Cornell University Library Sthaca, New Pork BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND THE GIFT OF HENRY W. SAGE 1891 RETURN TO ALBERT R. MANN LIBRARY ITHACA, N. Y. Iniversi Cornell University The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www. archive.org/details/cu31924001916372 R.W.Shu feldt, pinx. Ackermann & Co: LithS Bosto: | ANATOMY OF PIGEON. Coue's Key NABirds. ere Pst KEY TO NortTH AMERICAN BIRDS. CONTAINING A CONCISE ACCOUNT OF EVERY SPECIES OF LIVING AND FOSSIL. BIRD AT PRESENT KNOWN FROM THE CONTINENT NORTH OF THE MEXICAN AND UNITED STATES BOUNDARY, INCLUSIVE OF GREENLAND AND LOWER CALIFORNIA, WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY: AN OUTLINE OF THE STRUCTURE AND CLASSIFICATION OF BIRDS; AND FIELD ORNITHOLOGY, A MANUAL OF COLLECTING, PREPARING, AND PRESERVING BIRDS. Che Fourth Britton, EXHIBITING THE NEW NOMENCLATURE OF THE AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGISTS’ UNION, AND INCLUDING DESCRIPTIONS OF ADDITIONAL SPECIES, ETC. ‘By ELLIOTT COUES, A.M., M.D., PH.D., Late Captain and Assisrant Surgeon U.S, Army and Secretary U.S. Geological Survey ; Vice-President of the American Ornithotogists’ Union. and Chai of the C i on the Classi ion and Ni 1 of North American Birds ; Foreign Member of the British Ornithologists’ Union; C ding Member of the Zodlogical Scciety of London ; Member of the i Academy of Sci of the Faculty of the National Medical College, of the Phi: ical and Biological Societies of Washi of the General Council of the Theosophical Society of India, etc. PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED. BOSTON: ESTES AND’ LAURIAT 1896. : Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1872, by F, W. Putnam AnD ELLIOTT COUEs, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1874, py F. W. PUTNAM AND ELLIOTT COUEs, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. Copyright, 1882, 1884, and 1887, By EstEs anD LAURIAT. UNIVERSITY PRESS: JoHNn WiLson AnD Son, CAMBRIDUR. Go SPENCER FULLERTON BAIRD, \ NESTOR OF AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGISTS, Chis Mork, BEARING TO OTHERS THE TORCH RECEIVED FROM HIM IN EARLIER DAYS, Is Dedicated. CONTENTS. MBS 52 ee aah Te RE ap. Tee eh cae HE ae RE ee sin a CR a oe Ee WO i DEDICATION: Ue Gow. Ge) SORE Bw a. Ree EO Aa ee el ee ie a OE CONTENTS: <6) eo Ge° ewes Seosen cee ae Ree ie! “Hie Gae Bein AR a Eg lee ar eae ee en v HistoRicAL- PREFACE . 2 «© @ % # * 4 © 6 © Siw 2 2 oe # © ee ee ee ORL PART I. FIELD ORNITHOLOGY. §1. Implements for collecting, and theiruse . . «1.71 we we ew ee ew ewe UL §2. Dogs . . soe ee ee ee ee ee § 3. Various suggestions and Gesctions for field. en C9 Be we ER ee BR ww OD § 4. Hygiene of collectorship. 2. . 6. 6 6 1 ee ee ee ew we ew ee ee OD § 5. Registration and labelling . . . a Fea) tae sag Co Sg » 21 § 6. Instruments, materials, and fixtures for neeyariig rdstans %, See ae aes Goce 1 225 § 7. How to makeabirdskin. © 2 6 1 1 6 ee ee we ee ew ee we 88 § 8. Miscellaneous particulars . . . ... SOR age eh Ae) serewe ad. Gy UES § 9. Collection of nests andeggs - . «6 ee ee we ew ee we ew ee 8D §10. Care ofacollection . 2. 6. 2 2 6 ee 1 ew we we ww th ee ee CB PART II. GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. §1. Definition of birds . . - eo Gh Rog Re AD Ger et Swe a 59 § 2. Principles and practice of discatiioabion 2S fe Bw ee ee 85 § 3. Definitions and descriptions of the exterior parts of binds Rea. agra tenn Sep “tex Gale, tt 282 a. Of the feathers, or plumage . . 6 ee ee ee ee ee ee ewe 8D 6. The topography of birds . - - - - 1 ee ee we ee ee ee OO 1. Regions of the body . . . . fe eae. ae eee we. OE 9. Of the members; their parts scl OPBANS. kw eae we A we ws 00 fe The bill). eae) de age Bh a Re Be ee we we wee OO ii. The wings. . - 2 ee ee ee we we ew et we ww ws 106 fig Whe tall fsa. open SP seek eek ee we gh Ee a ee ayes Wheteete> ge. co ate, ge es AY es ee se SS ce, STS vi CONTENTS. § 4. An introduction to the Anatomy of birds. . . . . 6 se wo a, Osteology : the osseous system, or skeleton . . - + » « © + 1. The spinalcolumn. . - «1 1 eee ee ee ee 2. The thorax: ribsandstermnum ......+ + +e > 3. The pectoralarch . . . 6 - 2 se © 1 eo we te 4. The pelvicarch. . 2. 2 1 ee ee ee ew we ee 5. Theskull. «2 @ = « « 4 eis! 8 6. Neurology: the nervous system; organs of special senses . + « e. Myology: the muscular system . . . Sas ee Gee d, Angeiology: the vascular or circulatory ayttenis: ne Mie e. Pneumatology: the respiratory system. . . . + - ‘A Splanchnology: the digestive system . . . . +» Odlogy: the urogenital system . 6. oe oe eB § 5. Destine for using the artificial keys ARTIFICIAL Kry To THE ORDERS AND SUBORDERS. . - + - s+ «© « ARtiFIcIaL Key to tHE FaMiniss . . . - ee ee ew ee TaBULAR VIEW OF THE GROUPS HIGHER THAN GENERA. . » + + © © PART III. SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. I. Order PASSERES : Insessores, or Perchers Proper . 1. Suborder PASSERES ACROMYODI, or OSCINES: omen Birds 1. Family Turpipa: Thrushes, ete... 2... . P 1. Subfamily Turdine: Typical Thrushes. . . . . 2. Subfamily Mimine: Mocking Thrushes . 3. Subfamily Cixcline: Dippers. . . 4. Subfamily Sazicoline : Stone-chats and Ble: hits . 5. Subfamily Reguline: Kinglets and Wood-wrens . 6. Subfamily Polioptiline: Gnat-catchers . 2. Family Coamaipz: Wren-tis . . . 2... 2... 8. Family Paripm: Titmice, or Chickadees . . . . . 7. Subfamily Paring: True Titmice 4. Family Srrtipz: Nuthatches . 5. Family Certuipa#: Creepers 8. Subfamily Certhiine: Typical Creepers 6. Family TroctopyTipz: Wrens . : 9. Subfamily Campylorhynchine : Fan-iailed Wheto 10. Subfamily 7roglodytine: True Wrens . 7% Family Avavpipa: Larks . ‘ 11. Subfamily Calandriting: Shore Tavis. 12. Subfamily Alaudine: Sky Larks 8 Family Motactttipa: Wagtails and Pipits 18. Subfamily Motucilline: Wagtails . . 2... 14. Subfamily Axthine: Pipits, or Titlarks 238 - 240 240 243 248 254 256 259 260 262 263 263 269 272 272 273 274 277 280 281 282 283 284 285 CONTENTS. 9. Family Synvicotipm: American Warblers . . . . 15. Subfamily Syloicoline: True Warblers . . 16, Subfamily Icteriize: Chats 17. Subfamily Setophaging: Fly-catching Warblers . ‘i 10. Family Cerzsina: Honey Creepers sho 11. Family Tanacripa#: Tanagers 12. Family Hisunpinipa: Swallows 18. Family Ampetip®: Chatterers ‘ 18. Subfamily Ampeline: Waxwings 19. Subfamily Prilogonatine: Fly-snappers* : 20. Subfamily Myiadestine : Fy-catching Thrushes . 14. Family Virzonip#: Vireos, or Greenlets. . . . . 15. Family Lanurpam: Shrikes . : 21. Subfamily Laniine: True Shrikes’ , 16. Family Frinem.mwaz: Finches, etc. . 17. Family Icterip#: American Starlings ; Btiok bade, ete. . 22. Subfamily Ageleine: Marsh Blackbirds 23. Subfamily Sturnelline: Meadow Starlings 24. Subfamily Icterine: Orioles .. F 25. Subfamily Quiscaline: Crow Blackbirds . 18. Family Cornvinm: Crows, Jays, etc. 26. Subfamily Corvine: Crows 27. Subfamily Gerruline: Jays . . 19. Family Sturwip#: Old World Starlings 28. Subfamily Sturnine: Typical Starlings 2. Suborder PASSERES MESOMYODI, or CLAMATORES: Songs Paseares 5 20. Family Trrawnip#: American Flycatchers 29. Subfamily Zyrannine: True Tyrant Flycatchers : {I. Order PICARL#: Picarian Birds 3. Suborder CYPSELIFORMES: Cypseliform Birds 21. Family Carrimutem: Goatsuckers 30. Subfamily Caprimulgine: True Goatsuckers , 22. Family Cypseripm: Swifts 28 31. Subfamily Cypseline : Typical Swifts 32. Subfamily Cheturing: Spine-tail Swifts 28. Family Trocuitipz: Humming-birds 33. Subfamily Zrochiline: Humming-birds 4. Suborder CUCULIFORMES: Cuculiform Birds 24. Family TRosontpz: Trogons . ‘ 34. Subfamily Trogonine: Trogons . (—. Family Momorma: Sawbills] . 28. Family Aucepinip#: Kingfishers . 35. Subfamily Alcedinide: Piscivorous Kingfishers ‘ 26. Family Cucvrip#: Cuckoos 36. Subfamily Crotophagine: Anis 37. Subfamily Scurothering : Ground Cnokeoos 88. Subfamily Coccyyine: American Cuckoos . 5. Suborder PICIFORMES: Piciform Birds ‘ 27. Family Picip#: Woodpeckers . Vili CONTENTS. III. Order PSITTACI: Parrots . . .. 1. 2 ee we we eee 28. Family Psirracipm: Parrots . . . . 2 © © + + 2 ee 39. Subfamily dring: Parrots . ». »- «+ + 2 ee ee IV. Order RAPTORES: Birds of Prey. . . o RB OS 6. Suborder STRIGES: Nocturnal Birds of vey ee ae 29. Family Auuconipz#: Barn Owls ERO ays 80. Family Stricipz: Other Owls . ge Coy aya os AS a, hy 9 40. Subfamily Strigina : PGR ae Oh de cB -be- Bue 41. Subfamily Budonine: fay OR Se ee %. Suborder ACCIPITRES: Diurnal Birds of — a $1. Family Fatconipz: Vultures, Falcons, —— Pagls, ste. 42. Subfamily Circine: Harriers 43. Subfamily Milvine: Kites . 44, Subfamily Accipitrine: Hawks a eh ee Se a 45. Subfamily Falconine: Faleoons . . . .