Page:Ornithological biography, or an account of the habits of the birds of the United States of America, vol 2.djvu/519



My friend Bachman has the merit of having discovered this pretty little species of Warbler, and to him I have the pleasure of acknowledging my obligations for the pair which yon will find represented in the plate, accompanied with a figure of one of the most beautiful of our southern flowers, originally drawn by my friend's sister, Miss Martin. I myself have never had the good fortune to meet with any individuals of this interesting Sylvia, respecting which little is as yet known, its discoverer having only procured a few specimens of both sexes, without being able to find a nest. The first obtained was found by him a few miles from Charleston, in South Carolina, in July 1833, while I was rambling over the crags of Labrador. According to my amiable friend, it was " a lively active bird, gliding among the branches of thick bushes, occa- sionally mounting on the wing and seizing insects in the air in the man- ner of a Flycatcher. It was an old female that had to all appearance just reared a brood of young." Shortly after, several were seen in the same neighbourhood ; so that we may yet expect an account of its man- ners, migration, and breeding, which may find a place in a subsequent volume of my work.

Adult Male. Plate CLXXXV. Fig. L

Bill rather long, slightly bent towards the tip, subulato -conical, extremely acute, the edges sharp and inflected. Nostrils basal, lateral, elliptical, half- closed above by an arched membrane. The general form slender. Feet of ordinary length ; tarsus slender, compressed, anteriorly scutellate, sharp behind ; toes free, the hind toe strong, the two lateral nearly equal, the middle one much longer ; claws slender, arched, compressed, acute.

Plumage soft and blended, slightly glossed. Wings of moderate length, the first four quills nearly equal, the second longest ; the second, third,