Chapter C: S. Paine, of East Bethel, Vt., found a nest of this species about (3)

_Troglodytes stellaris_, “LICHT.” NAUMANN, Vögel Deutschlands, III,
1823, 724 (Carolina). _Cistothorus stellaris_, CAB. Mus. Hein.
77.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 365; Rev. 146.—SCLATER, Catal. 22,
no. 142 (in part). _Troglodytes brevirostris_, NUTT. Man. I, 1832,
436.—AUD. Orn. Biog. II, 1834, 427, pl. clxxv.—IB. Birds Am. II,
1841, 138, pl. cxxiv. _C. elegans_, SCLATER & SALVIN, Ibis, 1859,
8.

SP. CHAR. Bill very short, scarcely half the length of the head. Wing and tail about equal. Hinder part of the crown and the scapular and interscapular region of the back and rump almost black, streaked with white. Tail dusky, the feathers barred throughout with brown (the color grayish on the under surface). Beneath white; the sides, upper part of breast, and under tail-coverts reddish-brown. Upper parts, with the exceptions mentioned, reddish-brown. Length, 4.50; wing, 1.75; tail, 1.75.

HAB. Eastern Province of United States, west to Loup Fork of Platte.

There is a closely allied variety from Mexico and Guatemala (_C. elegans_, SCLATER & SALVIN, Pr. Z. S., 1859, 8) which differs in the characters stated below.

White dorsal streaks extending to the rump, which is
conspicuously banded with brown, and somewhat spotted with
whitish. Beneath, including lining of wings, light
cinnamon-brown; throat and belly paler, almost white; sides
and crissum very obsoletely barred with darker, and faintly
spotted with whitish. Feathers of jugulum like sides, but
with the color obscured by the paler edges. Tarsus, .65
long. _Hab._ Eastern Province of United States … _C. stellaris._

Streaks on back confined to interscapular region; rump and upper
tail-coverts almost plain reddish-brown. Beneath much paler
than in _stellaris_, without any appreciable indication of
bars or spots on sides and crissum, or of the fulvous of the
jugular feathers. Inside of wings snowy-white. Tarsus, .72
long. _Hab._ Mexico and Guatemala; Brazil? … _C. elegans._

The differences between these two varieties are just barely appreciable when specimens of the two, of corresponding seasons, are compared. Two Mexican examples (_elegans_) differ more from each other than one does from North American specimens; because one (a typical specimen received from Salvin) is in the worn, faded, midsummer plumage, and the other in the perfect autumnal dress. Besides the longer tarsi of these Mexican birds, their tails, and even their bills, are longer than seen in North American skins. But while these differences between the North American and Mexican birds are just appreciable, there is one from Brazil (51,017, Sr. Don Fred. Albuquerque) which is exactly intermediate between these two varieties in color, while in size it is even smaller than the North American ones, measuring as follows: wing, 1.60; tail, 1.60; culmen, .45, tarsus, .61.

Even if recognizable as belonging to different varieties, these specimens are certainly all referable to one species.

HABITS. The Short-billed Marsh Wren is very irregularly distributed throughout the United States, being found from Georgia to the British Provinces, and from the Atlantic to the Upper Missouri. It is nowhere abundant, and in many large portions of intervening territory has never been found.

It is exclusively an inhabitant of low, fresh-water marshes, open swamps, and meadows, is never found on high ground, and is very shy and difficult of approach. It makes its first appearance in Massachusetts early in May, and leaves early in September. In winter it has been found in all the Gulf States, from Florida to Texas.

According to Nuttall, this Wren has a lively and quaint song, delivered earnestly and as if in haste, and at short intervals, either from a tuft of sedge or from a low bush on the edge of a marsh. When approached, the song becomes harsher and more hurried, and rises into an angry and petulant cry. In the early part of the season the male is quite lively and musical. These Wrens spend their time chiefly in the long, rank grass of the swamps and meadows searching for insects, their favorite food.

Their nest is constructed in the midst of a tussock of coarse high grass, the tops of which are ingeniously interwoven into a coarse and strong covering, spherical in shape and closed on every side, except one small aperture left for an entrance. The strong wiry grass of the tussock is also interwoven with finer materials, making the whole impervious to the weather. The inner nest is composed of grasses and finer sedges, and lined with soft, vegetable down. The eggs are nine in number, pure white, and rather small for the bird. They are exceedingly delicate and fragile, more so than is usual even in the eggs of Humming-Birds. They are of an oval shape, and measure .60 by .45 of an inch.

Mr. Nuttall conjectured that occasionally two females occupied the same nest, and states that he has known the male bird to busy itself in constructing several nests, not more than one of which would be used. As these birds rear a second brood, it is probable that these nests are built from an instinctive desire to have a new one in readiness for the second brood. This peculiarity has been noticed in other Wrens, where the female sometimes takes possession of the new abode, lays and sits upon her second set of eggs before her first brood are ready to fly, which are left to the charge of her mate.

Mr. Audubon found this Wren breeding in Texas. Dr. Trudeau met them on the marshes of the Delaware River, and their nest and eggs have been sent to us from the Koskonong marshes of Wisconsin. It has also been found in the marshes of Connecticut River, near Hartford; and in Illinois Mr. Kennicott found it among the long grasses bordering on the prairie sloughs.

In Massachusetts I have occasionally met with their nests, but only late in July, when the rank grass of the low meadows has been cut. These were probably their second brood. The nest being built close to the ground, and made of the living grasses externally, they are not distinguishable from the unoccupied tussocks that surround them.

Cistothorus palustris, BAIRD.

LONG-BILLED MARSH WREN.

Var. palustris.

_Certhia palustris_, WILSON, Am. Orn. II, 1810, 58, pl. xii, fig. 4
(Penna). _Troglodytes palustris_, BON. Obs. Wils. 1824, no.
66.—AUD. Orn. Biog. I, 1831, 500, pl. c.—IB. Birds Am. II, 1841,
135, pl. cxxiii.—REINHARDT, Ibis, 1861, 5 (Godthaab, Greenland).
_Thryothorus palustris_, NUTT. Man. I, 1832, 439. _Cistothorus
(Telmatodytes) palustris_, BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 364; Rev.
147.—SCLATER, Catal. 1861, 22. _Thryothorus arundinaceus_,
VIEILLOT, Nouv. Dict. XXXIV, 1819, 58 (not _Trog. arundinaceus_,
VIEILLOT). _Thryothorus arundinaceus_, BON. Consp. 1850, 220.
_Telmatodytes arundinaceus_, CAB. Mus. Hein. 1850, 78.