-1 2 2 ew 46. Subfamily Polyborine: Caracaras . . oe ae 47. Subfamily Buteoning: Buzzards and Eagles : oi 82. Family Panpionipz: Fish Hawks, or Ospreys . . . . - ] © 8. Suborder CATHARTIDES: American Vultures . . . ... 88. Family Catnartip#: American Vultures . V. Order COLUMB.=: Columbine Birds .. . Bo BP Shen ee. 9. Suborder PERISTERA: True Columbine Binks , A can Cases 8 34. Family Corumpipm: Pigeons . . . ae ee 48. Subfamily Columbine: Typical Piseaus- oe fr aa 49. Subfamily Zenaidine: Ground Doves . . . . « - « e 50. Subfamily Starnenadine: Quail Doves ... .... VI. Order GALLINZ: Gallinaceous Birds; Fowls . ... . 10. Suborder PERISTEROPODES : Pigeon-toed fowls . oe 85. Family Cractp#: Curassows ue shag 51. Subfamily Penelopine: Guans . 11. Suborder ALECTOROPODES: True Fowls . 86. Family Mrtzacripipa: Turkeys ae 87. Family Tetraonip#: Grouse; Partridge; Quail ss 52. Subfamily Zetraonine: Grouse 5 53. Subfamily Odontophoring : American Partiid ees aa Guts. (—. Subfamily Perdicing : Old World Partridges and Quails . VII. Order LIMICOL: Shore-birds 38. Family Cuaraprii#: Plover : 54. Subfamily Charadriing: True Plover , 55. Subfamily Aphrizine: Surf-birds ‘ 89. Family Hamatoropip#: Oyster-catchers ; Turnstones: 56. Subfamily Hematopoding: Oyster-catchers . 57. Subfamily Strepsilaing : Turnstones 40. Family Recurvirostrip#: Avocets; Stilts . . ' . 41. Family Poataropopipa: Phalaropes ae ap te Heshtgs 42. Family Scotorpactpm: Snipe,et. 2... . . CONTENTS. VIII. Order HERODIONES: Herons and their Allies . 12. Suborder IBIDES: The Ibis Series . ‘ 48. Family Ininipaz: Ibises 44. Family PuataLeipa: Spoonbills . 13. Suborder PELARGI: The Stork Series . 48. Family Cicontrp#: Storks . 58. Subfamily Zantaline : Wood Thikee. 59. Subfamily Ciconiine: True Storks . 14. Suborder HERODII: The Heron Series 46. Family Anpeipz: Herons . : F 60. Subfamily drdeine: True Herons . 61. Subfamily Botaurine: Bitterns . IX. Order ALECTORIDES: Cranes, Rails, and their Allies 15. Suborder GRUIFORMES: Cranes and their Allies . 47, Family Gruipa: Cranes . 48. Family Anamipa: Courlans 16. Suborder RALLIFORMES: Ralliform Birds, 49. Family Panripa: Jacanas . 50. Family Ratuipa: Rails, ete. . a 62. Subfamily Ralling: True Rails . 63. Subfamily Gallinuling: Gallinules . 64. Subfamily Fulicine : Coots X. Order LAMELLIROSTRES : Anserine Birds . 17. Suborder ODONTOGLOSSA: Grallatorial Anseres 51. Family Po@wicorreripaz: Flamingoes . 18. Suborder ANSERES: Anserine Birds Proper . . .« ; 52. Family Anatipm: Geese, Ducks, etc. 65. Subfamily Cygning: Swans 66. Subfamily Auserine: Geese . 67. Subfamily Anating: River Ducks 68. Subfamily Fuliguline: Sea Ducks 69. Subfamily Merging: Mergansers - XI. Order STEGANOPODES : ia aie Birds. 58. Family Sutmp#: Gannets . 54. Family Pevecanrpa: Pelicans . : 55. Family Poatacrocoracip#: Cormorants . 56. Family Puotipm: Darters 57. Family Tacnyprtipa#: Frigates 58. Family Paaiitsontips#: Tropic Birds XII. Order LONGIPENNES: Long-winged Swimmers 19. Suborder GAVLA: Slit-nosed Longwings 59. Family Lanmwa#: Gulls, Terns, etc. 70. Subfamily Lestriding: Jaegers, or Skua Gulls 71. Subfamily Zaring: Gulls . 72. Subfamily Sternine: Terns 73. Subfamily Rhynchoping: Skimmers x CONTENTS. PAGE 20. Suborder TUBINARES: Petrels. «ga F738 60. Family PRocEtLarmp®. Petrels . eo a FEB 74 Subfamily Diomedeine : Albairoaeas . W74 75. Subfamily Procellartine: Petrels 776 “XIII, Order PYGOPODES: Diving Birds . . 787 61. Family Cotympip#: Loons . . 789 62, Family Popictrepipa#: Grebes 792 63. Family Aucipm: Auks . 7 797 76. Subfamily Phaleridine : Perrot Anks, eto. . 800 77. Subfamily Alcine: Guillemots, Murres, and Auks fcoper. ° 810 PART IV. SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS OF THE FOSSIL BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. A. Tertiary Birps - . . 822 B. Cretaczous Birps . 2 2 « 825 C. Jupassic Brrps . o 6 « 829 831 AINIDEN ap, fy as stones Sabon Yay RS Gap BT AB eee ec aae fa eh ie! wer Anak Re Ye NDI a 93 a, eA BS BR Ge! Be EO ee ee) ks PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION. r presenting a new edition of the Ky to those who are interested in North American Birds, the publishers desire the author to add a word by way of preface. But little need be said of a book which speaks for itself in passing through several editions to supply that demand for a standard textbook of ornithology which this work has itself done much to create, by stimulating and satisfying an interest in one of the most delightful departments of Natural History. The part which the Kuy has taken in the evolution of the subject since 1872 is sketched in the “Historical Preface ” (pp. xxvi-xxx), first introduced in the Second Edition, 1884. Since the founding of the American Ornitholo- gists’ Union in 1883 the impetus then given to the study of birds has resulted in a momentum directly proportionate to the number of workers in this field and to the length of time these have been engaged. I could wish the fruits of such unparalleled activity were all sound and ripe, but they are not; growth has been forced to some extent in rival hot-houses, and the familiar parable of wheat and tares finds a fresh illustration. Too quick transition from an old to a new order of things in the technicalities of our subject has brought disorder, as usual. Till the pace slackens somewhat, so that we can see where we stand, I do not think it would be wise to recast the KEY. Therefore, the only change in the present edition is the addition of a Second Appendix, beginning page 897. E. C. PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION. HE second edition of the “Key,” which appeared in May, 1884, has al- ready been out of print for more than a year. Though aware of the continued: demand for a standard work of reference, the author has been unable - to meet it more promptly, having meanwhile accepted some other literary en- gagements which proved imperative in their demand upon his capacity for work. Slight as the requisite revision of this book has proven to be, it did not seem ex- vedient to go to press again without recognizing the steps American Ornithology . has taken during the past three years, though these may be called many rather than great ones. There is so little to change in the substance of the book that it has been thought decidedly best to reprint from the same plates, and put what new matter has come to hand in the form of an Appendix. However much there is that might have advantageously gone into the second edition, but did not, the author is satisfied with nearly everything that did go in, and quite ready to submit it all to the still further test of time. The transition from what some of his friends have called the “Couesian Period” may mean a change in form rather than in fact. ; The naming of our birds, as an art distinguished from the science of know- ing them, has lately been pitched in a key so high that the familiar notes of the former “Key” might jangle out of tune, or be lost entirely, were the attempt made to reset them just now. During the confusion unavoidably incident to such sweeping changes in nomenclature as we have recently made, it will be a decided benefit to the student, the sportsman, and the amateur, if not also to every working ornithologist, to be provided with a convenient means of compar- ing the older with the newer style of nomenclature we have adopted, until each one shall have grown accustomed to the change of spectacles. This accommoda- tion is afforded by the present edition, which leaves the names and their num- ii PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION. bers untouched in the body of the text, and then adjusts them to the new angle of vision in the Appendix, in parallel columns. Thus the new “Key” turns either way ; or, to vary the metaphor, the renovated structure stands Janus- faced, looking both ways at once— backward upon its old self, of which it has no cause to be ashamed; forward upon another self, of which it has much reason to be proud. The train of incidents which resulted in what may be called a nomenclatural explosion was fired at the founding of the American Ornithologists’ Union at New York, in September, 1883. As one of three persons who brought that happy episode upon an unsuspecting bird-world, which nevertheless greeted their stroke with acclamation, the author must plead a modesty act in bar of trial of his pen on that particular count. But as the honor was his of presiding over the first Congress of the Union, whilst the ideas of its tounders were shapen in- to a permanent and world-wide organization, so also it fell to his lot to appoint several committees for the despatch of business the Union at once took in