REDSTART. 405 
round spots of white, not seen unless the plumage be parted with the 
hand ; tail long, nearly even, crossed with four bars of black and as 
many of brown ash, and tipt with white ; throat and whole lower parts, 
pale yellowish white ; the former marked with fine long-pointed spots 
of dark brown, the latter with large oblong spots of reddish brown; 
femorals, thickly marked with spade-formed spots on a pale rufous 
ground ; legs, long, and feathered a little below the knee, of a greenish 
yellow color, most yellow at the joints ; edges of the inside of the shins, 
below the knee, projecting like the edge of a knife, hard and'sharp, as 
if intended to enable the bird to hold its prey with more security be- 
tween them; eye, brilliant yellow, sunk below a projecting cartilage, 
The male was nearly two inches shorter; the upper parts, dark 
brown ; the feathers, skirted with pale reddish, the front streaked with 
the same; cere, greenish yellow; lores, bluish ; bill, black, as in the 
. female; streak over the eye, lighter than in the former ; chin, white; 
breast the same, streaked with brown ; bars on the tail, rather narrower, 
but in tint and number the same; belly and vent, white; feet and 
shins, exactly as in the female ; the toes have the same pendulous lobes 
which mark those of the female, and of which the tepresentation in 
the plate will give a correct idea; the wings barred with black, very 
noticeable on the lower side. 
Since writing the above, I have shot another specimen of this Hawk, 
corresponding in almost every particular with the male last mentioned ; 
and which, on dissection, also proves to beamale. This last had within 
the grasp of his sharp talons a small lizard, just killed, on which he was 
about to feed. How he contrived to get possession of it appeared 
to me matter of surprise, as lightning itself seems scarcely more 
fleet than this little reptile. So rapid are its motions, that, in passing 
from one place to anothet, it vanishes, and actually eludes the eye in 
running a distance of twelve or fifteen feet. It is frequently seen on 
fences that are covered with gray moss and lichen, which in color it 
very much resembles ; it seeks shelter in hollow trees, and also in the 
ground about their decayed roots. They are most numerous,in hilly 
parts of the country, particularly on the declivities of the Blue Moun- 
tain, among the crevices of rocks andstones. When they are disposed 
to run, it is almost impossible to shoot them, as they disappear at the 
first touch of the trigger. For the satisfaction of the curious, [ have 
introduced a full-sized figure of this lizard, which is known in many 
parts of the country by the name of the Swift. 
REDSTART. — MUSCICAPA RUTICILLA.— Fra. 186, 
Edw, 257.— Yellow Tail, Arct. Zool. ii. p. 466, No. 301. 
SETOPHAGA RUTICILLA. — Swatnson. 
By recurring to Fig. 24, the male of this species may be seen in his 
perfect dress. Fig. 186 represents the young bird’ as he appears for 
