QUARTERLY BULLETIN 



OF THE 



NUTTALL ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 



Vol. I. 1870. ]Vo. 1. 



DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES OF HELMINTHOPHAGA. 



BY WM. BREWSTER. 

 HELMINTHOPHAGA LEUCOBRONCHI ALTS. Pl. 1* 



Adult male : summer plumage. Crown, bright yellow, slightly tinged 

 with olive on the occiput. Greater and middle wing coverts, yellow, not so 

 bright as the crown. Superciliary line, cheeks, throat and entire under parts; 

 silky-white, with a slight tinge of pale yellow on the breast. Dorsal surface, 

 — exclusive of nape which is clear ashy— washed with yellow, as are also the 

 outer margins of the secondaries. A narrow line of clear black passes from 

 the base of the upper mandible, through and to a short distance behind the 

 eye, interrupted however by the lower eyelid, which is distinctly white. No 

 trace of black on the cheeks or throat, even upon raising the feathers. Bill 

 black. Feet, dark brown. Dimensions — length, 5.I9 ; extent, 7.88 ; wing, 2 .45 ; 

 tarsus, .71; tail, 1.86; culmen, .53. 



It will be seen from the above description that this bird 

 resembles most closely the Golden-winged Warbler, ( Helmin- 

 tJiophaga chrysoptera.) 



The entire absence of black or ashy on the cheeks and 

 throat, the peculiar character of the superciliary line, and the 

 white lower eyelid, present however differences not to be rec- 

 onciled with any known seasonal or accidental variation of that 

 species. The restricted line of black through the eye gives the 

 head a remarkable similarity to that of Helminthophaga pinus, 

 but the semblance goes no farther. 



The specimen above described was shot by the writer in 

 Newtonville, Mass., May 18, 1870. It was in full song when 

 taken and was flitting about in a thicket of birches near a 

 swampy piece of oak and maple woods. As nearly as can be 

 remembered it did not differ much in either voice or actions 



* The original of our plate was drawn and colored by Robert Ridgeway, 

 'Esq., of the Smithsonian Institution, and presented by him to Mr. Brewster. 



Rec«nt Additions to North American 

 Avifauna. J.A,. AUeHi 



6 Helminthophaga leucobronchialis, Brewster, sp. nov. White- 

 THKOATED Warbler. - Am. Sportsman, V, 33, Oct. 17, 1874 ; Bull. 

 Nutt. Orn. Club, I, 1876, 1, plate. Massachusetts. 



Bua N,0.0. 5, April. 1880. p,80 



