384 BIRDS OF ONTARIO. 



GENUS SETOPHAGA SWAINSON. 

 SETOPHAGA RUTICILLA (Lixx.). 



292. American Redstart. (687) 



Male: Lustrous blue-black ; belly and crissum, white; sides of the breast, 

 large spot at bases of the remiges, and basal half of the tail feathers (except the 

 middle pair), fiery orange, belly often tinged with the same. Female: Oliva- 

 ceous, ashier on the head, entirely white below ; wings and tail, blackish, with 

 the flame color of the male represented by yellow. Young male: Like the 

 female, but browner, the yellow of an orange hue. From the circumstance that 

 many spring males are shot in the general plumage of the female, but showing 

 irregular isolated black patches, it is probable that the species requires at least 

 two years to gain its perfect plumage. Length, 5 ; wing and tail', about 2J. 



HAB. North America, north to Fort Simpson, west regularly to the Great 

 Basin, casually to the Pacific coast, breeding from the middle portion of the 

 United States northward. In winter, the West Indies, and from Southern 

 Mexico through Central America to Northern South America. 



Nest, in the fork of a sapling, six to twenty feet from the ground, composed 

 of grape vine bark, grasses and weeds, and lined with fine grass, horse-hair or 

 plant down. 



Eggs, four or five, greenish or grayish-white, dotted with brown, lavender 

 and purple. 



The Redstart is one of the most active and restless little birds 

 found in the bush, where its glowing garb of black and orange shines 

 to great advantage among the fresh green leaves. It is generally 

 distributed throughout Ontario, and from its manners and markings 

 is well known to all who give any attention to the birds. In spring 

 it arrives from the 10th to the 15th of May, the first to appeal- 

 being the adult male in full costume, after which come the females 

 and young males in plumage nearly alike. While here, they are 

 not high-fliers, but like to disport themselves among the middle and 

 lower branches of deciduous trees, from which they dart off in pursuit 

 of passing insects, making the clicking of the bill distinctly heard. 



The male is so decided in his markings, that he is not likely to be 

 mistaken for any other species. The female is plainer, but has the 

 habit of opening and closing the tail feathers, which serves, even at 

 a distance, to indicate the species to which she belongs. 



After the end of August they are seldom seen. 



