24 



APPENDIX TO THOMPSON'S VERMONT. 



PARTI-COLORED WARBLER. MEALY REDPOLL. ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK. SCARLET TANAGER. 



Chin, throat and sides of the neck bluish 

 gray. Breast black, with numerous fine 

 crescent-shaped blue-gray lines. Beneath 

 bright lustrous yellow. Bill smoky horn 

 color; legs flesh color. In the female and 

 the young, the throat and breast are bufi', 

 the latter much the darkest, and all the 

 upper parts are a greenish olive. Length, 

 5 inches; spread, 7.5. 



History. — The Mourning Warbler de- 

 rives its name from its peculiar melancholy- 

 notes. The specimen, from which the above 

 description is chiefly drawn, was shot by 

 my friend, C. S. Paine, in Randolph, on 

 the Ith of July. It was a male, had with 

 it a mate and a brood of young ones, just 

 able to fly. Thjs warbler is a rare bird, 

 and is of shy and solitary habits. Its 

 range, so far as at present ascertained, is 

 between the 23d and 47th parallels of lati- 

 tude. 



THE P.\RTI-COLORED WARBLER. 

 Sylvia americana. — Latham. 



Description,-.- Color pale blue above, 

 with a lai'ge golden umber spot on the 

 back. Upper mandible >)lack; lower, yel- 

 lowish. Chin, throat and lower part of 

 the breast, bright yellow. A blackish 

 collar, bordered below with umber, mixed 

 with yellow. Sides, under the edges of the 

 folded ivings, spotted with bay. Belly 

 bluish white. Two white bars on the wings ; 

 and outer tail feathers largely spotted with 

 white, on their inner webs. Wings and 

 tail brown, the quills and feathers edged 

 with light blue, on their outer webs. Legs 

 and feet fuliginous. Three first quills 

 nearly equal. Female without the dark 

 collar on the bi-east. Length, 4.5, spread, 

 6.4 inches. 



History. — This very beautiful little war- 

 bler ranges from Mexico to the 46th parallel 

 of latitude, and is very common in the 

 western states. It arrives in New England 

 about the beginning of May. Its nest, ac- 

 cording to Audubon, is built in the upright 

 forks of small trees, and is comjiosed prin- 

 cipally of lichens, lined -with downj' sub- 

 stances. The eggs, about 4, are white, 

 with a few reddish dots near the larger end. 



THE MEALY REDPOLL. 



Fringilla borealis. — Savi. 

 Description. — Above dusky, streaked 

 with yellowsh white and rusty. Wings 

 and tail, hair-brown, the feathers edged 

 and tipped with yellowish white. Rump 

 whitish. Crown dark rich crimson. Front- 

 let, lores and throat black. Beneath, gray- 

 ish white, streaked with dusky. Legs, feet 

 and nails black. Cheeks, sides of the body 



and posterior part of the rump, in the male, 

 pale carmine. First primary longest, sec- 

 ond and third nearly equal. Bill yellow, 

 bi'ownish towards the jioint; veiy acute, 

 upper mandible longest. Hhid naU long 

 as the toe. Length, 5.5 inches; spread, 9. 

 History. — This species, though very 

 rare, is quite widely diffused, being found 

 in Maine, New Jersey and Oregon. The 

 specimen from which the above description 

 was made, was shot in Randolph, in the 

 winter of 1850. They appeared there in 

 flocks, and fed upon the seeds of weeds, 

 which projected thi'ough the snow, in the 

 open fields. They were not seen in the 

 forests. Its notes were very much like 

 those of the common yellow bird, F. trislis. 

 In appearance it very closely resembles the 

 Lesser Redpoll, F. linaria ; — so closely 

 that there is some difiiculty in distinguish- 

 ing them. It is, however, somewhat larger, 

 and its colors a little lighter, particularly 

 on the rump. 



THE ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK. 



Coccoborus ludovicianus. — Linn^us. 



Description. — Head, chin and upper 

 parts mostly black, varied with white on 

 the wings and rump. Tail and wings 

 brownish, Avith a broad white bar across 

 the quills of the latter, and a narrower one 

 on the wing coverts. Breast and under 

 wing coverts carmine, or bi'ight rose color. 

 Beneath, yellowish white. Bill, cream 

 color ; legs and feet grayish brown. Female 

 brown above, spotted with dull white on the 

 wings ; three yellowish white bands on the 

 head, one passing from the bUl over the 

 crown to the occiput, and one passing along 

 each side of the head, just over the eye. 

 Feathers on the breast yellowish, with a 

 brown central streak; under wing coverts 

 sulphur yellow ; no rose color. Bill brown 

 horn color. Tail slightly emarginate. Bill 

 notched near the point. Second quill long- 

 est. Length, 8 inches; spread, 13. 



History. — The range of this bird is said 

 to be from Texas to the 56th parallel of 

 latitude. Though not numerous in Ver- 

 mont, they are frequently met with and 

 rear their young here. Its nest is usually 

 built in thick forests, at a considerable 

 height from the ground, and composed of 

 twigs and lined Avith grass. The eggs are 

 4 or 5, bluish and spotted with brown. 



THE SCARLET TANAGER. 



Tanagra rubra. — Linn^us. 



Description. — The bill robust, rather 

 short, compressed towards the point, and 

 acute. The second quill longest. Tail 

 slightly forked. In the male, the plumage 



