SYLVrcOLID.E — THE U'ARBLIOHS, 



191 



Genus HELMINTHOPHAGA, Cai.ax. 



Udminlhoplmun, CAnAMs, J[i,,s. llcin. ISr.O, 1851, 20. (Tyi.P, Sulria ruficapiUa, Wii.s.) 



Gen. Char. Bill elongated, cniciil, very acute; the outline.^ very nearly .slrai-lit, 

 sometimes slifrlitly deeurved ; no iraie of notcli at 

 the til), nor of hristle.s on the rietus. Win^^s long and 

 pointed; tiie (list (jnill nearly or <|iiite the kin!,'e.-*t. 

 Tail nearly even or slightly eniai'ginale ; short and 

 rather slender. Tarsi longer than the middle toe and 

 elaw. 



Tlie species of this section are well cliar- 

 actcfizcd by tlu3 attomiation and aciiteness /' 

 of the bill, and the absence of any notch. 

 There are, however, eonsiderai)le sidK)rdiiiate '^''""■"'""M''v« -/f™,,,//,,. 



differences in the diilereut species. In some the bill is larger and more 

 acute than others ; in one species, the H. pnr(/n'ii((, the wings tire uuusiially 

 lengthened, the tail being only about seven twelfths as hjng. 



Species and Varieties. 



Common CnARACTKTis. Iris brown. Length about u.OO. Xest on the ground, 

 in grass or dead leaves. Eggs elear white, thiekest at end, with minute dots of 

 brown oF various shades and faint ]>nri)le. 

 Aa Tail with a eonspieuons patch of white. 



a. A black patch covering throat and breast. 



1. chrysoptera. Above ash, beneath white. Forehead and a patch 

 on the wing yellow. Jfith. Eastern Province of United States, south to 

 Bogota ; Cuba. 



2. baohmani. Above olive-green; beneath, with forehead, yellow; 

 crown ash, bounded anteriorly with a black bar. No yellow oil wincv. 

 Hab. South Carolina and Georgia. Cuba in winter. 



6. No black on throat or lireast. 



3. pinus. Above olive-green; beneath, with forehead, yellow ; wings 

 nsh, with two white bands; lores black. Ilah. Eastern Province of 

 United States, south into Guatemala. 



B. Tail without a conspicuous while patch. 



c. Crown with a concealed pat(;h of rufous (obsolete in 9). 



4. ruacapilla Above olive-green; head ashy; beneath continuous 

 yellow ; a light orbital ring. Hah. North America (very rare in Mid.Uo 

 and Western Provinces) ; Greenland. Soutli to Southern Mexico (Oax- 

 aca, Cordova, Oi'izaba). 



Yellow of thi-oat spreading over cheeks, ami staining lores and 

 eyelids. Atlantic States. (Carlisle, I'cnn., speiMincns.) var. r iifi r,t p ilh, . 



Yellow of throat eontined within themaxillie; lores and eyeliils 

 clear white. M ississippi Valley. (Chicago .specimens.) var. ocnl <i r i s . 



Yellow of throat restricted to a nu'dial stripe, leaving its sides 

 nshy. Middle Province. (Sp(>ciincn liom Fort Tejon, Cat, and 

 East Humboldt Mountjiins, Nevada.) . . . var, (/ ii tt k ru I in 



