_Phyllopneuste_, MEYER & WOLF, Taschenbuch, 1822.—DEGLAND et GERBE,
Ornith. Europ. I, 1867, 543.
[Line drawing: _Phyllopneuste borealis._
45909]
GEN. CHAR. Bill shorter than the head; straight, slender, and
depressed, notched at tip. Nostrils open. Tarsi lengthened; exceeding
the middle toe; scutellate anteriorly, but with the plates indistinct,
claws short, much curved. Wings pointed, longer than tail, and
reaching at least to its middle; spurious quill extending farther than
the upper covert. Tail emarginate. Olivaceous above; yellowish or
whitish beneath.
[Illustration: _Phyllopneuste borealis._]
For the purpose of distinguishing this genus from any other North
American, it is enough to say that, of the general appearance of the
warblers, it has a short spurious first primary, as in the Thrushes,
and some _Vireonidæ_. The single species found as yet within our
limits resembles at first sight an immature _Dendroica æstiva_, but is
easily distinguished by the wing formula, the yellowish stripe over
the eye, and the brown tail-feathers.
Phyllopneuste borealis, BLAS.