48 
ICTERUS ICTEROCEPHALUS. 
tip with black ; the last of the primaries being* also 
white at tip, and on the greater part of the base of the 
outer vane ; the small lanceolate outer feather is white, 
black on the shaft and base of the inner vane ; the two 
next only being tipped with white, the outer of which 
is also white on the exterior margin. 
GENUS IV. _ ICTERUS, Brisson. 
8. ICTERUS ICTEROCEPHALUS , LINNJEUS. 
YELLOW-HEADED TROOPIAL, BONAPARTE, ALSO THE YELLOW- 
HEADED BLACKBIRD OF BONAPARTE. 
BONAPARTE, PLATE III. FIG. I. MALE ; FIG. II. FEMALE. 
Although this species has long been known to 
naturalists as an inhabitant of South America, and its 
name introduced into all their works, yet they have 
given us no other information concerning it, than that 
it is black, with a yellow head and neck. It was added 
to the fauna of the United States by the expedition of 
Major Long to the Rocky Mountains. 
The female has been hitherto entirely unknown, and 
all the figures yet given of the male extremely imper- 
fect, from the circumstance of their having been drawn 
from wretchedly stuffed specimens. The figures pub- 
lished by Edwards and Buffon approach the nearest 
to the real magnitude; but they are mere masses of 
black, surmounted by a yellow cap : those of Brisson 
and others, are considerably smaller. 
As that striking character, the white spot on the 
wing, is neither indicated in the figure nor description 
of any author, we might have been induced to believe, 
that our species is different from the South American, 
if a close comparison of the two had not proved their 
identity. Another circumstance might have been equally 
deceptive : Brisson, who gave the first account of this 
bird, from a Cayenne specimen sent to Reaumur’s 
Museum, and who seems to have been copied by all 
subsequent authors, states its length to be less than 
seven inches, a size considerably inferior to that of the 
living bird. Had this admeasurement been taken from 