HAB. Eastern United States, from the Missouri River; Greenland? REINHARDT; Mexico, and Guatemala? Cordova, SCLATER.

Var. paludicola.

_Cistothorus palustris_, var. _paludicola_, BAIRD, Rev. Am. B. 1864,
148. _Troglodytes palustris_, NEWB. P. R. Rep. VI, IV, 1857, 80
(Pacific region). _Cistothorus palustris_, COOPER & SUCKLEY, P. R.
Rep. X, II, 1859, 190 (W. T.)—COOPER, Orn. Cal. 1. 1870, 75.
_Certhia palustris_, LORD, Pr. R. Art. Inst. IV, 117.

SP. CHAR. Bill about as long as head. Tail and wing nearly equal. Upper parts of a dull reddish-brown, except on the crown, interscapular region, outer surface of tertials, and tail-feathers, which are almost black; the first with a median patch like the ground-color; the second with short streaks of white, extending round on the sides of the neck; the third indented with brown; the fourth barred with whitish, decreasing in amount from the outer feather, which is marked from the base to the fifth, where it is confined to the tips; the two middle feathers above like the back, and barred throughout with dusky. Beneath rather pure white, the sides and under tail-coverts of a lighter shade of brown than the back; a white streak over the eye. Length, 5.50; wing, 2.08; tail, 2.00. (1,454.)

HAB. Pacific Coast and Middle Province of United States.

In comparing a series of Marsh Wrens of eastern North America with western, we find that they differ very appreciably in certain characteristics, which may be expressed by the following diagnoses:—

Bill lengthened, equal to tarsus. Tail-coverts above and below
either perfectly plain, or with very obsolete bands, reduced
to obscure spots beneath. Bands on tail broken; scarcely
appreciable on the middle feathers … var. _palustris_.

Bill shorter than tarsus. Tail-coverts distinctly banded all
across. Bands on tail quite distinct; appreciable on the
central feathers … var. _paludicola_.

The differences between these two races is much more appreciable than those between _Troglodytes ædon_ and _T. “parkmanni”_; the most striking character is the much longer bill of the var. _palustris_.

Specimens of the var. _paludicola_ from the interior are paler and more grayish-brown above, and have less distinct bars on the tail-coverts and tail, than in Pacific coast specimens, while on the crown the brown, instead of the black, largely predominates.

HABITS. The common Marsh Wren appears to have a nearly unrestricted range throughout North America. It occurs on the Atlantic coast from Massachusetts to Florida, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and as far north as Washington Territory on the west coast. A single specimen was procured in Greenland. It is not, however, at all common in these more northern latitudes. Mr. Drummond, of Sir John Richardson’s party, met with it in the 55th parallel on the eastern declivity of the Rocky Mountains and in the Saskatchewan Valley. Dr. Cooper found it early in March in the salt marshes along the coast of Washington Territory, and thinks it winters in that section. On the Eastern coast it is not common as far north as Massachusetts, a few being found at Cambridge and in Barnstable County. It is abundant near Washington, D. C., and throughout the country in all suitable locations south and west from Pennsylvania. Mr. Ridgway found it plentiful in Utah.

They frequent low marshy grounds, whether near the sea or in the interior, and build in low bushes, a few feet from the ground, a well-constructed globular nest. On the Potomac, where the river is subject to irregular tides, they are generally not less than five feet from the ground.

These nests are nearly spherical, and both in size and shape resemble a cocoanut. They are made externally of coarse sedges firmly interwoven, the interstices being cemented with clay or mud, and are impervious to the weather. A small round orifice is left on one side for entrance, the upper side of which is also protected from the rain by a projecting edge. The inside is lined with fine grasses, feathers, the down of the silk-weed, and other soft and warm vegetable substances. These birds arrive in the Middle States early in May and leave early in September. They have two broods in the season, and each time construct and occupy a new nest.

Audubon describes its nest as built among sedges, and as usually partly constructed of the sedges among which the nest is built. This is the usual manner in which the _C. stellaris_ builds its nest, but I have never known one of the present species building in this manner, and in the localities in which they breed, near the coast, being subject to irregular heights of tides, it could not be done with safety.

The note of the Marsh Wren is a low, harsh, grating cry, neither loud nor musical, and more resembling the noise of an insect than the vocal utterances of a bird.

Their food consists chiefly of small aquatic insects, minute mollusks, and the like, and these they are very expert in securing.

The eggs of this species average .65 of an inch in length and .50 in breadth. They are, in color, in striking contrast with those of the _C. stellaris_, being so thickly marked with blotches and spots of a deep chocolate-brown as to be almost of one uniform color in appearance. They are of an oval shape, at times almost spheroidal, one end being but slightly more pointed than the other. They number from six to nine.

In a few instances eggs of this species from the Mississippi Valley and from California are of a light ashy-gray color, the markings being smaller and of a much lighter color.

* * * * *

We have thus completed the account of the Oscine Singing-Birds with slender bills not hooked at the end, and which have ten distinct primaries; the first or outer one, however, either quite small or else considerably shorter than the second. We now come to a series with only nine primaries, the first being entirely wanting, and the second, now the outermost, nearly or quite as long as the third. In the preliminary tables of general arrangement will be found the comparative characters of the different families of _Oscines_, but the diagnosis of the series referred to is presented here, as follows:—

COMMON CHARACTERS. Primaries nine; the first quill nearly as long as the second or third. Tarsi distinctly scutellate the whole length anteriorly. Bill conical, but slender or depressed, usually, except in _Cærebidæ_, half the length of the head; more or less bristled, or notched. Nostrils oval or rounded. Lateral toes nearly or quite equal, and shorter than the middle; the basal joint of the middle free nearly to its base externally, united for about half internally.

Motacillidæ. Bill slender. Culmen slightly concave at base. Legs long; claws but little curved. Hind toe considerably longer than the middle one; its claw much longer (twice) than the middle claw; all the claws but slightly curved. Innermost secondaries (so-called tertials) elongated, much longer than the outer secondaries; and the fifth primary emarginated at end. Nest on ground.

Sylvicolidæ. Bill rather slender, conical, or depressed. Culmen straight or convex. Hind toe shorter than the middle; the claws all much curved. Hind claw not conspicuously longer than the middle one. When the hind toe is lengthened, it is usually in the digit, not the claw. Tertials generally not longer than the secondaries, and not emarginated. Gape wide; tongue slightly split at end. Nest variously placed.

