572 HISTORY OF THE 



three to five seldom five, usually four; white, thickly spotted 

 with lilac, purple and umber to vandyke brown; in form; oval. 

 A set of four eggs, collected at\Newtonville, Mass., June 22d, 

 1879, from a nest in upright forks of a hazel bush, are, in di- 

 mensions: .65x.48, .65x.50, .66x.50, .70x.50. 



GENTTS SEIURUS SWAINSON. 



" Bill rather sylvicoline, compressed, with a distinct notch; gonys ascending; 

 rictal bristles very short; wings moderate, about three-quarters of an inch longer 

 than the tail, first quill scarcely shorter than the second; tail slightly rounded, 

 feathers acuminate; tarsi about as long as the skull, considerably exceeding the 

 middle toe; under tail coverts reaching within about half an inch of the end of 

 the tail; color above olivaceous, beneath whitish, thickly streaked on the breast 

 and sides; wings and tail immaculate. Nest on the ground, often arched or 

 sheltered by position or dry leaves. Eggs white, marked with red, brown and 

 purple. 



"This genus is decidedly sylvicoline in general appearance, although the spots 

 on the breast resemble somewhat those of the Thrushes." 



Seiurus aurocapillus (LINN.). 



OVEN-BIRD. 

 PLATE XXXIIL 



Summer resident; very common in the eastern part of the 

 State. Arrive the middle to last of April; begin laying about 

 the middle of May; leave early in September. 



B. 186. R. 115. C. 135. G. 53, 292. U. 674. 



HABITAT. Eastern North America; north to Hudson's Bay 

 Territory and Alaska; west to the base of the Rocky Mountains; 

 breeding from southern Kansas and Virginia (probably a little 

 south) north to within the Arctic circle; wintering in southern 

 Florida, the Bahamas, West Indies and Mexico to southern Cen- 

 tral America. 



SP. CHAR. "Above, uniform olive green, with a tinge of yellow. Crown 

 with two narrow streaks of black from the bill, enclosing a median and much 

 broader one of brownish orange. Beneath, white; the breast, sides of the body 

 and a maxiliary line streaked with black. The female and young of the year 

 are not appreciably different." 



Mr. Ridgway says: "Young: Above, fulvous brown, the wing coverts tipped 

 with lighter fulvous or buffy; lower parts pale fulvous or buffy, very narrowly 

 streaked on breast, etc.; with dusky stripes on top of head very indistinct or ob- 

 solete." 



Stretch of 

 Length. -wing. Wing. Tail. Tarsus. Bill. 



Male 6.00 9.50 3.00 2.30 .86 .45 



Female.. 5.80 9.00 2.80 2.25 .86 .45 



