breed. Dr. Heermann states that this species resembles, in manners and in appearance, the common Red-eyed Vireo of the more northern States. He describes its song as clear and musical, and very distinctly uttered. It was constantly on the search for insects, and appeared even more active than any of the northern species, darting among the foliage, peering into crevices and cobwebs, suspended from branches with its back downward, and occasionally chasing a flying insect in the manner of a true Flycatcher. These movements were usually accompanied by a song. This species was not abundant, though Dr. Heermann saw it frequently, and obtained several specimens.

Dr. Bryant found this species very abundant at the Bahamas, arriving there about the first of May. All the specimens he obtained were males, the females not arriving there until after the 13th of May. The notes of these birds, he states, vary, though the most common one resembles whīp tom kĕllȳ pheūū, pronouncing the first word distinctly.

This bird,⁷⁶ in Brown’s History of Jamaica, is called “Whip-tom-kelly,” from the supposed resemblance of its notes to these articulate sounds, and this popular appellation has been given it by various other writers. Mr. Gosse, however, in his Birds of Jamaica, calls this bird “John-to-whit,” and can find no resemblance in its notes to the words referred to. He describes its song as uttered with incessant iteration and untiring energy, and as resembling Sweet-John! John to whit! sweet John to whit! After July the notes change to to-whit-to-whoo, and sometimes to a soft, simple chirp, whispered so gently as scarcely to be audible. The name of Whip-tom-kelly Mr. Gosse never heard applied to it in Jamaica. Yet it is a bird often heard, and one whose notes have a similarity to articulate sounds, and naturally suggest a common appellation. It is very vociferous and pertinacious in its calls, repeating them with energy every two or three seconds.

This species, he states, does not ordinarily sit on a prominent twig, or dart out after insects, though it has been seen in eager pursuit of a butterfly. It seems to live in the centre of thick woods. It does not pass the winter in Jamaica, but leaves at the beginning of October, returning as early as the 20th of March. Its food he states to be both animal and vegetable, as he found in its stomach the seeds of the tropical plants and berries. In April, Mr. Gosse observed it hunting insects by the borders of the Bluefields River, and so intent upon its occupation as to allow of a very near approach. It sought insects among the grass and low herbage, perching on the stalks of weeds, and darting out after both vagrant and stationary prey. They incubate in June and July.

Like all this genus the Long-billed Vireo builds a pensile nest of great architectural ingenuity and beauty. It is a deep cup, usually about two thirds of a sphere in shape, truncated at the top. The materials of which it is made are often somewhat coarse. Mr. Gosse describes it as about as large as an ordinary teacup, narrowed at the mouth, composed of dry grasses, silk, cotton, lichens, and spiders’-web. It is usually suspended from the fork of two twigs, the margin very neatly overwoven to embrace them. The materials are well interwoven, and the walls firm and close, though not very thick. The whole is smoothly lined with slender vegetable fibres resembling human hair. One nest had its cavity nearly filled with a mass of white cotton, interwoven with the other materials, which, being picked cotton, had evidently been taken from some yard or building.

The eggs of this species are three in number, of a brilliant white, delicately tinted with pink, and marked with a few fine red and red-brown spots, usually about the larger end.

An egg of the variety from Cuba is of an oblong-oval shape, slightly pointed at one end, and the markings of faint purple and of dark purplish-brown, in bold dashes, are all about the larger end. Another from the same locality is more distinctly rounded at one and pointed at the other end, and is marked with fine brown dots distributed over the whole egg. These eggs measure, one .825 by .55 of an inch, and the other .78 by .55. An egg from Jamaica is of an extremely oblong-oval, measuring .88 by .55 of an inch, and is boldly marked more or less over the entire egg with large blotches of purplish-brown.

The Messrs. Newton describe the nest of the calidris of St. Croix as a beautiful structure, shaped like an inverted cone, composed outwardly of dried blades of grass, dried leaves, and wool, woven round the twigs, to which it was attached with spiders’-webs, lined inside with finer blades of grass, and about three inches and a half in diameter, and five in height. The eggs, three in number, were white, with a few black spots, chiefly disposed about the larger end.