Cærebidæ. Similar to _Sylvicolidæ_. Bill generally longer; equal to head or more. Gape of mouth narrow; tongue generally much fringed at the end. Nest on trees.

The _Tanagridæ_, the _Fringillidæ_, and even the _Icteridæ_, come very near these families, as will be explained farther on, all agreeing in having the nine primaries, and in many other characters.

FAMILY MOTACILLIDÆ.—THE WAGTAILS.

CHAR. Bill slender, conical, nearly as high as wide at the base, with slight notch at the tip; the culmen slightly concave above the anterior extremity of the nostrils; short bristles at gape, which, however, do not extend forward to nostrils. Loral feathers soft and dense, but with bristly points; nasal groove filled with naked membrane, with the elongated nostrils in lower edge; the frontal feathers coming up to the aperture, but not directed forward nor overhanging it. Wings lengthened and sharp-pointed; the primaries nine (without spurious first), of which the first three to five, considerably longer than the succeeding, form the tip; the exterior secondaries generally much emarginated at the ends; the inner secondaries (so-called tertials) nearly equal to the longest primaries. The tail rather narrow, emarginate. Tarsi lengthened, scutellate anteriorly only, the hind claw usually very long, acute, and but slightly curved (except in _Motacilla_). Inner toe cleft almost to the very base, outer adherent for basal joint only.

The combination of naked nostrils, notched bill, and nine primaries, with the tarsi scutellate anteriorly only, will at once distinguish the _Anthinæ_ of this family from the _Alaudidæ_, which they so closely resemble in coloration, habits, and lengthened hind claw. The lengthened, slightly curved hind claw, much pointed wings, emarginated secondaries,—the inner ones nearly as long as the primaries,—distinguish the family from the _Sylvicolidæ_, with which also it has near relationships.

Subfamilies and Genera.

Motacillinæ. Tail longer than or equal to wings; the two central feathers rather longer than lateral; the feathers broadest in middle, whence they taper gradually to the rounded tip. Colors uniform: gray, black, yellowish; without pale edges to feathers above, or streaks below.

Tail from coccyx considerably longer than the wings, doubly
forked. Hind claw shorter than the toe; decidedly curved …
_Motacilla._

Tail from coccyx equal to the wings, slightly graduated. Hind
claw decidedly longer than the toe, slightly curved … _Budytes._

Anthinæ. Tail shorter than the wings, emarginate at end, the two central shorter than lateral; the feathers broadest near the end, and rounding rapidly at end. Above grayish-brown, the feathers edged with paler. Under parts streaked.

Wings much pointed and lengthened.

Hind toe and claw shorter than tarsus; outstretched toes
falling short of tip of tail … _Anthus._

Hind toe and claw longer than tarsus; outstretched toes
extending beyond tip of tail … _Neocorys._

Wings short and rounded.

Point of wings formed by outer four primaries of nearly equal
length … _Notiocorys._[30]

Point of wing formed by outer five primaries, the first
shorter than the third … _Pediocorys._[31]

1. Motacilla alba, _Linn._ Europe.
2. Budytes flava, _Linn._ Alaska, 45912.
3. Anthus ludovicianus, _Gm._ Labrador, 18081.
4. “ pratensis, _Linn._ Europe, 18590.
5. Neocorys spraguei, _Aud._ ♀ Dacota, 1884.
6. Mniotilta varia, _Linn._ ♂ 18685.
7. Parula americana, _Linn._ ♂ Pa., 53385.
8. Protonotaria citrea, _Bodd._ Ill., 1011.
9. Helmitherus swainsoni, _Aud._ S. C., 1054.
10. “ vermivorus, _Gm._ Pa., 2148.]

SUBFAMILY MOTACILLINÆ.

GENUS MOTACILLA, LINN.

_Motacilla_, LINN. Syst. Nat. (Type, _Motacilla alba_.)

The diagnosis already given of _Motacilla_ will serve to define it. The genus is an Old World one, represented by several species, only one of which (_M. alba_) is entitled to a place here from occurring in Greenland.

Motacilla alba, LINN.

WHITE WAGTAIL.

_Motacilla alba_, LINN. Syst. Nat. 12th ed. 1766, 331.—KEYS. & BLAS.
Wirb. Europ. 1840, xlix, and 174.—DEGLAND, Orn. Europ. I, 1849,
433.—REINHARDT, Ibis, 1861, 6 (Greenland).—NEWTON,
Baring-Gould’s Iceland, 1863, App. (“rather plentiful”).—BAIRD,
Rev. Am. B. 1864, 152.
Figure: GOULD, Birds Europe, 143.

[Line drawing: _Motacilla alba._
28489]

SP. CHAR. (9,410 ♂, Nürnberg). Forehead as far back as above the eyes, with sides of head and neck, white; the remaining portion of head and neck above and below to the jugulum, black; the rest of under parts white. Upper parts ashy-gray, including rump; the upper tail-coverts tinged with black. Wings with two conspicuous bands and the outer edges of the secondaries white. Tail-feathers black; the outer two white, edged with black internally. Bill and legs black. Tip of wing formed by outer three primaries; the distance between the third and fourth about one third that between the fourth and fifth. Tarsi lengthened; claw small; hind toe and claw shorter than the middle, its claw short, considerably curved, less than the toe alone; lateral toes nearly equal. Length, 7.30; wing, 3.45; tail, 3.90; bill from nostril, .37; tarsus, .86; hind toe and claw, .50.

HAB. Continental Europe, rarer in England; Iceland; Greenland (only two specimens seen); Siberia; Syria; Nubia, etc.

_Motacilla yarrelli_, a closely allied species, by some considered a variety only, differs in having the rump black, the ashy of the back glossed with blackish, and with the black edging of the lateral tail-feathers broader.

HABITS. The common White Wagtail of Europe claims a place in the North American fauna as an occasional visitant of Greenland, where in two instances single specimens have been procured. It is found in all portions of the European Continent, from the islands of the Mediterranean as far north as the Arctic regions. It appears in Sweden in April, and leaves there in October. Mr. Gould states also that it is found in the northern portions of Africa, and in the highlands of India. It also occurs, though less frequently, in England, where it is replaced by a local race, or an allied species, _Motacilla yarrelli_ of Gould. The _Motacilla alba_ is said by Temminck to inhabit meadows in the vicinity of streams of water, villages, and old houses. Its food is chiefly insects in various stages and of different kinds.

