G;j,2 .MiilADOW i'lI'Kr 



buhiiving nmch as when at tlie North, Vv'ith tiie exception of being tinner. I havr, while 

 there, approached withiii a few feet of a flock without starting tlieui. They occiir in :ill 

 •sections of the state, even at Key West, but are not common much south of Jiicksonville. 

 Tn March the Titlarks leave Florida for the North, passing Massachusetts in April, They 

 breed in Lobrador and the fur coiuitries, 



ANTHUS PRATENSIS. 

 IVloadow Plpct. 



UESCRIITION 



Sr, (!i! Sizi'. fi little smaller than tliat of the Aiiieiicau Tit! irk. .■mil the iiirui is siiiiil.-ii-. Coloh. 

 Adult. Above, pale greenish lirown with each feather having a distinct center of dark brown. Wings and 

 tail dark reddish brown edged with greenish Kr.ay. Tail, dark brown with the feathers edged with greenish, 

 and with the outer oblii|uely wliite for nearly half its length. Under jvirts lirownish white tinged with green- 

 ish, with a ma.xillary line of spots which broaden out into a band on the breast, and extend along the sides. 



OBSERVATIONS. 



Known from the American Titlark by the more distinct spottings above, where the general color is more 

 greenish, and by the greenish tinting beneath. Occurs in Europe. Accidental in Greenland. 



DIMENSIONS. 



Length, from tlUO to 6.10 ; stretch, :*,25 to ;)..50; wing. 3.00 to 3.2o ; tail, r,.r,0 to 2.70 ; bill, A.', to .50; 

 tarsus, .70 to .75. 



DESCRIPTION OF NESTS AND EGOS. 

 Nests, placed on the ground composed of leaves, weed stalks, grass, etc. Ecus, five or six in number, 

 oval in form, reddish brown in color, mottled thickly with darker brown. Dimensions, .78 by ..j8 to .bit' 

 by .GO. 



FAMILY ICTERIADAE CHATS. 



Primaries, nine. Tail, about as long as the wings, moderately rounded, the outer feather being about 

 .35 shorter than the middle. Wings, rounded, the third and fourth feathers being the longest. Bill, shorter 

 than the head, without bristles at base, but the feathers nearly reach the large circular nostrils ; the up])er 

 mandible is well curved, about as wide at its base as the bill is high, but contracts rapidly toward its tip. 

 Feet, of moderate size ; tarsus, fused into a continuous plate. 



This family, of which some of the members have been placed by the older authors in the family of the 

 Manikins, has of late been placed with the warblers with which to my mind it shows scarcely any affinity, 

 therefore I have elevated the birds contained in it, to the rank of family. 



GENUS IGTERIA. OLIVE AND YELLOW CHATS. 



Gen. Cii. Size, rather large. Colors, olive above, yellow below. The tongue is pointed, rather fleshy 

 and without cilia at tip. The oesophagus is without special dilitation, and merges into a proventriculus, 

 ■which is provided with a zonular band of simple, oval glands and measures .30 wide. The duodenum is .50 

 long and encloses a short balloon-shaped pancreas, .50 by .22. The stomach is moderately muscular, with 

 the walls .30 thick, and is lined with a hard rugose membrane. The intestines are 4.80 long to the coeca 

 ■which arc very small and adhere to the intestines for their entire length. The above dissection is baseci 

 upon I. virens. 



