216 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



Creeper as is the Mniotilta varia ; creeping not only along the branches, but 

 the cornices and lattices of buildings, with the facility of a Nuthatch [Sitta). 

 Both these species, however, may often be seen hopping among the foliage 

 of the trees, now and then snapping an insect on the wing, in the manner 

 of others of the family. 



Species and Varieties. 

 Inner webs of tail-feathers with a hirge patch, or bi'oad edge, of yellow . Gnour A. 

 Inner webs of tail-feathers with a large patch, or broad edge, of white. 



Wings with conspicuous white markings ...... O-roup B. 



Wings without conspicuous white markings^ ...... (Jroup C. 



Group A. — Oolden Warhlejs. 

 Rump and crissum without rufous markings ...... Series I. 



Rump and crissum with rufous markings ...... Series II. 



Series I. 

 Prevailing color rich 3'ellow, shaded on upper parts with olive-green. ^ with 

 streaks of chestnut across the breast and along the sides, and with or without 

 a greater or less tinge of the same on the crown. 9 with the streaks beneath 

 obsolete or entirely Avanting; no rufous on crown. Jxv. paler and duller than 

 the 9 ; sometimes quite ashy. 



A. Tarsus less than .65 of an inch. Outer webs of tail-feathers witli yellow pre- 

 dominating. 



1. D. aestiva. Crown generally pure yellow, sometimes witli only a 

 tinge of rufous ; lower webs of wing-coverts and tertials pure yellow ; 

 rump and upper tail-coverts much mixed with the same. Wing- 

 formula,^ 1 = 2, 3 ; wing, 2.60; tail, 2.05; bill, from nostril, .30; tarsus, 



62. Ilab. Entire continent of North America ; in winter south to 

 Bogota and Cayenne ; Trinidad (only locality in West Indies). 



B. Tarsus not less than .70 of an inch. Outer webs of tail-feathers with dusky 

 predominating. 



«. Crown without any rufous, or with only a tinge. 



2. D. petechia. Kape olive.-cjreen (except in juv.') ; sides streaked (ex- 

 cept in jiir.). Crown greenish, sometimes tinged with orange-rufous 

 anteriorly ; lower webs of wing-coverts, etc., not pure yellow, and rump 

 and upper tail-coverts without any admixture of yellow. Hah. West 

 Indies (except Barbadoes and Trinidad) ; not on the Continent. 



Lower part of throat streaked ; outer webs of wing-coverts 

 hardly appreciably different from the general surface. Above 

 golden yellowish-olive ; crown generally without a trace of rufous. 

 Wing-formula, 2 = 3, 4, 1, 5 ; wing, "2.55 ; tail, 2.10; bill, .30; 

 tarsus. .80. Hah. Cuba and the Bahamas . . var. gundlachi.^ 



Lower part of throat not streaked ; outer webs of wing-coverts 

 decidedl}' yellowish, and quite different from the general surface. 

 Above greenish yellow-olive ; crown almost always strongly tinged 



1 Or if with white markings, the prevailing color yellow, as in D. piims, in which only the 

 adult (J has the wing-bands ashy-wliite. 



^ The wing-formula, though varying among individuals, is nevertheless in a measure charac- 

 teristic. An average specimen is in each case chosen. 



3 D. gundlachi, Baird, Review Am. B. I, 1865, 197. 



