CNATCATCHERS, KINGLETS, 
WARBLERS. 
Sylviidae. 
G ~S | HE FAMILY Sylviidae is a large group of birds represented chiefly in 
the Old World and having but few representatives in this country. 
ne “The family is not well distinguished from the Turdidae and Saxi- 
colidae, and no attempt will be made here to cover all its phases 
by any diagnostic phrase—it is perhaps insusceptible of exact 
definition. While there are several hundred species of the Eastern Hemi- 
sphere, less than a score occur in America.” (Coues.) The family as 
represented in our country consists of the three genera: 
1, Polioptila ScLaTER. Gnatcatchers. Three species. 
™%y 2, Regulus Cuvier. Kinglets. Three species. 
3, Phyllopseustes MEYER. Old World Warblers. One species. 
BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER. 
Polioptila caerulea ScLatT. 
Puiate VI. 
N A BEAUTIFUL day in the first part of April, 1886, I found myself on the 
S) wooded shores of Lake Apopka, Fla. The air laden with fragrance, the deep 
blue sky, the thousands of small flowers which carpeted the sandy soil, the song of 
innumerable Mockingbirds, and the many strange trees and shrubs held my very soul 
spell-bound. The fine hammock woods on the borders of this large body of fresh water 
consists of a great variety of evergreen and deciduous trees and shrubs, I have nowhere 
