296 SYSTEMA TIC SYNOPSIS. — PA SSEBES — OSCINES. 



ish. In this condition specimens more closely resemble some other species than when adult ; 

 but the short tail, long wings, and no crown-patch, should be distinctive. Chiefly Eastern 

 North America, but west to the Upper Missouri region and in Colorado to the Rocky Mts. ; 

 common, especially in the Mississippi Valley, but less so in the Atlantic States j migratory ; 

 breeds in New England and the northern tier of States, and thence to high latitudes in Britisli 

 America ; nest and eggs as in other species of the genus. 



38. PEUCE'DRAMUS. (Gr. nevKr), peuke, a pine, and Spafiflv, to run.) Olive Warblers. 

 General aspect of Dendroeca. Tongue much as in that genus, but larger, with revolute edges, 

 cleft tip, and laciniate for some distance from the end. Wings elongated, half as long again 

 as the tail (in Dendroeca but little longer than the tail), reaching, when folded, nearly to the 

 end of the tail. Tail emarginate. Tarsus no longer than the middle toe and claw. Hallux 

 little if any longer than its claw. Bill little shorter than tarsus (averaging little over half the 

 tarsus in Dendroeca), attenuate, notably depressed, yet very little widened at base. Culmen 

 rather concave than convex in most of its length, the under outline almost perfectly straight 

 from extreme base to tip. Nasal fossae very large, with a highly developed nasal scale. Eic- 

 tal vibriss?^ few and short. Plumage without streaks. One species known. 



110. P. oliva'ceus. (Lat. olivaceus, olivaceous in color; oliva, an olive.) Olive Warbler. 

 ^ : Upper parts ashy, more or less olivaceous, changing to greenish on the nape. Head and 

 neck all around orange-brown or intense saffron-yellow, with a broad black bar on the side of 

 the head through the eye. Wings blackish, the inner webs of all the quills edged with white, 

 the outer webs of most of the primaries viith whitish, and the outer webs of the secondaries 

 with greenish ; most of the primaries also mai'ked with white on the outer webs at base, form- 

 ing a conspicuous spot (only seen elsewhere in D. coeridescens, which is altogether different in 

 other characters). Tail like the wings, with greenish edging of most of the feathers, the two 

 outer ones on each side mostly or wholly white. Belly and sides whitish, tinged with olive or 

 brownish. Basal half of under mandible light brown. Length 4.75-5.25 ; extent 8.25-9.00; 

 wing 2.75-3.10; tail 2.25-2.55 ; bill 0.55; tarsus 0.75. The female is described as having 

 the saffron color much clearer yellowish, and shaded with olive-green on the crown ; the black 

 bar replaced by whitish, excepting a dusky patch on the auriculars. A remarkable Mexican 

 warbler, lately ascertained to inhabit Arizona, especially in mountainous localities ; probably 

 also Texas and New Mexico. It has much the habits of the pine-creeper ; the nest and eggs 

 are still unknown. 



39. DENDRCE'CA. (Gr. devbpov, dendron, a tree, and oiWa, oikeo, I inhabit.) Wood Warblers. 

 Bill variable in shape, usually conico-attenuate, more or less depressed at base, compressed 

 from the middle, notched near the tip, not showing the extreme acuteness of that of Helmin- 

 therus, Helminthophila, and Protonotaria. Rictus with obvious bristles, which are not evi- 

 dent in the true '' worm-eating" warblers. Tarsus longer than the middle toe and claw (it is 

 shorter, or not longer, in Mmotilta). Hind toe little if any longer than its claw (decidedly 

 longer in Mniotilta and Panda). Wings much longer than tail, pointed, 1st and 2d primaries 

 longest. Tail moderate, with rather broad feathers, nearly even, but varying to slightly 

 rounded, or with slight central emargination. Pattern of coloration indeterminate. Tail always 

 with white blotches (except in cestiva and its immediate allies, where the inner webs are 

 yellow), never plain olivaceous. Crown never with lateral black stripes, nor under parts 

 uniformly streaked with blackish on a pale ground, nor back with a yellow patch, nor whole 

 head yellow. Length usually five or six inches ; rarely under and perhaps never over these 

 dimensions. Nest in bushes or trees, with rare exceptions. Eggs white, spotted. It is not 

 easy to frame a definition of this genus covering all its modifications, yet introducing no term 

 inapplicable to any species ; but the foregoing expressions considered collectively, however 

 arbitrary or trivial some of them may seem to be, will serve to distinguish any Dendroeca from 

 its aUies of other genera; and, if so, the diagnosis is exclusively pertinent to the group as con- 



