Bachman's Warbler

My friend BACHMAN has the merit of having discovered this pretty little species of Warbler, and to him I have the pleasure of acknowledging my obligations for the pair which you will find represented in the plate, accompanied with a figure of one of the most beautiful of our southern flowers, originally drawn by my friend's Sister, Miss MARTIN. I myself have never had the good fortune to meet with any individuals of this interesting Sylvia, respecting which little is as yet known, its discoverer having only procured a few specimens of both sexes, without being able to find a nest. The first obtained was found by him a few miles from Charleston, in South Carolina, in July 1833, while I was rambling over the crags of Labrador. According to my amiable friend, it was "a lively active bird, gliding among the branches of thick bushes, occasionally mounting on the wing and seizing insects in the air in the manner of a Flycatcher. It was an old female that had to all appearance just reared a brood of young." Shortly after, several were seen in the same neighbourhood; and we may still expect an account of its manners, migration, and breeding, although not yet discovered. 

BACHMAN'S WARBLER, Sylvia Bachmanii, Aud. Orn. Biog., vol. ii. p. 483. 


Adult Male. 

Bill rather long, slightly bent towards the tip, subulato-conical, extremely acute, the edges sharp and inflected. Nostrils basal, lateral, elliptical, half-closed above by an arched membrane. The general form slender. Feet of ordinary length; tarsus slender, compressed, anteriorly scutellate, sharp behind; toes free, the hind toe strong, the two lateral nearly equal, the middle one much longer; claws slender, arched, compressed, acute. 

Plumage soft and blended, slightly glossed. Wings of moderate length, the first four quills nearly equal, the second longest; the second, third, and fourth slightly cut out on the outer edge towards the end; the secondaries long and rounded. Tail of ordinary length, slightly emarginate. 

Bill dusky brown above, light blue beneath. Iris dark brown. Feet umber. The general colour of the upper parts is brownish-olive, the rump yellowish-green, the feathers of the crown brownish-black in the centre; the forehead, a line over the eye, the cheeks, the chin, the sides of the neck, the flexure of the wing, lower wing-coverts, and breast, yellow; the sides greenish-grey, the lower tail-coverts white. On the fore part of the neck is a large patch of black, enlarging beneath. Quills and tail wood-brown, narrowly margined with whitish; a large white spot on the inner web of each of the tail-feathers, excepting the two middle ones. 

Length 4 1/12 inches, extent of wings 6 1/4; bill along the ridge (5 1/2)/12, along the edge (7 1/2)/12; tarsus (8 1/2)/12. 


Adult Female. 

The female is considerably smaller than the male, and differs only in having the tints fainter, the forehead yellowish-green, and the fore-neck dusky. 

Length 3 10/12. 

GORDONIA PUBESCENS, Willd. Sp. Pl., vol. iii. p. 841. Pursch, Fl. Amer. Sept., vol. ii. p. 451.--MONADELPHIA POLYANDRIA, Linn.--MALVACEAE, Juss. 

This beautiful tree, which grows in Georgia, seldom attains a height of more than fifteen feet. Its leaves are obovato-lanceolate, deep green, downy beneath, and its large white flowers, with their numerous yellow anthers, have a very beautiful appearance.