Part I. P. 299.

Adult Male. Plate CXXXVII. Fig. 1, 1.

Bill of moderate length, strong, slightly arched, broad at the base, compressed towards the end; upper mandible with the sides convex, the edges acute, destitute of notch, the tip acute, and a little declinate; lower mandible with the dorsal line nearly straight, the edge line slightly arched and inflected. Nostrils rounded, half covered by a vaulted membrane. The form is rather robust. Legs of moderate length, slender; tarsus compressed, anteriorly scutellate, sharp behind; two lateral toes nearly equal, the hind one not much stouter; claws small, compressed, acute.

Plumage blended. Wings of moderate length, rounded; third and fourth primaries longest, second almost equal, first a little shorter. Tail longish, rounded. Feathers of the throat and breast with a silky gloss.

Bill black, the base of lower mandible blue. Iris hazel. Feet greyish-blue. The general colour of the upper parts is deep olive-green; the inner webs of the tail-feathers and quills, and the ends of the latter, dusky-brown. A line over the eye, a small streak under it, and a spot at the base of the lower mandible, white. Lore black. Throat and breast bright yellow, abdomen and under tail-coverts white.

Length 7 inches, extent of wings 9; bill along the ridge 6/12, along the edge 9/12; tarsus 10/12.

Adult Female. Plate CXXXVII. Fig. 2, 2.

The Female scarcely differs from the male in any perceptible degree, and is of the same size.

THE SWEET BRIAR.

ROSA RUBIGINOSA?—ICOSANDRIA POLYGYNIA, Linn. ROSACEÆ, Juss.

The Sweet Briar is very generally distributed in the United States. I have found it from Louisiana to the extremities of Nova Scotia along the Atlantic coast, and as far in the interior as I have travelled. The delicious odour of its leaves never fails to gratify the person who brushes through patches of it, while the delicate tints of its flowers reminds one of the loveliness of female beauty in its purest and most blooming state. Truly a "sweet home" must be the nest that is placed in an eglantine bower, and happy must be the bird that in the midst of fragrance is cheered by the warble of her ever loving mate.

THE CONNECTICUT WARBLER.

SYLVIA AGILIS, WILS.

PLATE CXXXVIII. MALE AND FEMALE.

I procured the pair represented in the Plate, on a fine evening, nearly at sun-set, at the end of August, on the banks of the Delaware River, in New Jersey, a few miles below Camden. When I first observed them, they were hopping and skipping from one low bush to another, and among the tall reeds of the marsh, emitting an often-repeated tweet at every move. They were chasing a species of spider which runs nimbly over the water, and which they caught by gliding over it, as a Swallow does when drinking. I followed them for about a hundred yards, when, watching a fair opportunity, I shot both at once. The weather was exceedingly sultry; and although I outlined both by candle-light that evening, and finished the drawing of them next morning by breakfast time, they had at that early hour become putrid, so that their skins could not be preserved. On opening them I counted upwards of fifty of the spiders mentioned above, but found no appearance of any other food. The sexual distinction was very apparent, and the brace proved a pair. They were not in the least shy, and in fact seemed to take very little notice of me, although at times I was quite close to them. These being the only individuals I ever met with, I am of course unable to say where the species breeds, or what are its migrations.

The plant on which they are placed grew abundantly on the spot where I procured them; and as they had just alighted on it when I shot them, it being moreover a handsome species, I thought it best to attach it to them.

SYLVIA AGILIS, Ch. Bonaparte, Synops. of Birds of the United States, p. 84.

CONNECTICUT WARBLER, SYLVIA AGILIS, Wils. Amer. Ornith. vol. v. p. 64. pl. 39. fig. 4.—Nuttall, Manual, part i. p. 399.

Adult Male, Plate CXXXVIII, Fig. 1.

Bill short, straight, conico-subulate, acute; nostrils basal, lateral, oval, exposed; head of moderate size; neck short, body rather slender; feet of moderate length; tarsus slender, compressed, scutellate before, sharp behind; toes free, the lateral equal, the hind one not much stronger; claws arched, slender, much compressed, acute.

Plumage soft and blended, with little gloss; wings rather short, the first and second quills longest; tail of moderate length, rounded, and emarginate.

