126 Loomis, Summer Birds of Pickens County, S. C. [April 



the songsters of the region. Very abundant in woods everywhere, on the 

 highlands and in the valleys. 



45. Vireo flavifrons. Yellow-throated Vireo. — Common, seem- 

 ingly confined to the middle and lower elevations. Its strong clear notes 

 were a constant feature in the general chorus. 



46. Vireo solitarius alticola. Mountain Solitary Vireo. — The 

 Mountain Solitary Vireo is the least abundant member of the family thus 

 far met with in this locality. It is sparsely distributed, occurring chiefly 

 above 2000 feet. Two specimens were secured in the Oolenoy Valley — a 

 female, June II, and a male, June 13. It is at all times a persistent voca- 

 list. There is a charm in its voice that instantly arrests attention, a charm 

 not alone of rarity, but of melody, singular in sweetness, and peculiar in 

 power of penetration. I am convinced a second brood is occasionally, if 

 not habitually, reared, for a female was taken, June S, whose ovary plainly 

 indicated that eggs were about to be deposited. The first offspring of this 

 bird, which were well on wing, were still under the care of the parents. 



Examples from these mountains — a region of heavy precipitation — show 

 that alticola is a strongly marked race. A casual examination is suffi- 

 cient to reveal the striking differences existing between it and V. solitarius. 

 The dark plumbeous of the back and the large size of the bill distinguish 

 it at a glance. There is considerable variation, in individuals, in the col- 

 oration of the upper parts. In the most characteristic specimen of my 

 series, mottled plumbeous, dusky and blackish, are the prevailing colors, 

 the green beingbarely discernible, except on the rump. In a second speci- 

 men, representing the other extreme, the plumbeous is of a dusky shade. 

 and much restricted, the green predominating on the rump and blending 

 prominently with the plumbeous on the lower neck and upper back. In 

 one of the young birds referred to above the color of the upper portions 

 is nearly uniform plumbeous-gray. In another, the gray of the back is 

 tinged with green, which increases in intensity until it prevails over the 

 plumbeous on the rump and upper tail-coverts. In typical examples of 

 solitarius, and also in intermediate ones, from Chester County, the basal 

 portion of the lower mandible, and frequently the whole of it except the 

 tip, is plumbeous, while in adult mountain birds this part of the bill is uni- 

 formly black, or displays but very slight indications of plumbeous. 

 Three birds of the year, however, have the bill similar in color to mature 

 Chester specimens. In adult mountain birds the black in this member is 

 falso noticeably deeper. The whitish edging of the innermost secondaries, 

 in adults, is greatly restricted. In several it is nearlyobsolete. In the 

 young of the year, so far as my knowledge goes, this edging is as exten- 

 sive as in solitarius. It is noteworthy that the example, most eminently 

 characteristic, came from the Oolenoy Valley. It would naturally be sup- 

 posed that the lowlands would have yielded exemplifications less typical 

 than the highlands. I have never seen an individual, in life, of either 

 style having the tarsi and podium " blackish plumbeous." In every 

 instance these extremities were light gray, usually decidedly plumbeous in 

 east. 