hand ; and of one of these he has to speak here. This particular wheel within other wheels turned upon a resolution of the Union “that the Chairman appoint a committee of five, including himself, to whom shall be referred the question of a revision of the Classification and Nomenclature of the Birds of North America.” Having accepted the situation, the author held with his esteemed colleagues many sessions of the Committee in Washington and New York, and in April, 1885, offered to the Union the result of much joint labor. The report of the Committee being accepted, it was ordered to be printed, and it appeared in 1886 in an octavo volume of 400 pages, entitled “The Code of Nomenclature and Check-list of North American Birds, adopted by the American Ornithologists’ Union,” ete. The objects which we kept steadily in view were: first, to establish certain sound principles or canons of nomenclature applicable to zodlogy at large as well as to ornithology; and, secondly, to apply these rules consistently and effectually to the naming of North American birds. Others must be left to judge how well or ill these purposes may have been accomplished, but the simple fact is that no sooner had the book appeared than it became the standard and indeed the only recognized Nomenclator in American Omithology. That which the Committee had stamped with the seal of the Union became the current coin of the realm, other than which our venerable fowl, The Auk, should know none. PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION. iii In estimating the probable consequences for the long run, it is necessary to discriminate between any given ornithological fact and the handle we may agree to give that fact. The former is a natural fixity, the latter is a movable furni- ture; the former is subject to no authority we can set up, the latter is wholly ar- bitrary, determinable at our pleasure. Uniformity of nomenclature is so obvious and decided a practical convenience that even at the risk of seeming to laud work in which he had a hand, the author cannot too strongly urge compliance with the Union’s code, and adherence to the set of names the Union has adopted. These may not be the best possible, but they are the best we have. The author's insistence upon this point does not of course extend to any case where an error of ornithological fact may appear. That is an entirely different matter. Reserving to himself, as he certainly does, the right of indi- vidual judgment in every question of ornithological science, he is the last to persuade others to refrain from equal freedom of expert opinion. “So many men, so many minds,” even when the number is only five; no individual opinion is necessarily reflected upon any point in the Code and Check-list ; it is the collec- tive voice of a majority of the Committee that is heard in every instance. The occasion for individual dissent on the part of any member of that body, as of any other writer upon the subject, arises when in his private capacity as an author he has, as it were, to pass upon and approve or disapprove any results of the labors of others. The Appendix to the present edition of the “Key” unavoidably brings up such an occasion. Yet that he may not even seem to reflect upon any of his co-workers, his criticism express or implied has been sedulously reduced to its lowest terms. It consists chiefly in declining to admit to the “Key” some forms that the Committee have deemed worthy of recognition by name. Indeed he has preferred to err, if at all, on the other sidé, desiring to give the user of this book the later results of the whole Committee. Nevertheless he must here record an earnest protest, futile though it may be, against the fatal facility with which the system of trinomials lends itself to sad consequences in the hands of immature or inexperienced specialists. No allusion is here intended to anything that has been done, but he must reiterate what was said before (Key, p. xxvii ) respecting what may be done hereafter if more judicious conservatism than we have enjoyed of late be not brought to bear down hard upon trifling incompetents. The “trinomial tool” is too sharp to be made a toy; and even if we do not cut our own fingers with it, we are likely to cut the throat of the whole system of naming we have reared with such iv PREFACE TO .THE THIRD EDITION. care, Better throw the instrument away than use it to slice species so thin that it takes a microscope to perceive them. It may be assumed, as a safe rule of procedure, that it is useless to divide and subdivide beyond the fair average ability of ornithologists to recognize and verify the result. Named varieties of birds that require to be “compared with the types” by holding them up slant- wise in a good strong light, — just as the ladies match crewels in the milliner’s shop, — such often exist in the cabinets or in the books of their describers, but seldom in the woods and fields. E. C. SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, WasuinetTon, D.C., April, 1887. HISTORICAL PREFACE. WerE a modern Hesiod to essay — neither a cos- mogony nor a theogony — but the genesis of even the least department of human knowledge, — were he to seek the beginnings of American Ornithology, he would find it only in Chaos. For from this sprang all things, great and small alike, to pass through Night and Nemesis to the light of days which first see orderly pro- gress in the course of natural evolution, when is first estab- lished some sequence of events we recognize as causes and effects. Then there is system, and formal law ; there science becomes possi- ble ; there its possible history begins. Long was the time during which the birds of our country were known to its inhab- itants, after the fash- ion of the people of those days, — known as things of which use could be made, and studied, too, that use might be madeofthem. But this period is pre- historic; no evidence remains, save in some quaint pictograph or rudely graven image. There followed a period— shorter by far than the former one, though it endures to-day — when the same xil HISTORICAL PREFACE. birds awakened in other men an interest they could not excite ina savage breast, and the sense of beauty was felt. Use and Beauty! What may not spring from such divinely mated pair, when once they brood upon the human mind, like halcyons stilling troubled waters, sinking the instincts of the animal in the restful, satisfying reflections of the man ? : The history of American Ornithology begins at the time when men first wrote upon American birds ; for men write nothing without some reason, and to reason at all is the beginning of science, even as to reason aright is its end. The date no one can assign, unless it be arbitrarily ; it was during the latter part of the sixteenth century, which, with the whole of the seventeenth, represents the formative or embryonic period during which were gathering about the germ the crude materials out of which an ornithology of North America was to be fashioned. As these accumulated and were assimilated, — as the writings multiplied and books bred books, ‘each after its kind,” this special depart- ment of knowledge grew up, and its form changed with each new impress made upon its plastic organization. Viewing in proper perspective these three centuries and more which our subject has seen — passing in retrospect the steps of its development — we find that it offers several phases, representing as many “epochs” or major divisions, of very unequal duration, and of scientific significance inversely proportionate to their respective lengths. All that went before 1700 constitutes the first of these, which’may be termed the Archaic epoch. The eighteenth century witnessed an extraordinary event, the consequence of which to systematic zodlogy cannot be over-estimated’ ; it occurred almost exactly in the middle of the century, which is thus sharply divided into a Pre-Linnean epoch, before the institu- tion of the binomial nomenclature, and a Post-Linnean epoch, during which this technic of modern zodlogy was established, —each approximately of half a century’s duration. In respect of our particular theme, the first quarter of the nineteenth century saw the “father of American ornithology,” whose spirit pointed the crescent in the sky of the Wilsonian epoch. During the second quarter, these horns were filled with the genius of the Audubonian epoch. In the third, the plenteousness of a master mind has marked the Bairdian epoch. Clearly as these six epochs may be recognized, there is of course no break between them ; they not only meet, but merge in one another. The sharpest line is that which runs across Linneus at 1758; but