Page:Ornithological biography, or an account of the habits of the birds of the United States of America, vol 2.djvu/185

Rh young females is at first of the same tint as the back, but I could not ascertain if they acquire their full colour the first autumn.

I found these birds abundant in Newfoundland, but perceived that they had already begun to migrate, on the 20th of August ; they were moving from bush to bush, and seldom flew farther than thirty or forty yards at a time ; yet when crossing the arms of the Gulf of St Lawrence, they are obliged to fly forty miles or more without alighting. The little Winter Wren must perform the same task, it being found in the same countries, to which some individuals travel from the United States. I observed the Green Black-capped Flycatcher in considerable numbers, in the northern parts of Maine, in October 1832, and concluded that the individuals seen must have come from a great distance.

MUSCICAPA WiLSONII.

Sylvia Wilsonii, Ch. Bonaparte, Synops. of Birds of the United States, p. 86. Geeen Black-capt Flycatcher, Muscicai-a Pusilla, Wils. Amer. Ornith. vol iii. p. 103. pi. 26. fig. 4.

Green Black-capt Wahbler, Nuttall, Manual, vol. i. p. 408.

Adult Male. Plate CXXIV. Fig. 1.

Bill short, straight, conical, depressed at the base, compressed towards the end, the tip acute ; upper mandible slightly convex in its dorsal line, the sides convex, the edges sharp ; lower mandible straight along the back, the sides convex. Nostrils basal, oval, half covered by the bristly feathers of the forehead. Head of ordinary size, neck short, body com- pact, rather slender. Feet of ordinary length, slender ; tarsus compress- ed, covered anteriorly with a few long scutella, sharp behind, longer than the middle toe ; toes free, scutellate above ; claws arched, slender, much compressed, acute.

Plumage soft and blended, slightly glossed ; short but distinct bristles at the base of the upper mandible. Wings short, the second quill longest. Tail rather long, even, of twelve rounded feathers.

Bill light-brown. Iris hazel. Feet flesh-coloured. Back, rump, and upper tail-coverts olive-green ; crown black, bordered on the forehead and over the eyes with a broad band of bright yellow. Wings and tail dusky, the feathers margined with green, the tips of the first row of small coverts and of the secondary coverts pale greenish-grey. The sides of the neck greenish-grey, the lower parts in general bright yellow.