PASSERES — 3YLVIC0LIDi£ — SYLVICOLA. 93 



THE BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER. 

 Sylvicola blackburnl*. 



PLATE L. FIG. 113 (Male). 



(STATE COLLECTION.) 



Motacilta blackburniat, Gm. 8. id. Latham. 



Blacibumian Warbler. Pennant, Arct. Zool. Vol. 2, p. 412 (mate). 



S. id. Wilson, Am. Ornith. Vol. 3, p. 64, pi. 23, fig. 3 (male). Audobon, folio, pi. 135; Orn. Biog. Vol. 2, 



p. 208, and Vol. 5, p. 73. 

 Blackburnian Warbler. Nuttall, Man. Orn. Vol. 1, p. 379. Audubon, Birds of Am. Vol. 2, p. 48, pi. 87 



(male and female.) 

 S. id., Blaciburnian Wood-warbler. Giraud, Birds of Long island, p. 53. 



Characteristics. Head black, striped with orange : throat and breast orange ; white on the 

 wings and lateral tail-feathers. Female, dusky olive on the head ; line 

 over the eye, and sides of the neck yellowish. Length, 4£ inches. 



Description. Bill depressed at base ; bristles extending beyond the nostrils, which are 

 large. Tail erharginate, with acuminated feathers. First primary longest. 



Color. Deep brown above, striated with buff. Head black, with a central stripe of orange. 

 Sides of the head, line over the eye, neck and breast rich orange. Eye-stripe, which is 

 irregularly dilated on the sides of the neck, black. Beneath yellow, striped on the sides with 

 brown. Wings and tail deep brown : wings with a white bar over the coverts. Inner webs 

 of the three lateral tail-feathers more or less white. Female : Head dusky olive, rather 

 lighter in the centre ; back olive, streaked with brown ; eye-stripe brown : two white bars 

 across the wings. Beneath cream-yellow. 



Length, 4 , 5-5 , 0. Alar extent, 7-0 -8'0. 



This beautiful Warbler was first discovered by an English collector named Ashton Black- 

 burn, who resided for many years at Hempstead, Queens county.* The male in the State 

 Collection was killed in this vicinity, May 1 , and the female in Putnam county in August ; 

 from which I infer that it breeds in this State. This is now rendered certain, from the ob- 

 servations of Dr. Bachman. The eggs are white, with a few spots of light red at the larger 

 end. It ranges from Mexico to the parallel of 54° north. 



* Pennant acknowledges hi3 obligations to the collections made by this indefatigable naturalist, in New-York, New-Jersey 

 and Connecticut, at that time in the possession of his sister Anna Blackburn of London. According to Pennant, " he added to 

 the skill and zeal of a sportsman, the most pertinent remarks on the specimens he collected for his worthy and philosophic sister." 



