316 
SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSEBES— OSCINES. 
153. S. ruticil'la. (Lat. rw/iaZZa, red -tail ; rutilus, reddish; redstart " is corrupted from roth- 
stert, red-tail.) American Redstart. adult: Lustrous blue-black, the belly, flanks 
and crissum white. Sides of the body and lining of wings rich flame-color, which often 
tinges the breast quite across. Basal portions of all the wing-quills, excepting the innermost 
secondaries, the same rich reddish-orange, brightest on the outer webs, where it forms a con- 
spicuous exposed spot, paler and more extensive on the inner webs. All the lateral tail- 
feathers similarly colored for half or more of their length, the orange meeting the black 
abruptly with transverse outline. Bill and feet black. Length 5.00-5.50; extent 7.50-8.00; 
wing 2.25-2.50 ; tail the same ; bill 0.33 ; tarsus 0.66. 9 , adult : The black of the $ replaced 
on the upper parts with olive, growing more ashy on the head, on the wings with fuscous, and 
below with white. Sides rich yellow where the $ is orange, this color often tinging the breast 
across. Orange markings of the wings and tail of the $ replaced by clear yellow. Lores 
Fig. 177. — Honey Creeper {Certhiola flaveola; not distinguishable in a cut from C. bahamensis), | nat. size. 
(From Brehm.) 
dusky; eyelids and slight stripe from nostrils to eye whitish. Eather smaller than the ^, about 
equal to the lesser several dimensions given. ^, young : Like the 9 ? but the upper parts more 
brownish, the tail quite black, and the yellow of the sides brighter. Males changing in the 
spring to their final plumage are irregularly patched with black in the general olivaceous and 
white. The spring migration includes males in this condition, and others irregularly patched 
with black, as well as those in perfect dress ; whence it is evident that the redstart does not 
acquire his full-dress suit until in his third year. (See B. C. V., p. 340.) Temperate N. Am., 
but chiefly Eastern ; W. to Utah. Breeds in most of its U. S., and all of its British American 
range ; abundant from the Northern States. Nest a neat compact structure in the fork of a 
shrub or sapling at little elevation; eggs 4-5, averaging 0.65-0.50, not distinguishable from 
other warbler eggs. During the nuptial ecstasies the lovely redstart shines among the birds 
that throng the woodland, where his transparent beauty flashes like a lambent tongue of flame 
at play amidst the tender pale green foliage of the trees. 