even that is only visible in historical perspective, while the assignation of the dates 1700 and 1800 is rather a chronological convenience than otherwise. Nothing absolutely marks the former; and Wilson was unseen till 1808. The Archaic epoch stretches into the dim past with unshifting scene, even at the turning-point of the two centuries in which it lies. It is otherwise with the rest ; their shapes have incessantly changed; and several have been the periods in each of them dur- ing which their course of development has been accelerated or retarded, or modified in some special feature. These changes have invariably coincided with — have in fact been induced by — the appearance of some great work ; great, not necessarily in itself, but in its relation to the times, and thus in the consequences of the interaction between the times and the author who left the science other than he found it. The edifice as it stands to-day is the work of all, even of the humblest, builders; but its plan is that of the architects who have modelled its main features, and the changes they have success- HISTORICAL PREFACE. xili ively wrought are the marks of progress. It is consequently possible, and it will be found convenient, to subdivide the epochs named (excepting the first) into lesser natural inter- vals of time, which may be called “ periods,” to each of which may attach the name of ‘the architect whose design is expressed most clearly. I recognize fifteen such periods, of very unequal duration, to which specific dates may attach. Seven of these fall in the last century ; eight in the three-quarters of the present century. We may pass them in brief review. Tue Aronatc Epocu: 0 1700. Mere mention or fragmentary notice of North American birds may be traced back to the middle of the sixteenth century ; but, up to the eighteenth, no book entirely and exclusively devoted to the subject had appeared. The Turkey and the Humming-bird were among the earliest to appear in print ; the latter forms the subject of the earliest paper-I have found, exclusively and formally treating of any North American bird as such, and this was not until 1693, when Hamersly described the “ American Tomineius,” as it was called. One of the largest, as well as the smallest of our birds, — the turkey, early came in for a share of attention. The germs of the modern “ faunal list,” —that is to say, notes upon the birds of some particular region or locality, — appeared early in the seventeenth century, and continued throughout; but only as incidental and very slight features of books published by colonists, adventurers, and missionaries, in their several interests, — unless Hernandez’s famous “Thesaurus” be brought into the present connec- tion. Among such books containing bird-matter may be noted Smith’s “ Virginia,” 1612; Hamor’s “ Virginia,” 1615 ; Whitbourne’s ‘‘ Newfoundland,” 1620; Higginson’s “New England,” 1630; Morton’s “ New English Canaan,” 1632; Wood’s “New England’s Prospect,” 1634; Sagard Theodat’s “ Voyage,” 1632; Josselyn’s “ New England’s Rarities,” 1672 ; — and so on, with a few more,— sometimes mere paragraphs, some- times a page or a formal chapter, — but scarcely anything to be now considered except in a spirit of curiosity. Tse Pre-Linnawan Epocy : 1700-1758. i (1700-1730.) The Lawsonian Period. —It may be a lueus a non to call this the “ Lawsonian” period ; but a name is needed for the portion of this epoch prior to Catesby, during which no other name is so prominent as that of John Lawson, Gentleman, Surveyor-General of North Carolina, whose “ Description and Natural History ” of that country contains one of the most considerable fannal lists of our birds which appeared before 1730, and went through many editions, — the last of these being published at Raleigh, in 1860. The several early editions devote some fifteen or twenty pages to birds, —an amount aug- mented considerably when Brickell appropriated the work in 1737. The Baron de la Hontan did similar service to Canadian birds in his “ Voyages,” 1793; but, on the whole, this period is scarcely more than archaic. (1730-1748.) The Catesbian Period. — This comprises the time when Mark Catesby’s great work was appearing by instalments. ‘‘The Natural History of Carolina, Florida,” etc, is the xiv HISTORICAL PREFACE. first really great work to come under our notice ; its influence was immediate, and is even now felt. It is the “ Audubon” of that time ; a folioin two volumes, dating respectively 1731 and 1743, with an appendix, 1748; passing to a second edition in 1754, to a third in 1771, under the supervision of Edwards ; reproduced in Germany, in “ Selig-" mann’s Sammlung,” 1749-76. It was published in parts, the date of the first of which I believe to have been 1730, though it may have been a little earlier. Volume I, contain- ing the birds, appears to have been issued in five parts, and was made up in 1731 ; it consists of a hundred colored pilates of birds, with as many leaves of text ; a few more birds are given in the appendix, raising the number to 113. These illustrations are recognizable almost without exception ; most of the species are for the first time described and figured ; they furnish the basis of many subsequently named in the Linnean system ; the work was eventually provided by Edwards with a Linnean concordance or index ; and alto- gether it is not easy to overestimate the significance of the Catesbian period, due to this one work ; for no other book requires or indeed deserves to be mentioned in the same connection, though a few contributions, of somewhat “archaic” character, were made by various writers. (1'748-1758.) The Edwardsian Period. — This bridges the interval between Catesby and the estab- lishment of the binomial nomenclature, and finishes the Pre-Linnzan epoch. No great name of exclusive pertinence to North American ornithology appears in this decade. But the great naturalist whose name is inseparably associated with that of Catesby had begun in 1741 the “ Natural History of Uncommon Birds,” which he completed in four parts or volumes, in 1751, and in which the North American element is conspicuous. This work contains two hundred and ten colored plates, with accompanying text, forming a treatise which easily ranks among the half-dozen greatest works of the kind of the Pre- Linnean epoch, and passed through several editions in different languages. Its impress upon American ornithology of the time is second only to that made by Catesby’s, of which it was the natural sequence, if not consequence It bore similarly upon birds soon to be described in binomial terms, and was shortly followed by the not less famous “Gleanings of Natural History,” 1758-64, a work of precisely the same character, and in fact a continuation of the former. Edwards also made some of our birds the subject of special papers before the Philosophical Society, as those of 1755 and 1758 upon the Ruffed Grouse and the Phalarope. It may be noted here that one of the few special papers upon any American bird which Linnzus published appeared in this period, he having in 1750 first described the Louisiana Nonpareil (Passerina ciris). This period also saw the publication of part of the original Swedish edition of Peter Kalm’s “ Travels,” 1753-61, which went through numerous editions in different languages. Kalm was a correspondent of Linneus; the genus of plants, Kalmia, commemorates his name; his work contains accounts of many of our birds, some of them the bases of Linnean species; and he also published, in 1759, a special paper upon the Wild Pigeon. As in the Catesbian period, various lesser contributions were made, but none requiring comment. Thus Lawson, as representing the continuation of a preceding epoch, and the associated names of Catesby and Edwards in the present one, have carried us past the middle of the last century. HISTORICAL PREFACE. XV Tse Post-Linnzan Epocu: 1758-1800. (1758-1766. ) The Linnean Period. An interregnum here, during which not a notable work or worker appears in North American ornithology itself. But events elsewhere occurred, the reflex action of which upon our theme is simply incalculable, fully requiring the recognition of this period. The dates, 1758-1766, are respectively those of the appear- ance of the tenth and of the twelth edition of the “Systema Nature” of Linneus. In the former the illustrious Swede first formally and consistently applied his system of nomenclature to all birds known to him;-the latter is his completed system, as it finally left his hands ; and from then to now, zodlogists and especially ornithologists have dis- puted whether 1758 or 1766 should be taken as the starting-point of zodlogical