114 MOCKING BIRD. 



middle one hardly shorter than the tarsus ; inner toe free ; hind toe 

 rather robust ; claws compressed, acute, arched. 



Plumage soft and blended. Wings of moderate length, rounded ; 

 third and fourth primaries longest, first short. Tail long, much round- 

 ed, of twelve nearly straight, rather narrow, rounded feathers. 



Bill brownish-black. Iris pale yellow. Feet and claws dark brown. 

 Upper parts of the head, neck and body dark grey, tinged with brown 

 on the forehead and sides of the head. Under parts brownish-white. 

 Quills brownish-black ; primaries white in their proximal part, forming a 

 large spot of that colour on the wing, concealed on the first three, and 

 on the last reaching to near the tip. Large primary coverts white, with a 

 line of black at the tip. Secondary coverts and second row tipped with 

 white. Outer tail-feather white, excepting a light streak of dusky near 

 the tip ; the next two also white, but with a longitudinal streak of black 

 on the outer web, larger and broader on the third. The rest brownish- 

 black tinged with grey, and, excepting the middle ones, tipped with white. 



Length 9^ inches, extent of wings 13^ ; bill along the ridge -J^, 

 along the gap 1 ; tarsus I^, middle toe ]. 



Adult Female. Plate XXI. Fig. 2, 2. 



The female differs very little from the male. The plumage is slightly 

 duller, with more brown, the lateral tail-feathers have more black, and 

 the white parts are less pure. The dimensions are nearly the same. 



The Florida Jessamine. 



Gelseminum vitidum, Mich. Flor. Amer. vol. i. p. 120. Pursh. Flor. Amer. 

 vol. i. p. 184. — Pentandhia Digynia, Linn. Apocine^, Juss. 



A climbing shrub, with smooth lanceolate Reaves, axillary clusters of 

 yellow flowers, which are funnel-shaped, with the hmb spreading and 

 nearly equal, the calyx five-toothed, the capsule two-celled and two- 

 valved. It grows along the sea^coast, especially near rivers, from Vir- 

 ginia to Florida, flowering through the summer. The flowers are 

 fragrant. It is also named Carolina Jessamine and Yellow Jessami7ie. 



