YELLOW-RUMP AVARBLER. 187 



brown olive dress, the yellow on the sides of the breast and crown is 

 scarcely observable, unless the feathers be parted with the hand ; but 

 that on the rump is still vivid ; the spots of black on the cheek are 

 then also obscured. The difference of appearance, however, is so great, 

 that we need scarcely wonder that foreigners, who have no opportunity 

 of examining the progress of these variations, should have concluded 

 them to be two distinct species ; and designated them as in the above 

 synonymes. 



This bird is also a passenger through Pennsylvania. Early in Octo- 

 ber he arrives from the north, in his olive dress, and frequents the cedar 

 trees, devouring the berries with great avidity. He remains with us 

 three or four weeks, and is very numerous wherever there are trees of 

 the red cedar covered with berries. He leaves us for the south, and 

 spends the winter season among the myrtle swamps of Virginia, the 

 Carolinas and Georgia. The berries of the Myrica cerifera, both the 

 large and dwarf kind, are his particular favorites. On those of the 

 latter I found him feeding, in great numbers, near the sea shore, in the 

 district of Maine, in October ; and through the whole of the lower parts 

 of the Carolinas, wherever the myrtles grew, these birds were numerous, 

 skipping about with hanging wings, among the bushes. In those parts 

 of the country they are generally known by the name of Myrtle-birds. 

 Round Savannah, and beyond it as far as the Alatamaha, I found him 

 equally numerous, as late as the middle of March, when his change of 

 color had considerably progressed to the slate hue. Mr. Abbot, who is 

 well acquainted with this change, assured me, that they attain this rich 

 slate color fully before their departure from thence, which is about the 

 last of March, and to the tenth of April. About the middle or twen- 

 tieth of the same month they appear in Pennsylvania, in full dress, as 

 represented in the plate ; and after continuing to be seen, for a week or 

 ten days, skipping among the high branches and tops of the trees, after 

 those larvse that feed on the opening buds, they disappear until the next 

 October. Whether they retire to the north, or to the high ranges of 

 our mountains to breed, like many other of our passengers, is yet uncer- 

 tain. They are a very numerous species, and always associate together 

 in considerable numbers, both in spring, winter and fall. 



This species is five inches and a half long, and eight inches broad ; 

 ■whole back, tail coverts, and hind head, a fine slate color, streaked with 

 black ; crown, sides of the breast, and rump, rich yellow ; wings and 

 tail black, the former crossed with two bars of white, the three exterior 

 feathers of the latter spotted with white ; cheeks and front black ; chin, 

 line over and under the eye, white ; breast light slate, streaked with 

 black extending under the wings ; belly and vent white, the latter 

 spotted with black ; bill and legs black. This is the spring and summer 

 dress of the male ; that of the female of the same seasons differs but 