nomen- clature. In ornithology, the matter is still at issue between the American and the British schools. However this may result, the fact remains that during this ‘Linnean period,” 1758 to'1766, we have the origin of all the tenable specific names of those of our birds which were known to Linneeus; the gathering up and methodical digestion and systematic arrangement of all that had gone before. Let this scant decade stand, — mute in America, but eloquent in Sweden, and since applauded to the echo of the world. Nor is this all. The year 1760 saw the famous “Ornithologia” of Mathurin Jacques Brisson (born April 20, 1725 —died June 23, 1806), in six portly quartos with 261 folded plates, and elaborate descriptions in Latin and French of hundreds of birds, a fair pro- portion of which are North American. Many are described for the first time, though unfortunately not in the binomial nomenclature. The -work holds permanent place ; and most of the original descriptions of Brisson’s.are among the surest bases of Linnean species. (1766-1785.) The Forsterian Period. — Nearly twenty years have now elapsed with so little in- cident that two brochures determine the complexion of this period. John Reinhold Forster was a learned and able man, whose connection with North American ornithology is interesting. In 1771 he published a tract, now very scarce and of no consequence whatever, entitled “A Catalogue of the Animals of North America.” But it was the first attempt to do anything of the sort, —in short, the first thing of its kind. It gives 302 birds, neither described nor even named scientifically. But that was a large num- ber of North American birds to even mention in those days,— more than Wilson gave in 1814. Forster followed up this exploit in 1772 with an interesting and valuable account of 58 birds from Hudson’s Bay, occupying some fifty pages of the ‘‘ Philosophical Transactions.” Several of these birds were new to science, and were formally named, — such as our White-throated Sparrow, Black-poll Warbler, Hudsonian Titmouse, and Eskimo Curlew. Aside from its intrinsic merit, this paper is notable as the first formal treatise exclusively devoted to a collection of North American birds sent abroad. The period is otherwise marked by the publication in 1780 of Fabricius’ “ Fauna Groenlandica,” in which some 50 birds of Greenland receive attention ; and especially by the appearance of a great statesman and one of the Presidents of the United States in the réle of orni- thologist, Thomas Jefferson’s “Notes on the State of Virginia” having been first pri- xvi HISTORICAL PREFACE vately printed in Paris in 1782, though the authorized publication was not till 1787. It contains a list of 77 birds of Virginia, fortified with references to Catesby, Linnzus, and Brisson, as the author’s authorities. There were many editions, one dating 1853. The long publication in France of one of the monumental works on general orni- thology coincides very nearly with this period. I refer of course to Buffon and his collaborators. The “Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux,” by Buffon and Montbeillard, dates in its original edition 1770-1783, being in nine quarto volumes with 264 plain plates. It forms a part of the grand set of volumes dating 1749-1804 in their original editions. With the nine bird-volumes are associated the magnificent series of colored plates known as the “Planches Enluminées,” published in 42 fascicles from 1765 to 1781. The plates are 1008 in number, of which 973 represent birds. (1'785-1791.) # The Pennantian Period. — A great landmark — one of the most conspicuous of the last century —- was set up with the appearance in 1785 of the second volume of Thomas Pennant’s “Arctic Zoology.” The whole work, in three quarto volumes with many plates, 1784-1787, was ‘“‘designed as a sketch of the Zodlogy of North America.” In this year, also, John Latham completed the third volume (or sixth part) of his “General Synopsis of Birds.” These two great works have much in common, in so far as a more restricted treatise can be compared with a more comprehensive one; and in the history of our subject the names of Latham and Pennant are linked as closely as those of Catesby and Edwards. The parallel may be drawn still further; for neither Pennant nor Latham (up to the date in mention) used binomial names; their species had consequently no standing; but they furnished to Gmelin in 1788 the same bases of formally-named species of the thirteenth edition of the “Systema Nature,” that Catesby and Edwards had afforded Linneus in 1758 and 1766. Pennant treated up- wards of 500 nominal species of North American Birds. The events at large of this brief but important period were the progress of Latham’s Supplement to his Synopsis, the first volume of which appeared in 1787, though the second was not completed till 1801; the appearance in 1790 of Latham’s “ Index Ornithologicus,” in which his birds receive Latin names in due form; and the publication in 1788 of the thirteenth edition of the “Systema Nature,” as just said. We are so accustomed to see “Linn.” and “Gm.” after the names of our longest- known birds that we almost unconsciously acquire the notion that Linnzeus and Gmelin were great discoverers or describers of birds in those days. But the men who made North American ornithology what it was during the last century were Catesby, Edwards, Forster, Pennant, Latham, and Bartram. For “the illustrious Swede” was in this case little more than a methodical cataloguer, or systematic indexer ; while his editor, Gmelin, was merely an industrious, indiscriminate compiler and transcriber. Neither of these men discovered anything to speak of in this connection. (1791-1800.) The Bartramian Period. — William Bartram’s figure in the events we are sketching is a notable one, — rather more on account of his bearing upon Wilson’s subsequent ca- reer than of his own actual achievements. Wilson is often called the “ father of Ameri- HISTORICAL PREFACE. xvii can ornithology ;” if this designation be apt, then Bartram may be styled its godfather. Few are fully aware how much Wilson owed to Bartram, his “guide, philosopher, and friend,” who published in 1791 his “Travels through North and South Carolina,” con- taining much ornithological matter that was novel and valuable, including a formal catalogue of the birds of the Eastern United States, in which many species are named asnew. I have always contended that those of his names which are identifiable are available, though Bartram frequently lapsed from strict binomial propriety ; and the question furnishes a bone of contention to this day. Many birds which Wilson first fully described and figured were really named by Bartram, and several of the latter’s designations were simply adopted by Wilson, who, in relation to Bartram, is as the broader and clearer stream to its principal tributary affluent. The notable “Travels,” freighted with its unpretending yet almost portentous bird-matter, went through several editions and at least two translations ; and I consider it the starting-point of a distinctively American school of ornithology. We have seen, in several earlier periods, that men’s names appear in pairs, if not also as mates. -Thus, Catesby and Edwards; Linneus and Gmelin; Pennant and Latham ; and, perhaps, Buffon and Brisson. The Bartramian alter ego is not Wilson, but Barton, whose ‘‘ Fragments of the Natural History of Pennsylvania,” 1799, closed the period which Bartram had opened, and with it the century also. Benjamin Smith Barton’s tract, a folio now very scarce, is doubly a “fragment,” being at once a work never finished, and very imperfect as far as it went; but it is one of the most notable special treatises of the last century, and I think the first book published in this country that is entirely devoted to ornithology. But its author’s laurels must rest mainly upon this count, for its influence or impression upon the course of events is scarcely to be rec- ognized, —is incomparably less than that made by Bartram’s “Travels,” and-by his mentorship of Wilson. By the side of Bartram and Barton stand several lesser figures in the picture of this period. Jeremy Belknap treated the birds of New Hampshire in his ‘“ History” of that state (1792). Samuel Williams did like service for those of Vermont im his “‘ History” (1794). Samuel Hearne, a pioneer ornithologist in the northerly parts of America, fore- shadowed, as it were, the much later “Fauna Boreali-Americana” in the narrative of his journey from Hudson’s Bay to the Northern Ocean —a stout quarto published in 1795. Here a chapter of fifty pages is devoted to about as many species of birds ; and