FIELD KEY TO COMMON BIRDS. 77 



?.. Length 4-50 inches; back gray, cap black, a blackish streak through 



the face ; under parts rcddisii brown; note, high and thin, like the tone 



of a penny trumpet; Sept. to Apl. Red-isjieasted Nutuat<^ii, page 25. 



3. Length 5"25 iuehes ; upper parts streaked black and white; note, a thin 



wiry ste-se€-Si.'e~see\ Apl. '25 to Oct. 



Black axd wuite WAitr-LEii, page 226. 

 II. Birds with stiffly pointed tail-feathers, that always climb upward. 



1. Length 5*G5 inches; plumage dull brown and black; fiize small, bill 

 slender; an inconspicuous bird who winds his way up the trunks search- 

 ing for insects^ ^'g^g^: etc. ; note, fine and .squeaky ; fSept. 25 to Apl. 



Bkown (_'rvEp:PEit, page 24f). 



2. Plumage with more or less white, size larger, bill stouter, chisel-like, 

 often used in hammering. 



A. Length 0-75 inches ; head red, back black ; flight showing a large 

 white patch in the wing . . . Red-ijeaded Woodpecker, page 140. 



B. Length 12-00 inches; crown gray; a red band on the nape ; flight 

 showing a white patch on the lower bade and yellow in the wings ; 

 often flushed from the ground ; VLOta^ h<?e-yer . . Flicker, page 138. 



C. Length G'75 inches ; crown black ; back and wings black and white ; 

 note, a sharp pt^ei- Downy Woodpecker, page 138. 



THIRD GROUP. 



BIRDS NOT INCLUDED IN TUE PRECEDING GROUPS. 



{Blackbirds, Orioles, Sparrows, Vireos, Warblers, Thrushes, etc.) 



Section I. With yellow or orange in the plumage. 



Section II. With red in the plumage. 



Section 111. With blue in the plumage. 



Section IV. Plumage conspicuously black, or black and white. 



Section V. Birds not included in the preceding sections. 



[. With yellow or orange in the plumage. 



1. Tiiruat yellow. 

 A. Throat and breast pure yellow, without streaks or spots. 



a. Length 5*10 inches ; cap, wings, and tail black ; back yellow ; song 

 eanarylike, sometimes uttered on the wing ; flight undulating, fre- 

 quently aecompanied by the notes chlc-o-ree, pcr-c/dc-o-ree ; a per- 

 manent resident Am. Golokincii, page 198. 



h. Length 5-95 inches; lower belly and wing-burs white; back olive- 

 grecn ; frequents the upper branches, generally in woodland ; actions 

 deliberate ; song loud and musical, uttered slowly, often with pauses : 

 " See nie ? Pm here ; whei'C are you ^ '''' ; May to Sept. 



YELLow-TnROATKj) \'iiiEo, page 22^;. 

 c. Length 5-25 inches ; checks and forehead black, bordered by ashy : 

 upper parts olive-green ; no wing-bars ; haunts thickets and under- 

 growth : movements nervous and active; call-note /j;7 or cJiach ; 

 song, a vigorous, rapid nuich-''''r'',>-n^ iviteli-e-wee-o:, May to Oct. 



Marylanu YELLOW-TniiOAT, page 234:. 