It builds its nest on the ground among the grass of the meadow, in fissures in rocks or decayed buildings, among the roots of trees, on the banks of streams, in piles of wood and fagots, or under the arch of a bridge. The nests are somewhat coarsely constructed of interwoven dry bent stems of plants and reeds, with a finer lining of the same. The eggs, six in number, are of a bluish-white ground thickly sprinkled with fine dottings, which are most usually of a blackish-brown color, sometimes ashy-gray or reddish-brown.

The Pied Wagtail, _M. yarrelli_, Degland and Gerbe regard as a race, and not a species. It has a limited habitat, confined to Norway, Sweden, and the British Islands, in the latter of which it is a resident throughout the year. Besides their difference in plumage, Mr. Yarrell has noticed certain differences also of habit. The _alba_ is said not to be so partial to water as the pied species, and though often found near ploughed land, does not, like its kindred species, follow the plough in search of insects. Mr. Hewitson also states that it has a hoarser voice.

Like all the birds of this family, the Wagtail is much admired for the elegance of its form, its activity, and the airy lightness of its motions. It seems ever on the move, runs with great rapidity a quick succession of steps in pursuit of its food, and goes from place to place in short undulating flights. It has a cheerful chirping note which it utters while on the wing. When it alights, it gives a graceful fanning movement with its tail, from which it derives its name.

The Pied Wagtail, whose habits have been more closely observed by English naturalists, has frequently been seen to wade into the water in search of aquatic insects, and probably also of small fish, as in confinement they have been known to catch and feed on minnows in a fountain in the centre of their aviary. It is probable that the habits of the White Wagtail are not dissimilar.

They leave their breeding-places in October, collecting and moving in small flocks.

Their eggs measure .79 of an inch in length and .59 in breadth. The ground-color is of a grayish-white so thickly flecked with fine ash-colored and black dots as to give the entire egg the effect of a uniform dark ashen hue.

GENUS BUDYTES, CUVIER.

_Budytes_, CUVIER, R. A. 1817. (Type, _Motacilla flava_, LINN.)

[Line drawing: _Budytes flava._
45912]

The recent discovery of a species of yellow-bellied Wagtail in Norton Sound, by the naturalists of the Russian Telegraph Expedition, adds another member of an Old World family to the list of American birds. Much confusion exists as to the precise number of species in the genus, some grouping together as varieties what others consider as distinct species. There is an unusual degree of variation with age, sex, and season, and this, combined with strongly marked geographical peculiarities, renders the proper solution of the problem impossible to any but those having access to large series.

Budytes flava, LINN.

YELLOW WAGTAIL.

_Motacilla flava_, LINN. Syst. Nat. I (1766), 33.—FINSCH & HARTLAUB,
Vögel Ostafrikas, 268. _Budytes flava_, BON. (1838).—MIDDENDORFF,
Sibirische Reise, II, ii (1852), 168.—DEGLAND & GERBE, Ornith.
Europ. I (1867), 376.—BAIRD, Trans. Chicago Acad. Sci. I, ii, p.
312, pl. xxx, fig. 1; 1869.—DALL & BANNISTER, Tr. Ch. Ac. I,
1869, 127.—TRISTRAM, Ibis, 1871, 231.—FINSCH, 1872.

SP. CHAR. Description of specimen No. 45,912, taken at St. Michael’s, Norton Sound, June 6, 1866, by H. M. Bannister. Above, including edges of upper tail-coverts, rich olive-green, the top and sides of the head and neck pure ash-gray; chin and well-marked stripe from nostrils over the eye to the nape, white; all under parts rich yellow, tinged with olive on the sides. Stripe from corner of mouth through the eye, and involving the ear-coverts, blackish-ash. Feathers of wings and tail dark brown; the coverts and secondaries edged with olive (showing the obscure light wing-bars), the longest of the latter edged externally with white; innermost quills edged externally with white. Outer three quills nearly equal and longest (the prolonged secondaries as long), the others graduating less. Outer tail-feathers and shaft white; the inner web edged externally with dusky, which, beginning at the base, runs out gradually to the edge, about half an inch from tip of feathers; second feather with rather less white, and with a narrow line of brown along the outer side of the shaft to within half an inch of the tip. Bill and legs blackish.

Dimensions (prepared specimen). Total length, 6.00; wing, 3.00; tail, 3.00; exposed portion of first primary, 2.30. Bill: length from forehead, 0.58; from nostril, 0.35; along gape, 0.57. Legs: tarsus, 0.91; middle toe and claw, 0.70; claw alone, 0.16; hind toe and claw, 0.65; claw alone, 0.36.

A second specimen (No. 45,910) differs in having ashy color of head obscured with olivaceous-brown; and the yellow on breast showing brownish bases. The light markings on the wings more distinct and whiter.

Another bird (No. 45,913), taken on shipboard, about ninety miles west of St. Matthew’s Island, Behring’s Sea, August 10, 1866, appears to be of the same species, in autumnal dress. Here the upper colors are more brown; the lower parts yellowish-white tinged with brownish-fulvous across the breast and flank. Kamtschatkan specimens of the same stage of plumage are very similar.

I am unable to distinguish this species from the Protean _Budytes flava_ of Europe and Asia. Many different races appear to be found throughout this wide circle of distribution, many of them more or less local, but the proportions and general character are the same in all, and the general tendency appears to be to unite all into one species. The sexes and ages of all the species, real or supposed, vary very much, and, in the absence of a large series, I can throw no light upon the obscurities of the subject. I cite above the latest general work on the birds of Europe, in which will be found the principal synonymes.

The specimens from Alaska submitted for examination to Mr. H. B. Tristram were identified by him as the _B. flava_.

HABITS. The Gray-headed Wagtail of Europe finds a place in the fauna of North America as a bird of Alaska, where specimens have been obtained, and where it is, at least, an occasional visitant. It is not a common bird of the British Islands, where it is replaced by a closely allied species. Only seven or eight instances of its occurrence were known to Mr. Yarrell.

On the continent of Europe it is quite an abundant species, inhabiting wet springy places in moist meadows, and frequenting the vicinity of water and the gravelly edges of rivers. It is numerous in all the central portions of Europe. It has also an extensive northern and eastern geographical range, appearing in Norway and Sweden as early as April and remaining there until September. Linnæus met with it in Lapland on the 22d of May. It occurs in Algeria, Nubia, and Egypt. Mr. Gould has received it from the Himalayas, and Temminck gives it as a bird of Japan.