Bill light-brown on the ridge and tips, flesh-coloured beneath. Iris hazel. Legs pale flesh-coloured. The general colour above is rich olive-green, the concealed parts of the quills and tail dusky-brown; eye margined with a ring of yellowish-white; throat ash-grey, the rest of the under parts dull greenish-yellow, excepting the sides, under the wings, which are olive-green.

Length 5¾ inches, extent of wings 8; bill along the ridge 4/12, along the edge 6½/12; tarsus 10/12.

Adult Female, Plate CXXXVIII, Fig. 2.

The Female resembles the male in the upper parts, but the throat is greenish-yellow, and the rest of the under parts somewhat less richly coloured than those of the male.

GENTIANA SAPONARIA, Willd. Sp. Pl. vol. i. p. 1388. Pursh, Fl. Amer. Sept. vol. i. p. 185.—PENTANDRIA DIGYNIA, Linn. GENTIANEÆ, Juss.

Stem round, smooth; leaves oblongo-lanceolate, three nerved; flowers sessile, tufted, terminal and axillar; corolla quinquefid, campanulate, ventricose, with the divisions obtuse, the internal plaits with toothed segments. It grows in meadows and woods, from Canada to Carolina, flowering in August and September.

THE FIELD SPARROW.

FRINGILLA PUSILLA, WILS.

PLATE CXXXIX. ADULT.

This diminutive and elegant species of Finch may certainly be ranked among our constant residents, numerous individuals remaining during the winter within the limits of the Union. In Louisiana and the countries along the Mississippi, as far as Kentucky, and in all the Southern States, as far as Maryland, they are to be found in the coldest weather. In South Carolina they are met with along every hedge-row and in every briar-patch, as well as in the old fields slightly covered with tall slender grasses, on the seeds of which they chiefly subsist during the inclement season. Loose flocks, sometimes of forty or fifty, are seen hopping along the sandy roads, picking up particles of gravel. On the least alarm, they all take to wing, and alight on the nearest bushes, but the next moment return to the ground. They leave the south as early as March, move northwards as the season advances, and appear in the States of New York and Pennsylvania, about the middle of April.

The song of the Field Sparrow is remarkable, although not fine. It trills its notes like a young Canary Bird, and now and then emits emphatical, though not very distinct sounds of some length. One accustomed to distinguish the notes of different birds can easily recognise the song of this species; but the description of it, I confess, I am unable to accomplish, so at least as to afford you any tolerable idea of it.

It is a social and peaceable bird. When the breeding season is at hand they disperse, move off in pairs, and throw themselves into old pasture grounds, overgrown with low bushes, on the tops of which the males may be heard practising their vocal powers. They usually breed on the ground, at the foot of a small bush or rank-weed; but I have also found several of their nests on the lower branches of trees, a foot or two from the ground. The nest is simple, formed chiefly of fine dry grasses, in some instances scantily lined with horse-hair or delicate fibrous roots, much resembling hair. The eggs are from four to six, of a light ferruginous tint, produced by the blending of small dots of that colour. So prolific is this species, that I have observed a pair raise three broods in one summer, the amount of individuals produced being fifteen. The young run after their parents, leaving the nest before they can fly, and are left to shift for themselves ere they are fully fledged; but as they find every where abundance of insects, berries, and small seeds, they contrive to get on without help.

These birds are fond of orchards, enter our country towns in autumn, alight on the tallest trees in open woods, and migrate solely by day. Their flight is rapid, even, and occasionally sustained; for, when fairly alarmed, they move at once over fields of considerable extent.

I saw few in Maine, and none in the British provinces, in Labrador or in Newfoundland.

The colour of the bill varies with the seasons, being in winter of a dingy reddish-brown, and in summer assuming a tint approaching to orange. There is no perceptible difference in the size or colour of the sexes. The young acquire their full plumage the first autumn.

Travelling from Great Egg Harbour towards Philadelphia, I found a nest of this species placed at the foot of a bush growing in almost pure sand. Near it were the plants which you see accompanying the figure.

FRINGILLA PUSILLA, Ch. Bonaparte, Synops. of Birds of the United States, p. 110.

FIELD SPARROW, FRINGILLA PUSILLA, Wils. Amer. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 121. pl. 16. fig. 2.

FIELD OR RUSH SPARROW, FRINGILLA JUNCORUM, Nuttall, Manual,