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RFA'IEW OP AMERICAN DIROS. 



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I liiive before me a St. Croix Hkin kindly lent by Mr. Newton, 

 and one from St. ThorruiH, from Mr. Lawrence's collection, and 

 liave examined other {St. Thomas specimens in the niuaeum of thu 

 Pliiladelphia Academy. None of these, unfortunately, are in that 

 perfection of feather and coloration necessary to exhibit their tnio 

 character, and I am unable to indicate the ie features properly, 

 though believing them to be dilfercnt from petechia. 



The St. Croix bird, which resembles petechia in the yellow edges 

 to the wing coverts, is nmaller, with consideraMy shorter wiii},'s 

 proportionally (2.40, instead of 2.rt5) ; the wing formula is (|uitu 

 diffcrtnt, being 3. 2. 1. 4. 5. 6, instead of 3. 4. 2. 5. 1. 6 — the 1st 

 quill being thus longer than the 4lh and 5th, the 2d next to the 

 longest, instead of the 1st being shorter than the 4th and 5th, and 

 the 4th second in length. T'm, St. Thomas specimens have much 

 the same wing formulu —3. 2. 4. 1. 5. G in most ; in two, 3. 4. 2. 1. 5. C ; 

 they are rather larger, however, with more yellow on the tail. 



A specimen, in poor condition, obtained in Barbadoes by Mr. 

 Gill, and preser, ed in alcohol (No. 33,7fi6), although apparently an 

 adult male, Is of very sumll size: length, 4.30; wing, 2.25; tail, 

 !J 00 ; and has as the wing formula, 3. 4. 5. 2. 1. The tail has almost 

 •he same amount of yellow as in D. aestiva, and much more than in 

 uny of its red-capped allies, viz., the entire inner webs of five ex- 

 i;erio»* feathers, with exception of a terminal streak. On the outei- 

 web of the exterior feather the basal yellow does not extend quite 

 as far up as in sestiva. The entire top oi head is of a deep chestuiit- 

 brown. This bird, therefore, may be a different species again from 

 those just referred to. The specimen exhibits the unusual anomaly 

 of having seven tail feathers on one side, and six on the other. 



The solution of all the questions connected with this subject will 

 depend upon full series of specimens in perfect spring plumage, from 

 all the different West India Islands. It is, however, quite evident 

 that, while D petechia, of Jamaica, and D. gundlachi are distinct 

 species, there is at least one, and perhaps several additional species 

 in the West India Islands more to the eastward, perhaps one for 

 each group of islands. 



Note. — As the present pages are passing through the press the 

 Institution has received a series of Golden Warblers from St. 

 Thomas, collected by Mr. Swift, which, unfortunately, being in 

 winter plumage, do not furnish the means of making a final com- 

 parison, though substantiating what has already been said in regard 

 to the character of the wings. 



Kihllli-T-ill. 

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