310 
SYSTEM A TIC SYNOPSIS. — PA SSEBES — OSCINES. 
8.50-9.00; wing 2.75-3.00 5 tail 2.00. In spring birds the ash of the head and throat is quite 
pure, and very dark, ahnost black on the breast ; then the resemblance to Geotlilyiyis Phila- 
delphia is close; but in the latter the wings are little if any longer than the tail. In the fall 
the upper parts from bill to tail are nearly uniform olive, and the ash of the throat is pale. 
Eastern U. S., not commonly observed in the spring ; abounding in the fall in some localities ; 
a shy, fugitive inhabitant of brushwood and thickets. Distribution^ migration, and breeding still 
imperfectly known. 
140. O. formo'sa. (Lat. /ormosa, shapely, comely ; hence, beautiful in any way. Fig. 170.) Ken- 
tucky Warbler. Clear olive-green ; entire under parts bright yellow, olive-shaded along 
sides ; crown black, separated by a rich yellow superciliary line 
(which curls around the eye behind) from a broad black bar 
running from bill below eye and thence down the side of the 
neck ; wings and tail unmarked, glossed with olive ; feet flesh- 
color. Length 5.50-5.75; extent about 9.25; wing 2.75-3.00 ; 
tail 2.25. Young birds have the black obscure, if not wanting ; 
in the fall, the black feathers of the crown of the adult are 
skirted with ash. Eastern U. S., N. to the Connecticut Valley ; 
also known to occur near Quebec. Not abundant, but common 
Fig. 170. — Kentucky Warbler, in certain sections, as in Illinois, Kansas, and other portions 
nat. size. (Ad nat. del E. C.) Mississippi Valley. Breeds throughout its U. S. range ; 
winters extralimital. A beautiful object, gleaming like gold in the tangle and debris of thick 
dark woods and swamps. Nest on the ground, or in rubbish near it, of leaves, grasses, weed- 
stems and rootlets, large and shallow; eggs 4-5, 0.70 X 0.56, crystal- white, sprinkled with 
reddish dots. 
42 GEO'THLYPIS. (Gr. yrj or yea, ge or gea, the earth, and BKvttls or Bpavnis, thliqns or 
thraupis, name of some bird.) Ground Warblers. Bill of ordinary Sylvicoline characters ; 
rictal bristles very slight. Wings remarkably short and much rounded, scarcely or not longer 
than the rounded tail. Legs stout; tarsi longer than middle toe. Of medium and rather 
small size for this family. Coloration olivaceous above, wdth yellow below. Tail rounded, 
without white spots. Legs pale-colored. Habits somewhat terrestrial. Nest on the ground 
or near it. This genus aJOFords several species more or less resembling the common Mary- 
land Yellow-throat, chiefly of the warmer parts of America — three of N. Am. They are 
well distinguished from other Warblers by the extreme shortness of the wings, which are 
scarcely or not longer than the tail, and by the size of the pale-colored legs, which indicates 
somewhat terrestrial habits. Our species are familiar inhabitants of the shrubbery, ordinarily 
keeping near the ground, where the nest is usually placed. 
Analysis of Species. 
Sexes quite unlike : with a black mask bordered with ash, and throat yellow ; $ with head plain trichas 141 
Sexes nearly alike : head and throat ashy, deepening on breast. 
No white eyelids ; breast of adult J* quite blackish Philadelphia 142 
White eyelids ; breast of adult cf scarcely different from throat macgillivrayi 143 
141. G. tricVas. (Gr. rptxa?, name of some bird in Aristotle. Fig. 171.) Yellow-throated 
Ground Warbler. Maryland Yellow-throat. $ , in summer : Upper parts rich olive, 
inclining to grayish on the head, brightest on the rump. Wings and tail brown, edged with the 
color of the back. Chin, throat, and breast, with under wing- and tail-coverts, rich yellow. 
Middle under parts dull whitish, shaded on the sides. A broad black mask on the front and sides 
of the head, bordered behind by hoary-ash. Bill black ; feet flesh-colored. Length 4.75-5.00 ; 
exjtent 6.50-6.90 ; wing 1.90-2.10 ; tail rather more. 9 > summer : Eather smaller ; yellow 
of the under parts paler and more restricted ; no black or ashy markings on head, but crown 
usually with some concealed reddish-brown. Otherwise top and sides of head like back, with 
