1885.] Brewster on S-wamson's Warbler. fjj 



the head. Another specimen from the same brood, but apparently older, 

 has the lores distinctly black, the light space on the abdomen nearly 

 obscured by a brownish tipping on many of the feathers, and the general 

 coloring lighter, approaching chocolate-brown in places. 



The above-described plumage is very odd and striking. In general 

 coloring the bird seems to most nearly resemble the young of Oforornis 

 formosus.* It differs so widely from the adult H. sivainsoni that no one 

 would suspect their identity were it not for the bill, which in the smallest 

 specimen before me shows all the essential characteristics of the genus. 



Juv., fall plumage.— ($ No. 354, A. T. W., Charleston, Aug. 25, 

 18S4.) Entire upper parts rich olive strongly tinged with reddish-brown, 

 the crown scarcely deeper-colored than the back, the wings a trifle redder; 

 loral stripe blackish ; superciliary stripe, tinged with yellow; under parts 

 strongly yellowish. Otherwise like the adult. 



Variations. — Among the adults and fall-plumaged young before me 

 there is much variation in the size and shape of the bill, as well as in 

 general coloration. Some examples have the upper and lower outlines of 

 the bill nearly if not quite straight: in others the culmen is curved, 

 the gonys often with an appreciable angle. Again some specimens 

 have the bill decidedly notched at the tip, although in the majority 

 it is plain. As a rule (but not invariably) young birds seem to have 

 shorter, slenderer, and straighter bills than do the adults. 



The color variations range between two extremes. In one the crown, 

 wings, and tail are bright reddish-brown — almost reddish-chestnut on the 

 secondaries — in decided contrast with the back, which is deep brownish- 

 olive; the underparts strongly yellowish. In the other the wings and tail 

 are concolor with the back, which is of a plain grayish olive; the crown 

 dull reddish-brown; the under parts creamy-white, scarcely, if at all, yel- 

 lowish. That these variations are not sexual is evident, for the richest- 

 colored bird in the whole series is a female (No. 137, A. T. W., May 10), 

 and several of the dullest are males : that they are not connected with age is 

 equally certain, for among the young birds still bearing traces of first 

 plumage both types occur. As a rule, however, the young in autumn are 

 more apt to be yellow beneath than are breeding birds, but in none of the 

 specimens which I have seen is the yellow deeper than in a male taken 

 May 5 (No. 9015, W. B). Adults in autumn are positively indistinguish- 

 able from breeding birds. Young in full autumnal dress may be general ly, 

 if not invariably, recognized by the darker color of the bill and the much 

 more uniform coloration of the upper parts, the crown in some specimens 

 being almost concolor with the back, wings, and tail, a condition never 

 seen in spring birds. 



In markings the variations are trifling. The nebulous spotting on the 

 breast is indistinct in many birds, and in a few, barely appreciable, 

 the ashv being practically confined to the sides, and the remainder of the 



* As described by Mr. Ridgway, Bull. N. O. C, Vol. Ill, No. 2, April, 1868, p. 60. I 

 have no specimens for comparison. 



