144 SOLITARY FLYCATCHER. 



a limb, sometimes on a horizontal branch among the twigs, generally on 

 a tree, is composed outwardly of thin strips of the bark of grape-vines, 

 moss, lichens, &c., and lined with fine fibres of such like substances ; 

 the eggs, usually four, are white, thinly dotted with black, chiefly near 

 the great end. Winged insects are its principal food. 



Whether this species has been described before or not I must leave tc 

 the sagacity of the reader, who has the opportunity of examining Euro- 

 pean works of this kind, to discover.* I have met with no description 

 in Pennant, Buffon, or Latham, that will properly apply to this bird, 

 which may perhaps be owing to the imperfection of the account, rather 

 than ignorance of the species, which is by no means rare. 



The Yellow-throated Flycatcher is five inches and a half long, and 

 nine inches from tip to tip of the expanded wings ; the upper part of the 

 head, sides of the neck, and the back, ai'e of a fine yellow olive ; throat, 

 breast and line over the eye, which it nearly encircles, a delicate lemon 

 yellow, which in a lighter tinge lines the wings ; belly and vent pure 

 silky white ; lesser wing coverts, lower part of the back, and rump, ash ; 

 wings deep brown, almost black, crossed wi^h two white bars ; primaries 

 edged with light ash, secondaries with white ; tail a little forked, of the 

 same brownish black with the wings, the three exterior feathers edged 

 on each vane with white ; legs and claws light blue ; the two exterior 

 toes united to the middle one as far as the second joint ; bill broad at 

 the base, with three or four slight bristles, the upper mandible over- 

 hanging the lower at the point, near which it is deeply notched ; tongue 

 thin, broad, tapering near the end, and bifid ; the eye is of a dark hazel ; 

 and the whole bill of a dusky light blue. The fen ile difi"ers very little 

 in color from the male ; the yellow on the breast and round the eye is 

 duller, and the white on the wings less pure. 



Species IX. MUSCWAPA SOLITARIA. 



SOLITARY FLYCATCHER. 



[Plate XVII. Fig. 6, Male.] 



This rare species I can find nowhere described. I have myself never 

 seen more than three of them ; all of whom corresponded in their 

 markings ; and^ on dissection were found to be males. It is a silent, 

 solitary bird. It is also occasionally found in the state of Georgia, 

 where I saw a drawing of it in the possession of Mr. Abbot, who con- 



* See "Orange-throated Warbler." L.ith. Syn. u., 481, 103. 



