496 



CHARACTERS OF VIREO OLIVACEUS 



Red-ey'd Fly-Catcher, Muscicapa oculls rubris, Gates. Car. i. 1771, 54, pi. 54 (lower fig.). 

 Olive-coloured Flycatcher, Edw. " Gl. 93, pi. 253 ". 



Gobe-mouche de la Jamalque, Muscicapa Jamaicensis, Briss. ii. 1800, 410, n. 27 (in part). 

 Red-eyed Flycatcher, Penn. AZ. ii. 1785, 387, n. 271. Lath. "Syn. ii. 351, n. 51". Steph. 



Gen. Zool. x. 1817, 379. 



Moucberolle olive, Le Moine, Ois. Canad. 1861, 160. 

 Red-eyed Vireo, or Greenlet, And. & Authors. 



HAB. Chiefly Eastern North America to Hudson's Bay; Greenland (Rein- 

 hardt). West, however, to the Rocky Mountains, and even beycnd ; Wash- 

 ington Territory (Kennerly) ; Utah (Allen). South to New Grenada and 

 Trinidad (Finsch, PZS. 1870, 565). Cuba alone of the West Indies. In Mex- 

 ico, chiefly replaced by S. flavoviridis (Xalapa, Sclater). Extremely abundant 

 in Eastern United States. Breeds at large in its North American range, and 

 winters from Florida southward. Accidental in England (see the references 

 in foregoing synonymy). 



FIG. 56. Vireo olivaceus, natural size. 



CH. SP. g 9 Remigibus ix. Flavo-olivaceus, alls caudaque 

 fuscis flavo-olivaceo limbatis ; infra albus, lateribus mx virescen- 

 tibus; pileo cinereo-plumbeo fusco limbato, striga superciliari alba : 

 lor is plumbeo-fuscis; iridibus rubris. 



$ $ : Entire upper parts and the edgings of the dusky wings and tail uni- 

 form yellowish-olive, extending on the sides of the neck and breast, but 

 well defined against the color of the crown. No bars across ends of wing- 

 coverts. Beneath pure white, a little shaded with greenish-yellow along 

 the sides ; no dusky maxillary stripes. Cfip ashy-plumbeous, bordered on 

 each side with a dusky line. A broad white superciliary stripe from nostrils 

 over the eye and ear ; below this a dusky loral line prolonged through the 

 eye ; lower eyelid whitish. Bill dusky plum beous above, pale horn-color 

 below ; feet plumbeous ; iris red. No obvious spurious first primary. Length, 

 extremes, 5f-6J, generally about 6; extent, 9f-10 ; wing, 3-3; tail, 2-2; 

 bill along culmen, over \ ; tarsus, f . 



The sexes are indistinguishable, and the young resemble the old very 

 closely. Autumnal specimens, of both old and young, are more brightly 

 colored than old ones, with more decided yellowish-green shading on the 

 sides below, sometimes extended on the crissum. The young have the eyes 

 less decidedly red rather reddish-brown. The species is readily recognized 

 by its large size, long bill, apparently only nine primaries, no maxillary 

 stripes, red eyes, and peculiar head-markings as above given. It is the only 

 species of its particular sub-group known to inhabit the West, though a 

 closely allied one, V. flavoviridis, has occured just over our southern border. 



