Page:Ornithological biography, or an account of the habits of the birds of the United States of America, volume 1.djvu/315

Rh yellow. Fore part of the back black, the feathers margined with yellow, as are the secondary quills and coverts. Lower back, tail-coverts and scapulars, pure white. Length 7 inches, extent of wings 11; bill along the ridge 7/12, along the gap ⅔; tarsus 1 1/6, middle toe 1¼.

Adult Female in summer. Plate LIV. Fig. 2.

The female is somewhat less than the male, and differs greatly in the colours of the plumage, the upper parts being light yellowish-brown, longitudinally streaked with blackish-brown, the under parts pale greyish-yellow, the sides longitudinally marked with dark brown. There is a broad band of dark brown on each side of the head, beneath which is a yellowish streak over the eye, and a blackish spot behind it. The quills and tail-feathers are wood-brown, the former, as well as the coverts, margined with yellowish. Notwithstanding the somewhat greater length of the bill, this bird evidently approaches very nearly to the genus Emberiza, or is one of the connecting links between it and the genus Icterus. The female in colouring bears a striking resemblance to Emberiza miliaria.

, Willd. Sp. Plant, vol. iv. p. 984. Pursh, Flor. Amer. vol. 1. p. 265. Mich. Arb. Forest. de I'Amer. Sept. vol. ii. p. 210. Pl. 14—, Linn., Juss.

This species, which is known by the names of Red Maple and Swamp Maple, is distinguished by its five-lobed or three-lobed leaves, which are cordate at the base, unequally and deeply toothed, and glaucous beneath; its sessile umbels, elongated pedicels, and smooth germens. The flowers and seeds are red. It is very extensively distributed, and in the Swamps of Pennsylvania and New Jersey attains a height of from sixty to eighty feet. When young, the bark is smooth, and covered with large white spots, but it ultimately cracks and becomes brown. The wood is hard and close, and takes a good polish. It is extensively used for various purposes.