Vireosylvia olivaceus, Bonap

RED-EYED GREENLET

Muscicapa olivacea, Linn. Syst. Nat. I, 1766, 327 (based on Edwards, tab. 253, and Catesby, pl. liv).—Wils. Lanius olivaceus, Licht. Verz. 1823, 49 (N. Amer.). Vireo olivaceus, Vieill.; Bon.; Swains. II.—Aud.—Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 331.—Samuels, Birds N. Eng. 270. Vireosylvia oliv. Bon. Geog. Comp. List, 1838.—Ib. Consp. 1850, 329.—Reinhardt, Vid. Med. f. 1853, 1854, 82 (Greenland).—Ib. Ibis, III, 7.—Sclater, P. Z. S. 1855, 151 (Bogota); 1859, 137, 363 (Xalapa).—A. & E. Newton, Ibis, 1859, 145.—Sclater & Salvin, Ibis, 1859, 12 (Guatemala).—Lawrence, Ann. N. Y. Lyc. VII, 1860, 246 (Cuba).—? Ibis, 1864, 394 (Derby, Engl. May, 1859).—Baird, Rev. Am. B. 1864, 333. Phyllomanes oliv. Cab. Mus. Hein. 1850-51, 63.—Ib. Jour. 1860, 404 (Costa Rica).—Gundl. Cab. Jour. 1861, 324 (Cuba; very rare). ? Vireo virescens, Vieill. Ois. Am. Sept. I, 1807, 84, pl. liii (Penna.).—? Gray, Genera, I, 267, pl. lxv. Vireo bogotensis, Bryant, Pr. Bost. Soc. VII, 1860, 227 (Bogota).—Lawrence, Ann. N. Y. Lyc. 1863 (Birds Panama, IV, No. 378).

Vireo olivaceus.

40089

Sp. Char. (No. 1,418 ♂, Carlisle, Penn., May, 1844.) Upper parts olive-green. Top of head, from bill to nape, ash-color. A white line from nostrils above and beyond the eye, bordered above by a dusky line forming the edge of the ashy cap, and below by a similar, perhaps paler, loral and post-ocular cheek-stripe. Beneath, including tibiæ, white, with perhaps a tinge of olivaceous-ash across the breast; the sides of the neck like the back; sides of the body with a faint wash of olive. Axillars and crissum faintly tinged with sulphur-yellow; lining of wings and its edge, the latter especially, nearly white. Quills blackish-brown, edged externally, except at ends of primaries, with olive, internally with white. Tail-feathers lighter brown, edged externally like the back, internally with pale olivaceous-white. Bill dusky above, pale below; tarsi plumbeous; iris red. Length, 6.33; extent of wings, 10.25; wing, 3.33; tail, 2.50.

Female similar, but duller in plumage.

Hab. Whole of Eastern North America (Greenland, Halifax, Fort Simpson), west to base of Rocky Mountains, reaching Fort Bridger, and still farther northward to Bitterroot Mountains and Kootenay; south to Panama and Bogota, in winter (Xalapa only in Mexico); very rare in Cuba (only West Indian locality). Accidental in England. Trinidad. (Finsch.)

Vireo olivaceus.

Habits. The common Red-eyed Vireo is an abundant species throughout Eastern North America, from Florida to Nova Scotia on the northeast, to Lake Winnepeg on the northwest, and as far west as the Rocky Mountains. It apparently breeds wherever found, and in especial abundance in the Central States. It is a familiar and fearless species, often found, like the Warbling Vireo, in the very midst of crowded cities, and making its lively and pleasant notes heard in their public squares and private gardens, amid the ruder sounds of the neighboring streets. It breeds in Texas and Louisiana, at the Southwest, and also in abundance, at least as far as Halifax, in the opposite direction. At Fort Resolution, at the Cumberland House, and at Fort Simpson, the nests and eggs of this species were procured by Kennicott and Ross. A single specimen of the bird has been procured in Greenland, and another accidental specimen was shot in England. Specimens have also been procured in Central America.