138 niRDs OF iLi.ivore. 



Svhia cih-inelta Vfn-a. Am. Orn. II, 1810. Ill, pi. K. tig. S. 

 Svlria chiUlrPni AUD. Orn. BIor. 1. 1831. IHO. pi. SI.— NuTT. Man. 1. 183^ S79. 

 Sylvia rathhonia .\UD. Orn. Bloc I. ISIl. :£«, pi. ffl. 

 Svlricola ratliboiiii AUD. Byuop. ISO, M; B. Am. li, 1811, S3, pi. 89. 



Hab. The whole of North America (to thn limit of wlllaw eron-tbi, broedlni; Ihroueh- 

 out lt« raniro- In winter, the whole of Middle Amerloa and northern South America 

 (Trinidad. Tobaco, Colombia, etc.), but not In West Indies, where replaced bir allied 

 spoelea. 



8r. CiiAn. Adull ;: Head (except occiput) and entire lower parts pnre rich eambnge- 

 yellow. the forehead and crown less pure— often obsour^d by an olive-Breen wash, more 

 rarely Intensined by an orange tinee; breast and sides broa<lly streaked with rich chest- 

 uut-rufous. Upper parts olive-Kreen, the back sometimes narrowly streiike<l with dark 

 chestnut, the lower rump and upper tall-covtrls more tinted with yellow. Wine feathers 

 blackish dusky centrally, but all mareiuod. more or less uroadly with olive-ereen or yel- 

 low, the middle coverts broadly tipped, the creater coverts and tertlals broadly edeed 

 with nearly pure yellow. Tall feathers dusky, the inner webs of all mostly pure yel- 

 low. Bill black: Iris brown; lees and feet olive-bruwnlsh. 



No bird of North America has so extensive a range, or so 

 general a distribution, as the Summer Yellow-bird, who appears 

 equally at home in the subtropical lands along the Gulf coast, and 

 the shores of the Arctic Ocean ; while it is no less numerous in 

 the parched valleys of California and Arizona than in the humid 

 districts of the Atlantic watershed. One of the most abundant of 

 our summer birds, it is also one of the most familiar, inhal)iting, 

 as it does, the shade trees along the streets and in the parks of 

 the largest cities, and the orchards of the rural districts. Few 

 of our birds are more attractive in plumage or song. In some large 

 poplars on the opposite side of the street from my residence in Wash- 

 ington, a pair of these birds took up their abode, the male singing 

 through the season during certain hours, with great regularity. On 

 May 14, his morning rehearsal began at 4 :15 o'clock, and continued 

 till near 8 o'clock ; in the evening he began at 7 :80 o'clock, and 

 continued until shortly after dusk. 



The nest of this species is frequently built in an apple-tree, and is 

 a very neat, compact, cup-shaped structure, composed of plant-fil)re8, 

 slender strips of bark, etc., cosily lined with soft feathers, When 

 the Cowbird drops its egg into its nest, it very iiigcuiously covers it 

 over with a layer of the nest material, and raises the walls to a suffi- 

 cient height, thus building a new nest upon the old one, and com- 

 pletely incarcerating the parasitic egg — even though one or more of 

 her own be inclosed with it. Three-storied nests of this species or 

 with two layings of parasitic eggs thus incarcerated have been found. 