Hearne’s observations have a value which “time, the destroyer,” has not yet wholly effaced. Tae Witsontan Epocnu: 1800-1824. (1800-1808.) The Vieillotian Period. — As we round the turn of the century a great work occupies the opening years, before the appearance of Wilson, —a work by a foreigner, a French- man, almost unknown to or ignored by his contemporaries in America, although he was already the author of several illustrated works on ornithology when, in 1807, his “ Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux de Amérique Septentrionale” was completed in two large folio volumes, containing more than a hundred engravings, with text relating to several hun- dred species of birds of North America and ‘the West Indies; many of them figured for xviii HISTORICAL PREFACE. the first time, or entirely new to science. This work, bearing much the same relation to its times that Catesby’s and Edwards’ respectively did to theirs, is said to have been published in twenty-two parts of six plates each, probably during several years; but the date of its inception I have never been able to ascertain. However this may be, Vieillot, alone and completely fills a period of eight years, during which no other notable or even mentionable treatise upon North American birds saw the light. Vieillot’s case is an exceptional one. As the author of numerous splendidly illustrated works, all of which live; of a system of ornithology, most of the generic names contained in which are ingrained in the science; of very extensive encyclopedic work in which hundreds of species of birds receive new technical names: Vieillot has a fame which time rather brightens than obscures. Yet it is to be feared that the world was unkind during his lifetime. At Paris, he stood in the shadow of Cuvier’s great name; Temminck assailed him from Holland ; while, as to his work upon our birds, many years passed before it was appreciated or in any way adequately recognized. Thus, singularly, so great a work as the “Histoire Naturelle” — one absolutely characteristic of a period — had no appre- ciable effect upon the course of events till long after the times that saw its birth, when Cassin, Baird, and others brought Vieillot into proper perspective. There is so little trace of Vieillot during the Wilsonian and Audubonian epochs, that his “ Birds of North America” may almost be said to have slept for half a century. But to-day, the solitary figure of the Vieillotian period stands out in bold relief. (1808-1824.) The Wilsonian Period.— The “ Paisley weaver ;” the ‘Scotch pedler ;” the “ melan- choly poet-naturalist ;” the ‘father of American ornithology,” — strange indeed are the guises of genius, yet stranger its disguises in the epithets by which we attempt to label and pigeon-hole that thing which has no name but its own, no place but its own. Alex- ander Wilson had genius, and not much of anything else — very little learning, scarcely any money, not many friends, and a paltry share of “the world’s regard” while he lived. But genius brings a message which men must hear, and never tire of hearing; it is the word that comes when the passion that conceives is wedded with the patience that achieves. Wilson was a poet by nature, a naturalist by force of circumstances, an Ameri- can ornithologist by mere accident, — that is, if anything can be accidental in the life of aman of genius. As a poet, he missed greatness by those limitations of passion which seem so sad and so unaccountable ; as the naturalist, he achieved it by the patience that knew no limitation till death interposed. As between the man and his works, the very touchstone of genius is there; for the man was greater than all his works are. Genius may do that which satisfies all men, but never that which satisfies itself ; for its inspira- tion is infinite and divine, its accomplishment finite and human. Such is the penalty of its possession. Wilson made, of course, the epoch in which his work appeared, and I cannot restrict the Wilsonian period otherwise than by giving to Vieillot his own. The period of Wil- son’s actual authorship was brief; it began in September, 1808, when the first volume of the “ American Ornithology ” appeared, and was cut short by death before the work was finished. Wilson, having been born July 6, 1766, and come to America in 1794, died August 23, 1813, when his seventh volume was finished ; the eighth and ninth being HISTORICAL PREFACE. xix completed in 1814 by his friend and editor, George Ord. But from this time to 1824, .. when Bonaparte began to write, the reigning work was still Wilson’s, nothing appearing during these years to alter the complexion of American ornithology appreciably. Wil- son’s name overshadows nearly the whole epoch, — not that others were not then great, but that he was so much greater. This author treated about 280 species, giving faithful descriptions of all, and colored illustrations of most of them. There are numerous editions of his work, of which the principal are Ord’s, 1828-29, in three volumes; Jameson’s, 1831, in four; Jardine’s, 1832, in three; and Brewer's, 1840, in one; all of these, excepting of course the first one, containing Bonaparte’s “American Orni- thology” and other matter foreign to the original “ Wilson.” In 1814, just as “ Wilson” was finished, appeared the history of the memorable expedition under Lewis and Clarke —an expedition which furnished some material to Wilson himself, as witness Lewis’ Woodpecker, Clarke’s Crow, and the ‘“‘ Louisiana” Tanager; and more to Ord, who con- tributed to the second edition of “ Guthrie’s Geography” an article upon ornithology. Ord’s prominence in this science, however, rests mainly upon his connection with Wilson’s work, as already noted. Near the close of the Wilsonian period, Thomas Say gave us important notices of Western birds, upon the basis of material acquired through Long’s Expedition to the Rocky Mountains, the account of which appeared in 1823. In this work, Say described sundry species of birds new to science; but he was rather an ento- mologist than an ornithologist, and his imprint upon our subject is scarcely to be found outside the volume just named. A noted — some might say rather notorious — character appeared upon the scene during this period, in the person of C. S. Rafinesque, who seems to have been a genius, but one so awry that it is difficult to do aught else than mis- understand him, unless we confess that we scarcely understand him at all. In the elegant vernacular of the present day he would be called a crank ; but I presume that term means that kind of genius which fails of interpretation ; for an unsuccessful genius is a crank, and a successful crank is a genius. For the rest, the Wilsonian period was marked by great activity in Arctic exploration, in connection with the ornithological results of which appear prominently the names of William E. Leach and Edward Sabine. As illustrating the relation between Wilson and Bartram, which I have already pointedly mentioned, I may quote a few lines from Ord’s “Life of Wilson.” 1 ‘* His school-heuse and residence being but a short distance from Bartram’s Botanic Garden, situated on the west bank of the Schuylkill: a sequestered spot, possessing attractions of no ordinary kind; an acquaintance was soon contracted with that venerable naturalist, Mr. William Bartram, which grew into an uncommon friend- ship, and continued without the least abatement until severed by death. Here it was that Wilson found him- self translated, if we may so speak, into a new existence. He had long been a lover of the works of Nature, and had derived more happiness from the contemplation of her simple beauties, than from any other source of gratifi- cation. But he had hitherto been a mere novice ; he was now about to receive instructions from one whom the experiences of a long life, spent in travel and rural retirement, had rendered qualified to teach. Mr. Bartram soon perceived the bent of his friend’s mind, and its congeniality to his own; and took every pains to encourage him in a study, which, while it expands the faculties, and purifies the heart, insensibly leads to the contemplation of the glorious Author of Nature himself. _ From his youth Wilson had been an observer of the manners of birds; and since his arrival in America he had found them objects of uncommon interest; but he had not yet viewed them with the eye of a naturalist.” This was about 1800 —rather a little later. Wilson’s ‘ novitiate’? was the Vieillotian period, almost exactly. Bartram survived till July 22, 1823, his eighty-fourth year; the date of his death thus coinciding very nearly with the close of the Wilsonian epoch and