According to Degland, this bird is a very abundant species in France, where it nests on the ground in the cornfields, in open fields, meadows, and amidst the standing grain. It lays from four to six eggs, of a brownish-yellow on a reddish-white ground, profusely covered with fine dots of reddish-gray, which are more or less confluent. A few zigzag lines of dark brown or black are found on the larger end. They measure .63 of an inch in length and .55 in breadth. Its food is flies, moths, small green caterpillars, and aquatic insects.

Ray’s Wagtail, recognized by some authors as a distinct species, is probably only an insular race, chiefly found in the British Islands and in Western France. In the latter place both birds occur, and here also they have been known to mate the one with the other. Their nests and eggs are so alike as not to be distinguishable. The former are constructed of fine fibrous roots and fine stems of grasses, and are lined with hair.

These birds are remarkably social, collecting in small flocks soon after leaving their nests, and until their autumnal migrations following the older birds in quest of food. They have two call-notes which are quite shrill, and are repeated in succession, the second being lower in tone. No mention is made by the naturalists of the Telegraph Expedition of their having any song other than these notes.

Mr. Bannister first observed this species at St. Michael’s, on the 9th or 10th of June, and from that time until late in August they were among the most abundant of the land-birds. During the month of June he observed them in flocks of twenty or thirty individuals. It seemed to be a rather shy bird. He described its flight as like that of our common Goldfinch, rising with a few strokes of its wings, then closing them and describing a sort of paraboloidal curve in the air. The only note which he heard and identified as uttered by this species was a kind of faint chirp, hardly to be called a song. These birds seemed to prefer the open country, and were rarely observed in the low brush, the only approach to woods found on the island.

SUBFAMILY ANTHINÆ.

The characters of this subfamily have already been detailed. The American sections may be defined as follows, although whether entitled to rank as genera may be questioned:—

COMMON CHARACTERS. Tail decidedly shorter than the wings; less than half the whole length of bird; simply emarginate and rounded. Hind claw lengthened; only slightly curved. Feathers of back with paler edges; breast streaked with dusky. Nest on the ground; eggs finely mottled so as almost to be uniform dark brown (in North American species).

_a. Wings much pointed, and lengthened._

Point of wing formed by four outer primaries, of which the
fourth sometimes a little shorter than the third. Hind toe and
claw as long as middle, shorter than tarsus, the claw alone
usually a little longer than the toe itself, and slightly
curved; inner toe and claw longer than the outer; outstretched
toes falling short of the tip of tail; hind toe and claw
shorter than tarsus … _Anthus_.

Point of wings formed by four outer primaries, the first
longest, or as long as others. Legs stout, the outstretched
toes reaching almost to tip of tail. Hind toe and claw longer
than tarsus, the claw very long, but equal to the toe proper …
_Neocorys_.

_b. Wings short, rounded._

Point of wings formed by four outer primaries of nearly equal
length … _Notiocorys_.[32]

Point of wings formed by five outer primaries, the first
shorter than third … _Pediocorys_.[33]

GENUS ANTHUS, BECHST.

_Anthus_, BECHST. Gemein. Naturg. Deutschl. 1802. (Type, _Alauda
spinoletta_.)

[Line drawing: _Anthus ludovicianus._
328]

CHAR. Bill slender, much attenuated, and distinctly notched. A few short bristles at the base. Culmen concave at the base. Tarsi quite distinctly scutellate; longer than the middle toe; inner lateral toe the longer. Hind toe rather shorter than the tarsus, but longer than the middle toe, owing to the long, attenuated, and moderately curved hind claw, which is considerably more than half the total length of the toe. Tail rather long, emarginate. Wing very long, considerably longer than the lengthened tail, reaching to its middle. The first primary nearly equal to the longest. The tertials almost as long as the primaries.

But one species of this genus belongs properly to North America, although a second is accidental in Greenland and Alaska. The diagnoses are as follows:—

Bill and feet blackish. Prevailing color above olive-brown.
Beneath buff. Edge and inside of wings white. Shafts of middle
tail-feathers above dark brown … _A. ludovicianus._

Bill and feet dusky flesh-color. Prevailing color above
olive-green; more distinctly streaked. Beneath greenish-white.
Edge and inside of wings greenish-yellow. Shafts of middle
tail-feathers above whitish … _A. pratensis._

ZANDER (Cabanis Journal, Extraheft I, 1853, 64) states that _Anthus cervinus_, PALLAS, is found in the Aleutian Islands. It is described as having

The feet yellowish-brown; the two longest under tail-coverts
with a blackish longitudinal spot; the longest tertial
almost equal to the longest primary; the shaft of the first
tail-feather mostly white; no green on the plumage; the
throat rust-color.

BALDAMUS (Naumannia, 1857, 202) says he has received _Anthus aquaticus_ and its eggs from Labrador. This statement, however, requires verification.

Anthus ludovicianus, LICHT.

TITLARK; AMERICAN PIPIT.

_Alauda ludoviciana_, GM. S. N. I, 1788, 793. _Anthus ludovicianus_,
LICHT. Verz. 1823, 37; also of AUDUBON & BONAPARTE.—BAIRD, Birds
N. Am. 1858, 232; Rev. 153.—COUES, Pr. A. N. S. 1861, 220
(Labrador).—SCLATER, P. Z. S. 1856, 296 (Cordova).—IB. Catal.
1861, 24, no. 153. SCL. & SALV. Ibis, 1859, 9 (Guatemala).—JONES,
Nat. in Bermuda, 1859, 29, autumn.—BLAKISTON, Ibis, 1862, 4
(Saskatchewan).—DALL & BANNISTER, Tr. Chic. Ac. I, 1869,
277.—COOPER, Orn. Cal. 1, 1870, 78. _Alauda rubra_, GM.; _Alauda
rufa_, WILS.; _Anthus spinoletta_, BON., AUD.; _Alauda
pennsylvanica_, BRISS.; _? Alauda pennsylvanica_, BONN. Encycl.
Méth. I, 1790, 319. _? Motacilla hudsonica_, LATH. Ind. Orn. II,
1790, 503.—VIEILLOT, Encycl. Méth. II, 1823, 447. _Anthus
pennsylvanica_, ZANDER; _Anthus aquaticus_, AUD.; _Anthus
pipiens_, AUD.; _Anthus rubens_, MERREM; _Anthus reinhardtii_,
HÖLBOLL, Fauna Grönlands (ed. Paulsen), 1846, 25 (Greenland).
Figures: AUD. Birds Am. III, pl. cxl.—IB. Orn. Biog. I, pl. lxxx.—
WILSON, V. pl. lxxxix.

