166 
SYLVIA VER.MIVORA. 
a dusky brown ; tail, sli^'htly forked, yet the extcriot 
feathers arw somewhat shorter than the middle one®’ 
head and nhole lower parts, a dirty huff; the forin®'^ 
marked with four streaks of black, one passing; fr®"! 
each nostril, broadening- as it descends the hind hea® ! I 
and one from the posterior angle of each eye ; the I" 
is stout, straight, jmetty thick at the base, roundish, 
tapering to a tine point; no bristles at the side of | 
mouth ; tongue, thin, anil lacerated at the tip ; 
breast is most strongly tinged with the orange biw’ 
vent, waved with dusky olive; bill, blackish abo*''’; 
flesh coloured below; legs and feet, a pale clay coloi'f’ 
eye, dark hazel. The female differs very little 
colour from the male. 
On this species Mr Pennant makes the folloivi'jjj 
remarks : — “ Does not appear in Pennsylvania 1” 
July, in its passage northward. Does not" return fy. 
same way, but is supposed to go beyond the mouut.ai®* 
which lie to the west. This seems to be the case " 
all the transient vern,al visitants of Pennsylvania-’ j 
That a small bird should permit the whole spring, 
half of the summer, to pass away before it thought 
“ passing to the north to breed,” is a circumstance, 
sliould think, would have c.\cited the suspicion of ■ 
discerning a naturalist as the author of Arctic ZooJo0’ 
as to its truth. I do not know that this bird breeds ’ 
tire northward of the United States. As to their refo’’'^ 
iug homo by “ the country beyond the monntain^^ 
this must, doubtless, be for the purpose of tinishiiig 
education of their striplings here, as is done in EnVop^ 
by making the grand tour. This, by the by, would ^ 
a much more convenient retrograde route for the 
and geese ; a.s, like the Kentuckians, they could t** • 
advantage of the current of the Ohio and Mi-ssissipF;’ 
to float do'vm to the southward. Unfortunately, 
ever, for this pretty theory, all our vernal vis‘f‘''l!.j 
■with which I am acf|uainted, are contented to p' 
home by the same regions through which they adr.'U'*'’*' 
not even excepting the geese. 
* Arctic Zoology^ p. 406. 