period. xx HISTORICAL PREFACE. Tue Avupupontan Epocu: 1824-1853. (1824-1831.) The Bonapartian Period. A princely person, destined to die one of the most famous of modern naturalists Charles Lucien Bonaparte, early conceived and executed the plan of continuing Wilson’s work in similar style, if not in the same spirit. He began by publishing a series of ‘Observations on the Nomenclature of Wilson’s Orni- thology,” in the “Journal” of the Philadelphia Academy, 1824-25, republished in an octavo volume, 1826. This valuable critical commentary introduced a new feature, — decided changes in nomenclature resulting from the sifting and rectification of synonymy. It is here that questions of synonymy — to-day the bane and drudgery of the working naturalist — first acquire prominence in the history of our special subject. There had been very little of it before, and Wilson himself, the least “bookish” of men, ,gave it scarcely any attention. Bonaparte also in 1825 added several species to our fauna upon material collected in Florida by the now venerable Titian R. Peale, — whose honored name is thus the first of those of men still living to appear in these annals. Bonaparte’s “ American Ornithology,” uniform with “Wilson,” and generally incorporated therewith in subsequent editions, as a continuation of Wilson’s work, was originally published in four large quarto volumes, running 1825-33. The year 1827, in the midst of this work of Bonaparte’s, was a notable one in several particulars. Bonaparte himself was very busy, producing a “Catalogue of the Birds of the United States,” which, with a “Supplement,” raised the number of species to 366, and of genera to 83; nearly a hundred species having been thus become known to us since Ord laid aside the pen that Wilson had dropped. William Swainson the same year described a number of new Mexican species and genera, many of which come also into the “ North American” fauna. But the most notable event of the year was the appearance of the first five parts of Audubon’s elephant folio plates. In 1828-29, as may also be noted, Ord brought out his three-vol. 8vo edition of Wilson. In 1828, Bonaparte returned to the charge of systematically cata- loguing the birds of North America, giving now 382 species; and about this time he also produced a comparative list of the birds of Rome and Philadelphia. His main work having been completed in 1833, as just said, Bonaparte continued his labors with a “Geographical and Comparative List of the Birds of Europe and North America,” published in London in 1838. This brochure gives 503 European and 471 American species. The celebrated zodlogist wrote until 1857, but his connection with North American birds was only incidental after 1838. The period here assigned him, 1824— 1831, may seem too short: but this was the opening of the Audubonian epoch—a period of brilliant inception, and one in which events that were soon to mature their splendid fruit came crowding fast; so that room must be made at once for others who were early in the present epoch. (1831-1832.) The Swainsonio-Richardsonian Period. The “Fauna Boreali-Americana,” the ornithological volume of which was published in 1831, made an impression so indelible that a period, albeit a brief one, must be put here. The technic of this celebrated HISTORICAL PREFACE. xxl treatise, more valuable for its descriptions of new species and genera than for its methods of classification, was by William Swainson, as were the elegant and accurate colored plates ; the biographical matter, by Dr. (later Sir) John Richardson, increased our knowl- edge of the life-history of the northerly birds so largely, that it became a fountain of facts to be drawn upon by nearly every writer of prominence from that day to this, Each of the distinguished authors had previously appeared in connection with our birds, — Swainson as above said; Richardson in 1825, in the appendix to Captain Parry’s “ Journal.” The influence of the work on the whole cannot be well overstated. Two events, besides the appearance of the “ Fauna,” mark the year 1831. One of these is the publication of the first volume of Audubon’s “ Ornithological Biography,” being the beginning of the text belonging to his great folio plates. The other is the completion of the bird-volumes of Peter Pallas’ famous “‘ Zoographia Rosso-Asiatica,” one of the most important contributions ever made to our subject, treating so largely as it does of the birds of the region now called Alaska. The same year saw also the Jameson edition of “ Wilson and Bonaparte.” (1832-1834.) The Nuttallian Pertod.—Thomas Nuttall (born 1786—died 1859) was rather botanist than ornithologist ; but the travels of this distinguished English-American naturalist made him the personal acquaintance of many of our birds, his love for which bore fruit in his “ Manual of the Ornithology of the United States and Canada,” of which the first volume appeared in 1832, the second in 1834. The work is notable as the first “ hand- book” of the subject ; it possesses an agreeable flavor, and I think was the first formal treatise, excepting Wilson’s, to pass to a second edition, as it did in 1840. Nuttall’s name is permanent in our annals; and many years after he wrote, the honored title was chosen to be borne by the first. distinctively ornithological association of this country, — the “Nuttall Ornithological Club,” founded at Cambridge in 1873, and still flourishing. (1834-1853.) The Audubonian Period. — Meanwhile, the incomparable work of Audubon —~ “the greatest monument erected by art to nature” — was steadily progressing. The splendid genius of the man, surmounting every difficulty and discouragement of the author, had found and claimed its own. That which was always great had come to be known and named as such, victorious in’ its impetuous yet long-enduring battle with that curse of the world, —I mean the commonplace; the commonplace, with which genius never yet effected a compromise, since genius is necessarily a perpetual menace to mediocrity. Audubon and his work were one; he lived in his work, and in his work will live forever. When did Audubon die. We may read, indeed, ‘‘on Thurs- day morning, January 27th, 1851, when a deep pallor overspread his countenance. ... Then, though he did not speak, his eyes, which had been so long nearly quenched, rekindled with their former lustre and beauty; his spirit seemed to be conscious that it was approaching the Spirit-land.” And yet there are those who are wont to exclaim, “a soul! a soul! what is that?” Happy indeed are they who are conscious of its existence in themselves, and who can see it in others, every instant of time during their lives ! xxii ; HISTORICAL PREFACE. _ Audubon’s first publication, perhaps, was in 1826,—an account of the Turkey- buzzard, in the “Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal,” and some other minor notices came from his pen. But his energies were already focused on his life-work, with that intense and perfect absorption of self. which only genius knows. The first volume of the magnificent folio plates, an hundred in number, appeared in 1827-30, in five parts ; the second, in 1831-34, of the same number of plates; the third, in 1834-35, likewise of the same number of plates; the whole series of 4 volumes, 87 parts, 435 plates and 1065 figures of birds, being completed in June, 1839. Meanwhile, the text of the “Birds of America,” entitled “ Ornithological Biography,” was steadily progressing, the first of these royal octavo volumes appearing in 1831, the fifth and last in 1839. In this latter year also appeared the “Synopsis of the Birds of North America,” a single handy volume serving as a systematic index to the whole work. In 1840-44 appeared the standard octavo edition in seven volumes, with the plates reduced to octavo size and the text rearranged systematically ; with a later and better nomenclature than that given in the “ Ornithological Biography,” and some other changes, including an appendix describing various new species procured during the author’s journey to the upper Mis- souri in 1843. In the original elephant folios there were 435 plates ; with the reduction in size the number was raised to 483, by the separation of various figures which had previously occupied the same plate; and to these 17 new ones were added, making 500 in all. The species of birds treated in the “ Synopsis” are 491 in number; those in the work, as it finally left the illustrious author’s hands, are 506 in number, nearly all of them splendidly figured in colors. In estimating the influence of so grand an accomplishment as this, we must not leave Audubon “alone in his glory.” Vivid and ardent was his