PASSERES 0SC1NES SYLVICOLIDiE. 49 



river about half a mile above Aqueduct Bridge, August 19, 1877, and 

 the others near Spring Yale, Fairfax County, Virginia, May 14 and 15, 

 187S. [140] 



54. (56.) Geothlypis trichas (Linn.) Cab. Maryland Yellow-throat. 



A very abundant summer resident, breeding plentifully in all suitable 

 localities. It arrives April 25, becoming suddenly very numerous, the 

 males in full song. During the pairing and breeding season the ener- 



Fig. 18. — Head of Maryland Yellow- throat, nat. size. 



getic whif-itee, whif-itee, may be heard from almost any patch of briars 

 or reeds, especially in swampy localities. The bird is never seen in high 

 open woods, and seldom even in orchards and hedge-rows, but frequently 

 in the tracts of Zizania aguatica, associated with the Marsh Wrens. The 

 nest is built on the ground and artfully concealed ; the eggs are white, 

 speckled. The bird remains until October, and sometimes during a part 

 of that month. [141] 



55. ( — .) Geothlypis Philadelphia (JVils.) Bd. Mourning Warbler. 



Not in the original edition, no specimen having been seen up to that 

 date. One was observed by Mr. L. E. Chittenden in the spring of 18G2, 

 confirming the remark we had made that the species was " undoubtedly 

 an inhabitant of the • District." This discovery remained in our MS. 

 until published by Mr. Jouy in 1877. Nothing further was heard of the 

 rare straggler for nearly twenty years. Mr. William Palmer saw it for 

 the first time in May, 1877, when he was unable to secure the individual. 

 He, however, shot one on the 19th of August, 1877, about half a mile 

 above Aqueduct Bridge. He observed two, one of which was shot at 

 Laurel in May, 1878, and has still another shot at Falls Church, May 19, 

 1879. In the phenomenal season of 1882, in May, one was shot by 

 ourselves in the undergrowth of a wooded hillside on Bock Creek, and 

 another was seen in the same place, but not obtained, by Mr. H. W. 

 Henshaw. These several individuals are the only ones we have heard 

 of in the District. [142] 



56. (59.) Icteria virens (Linn.) Bd. Yellow-breasted Chat. 



This singular bird abounds in brushwood and shrubbery during the 

 summer — more precisely, from the last week in April until the second 

 or third week in September. The thickest and most obdurate briar 

 patches suit it best. There, effectually screened from observation, it 

 delights in the exercise of its extraordinary vocal powers, and is such 

 an accomplished ventriloquist that one never knows where the bird 

 Bull. Nat. Mas. No. 2G 4 



