Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIV.djvu/256

 24:0 REDSTART REED yellow, and black; the South American spe- cies have more or less yellow in their plumage, and the Mexican are usually black and red. The best known species in North America is the common redstart (S. ruticilla, Swains.), of the subfamily syhicolince ; it is about 5 in. American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla). long with an alar extent of 8 in. ; in the male the prevailing color is black, with the base of the wings and tail and sides of breast reddish orange ; abdomen, under tail coverts, and cen- tral line on breast white; in the female the black is replaced by olive-green above and brownish white below, the head is ashy, and the red is changed to yellow. It is found throughout the eastern United States to the plains of the Missouri, and sometimes wan- ders to the West Indies in winter ; it is very handsome, always in motion on the trunks and branches of trees in search of insects and larvae, jumping quickly from side to side, dis- playing the brilliant tail at every movement, and now and then darting off after an insect on the wing, or descending to the ground in a spiral or zigzag manner ; it pursues other birds as if in sport, snapping the bill violently. The nest is placed in a low bush, suspended to the twigs, and is of delicate structure ; the eggs are four to six, white, with ash-gray and blackish spots ; a single brood is raised in a season. The European redstart belongs to a different subfamily of the warblers, that of the erytha- cince, and to the genus ruticilla (Brehm), peculiar to the old world. The E. phcenicura (Brehm) is a little more than 5 in. long; in the male the bill, legs, feet, cheeks, and throat are black ; the breast, rump, and sides red ; fore- head white ; crown, hind neck, and back deep blue-gray. It occurs all over Europe, and is a visitor to Great Britain from April to Septem- ber; it is a very fine songster, heard the sum- mer long in orchards, hedge rows, gardens, and ivy-covered walls ; the male is very affection- ate, and sometimes sings to his mate as late as ten at night and as early as three in the morn- ing ; it feeds on insects, worms, and berries ; the eggs, four to six, are greenish blue, and laid in holes of trees or in a nest on the ground. It is much prized as a cage bird ; if taken young, it may be taught to imitate the notes of most other birds, and even to whistle a tune. The name in both hemispheres is derived from the constant jerking motions of the bird, displaying the red of the tail. RED WILLOW, a S. county of Nebraska, bor- dering on Kansas, formed since the census of 1870; area, 720 sq. m. It is intersected by the Republican river and its branches. The surface is undulating or level. REDWOOD. See SANDAL WOOD, and SEQUOIA. REDWOOD, a S. W. county of Minnesota, bounded N. E. by the Minnesota river, and in- tersected by the Redwood, Sleepy Eye, and Big Cottonwood rivers; area, about 1,100 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 1,829. The surface is un- even and consists largely of prairies; the soil is good. The chief productions in 1870 were 5,409 bushels of wheat, 2,240 of Indian corn, 6,978 of oats, 1,880 of potatoes, and 882 tons of hay. Capital, Redwood Falls. REED (A. S. hreod), a name of tall coarse grasses, especially of the genera phragmitet and arundo. The common reed of this country and England was called arundo phragmites by Linnaeus, but later botanists have considered it sufficiently distinct to form a new genus phragmites (Gr. ^pay^ref, growing in hedges, though the plant is an aquatic), but some still retain it in arundo ; in recent American works it is given as P. communis. It is a stout per- Common Reed (Phragmites coaunnnis). ennial grass, 6 to 12 ft. high, with numerous broad leaves, and bearing a large terminal, purplish brown panicle, which is sometimes a foot long, very loose and nodding ; each spike- let consists of three to seven flowers, surround- ed by long silky hairs. This is found over a