SP. CHAR. (_Female_, in spring.) Above olive-brown, each feather slightly darker towards the central portion; beneath pale dull-buff, or yellowish-brown, with a maxillary series of dark-brown spots and streaks across the breast and along sides. Ring round the eye, and superciliary stripe, yellowish. Central tail-feathers like the back, others dark blackish-brown; the external one white, except at the base within; a white spot at the end of the second. Primaries edged with whitish, other quills with pale brownish. Length, 6.50; wing, 3.45; tail, 2.95.

HAB. Whole of North America; Greenland; Bermuda; south to Orizaba, Guatemala, and even Peru? Heligoland, Europe. (GÄTKE.) Not noted in West Indies.

Spring specimens from Labrador, collected by Dr. Coues, have the upper parts ashy without any tinge of olive, almost bluish on the head; the lower parts deeper and more reddish-buff than in autumnal and winter specimens. Tarsi black in spring, brown in winter; toes always black.

HABITS. At different seasons of the year the Brown Titlark is found throughout the continent, and abundant for the time in the several parts of the country, chiefly frequenting the least cultivated portions and apparently preferring the sterile and least attractive regions. It is one of the most extensively distributed of all our North American birds, being found in immense numbers over the whole length and breadth of North America. Gambel met them in large numbers in New Mexico and California; Richardson found them on the plains of the Saskatchewan; it is abundant in the Arctic regions from May to October, and is equally common on the coast of Labrador; Mr. Dall found it universal from British Columbia north. It is also found in Florida, Cape St. Lucas, Mexico, and Central America. Accidental specimens have occurred in Europe.

This lark is a bird of easy and beautiful flight, passing and repassing through the air with graceful evolutions, and when moving to new localities, sweeping over the place several times before alighting. It also moves rapidly on the ground and after the manner of the true larks, jerking the tail like our Water-Thrushes and the European Wagtails.

When feeding on the open ground in the interior, their food is chiefly insects and small seeds. On the banks of rivers and on the seashore they are fond of running along the edge of the water, searching among the drift for insects, small shells, and crustaceans. Near New Orleans and Charleston, in the winter, Mr. Audubon found them feeding, in company with the Turkey Buzzard, upon garbage.

Dr. Coues found the Titlark abundant in every locality visited by him in Labrador, giving him an ample opportunity to observe its habits during the breeding-season. He found them on some of the most rocky and barren islands along the coast. They frequented only the open, bare, and exposed situations, such as that coast everywhere afforded, and were never found in wooded localities. The nests of this species found by him were identical in situation, form, and construction, placed on the sides of steep, precipitous chasms, in small cavities in the earth, into which dry moss had been introduced to keep the nest from the damp ground. They were composed entirely of coarse, dry grasses loosely put together, without any lining. Their external diameter was six inches, and the depth of the cavity two inches.

Dr. Coues describes the song of the male bird as very sweet and pleasant. Mr. Audubon speaks of it as consisting of a few clear and mellow notes when on the wing, and when standing erect on the rocks it produces a clearer and louder song.

Dr. Coues speaks of their flight as undulating and unsteady, and never protracted to any great distance. They never alight on bushes, but always on the ground, where they run with great ease and rapidity. At low tides they resorted to the muddy flats, where they ran about upon the eel-grass, searching for their food in company with the small Sandpipers and in a similar manner, finding there an abundance of food. At all times they exhibited a heedless familiarity and an entire want of fear of man, feeding unconcernedly around the doors of the houses, and searching for their insect food on the roofs of the sheds and dwellings.

Both birds incubate and sit so closely that they may almost be trodden upon before they are willing to leave their nest, and even then only flutter off to a short distance, with loud cries of distress that soon bring the mate and other pairs of the same species to join in the lamentations. They hover over the heads of the intruders, at times approaching within a few feet, expressing their distress by the most plaintive cries, and even when the intruders withdraw following them to a considerable distance.

All the nests of this lark that I have seen are remarkable for the thickness of their walls, and the strength, compactness, and elaborate care with which the materials are put together, particularly for nests built on the ground. They are well suited to protect their contents from the cold, damp ground on which they are placed; and their upper portions are composed of stout vegetable stems, lichens, and grasses strongly interwoven, and forming a strong rim around the upper part of the nest.

Dr. Coues describes their eggs as of a dark chocolate-color, indistinctly marked with numerous small lines and streaks of black. Audubon describes them as having a ground-color of a deep reddish-chestnut, darkened by numerous dots of deeper reddish-brown and lines of various sizes, especially toward the larger end. Those in my possession, received from Labrador by Thienemann, measure from .75 to .78 of an inch in length, and from .59 to .62 in breadth, and have a light-brown or clay-colored ground, so thickly covered with spots as to be almost concealed. These spots are of a purplish chocolate-brown, with occasional darker lines about the larger end. In others the markings are bolder and larger and of brighter hues. Like the eggs of the _Anthus arboreus_ of Europe, it is probable that those of this Titlark exhibit great variations, both in ground-color and in the shades of their markings.

Anthus pratensis, BECHST.

EUROPEAN PIPIT.

_Alauda pratensis_, LINN. Syst. Nat. 1766, 287. _Anthus pratensis_,
BECHST. Deutsch. Vögel, III, 1807, 732.—KEYS. & BLAS. Wirb.
Europas, 1840, 172.—ZANDER, Cab. Jour. I, extraheft, 1853,
60.—PAULSEN, ed. HÖLBOLL, Faun. Grönlands, 1846, 24.—REINHARDT,
Ibis, 1861, 6.—NEWTON, Baring-Gould’s Iceland, 1863.—BAIRD, Rev.
Am. B. 1864, 155.
Figures: GOULD’S Birds Europe, pl. cxxxvi.

HAB. Europe generally; common in Lapland; accidental in Greenland; St. Michael’s, Norton Sound.

This species in general form resembles the _A. ludovicianus_, the fifth primary in both being abruptly and considerably shorter than the outer four; the bill and legs quite similar. The average size appears much the same. The upper parts are, however (especially the head and back), more distinctly streaked with dusky; the edge and inside of wing greenish-yellow, not white, and the upper plumage and outer edges of the quills decidedly olive-green. The shafts of the middle tail-feathers above are whitish, not dark brown; the under parts greenish-white, conspicuously streaked with dark brown. The bill is dusky, the base and edges paler; the legs dusky flesh-color, not dark brown.

