BIRDS-SYLVICOLIDAE-DENDROICA TOWNSENDII. 
269 
This species resembles somewhat the Dendroica virens, hut lacks the continuous olive of the 
hack and crown, the former being greatly streaked with hlack, the latter yellow all round. The 
outline hlack of the breast, instead of extending backwards along the sides, is rounded off on 
the side, (the convexity posterior,) and transverse on the breast. 
The female is said to have the yellow of the head less extended ; the throat white, spotted 
with hlack. 
List of specimens. 
Catal 
No. 
Sex. 
Locality. 
When collected. 
Whence obtained. 
Orig. 
No. 
Length. 
Stretch 
of wings 
Wing. 
5578 
s 
Petaluma, Cal_ 
April 1, 1856 ... 
E. Samuels_ 
703 
4. 66 
7. 00 
2. 66 
DENDROICA TOWNSENDII, Baird. 
Sxjhia townsendii, (“ Nuttall,”) Townsend, J. A. N. Sc. Ph. VII, n, 1837, 191.— Ib. Narrative, 1839, 341.— 
Aud. Orn. Biog. V, 1839, 36 ; pi. 393. 
Sylvicola townsendii, Bonap. List, 1838.— Ib. Consp. 1850, 308.— Add. Syn. 1839, 59.— Ib. Birds Am. II, 1841, 
59 ; pi. 92.— Nuttall, Man. I, 2d ed. 1840, 446. 
Sp. Ch. —Above bright olive green ; the feathers all black in the centre, showing more or less as streaks, especially on the 
crown. Quills, tail, and upper tail covert feathers dark brown, edged with bluish grey ; the wings with two white bands on the 
coverts ; the two outer tail feath'rs white, with a brown streak near the end ; a white streak only in the end of the third feather. 
Under parts as far as the middle of the body, with the sides of head and neck, including a superciliary stripe and a spot beneath 
the eye, yellow ; the median portion of the side of the head, the chin and throat, with streaks on the sides of the breast, flanks, 
and under tail coverts black ; the remainder of the under parts white. Length, 5 inches ; wing, 2.65 ; tail, 2.25. 
Hub. —Pacific coast, North America ; south to Mexico and Guatemala. 
I have no full plumaged male before me, all being in autumnal dress, the black of the throat 
and breast obscured by yellow borders. There is, however, a pure yellow superciliary stripe 
from the nostrils to the nuchal region, confluent behind with another from the base of the lower 
jaw; these embrace between them an elongated patch of black from the commissure to behind 
the auriculars, broken by a yellow spot beneath the eye. It is probable that the spring male has 
the entire crown, as well as the chin and throat, black. The greater and median coverts 
exhibit each a broad bar of white, the feathers, however, with a central black streak. The 
black appears to be continuous only as far as the breast ; the sides of this streaked only with 
this color. 
A specimen, probably female, is quite uniform greenish yellow above and dull yellow on the 
throat, without any distinct black beneath. 
The tail of this species is rounded, erparginate. The second and third quills are equal, and 
longest; the first equal to the fourth. 
This species is quite similar in markings to D. virens. It is, however, considerably larger, 
has the yellow on the breast much deeper, and lacks that near the lower tail coverts. It has well 
defined black markings on the side of the head, instead of obscure olivaceous ones, although the 
pattern is the same ; has a black head, and black streaks in the white of the wing coverts. D. 
occidentalis is blacker on the back and lacks the dark cheek patch, as well as the yellow of the 
breast. 
