Bill of ordinary length, nearly straight, compressed towards the end; upper mandible with the dorsal outline a little convex, the tip slightly declinate, the margins acute, inflected towards the end, slightly notched close upon the tip; lower mandible slightly convex in its dorsal line, the tip rather obtuse. Head of ordinary size; neck and body rather slender. Feet rather long; tarsus longish, compressed, slender, anteriorly covered with a few elongated scutella, posteriorly edged, longer than the middle toe; toes scutellate above, lateral ones almost equal, the outer connected as far as the second joint.
Plumage rather loose. A few longish bristles at the base of the upper mandible. Wings of ordinary length, the third quill longest, the first very short. Tail rather short, even, of twelve broad feathers.
Bill dark brown above, flesh-colour beneath. Iris dark brown. Feet pale flesh-colour. The general colour of the upper parts is light yellowish-brown, the tail and wings a little darker, the lower part of the back and the upper tail-coverts green. Eyes margined with a whitish circle. Under parts yellowish-white, spotted with blackish-brown, excepting the throat, the under tail-coverts, and the middle part of the breast and abdomen.
Length 8 inches, extent of wings 13; bill along the ridge 7⁄12, along the gap 1; tarsus 1⅓, middle toe 11⁄12.
Adult Female. Plate LXXIII. Fig. 2.
The female scarcely differs from the male in external appearance.
The Dog-wood.
Cornus florida, Willd. Sp. Pl. vol. i. p. 661. Mich. Arbr. Forest. de l'Amer. Sept. t. iii. p. 138. Pl. iii. Pursh, Fl. Amer. p. 108.—Tetrandria Monogynia, Linn. Caprifolia, Juss.
This plant has already been described at [p. 45], a twig of it in flower having been represented in Plate VIII.