The occurrence of this species in Greenland was noticed in the Review; and since the publication of that work a specimen has been obtained at St. Michael’s, in Alaska, by Mr. W. H. Dall, and is now in the Smithsonian collection. The specimen in question appears to be the true _pratensis_.

HABITS. This European species claims a place in the North American fauna on the ground of a single specimen having been found in Greenland, in 1845, and one at St. Michael’s, Norton Sound. In the Old World it is the counterpart of our _ludovicianus_, which, in all respects, it closely resembles. It is the most common and the best known of European Titlarks. In Great Britain, where it is found throughout the year, it appears to prefer the uncultivated districts, inhabiting commons and waste lands, and in the more northern parts frequenting the moors. It is also found in meadows and marsh lands, in winter seeking more sheltered places. It is rarely seen to alight on a branch or to sit on a rail. Its song is soft and musical, and is usually uttered when on the wing or when vibrating over its nest. It seeks its food altogether on the ground, running nimbly in pursuit of insects, slugs, and worms. According to Yarrell its nest is built on the ground, generally among the grass. It is composed externally of dried sedges, lined with finer materials and some hair. The eggs are six in number, of a reddish-brown color, mottled over with darker shades of the same, and measure .80 by .60 of an inch.

According to the observations of English naturalists, this bird resorts to various ingenious devices to conceal its nest, or to draw aside attention from it, such as feigning lameness when it is approached, and concealing it by artificial covering when it has been once discovered.

The Meadow Pipit is common during the summer months in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, visiting also the Faroe Islands and Iceland. It inhabits the whole continent of Europe as far south as Spain, Italy, and Sicily. It has also been found in Northern Africa, and, according to Gould, in Western Asia. Temminck also states it to be among the birds of Japan.

According to Degland these larks, after the breeding-season, unite in small flocks, probably families, and frequent low and damp localities. In summer they are more often found on high and dry mountain plains. Their flesh is said to be delicious.

GENUS NEOCORYS, SCLATER.

_Neocorys_, SCLATER, Pr. Zoöl. Soc. Lond. 1857, 5. (Type, _Alauda
spraguei_, AUD.)

CHAR. Bill half as long as the head; the culmen concave at the base, slightly decurved at the tip. Rictus without bristles. Legs stout; tarsi distinctly scutellate, longer than the middle toe. Hind toe very long, equal to the tarsus, much longer than the middle toe; its claw but slightly curved, and about half the total length. Inner lateral toe rather longer than outer. Wings much longer than tail; first quill longest. Tertials considerably longer than secondaries. Tail rather short, emarginate.

But one species of this genus is known, it being peculiar to the Western plains.

Neocorys spraguei, SCLAT.

MISSOURI SKYLARK; SPRAGUE’S PIPIT

_Alauda spraguei_, AUD. Birds Am. VII, 1843, 335, pl. cccclxxxvi.
_Agrodoma spraguei_, BAIRD, Stansbury’s Rep. 1852, 329. _Neocorys
spraguei_, SCLATER, P. Z. S. 1857, 5.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858,
234.—BLAKISTON, Ibis, 1862, 4 (Saskatchewan).—COOPER, Orn. Cal.
I, 1870, 80. _Anthus (Neocorys) spraguei_, BAIRD, Rev. 155.

SP. CHAR. Above wood-brown, all the feathers edged with paler, especially on the neck, where there is a brownish-yellow tinge. The under parts are dull white, with a collar of sharply defined narrow brown streaks across the forepart and along the sides of the breast. Lores and a superciliary line whitish. Tail-feathers, except the middle ones, dark brown; the outer one white, the second white, with the inner margin brown. The outer primary is edged with white, and there are two dull whitish bands across the wings. Bill and feet yellow, the former brown above. Length (female), 5.75; wing, 3.35; tail, 2.50.

HAB. Plains of Yellowstone and Upper Missouri to Saskatchewan; Nebraska.

[Line drawing: _Neocorys spraguei._
16766]

This little-known species has the general appearance of a Titlark, but is readily distinguished from _Anthus ludovicianus_ by the purer white of its under parts, the much darker centres and much paler margins to the feathers above, the entirely white external tail-feather, and the yellow legs and bill, as well as by its generic peculiarities. In its song and general habits it approaches nearer the European Skylark than any bird belonging to our fauna.

HABITS. This interesting species was first described by Audubon, in the supplementary portion of his Birds of America. It was obtained by the party which accompanied him to the Upper Missouri in 1843. It was first met with on the 19th of June near Fort Union, in Dacotah Territory. It has since been found on the fork of the Saskatchewan, but little additional information respecting its habits has been obtained since its first discovery.

It seems to more nearly approach, in its habits, the European Skylark than any other of our North American birds. Mr. Edward Harris was completely misled, at first, by the sound of their song, so that on several occasions he sought for them on the ground. Their voices appeared to come to him from the earth’s surface. After having travelled in quest of them, to no purpose, to many distant parts of the prairies, he at last discovered that these sounds proceeded from several of these birds soaring at so great an elevation as to make them difficult to discover by the eye, even in the transparent atmosphere of that country.

They are described as running gracefully on the ground, at times squatting to observe the movements of the intruders, and again elevating their bodies as if to meet their approach. Rising from the ground, they fly in an undulating manner, so that it is extremely difficult to shoot them on the wing. They continue thus to fly in increasing circles until about a hundred yards high, when they begin to sing. After a while, suddenly closing their wings, they drop to the ground. They could be easily approached in a light wagon, and in this manner several specimens were obtained.

Captain Blakiston (Ibis, V. 61) found this Skylark common on the prairies of the Saskatchewan during the breeding-season. He first met with it on the 6th of May, near Fort Carlton. When disturbed from the grass, its usual haunt, it utters a single chirp, and immediately mounts in the air by a circuitous course, with a very undulating flight, to a great height, where with outstretched wings it soars in a peculiar manner, and utters a very striking song. This is described as consisting of a quick succession of notes, in a descending scale, each note being lower than the preceding. The bird then descends to the ground with great rapidity, almost like a stone, and somewhat in the manner of a hawk swooping on its prey. It was difficult of approach, and not easily killed. He also observed these birds in Northern Minnesota, May 4, 1859.

