species. The singular appearance of the head, neck and breast, suggested the name.

The Mourning Warbler is five inches long, and seven in extent; the whole back, wings and tail, are of a deep greenish olive, the tips of the wings and the centre of the tail feathers excepted, which are brownish; the whole head is of a dull slate colour; the breast is ornamented with a singular crescent of alternate transverse lines of pure glossy white, and very deep black; all the rest of the lower parts are of a brilliant yellow; the tail is rounded at the end; legs and feet a pale flesh colour; bill deep brownish black above, lighter below; eye hazel.

BLUE-WINGED YELLOW WARBLER.

[Plate XV.-Fig. 4.]

Parus aureus alis cœruleis, BARTRAM, p. 292.-Edw. pl. 277, upper figure.-Pine Warbler, Arct. Zool. p. 412, No. 318.PEALE'S Museum, No. 7307.

THIS bird has been mistaken for the Pine Creeper of Catesby. It is a very different species. It comes to us early in May from the south; haunts thiekets and shrubberies, searching the branches for insects; is fond of visiting gardens, orchards, and willow trees, of gleaning among blossoms, and currant bushes; and is frequently found in very sequestered woods, where it generally builds its nest. This is fixed in a thick bunch or tussock of long grass, sometimes sheltered by a briar bush. It is built in the form of an inverted cone, or funnel, the bottom thickly bedded with dry beech leaves, the sides formed of the dry bark of strong weeds, lined within with fine dry grass. These materials are not placed in the usual manner circularly, but shelving downwards on all sides from the top; the mouth being wide, the bottom very narrow, filled with leaves, and the eggs or young occupying the middle. The female lays five eggs, pure white, with a few very faint dots of reddish near the great end; the young appear the first week in June. I am not certain whether they raise a second brood in the same

season.

I have met with several of these nests, always in a retired though open part of the woods, and very similar to each other.

The first specimen of this bird taken notice of by European writers was transmitted, with many others, by Mr. William Bartram to Mr. Edwards, by whom it was drawn and etched

in the 277th plate of his Ornithology. In his remarks on this bird he seems at a loss to determine whether it is not the Pine Creeper of Catesby;* a difficulty occasioned by the very imperfect colouring and figure of Catesby's bird. The Pine Creeper, however, is a much larger bird, is of a dark yellow olive above, and orange yellow below; has all the habits of a Creeper, alighting on the trunks of the pine trees, running nimbly round them, and, according to Mr. Abbot, builds a pensile nest. I observed thousands of them in the pine woods of Carolina and Georgia, where they are resident, but have never met with them in any part of Pennsylvania.

This species is five inches and a half long, and seven and a half broad; hind head and whole back a rich green olive; crown and front orange yellow; whole lower parts yellow, except the vent feathers, which are white; bill black above, lighter below; lores black; the form of the bill approximates a little to that of the Finch; wings and tail deep brown, broadly edged with pale slate, which makes them appear wholly of that tint, except at the tips; first and second row of coverts tipt with white, slightly stained with yellow; the three exterior tail feathers have their inner vanes nearly all white; legs pale bluish; feet dirty yellow; the two middle tail feathers are pale slate. The female differs very little in colour from the male.

This species very much resembles the Prothonotary Warbler of Pennant and Buffon; the only difference I can perceive on comparing specimens of each, is that the yellow of the Prothonotary is more of an orange tint, and the bird somewhat larger.

GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER.

[Plate XV.-Fig. 5.]

EDW. 299.-Le figuier aux ailes dorees, BUFF. v, 311.-LATH. II, 492.-Arct. Zool. 403. No. 295. Ib. No. 296.—Motacilla chrysoptera, TURT. Syst. 1, 597.-Motacilla flavifrons, Yellowfronted Warbler, Id. 601.—Parus alis aureis, Bartram, p. 292. PEALE's Museum, No. 7010.*

THIS is another spring passenger through the United States to the North. This bird, as well as fig. 4, from the particular form of its bill, ought rather to be separated from the Warblers; or, along with several others of the same kind, might be arranged as a sub genus, or particular family of that tribe, which might with propriety be called Worm-eaters, the Motacilla vermivora of Turton having the bill exactly of this form. The habits of these birds partake a good deal of those of the Titmouse; and in their language and action they very much resemble them. All that can be said of this species is, that it appears in Pennsylvania for a few days, about the last of April or beginning of May, darting actively among the young leaves and opening buds, and is rather a scarce species.

The Golden-winged Warbler is five inches long, and seven broad; the crown golden yellow; the first and second row of wing coverts of the same rich yellow; the rest of the upper parts a deep ash, or dark slate colour; tail slightly forked, and, as well as the wings, edged with whitish; a black band passes

* Motacilla chrysoptera, LINN. Syst. 1, p. 333.—GMEL. Syst. 1, p. 971.— Motacilla flavifrons, GMEL. Syst. 1, p. 976.—Sylvia chrysoptera, LATH. Ind. Orn. 11, p. 541.-VIBILL. Ois de l'Am. Sep!. pl. 97. Sylvia flavifrons, LATH. Ind. Orn. 11, p

527.

through the eye, and is separated from the yellow of the crown by a fine line of white; chin and throat black, between which and that passing through the eye runs a strip of white, as in the figure; belly and vent white; bill black, gradually tapering to a sharp point; legs dark ash; irides hazel.

Pennant has described this species twice, first as the Golden-winged Warbler, and immediately after as the Yellowfronted Warbler. See the synonymes at the beginning of this

article.