A Synopsis of the Birds of North America. John James Audubon
Flycatcher, Muscicapa virens, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. i. p. 236; v. v. p. 426.
66. 13. Muscicapa pusilla, Swains. Least Pewee Flycatcher.
Plate CCCCXXXIV. Fig. 1. Adult.
Third quill longest, fourth scarcely shorter, second nearly one-twelfth shorter, and exceeding the first by three and a quarter twelfths; tail slightly emarginate; upper parts light greenish-brown; loral band whitish, a narrow pale ring surrounding the eye; wings olive-brown, with two bands of dull white, secondaries margined with the same; tail olive-brown, the lateral feathers lighter, the outer web pale brownish-grey; fore part of neck and a portion of the breast and sides ash-grey, the rest of the lower parts pale yellow.
Male, 52/12, wing 25/12.
Columbia River. Fur countries. Labrador. Newfoundland. Rare in the Atlantic States.
Tyrannula pusilla, Little Tyrant Flycatcher, Swains. & Rich. F. Bor. Amer. v. ii. p. 144.
Little Tyrant Flycatcher, Muscicapa pusilla, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. v. p. 288.
67. 14. Muscicapa minuta, Wils. Small-headed Flycatcher.
Plate CCCCXXXIV. Fig. 2. Male.
Wings short, the second quill longest; tail of moderate length, even; general colour of upper parts light greenish-brown; wings and tail dark olive-brown, the outer feathers of the latter with a terminal white spot on the inner web; a narrow white ring surrounding the eye; two bands of dull white on the wing; sides of the head and neck greenish-yellow, the rest of the lower parts pale yellow, gradually fading into white behind.
Male, 5, 82/8.
Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. Exceedingly rare. Migratory.
Small-headed Flycatcher, Muscicapa minuta, Wils. Amer. Orn. v. vi. p. 62.
Sylvia minuta, Bonap. Syn. p. 86.
Small-headed Sylvan Flycatcher, Nutt. Man. v. i. p. 296.
68. 15. Muscicapa Ruticilla, Linn. Redstart Flycatcher.—American Redstart.
Plate XL. Fig. 1. Male. Fig. 2. Female.
Second and third quills equal and longest, fourth longer than first; tail rounded. Male with the head, neck all round, fore part of breast, and back, glossy bluish-black; sides of the breast, lower wing-coverts, a patch on the wings formed by the margins of the primaries and the basal half of most of the secondaries, together with three-fourths of both webs of the outer four tail-feathers on each side, and the outer web of the next, bright orange-red; abdomen and lower tail-coverts white. Female with the upper parts yellowish-brown, the head grey, the quills greyish-brown, the tail darker, the parts yellow which in the male are bright orange; the rest of the lower parts white, tinged with yellow. Young similar to the female, more grey above, and with less yellow beneath.
Male, 5, 61/2. Female.
Throughout the United States. Abundant. Migratory.
American Redstart, Muscicapa Ruticilla, Wils. Amer. Orn. v. i. p. 103.
Muscicapa Ruticilla, Bonap. Syn. p. 68.
American Redstart, Muscicapa Ruticilla, Aud. Amer. Orn. v. i. p. 202; v. v. p. 428.
American Redstart, Muscicapa Ruticilla, Nutt. Man. v. i. p. 291.
GENUS V. PTILOGONYS, Swains. PTILOGONYS.
Bill short, rather strong, somewhat triangular, depressed at the base, a little compressed at the end; upper mandible with the dorsal line convex at the end, the nasal groove wide, the sides convex toward the end, with a distinct notch, the tip short, rather obtuse; lower mandible with the angle rather long and wide, the dorsal line ascending and convex, the sides convex toward the end, the tip small, with a slight notch behind. Nostrils linear, oblong, partially concealed by the feathers. Head ovato-oblong; neck rather short; body slender. Feet short, and rather slender; tarsus shorter than the middle toe with its claw, compressed, covered anteriorly with a long plate and three inferior scutella; toes free, the outer only adherent at the base; hind toe rather large, stouter, outer a little longer than inner; claws moderate, arched, much compressed, laterally grooved, acute. Plumage soft and blended; slight bristles at the base of the upper mandible, and the feathers in the angle of the lower jaw bristle-tipped and curved forward. Wings long, rounded; first quill very small, fourth longest. Tail very long, straight, emarginate, and rounded, of twelve feathers.
This genus seems to connect the Thrushes with the Flycatchers.
69. 1. Ptilogonys Townsendi, Aud. Townsend's Ptilogonys.
Plate CCCCXIX. Fig. 2. Female.
General colour dull brownish-grey; quills and coverts dusky brown; edge of wing dull white; basal part of primaries pale yellow, of secondaries ochre-yellow; edges of all the quills dull greyish-white; secondaries with a faint patch of light brownish-grey on the outer web toward the end; middle tail-feathers greyish-brown, the rest blackish-brown, the outer with an oblique white space, including, from the tip, a considerable portion of the inner web, and more than two-thirds of the outer; the next with a white patch at the end; lower parts paler than the upper; lower tail and wing-coverts broadly tipped with dull white, some of the inner wing-coverts white.
Female, 81/4, wing, 41/2.
Columbia River.
Townsend's Ptilogonys, Ptilogonys Townsendi, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. v. p. 206.
GENUS IV. CULICIVORA, Swains. GNAT-CATCHER.
Bill of moderate length, depressed at the base, rapidly attenuated, becoming very slender toward the end; upper mandible with the ridge distinct, the tip extremely narrow and deflected, the edges overlapping, the notch distinct, but very small; lower mandible with the angle of moderate length, the ridge narrowed towards the end, the edges inclinate, the tip acute. Nostrils oblong, exposed. Head ovate; neck short; body slender. Feet of moderate length, tarsus longer than the middle toe, extremely slender, with the upper scutella indistinct; toes very small, extremely compressed; hind toe proportionally very large; outer adherent at the base. Claws well arched, extremely compressed, laterally grooved, acute. Plumage very soft and blended. Wings of moderate length, concave; the first quill about a third of the length of the second, fourth longest, third and fifth little shorter. Tail long, slender, much rounded.
70. 1. Culicivora cœrulea, Lath. Blue-grey Gnat-catcher.
Plate LXXXIV. Male and Female.
Upper parts bright blue, deeper on the head, paler on the tail-coverts; a narrow black band on the forehead, extending over the eyes; wings brownish-black, margined with blue, some of the secondaries with bluish-white; tail glossy black, the outer feather on each side nearly all white, the next with its terminal half, and the third with its tip of that colour; lower parts greyish-white. Female similar, but with the tints duller, and the black band on the head wanting.
Male, 41/2, 61/2.
From Texas northward. Abundant. Migratory.
Blue-grey Flycatcher, Muscicapa cœrulea, Wils. Amer. Orn. v. ii. p. 164.
Sylvia cœrulea, Bonap. Syn. p. 85.
Blue-grey Sylvan Flycatcher, Muscicapa cœrulea, Nutt. Man. v. i. p. 297.
Blue-grey Flycatcher, Muscicapa cœrulea, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. i. p. 431.
FAMILY VIII. SYLVICOLINÆ. WOOD-WARBLERS.
Bill short, or of moderate length, rather slender, somewhat conical, considerably broader than high at the base, gradually compressed toward the end; upper mandible with its dorsal outline straight until near the end, the point very narrow, the notches very slight; lower mandible with the angle rather short and narrow, the dorsal line straight, the edges somewhat involute, the tip acute. Head moderate, ovate; neck short; body rather slender. Feet of moderate length; tarsus longer than the middle toe, slender, much compressed, with eight anterior scutella, of which the