A nest of this bird was built on the ground and placed in a hollow. It was made of fine grasses interwoven into a circular form, but without any lining. The eggs were four or five in number, an oblong oval in shape, much pointed at one end, and measuring .87 of an inch in length by .63 in breadth. Their ground-color was a dull white, so minutely dotted with a grayish-purple as to give the whole egg a homogeneous appearance, as of that uniform color.

The young larks, soon after being hatched, followed their parents on the ground, and were fed with seeds of the smaller plants and with insects. They had already begun to associate in small flocks of from eight to a dozen before the party left, and on the 16th of August had commenced their southern migrations.

FAMILY SYLVICOLIDÆ.—THE WARBLERS.

The _Sylvicolidæ_ are essentially characterized among the Oscines with nine primaries, by their small size, the usually slender and conical insectivorous bill, shorter than the head, without angle in the gape near the base; the toes deeply cleft so as to leave the inner one free almost to its very base (except in _Mniotiltæ_), etc. The shallow notch at the end of the tongue, instead of a deeply fissured tip, distinguishes the family from the _Cærebidæ_, to some of which there is otherwise so great a resemblance. The absence of abrupt hook and notch in both mandibles separates it from such of the _Vireonidæ_ as have nine primaries.

The American _Motacillidæ_ are distinguished from the _Sylvicolidæ_ by the emargination of the outer and the great elongation of the inner secondaries, as well as by other features referred to under that family. _Anthus_, in particular, differs in the lengthened and slightly curved hind claw. There is little difficulty in distinguishing the _Sylvicolidæ_, however, from any families excepting the slender-billed forms of the _Tanagridæ_, as _Chlorospingus_, _Nemosia_, _Chlorochrysa_, etc., and the conirostral _Cœrebidæ_. In fact, some ornithologists are inclined to include all three of the families thus mentioned in one, from the difficulty of marking their boundaries respectively.

In fact, we are of the opinion that no violence would be done by adopting this view, and would even include with the above-mentioned families the _Fringillidæ_ also. The order of their relation to one another would be thus: _Fringillidæ, Tanagridæ, Sylvicolidæ, Cœrebidæ_; there being scarcely any break in the transition between the two extremes, unless there are many genera referred to the wrong family, as seems very likely to be the case with many included in the _Tanagridæ_. The _fringilline_ forms of the latter family are such genera as _Buarremon_ and _Arremon_, they being so closely related to some _fringilline_ genera by so many features—as rounded concave wing, lax plumage, and spizine coloration—as to be scarcely separable. Either these two families are connected so perfectly by intermediate forms as to be inseparable, or the term _Tanagridæ_ covers too great a diversity of forms. With the same regularity that we proceed from the _Fringillidæ_ to the typical forms of the _Tanagridæ_ (_Pyranga_, _Tanagra_, _Calliste_, etc.), we pass down the scale from these to the _Sylvicolidæ_; while between many genera of the latter family, and others referred to the _Cærebidæ_, no difference in external anatomy can be discovered, much less expressed in a description.

In the following synopsis we attempt to define the higher groups of the _Sylvicolidæ_, although in the large number of species and their close relationships it is very difficult to express clearly their distinctive features.

Subfamilies.

A. Bill conical, its bristles very weak, or wanting.

_a._ Bill sub-conical, the culmen and commissure nearly
straight.

Sylvicolinæ. Feet weak, not reaching near the end of the
tail. Wing pointed, considerably longer than the nearly even
or slightly emarginated tail. Feet dark-colored (except in
_Helmitherus_, _Helinaia_, and _Parula_). _Arboreal._

Geothlypinæ. Feet strong, reaching nearly to end of the
tail. Wing rounded. Feet pinkish-white. _Terrestrial._

_b._ Bill high and compressed, the culmen and commissure much
curved.

Icterianæ. Bill without notch or rictal bristles; wing much
rounded, shorter than the tail.

B. Bill depressed, its bristles strong.

Setophaginæ. Bill, _tyrannine_, considerably broader than
high, the tip more or less hooked, and with a distinct notch.
Rictal bristles reaching half-way, or more, to the tip.

Sections and Genera.

SYLVICOLINÆ.

1. Middle toe, with claw, longer than tarsus.

Mniotilteæ. Bill much compressed for terminal half, the
lateral outline decidedly concave; culmen and gonys decidedly
convex; commissure moderately concave. Rictal bristles very
inconspicuous; notch just perceptible … _Mniotilta._

2. Middle toe, with claw, not longer than tarsus.

Vermivoreæ. Bill without a distinct notch, or lacking it
entirely; rictal bristles wanting, or very minute; culmen and
gonys nearly straight; bill only very moderately compressed.

_a._ Middle toe and claw about equal to tarsus.

Bill not acute; culmen and gonys decidedly convex; notch
just perceptible; bristles apparent … _Protonotaria._

Bill moderately acute, robust; no notch; culmen straight,
its base elevated and slightly arched; bristles not
apparent … _Helinaia._

Bill moderately acute; robust; no notch; culmen convex, its
base not elevated; bristles apparent … _Helmitherus._

_b._ Middle toe and claw considerably shorter than tarsus.

Bill very acute, its outlines nearly straight; notch not
perceptible; bristles not apparent … _Helminthophaga._

Bill very acute, its outlines nearly straight; notch just
perceptible; bristles strong … _Parula._

Sylvicoleæ. Bill distinctly notched; rictal bristles strong;
outlines generally slightly curved.

Bill acute, gonys slightly concave … _Perissoglossa._

Bill not acute, gonys convex … _Dendroica._

GEOTHLYPINÆ.

3. Wings pointed, longer than the nearly even tail.

Seiureæ.

Above olive-brown; beneath white with dark streaks … _Seiurus._

Above olive-green; beneath yellow without streaks …
_Oporornis._

4. Wings rounded, shorter than the graduated tail.

Geothlypeæ.

Above olive-green; beneath yellow, without streaks …
_Geothlypis._

ICTERIANÆ.

5. Bill very deep and compressed; tail graduated; outer toe deeply cleft.

Icterieæ.

Olive-green above; bright yellow anteriorly beneath. Upper
mandible deeper than the lower … _Icteria._

Plumbeous-blue above; red, black, and white beneath. Upper
mandible not so deep as the lower … _Granatellus._

6. Bill slender, sub-conical, but curved; tail nearly even; outer toe adherent for basal half.

Teretristeæ.