Page:Ornithological biography, or an account of the habits of the birds of the United States of America, vol 2.djvu/261

Rh IcTERiA viHTDis, Ch. Bonaparte, Synops. of Birds of the United States, p. 69. Yellow-breasted Chat, Pipra polyglotta, Wils. Amer. Ornith. vol. i. p. 90. pi. 6. fig. 2.

Yeijlgw-breasted Icteria, Icteria viridis, Nutlall, Manual, part i. p. 299.

Adult Male. Plate CXXXVII. Fig. 1, ].

Bill of moderate length, strong, slightly arched, broad at the base, compressed towards the end ; upper mandible with the sides convex, the edges acute, destitute of notch, the tip acute, and a little declinate ; lower mandible with the dorsal hne nearly straight, the edge line slightly arched and inflected. Nostrils rounded, half covered by a vaulted membrane. The form is rather robust. Legs of moderate length, slender ; tarsus compressed, anteriorly scutellate, sharp behind ; two lateral toes nearly equal, the hind one not much stouter ; claws small, compressed, acute.

Plumage blended. Wings of moderate length, rounded; third and fourth primaries longest, second almost equal, first a little shorter. Tail longish, rounded. Feathers of the throat and breast with a silky gloss.

Bill black, the base of lower mandible blue. Iris hazel. Feet grey- ish-blue. The general colour of the upper parts is deep olive-green ; the inner webs of the tail-feathers and quills, and the ends of the latter, dusky- brown. A line over the eye, a small streak under it, and a spot at the base of the lower mandible, white. Lore black. Throat and breast bright yellow, abdomen and under tail-coverts white.

Length 7 inches, extent of wings 9 ; bill along the ridge j^^^, along the edge ^ ; tarsus i§.

Adult Female. Plate CXXXVII. Fig. 2, 2.

The Female scarcely differs from the male in any perceptible degree, and is of the same size.

Kosa rubiginosa ? — Icosandria Polygynia, Linn. Rosacea, Juss.

The Sweet Briar is very generally distributed in the United States. I have found it from Louisiana to the extremities of Nova Scotia along