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Genus II.— SYLVICOLA, Swains. WOOD- WARBLER. 



Bill short, straight, rather strong, tapering, scarcely broader than high at 

 the base, compressed toward the end; upper mandible with its dorsal outline 

 declinate and nearly straight, the tip slightly declinate, the edges overlapping, 

 with a slight notch; lower mandible with the angle short and rounded, the 

 dorsal line straight, the sides convex, the edges a little inclinate, the tip nar- 

 row. Nostrils basal, oval or oblong, partially concealed by the feathers. 

 Head of ordinary size; neck short; body rather slender. Feet of ordinary 

 length, rather slender; tarsus longer than the middle toe, much compressed, 

 covered anteriorly with seven scutella, very sharp behind; toes of moderate 

 length, slender, free, the outer united as far as the second joint, the hind toe 

 proportionally large; claws moderate, well arched, much compressed, laterally 

 grooved, very acute. Plumage soft and blended. Bristles at the base of the 

 upper mandible feeble. Wings rather long, little curved, pointed; the second 

 quill longest, the first and third slightly shorter. Tail rather long, emar- 

 ginate. 



THE YELLOW-CROWNED WOOD-WARBLER. 



- Sylvicola coronata, Lath. 

 PLATE LXXVL— Male and Female. 



This very abundant species I observed in East Florida, on the 1st of 

 March 1831, in full summer plumage. In South Carolina, no improvement 

 on its winter dress could be seen on the 18th of the same month. On the 

 10th of April, many were procured by my friend Bachman and myself, in 

 the neighbourhood of Charleston. They were in moult, especially about the 

 head and neck, where the new feathers were still inclosed in their sheath; 

 but so rapidly did the change take place, that, before a few days had elapsed, 

 they were in full plumage. 



During a winter spent in the Floridas, I saw these birds daily, and so had 

 abundant opportunity of studying their manners. They were very social 

 among themselves, skipped by day along the piazzas, balanced themselves in 

 the air, opposite the sides of the houses, in search of spiders and insects, 



