� e of n w i m a common t ns t t in j and more on he s d n � to the of its ta i r on h r � render it one of the im a i vi � iv i m e wiu � � � i t i i � reaching thi s high l at lit � i i � � op steamer in the accompanying this volume showing the bird mentioned they are found on the grassy which cover the spit making out at the mouth of the bay and are very if my single example is to be taken as typical it was close to the huts and lighted upon a stone as i drew near allowing me to approach very closely i thus obtained the prize without the slightest difficulty mr states that he observed one of these birds on the island of the of the in the spring of s and one of the most remarkable facts in connection with the history of this species is the fact that a specimen has lately been received at the national museum obtained by mr l in southern where it was obtained in the early winter of thus introducing it as a member of the of north america it is a common and pretty well known bird in from eastern its life history however still remains to be worked out the accompanying plate represents it in the act of darting at an insect in the characteristic manner of this and allied birds the specimen of this bird which i obtained june at bay is an male in spring of which the following is a description back nearly uniform changing on upper tail to with an wash on edges of feathers all but two outer tail feathers black the two outer feathers white each having a band of black from base along the edge of inner web which runs out towards the end of the feathers an inch from tip of first and close to tip of second a black line extends along near the shaft of outer web of the next to outer feather breaking and disappearing near the middle of the feather wing light brown much darker and edged with white the greater and lesser are so edged with white as to and conceal the dark brown the two thus forming a large uniform white patch on the upper surface of wing a broad patch of white extending from bill back on crown to a line drawn across the edge of and continuing back nearly to the as a a nearly black line extends from back through eye the neck with the nearly square black patch which the crown and region and extends partly down on sides of neck from the base of lower on each side a of white extends back under the eye and down the side of neck separating the black crown patch from the large black patch which extends m the base of lower down over the throat and breast the rest of under surface white tinged with a wash of on sides and bill and feet black dark dimensions wing tail middle toe and inches american say the this is quite a common breeding bird of the interior of northern during each summer but does not usually appear along the sea coast until its young are and are on their way south this takes place during the first half of august at which time these birds are quite numerous for one or two weeks especially along the shore of sound they are not known to occur on the adjoining shore of nor on any of the islands in s sea i the yellow a common summer resident in every and willow patch along the american and more numerous on the shores of and sounds than elsewhere owing mainly to the abundance of its favorite shelter on these shores its familiar notes and bright render it one of the most attractive summer it is one of the few species of this group extending its range within the circle and has perhaps the prettiest of its kind reaching this high latitude in america op in the gray the yellow occurs as an occasional bat not rare along the american shore perhaps most numerous along the shores of sound it is however a species and makes but very short stops along the coast bat to more congenial in the interior where it its young in the it hastily seeks its more southern haunts and rarely along the bare coast of the north as do some of its relatives the black like the yellow this is a rather scarce bird and is found along the shore of sound merely as a spring and fall it also occurs upon the shores of sound at the same season like other small birds it the vicinity of houses during its passage where it apparently finds the best grounds the small garden spot close to the kitchen at saint michael s seems to be the great and point of attraction for such of these small species as pass that way in spring and fall like some of the other small birds mentioned this is a common interior species it is unknown on the islands and shore of the sea n the small common about the shores of sound during the fall which continues during the month of august although not numerous every season yet from three to a may be taken about the muddy spots in the immediate vicinity of the houses at saint michael s it has not been taken on any of the islands in sea these birds breed in the islands of the lower in great abundance as well as in some of the more favorable along the coast of sound as high up at least as sound their clear rich notes rise from the dense of or in their 