102 THE NATURALIST'S GUIDE. 



feet in form ; measures .67 X .55, and is pure white, spotted 

 and blotched with reddish brown, thickly at the larger and 

 sparsely at the smaller ends. No. 2, also perfect ; measures 

 .66 X .55 ; is spotted at the larger end, but not as thickly 

 as No. 1 ; very sparsely at the smaller end. No. 3, per- 

 fect; measures .66 X .55; but few spots on the larger 

 end compared with the others ; the spots on the smaller 

 end are few and scarcely perceptible. N»o. 4 is not so per- 

 fect in form, being smaller in the middle; measures .67 X 

 .50; the spots on the larger end form an irregular ring 

 around a comparatively clear centre ; the ^^^ is but little 

 spotted elsewhere. There was also a Cow-Bunting's egg in 

 the nest."* 



It is a strange fact that among all the birds of this 

 species I have seen, I have never met with a female be- 

 fore. I will here give a short description, as compared 

 with the plumage of the male, of the one which I shot, as 

 it differs from that given by others. The yellow on the 

 wings is as bright as in the male, and that of the crown 

 nearly as bright. Not as much white on the tail. The 

 throat and cheeks, black in the male, are in this case slate. 

 The middle of the back, which, in the perfectly mature 

 male, — with which this should be compared, as it is evi- 

 dently a perfectly mature female, — is of a beautifui pearl 

 gi'ay, in this case is strongly tinged with the greenish 

 shade seen in young males. The under parts are yellow- 

 ish instead of a clear white. 



I have invariably found this Warbler in swampy places, 

 generally on the ed^-es of woods. 



34. Dendroeca virens, Baird. — Blade-throated Green 

 Warbler. Abundant during the migrations ; but breeds 

 commonly. Arrives from April 30th to ^lay 19th; de- 

 parts in September. Found everywhere in the woods, but 

 generally among pine-trees. 



* " The nest is rare, although I have seen half a dozen altogether." — 

 Professor S. F. Baird, in Epist. 



