Sylvia petechia, Lath. Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 535 Ch. Bonaparte, Sjnops. of
Birds of the United States, p. 83.
Yellow Red-poll Warbler, Sylvia petechia, WUs. Amer. Ornith. vol. vi. p. 1.9. pi. 28. fig. 4. Male — Nuttall, Manual, p. 364.
Sylvicola petechia, Swains, and Richards. Fauna. Bor, Amer. part i. p. 215. Adult Male in Winter. Plate CXLV. Fig. 1.
Bill short, straight, conico-subulate, very slender, acute. Nostrils basal, lateral, oval, half closed by a membrane. Head rather small ; neck short, body slender. Feet of ordinary length, slender ; tarsus longer than the middle toe, covered anteriorly by a few scuteUa, the upper ones long ; toes scuteUate above, the inner free, the hind toe of moderate size ; claws slender, compressed, acute, arched.
Plumage soft and blended, with little gloss. Wings of ordinary length, acute, the second quill longest, the secondaries rather long and rounded. Tail of moderate length, emarginate. Bristles at the base of the bill.
Bill dusky-brown above, yellowish beneath. Iris deep brown. Feet umber-brown. The general colour of the plumage above is yellow-olive, streaked with dark brown ; crown of the head brownish-red, margined on each side with a line of pale-yellow over the eye ; rump and tail-coverts greenish-yellow ; quills blackish-brown, edged with yeUow-olive ; tail of the colour of the wings, the two lateral feathers white in their whole breadth towards the end, forming a white band across the tail beneath when it is closed. The sides of the head are yellow, with two dusky bands, and the lower parts generally are bright yellow, the fore-neck, breast and sides streaked with brownish-red.
Length 4^ inches, extent of wings 8^ ; biU along the back ^|, along the edge ; tarsus |.
Adult Female. Plate CXLV. Fig. %
The Female is coloured in the same manner as the Male, but the tints are much paler, the red of the head scarcely apparent, and the foreneck very faintly marked.
