Eggs usually with a white or a bluish-white ground, marked with purplish-brown and obscure lilac; in some, mingled with varying shades of sienna-brown. Nest, so far as known, in bushes and trees, except D. palmarum, which is on the ground.
Dendroica auduboni.
The genus Dendroica is one of the most extensive as to species of any in North America, and scarcely admits of any subdivision. There is a little variation in the bill, wings, etc., the chief peculiarities being in D. castanea and pennsylvanica, in which the bill is broader, and more depressed, with longer bristles; in D. striata, where the bill is narrow with scarcely any bristles; and in D. palmarum and kirtlandi, where the wings are very short, scarcely longer than the tail. D. palmarum has the tarsus unusually long. The colors in all are strongly marked, and the species are among the most beautiful of all belonging to our fauna, and are the most conspicuous for their numbers and in their migrations.
The difference in manners between certain members of this genus is remarkable; thus, the D. palmarum is very terrestrial in its habits, walking upon the ground with the ease and grace of a Titlark (Anthus), and, like these birds, it has a wagging motion of the tail. On the other hand, the Dendroica dominica is as much a
Creeper as is the Mniotilta varia; creeping not only along the branches, but the cornices and lattices of buildings, with the facility of a Nuthatch (Sitta). Both these species, however, may often be seen hopping among the foliage of the trees, now and then snapping an insect on the wing, in the manner of others of the family.
Species and Varieties.
Inner webs of tail-feathers with a large patch, or broad edge, of yellow Group A.
Inner webs of tail-feathers with a large patch, or broad edge, of white.
Wings with conspicuous white markings Group B.