black ; the lateral stripes are sometimes white tinged with yellow ante-
riorly. Sides of the head and neck greyish-white, dotted with dusky, and
the flanks and under tail-coverts are spotted with black ; abdomen white,
the rest of the under parts rich yellow, excepting a large crescent of black
on the breast.
Length 11 j%, extent of wings 16^ ; bill along the back l^'j, along the edge l/j ; tarsus 1|, middle toe If.
Adult Female. Plate CXXXVI. Fig 2. 2.
The Female differs little from the male, the colours being scarcely paler, but is smaller.
Yellow-flowered Gerardia.
Gerardia flava, Willd. Sp. PL vol. iii. p. 223. Pursh, Flor. Amer. Sept. vol. ii. p. 423 DiDYNAMiA Angiospermia, Linn. ScrophularinjE, Jti^s.
Downy, with the stems nearly undivided, the leaves subsessile, lanceolate, entire or toothed, the lower incised, the flowers axillary, opposite, nearly sessile. I found this plant abundant in the meadows of New Jersey, where it was in full flower at the end of May, the rich yellow blossoms enlivening the uniform aspect of the plains. It is pretty generally distributed along the Atlantic coasts, and attains a height of from two to three feet.