genius; matchless he was both with pen and pencil in giving life and spirit to the beautiful objects he delineated with passionate love ; but there was a strong and patient worker by his side, — William Macgillivray, the countryman of Wilson, destined to lend the sturdy Scotch fibre to an Audubonian epoch. The brilliant French-American naturalist was little of a “scientist.” Of his work, the magical beauties of form and color and movement are all his ; his page is redolent of Nature’s fragrance: but Macgillivray’s are the bone and sinew, the hidden anatomical parts beneath the lovely face, the nomenclature, the classification, —in a word, the technicalities of the science. Not that Macgillivray was only a closet-naturalist ; he was a naturalist in the best sense—in every sense —of the word, and the “vital spark” is gleaming all through his works upon British birds, showing his intense and loyal love of Nature in all her moods. But his place in the Audubonian epoch in American ornithology is as has been said. The anatomical struc- ture of American birds was first disclosed in any systematic manner, and to any consider- able extent, by him. But only to-day, as it were, is this most important department of ornithology assuming its rightful place; and have we a modem Maggillivray to come 1 ; The sensuous beauty with which Audubon endowed the object of his life was long in acquiring, with loss of no comeliness, the aspect more strict and severe of a later and maturer epoch. Audubon was practically accomplished in 1844, the year which saw his completed work ; but I note no special or material change in the course of events, — no name of assured prominence, till 1853, when a new régime, that had meanwhile been HISTORICAL PREFACE. t Xxiii insensibly established, may be considered to have closed the Andubonian epoch, — the Audubonian period thus extending through the nine years after 1844. While Audubon was finishing, several mentionable events occurred. I have already spoken of Bonaparte’s “ List” of 1838, and of the 1840 edition of Nuttall’s “ Manual.” Richardson in 1837 contributed to the Report of the Sixth Meeting of the British Asso- ciation for the Advancement of Science an elaborate and important “Report on North American Zodlogy,” relating in due part to birds. The distinguished Danish naturalist, Reinhardt, wrote a special treatise on Greenland Birds, 1838; W. B. O. Peabody one upon the birds of Massachusetts, 1839. The important Zoblogy of Captain Beechey’s Voyage appeared in 1839, with the birds done by N. A. Vigors. Maximilian, Prince of Wied, published his “Reise in das Innere Nord-America” in 1839-41. Sixteen new species of birds from Texas were described and figured by J. P. Giraud in 1841, and the same author’s useful “Birds of Long Island” was published in 1844. This year saw also the bird-volume of De Kay’s “ Zotlogy of New York.” The Rev. J. H. Linsley furnished a notable catalogue of the birds of Connecticut in 1843. A name intimately associated with Audubon’s is that of J. K. Townsend, whose fruitful travels in the West in company with Nuttall in 1834 resulted in adding to our list the many new species which were published by Townsend himself in 1837, and also utilized by Audubon. Townsend’s “Narrative” of his journey appeared in 1839; and the same year saw the beginning of a large work which Townsend projected, an ‘‘ Ornithology of the United States,” which, however, progressed no further than one part or number, being killed by the octavo edition of Audubon. In 1837 I first find the name of a friend of Audubon which often appears in his work —that of Dr. Thomas Mayo Brewer, who wrote on the birds of Massachusetts in this year, and in 1840 brought out his use- ful and convenient duodecimo edition of “‘ Wilson,” in one volume. In 1844, Audubon’s last effectual year, the brothers Wm. M. and S. F. Baird appear, with a list of the birds of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, having the year previously, in July, 1843, described two new species of flycatchers, in the first paper ever written by the one who was to make the succeeding epoch; and it is significant that the last bird in Audubon’s work was named “Emberiza bairdit.” Such were the aspects of the ornithological sky as the glorious Audubonian sun approached and passed the zenith ; still more significant were the signs of the times as that orb neared its golden western horizon. In the interval between 1844 and 1853, Baird and Brewer continued; Cassin and Lawrence appeared in various papers; and round these names are grouped those of William Gambel, with new and interesting ob- servations in the Southwest; of George A. McCall and S. W. Woodhouse, in the same connection; and of Holbéll in respect of Greenland birds. The most important con- tributions were the several papers published by Gambel, in 1845 and subsequently, and Baird’s Zodlogy of Stansbury’s Expedition, 1852. But no period-marking, still less epoch- making, work accelerated the setting of the sun of Audubon. Tar Barrpian Erocn: 1853-18 —. (1853-1858.) The Cassinian Period. — While much material was accumulating from ees explora- tion of the great West, and the Bairdian period was rapidly nearing ; while Brewer and xxiv ; HISTORICAL PREFACE. Lawrence were continuing their studies and writings, and many other names of lesser note were contributing their several shares to the whole result: the figure of John Cassin stands prominent. Cassin was born September 6, 1813, and passed from view in the Quaker City, January 10, 1869. Numerous valuable papers and several important works attest the assiduity and success with which he cultivated his favorite science to the end of his days. I think that his first paper was the description of a new hawk, Cymindis wilsont, in 1847. Among his most important works are the Ornithology of the Wilkes Exploring Expedition ; of the Perry Japan Expedition ; and of the Gilliss Expedition to Chili. Aside from his strong codperation with Baird in the great work to be presently noticed, Cassin’s seal is set upon North American ornithology in the beautiful book begun in 1853 and finished in 1856, entitled “Illustrations of the Birds of California,” etc., forming a large octavo volume, illustrated with fifty colored plates. His distinc- tive place in ornithology is this: he was the only ornithelogist this country has ever produced who was as familiar with the birds of the Old World as with those of America. Enjoying the facilities of the then unrivalled collection of the Philadelphia Academy, his monographic studies were pushed into almost every group of birds of the world at large. He was patient and laborious in the technic of his art, and full of book-learning in the history of his subject ; with the result, that the Cassinian period, largely by the work of Cassin himself, is marked by its “bookishness,” by its breadth and scope in ornithology at large, and by the first decided change since Audubon in the aspect of the classification and nomenclature of the birds of our country. The Cassinian period marks the culmination of the changes that wrought the fall of the Audubonian sceptre in all that relates to the technicalities of the science, and consequently represents the beginning of a new epoch. The peers of this period are only three, — Lawrence, Brewer, and Baird. The for- mer of these, already an eminent ornithologist, continued his rapidly succeeding papers and was preparing his share of Baird’s great work of 1858; though later his attention be- came so closely fixed upon the birds of Central and South America, that a “ Lawrencian period” is to be found in the history of the ornithology of those countries rather than of our own. Dr. Brewer’s various articles appeared, and in 1857 this author, so well known since Audubonian times, became the recognized leading odlogist of North America, through the publication of the first part of his “ North American Odlogy ” —a work unfor- tunately suspended at this point. Though thus fragmentary, this quarto volume stands as the first systematic treatise published in this country exclusively devoted to odlogy, and giving a considerable series of colored illustrations of eggs. Buta larger measure of the world’s regard became his much later, when, in 1874, appeared the great “ History of North American Birds,” in three quarto volumes, all the biographical matter of which was by him ; and, even as I write, two more volumes are about to appear, in which he has like large share. Thus closely is the name of Brewer identified with the progress of the science for nearly half a century, — from 1837 at least, to 1884, some four years after his death, which occurred January 23, 1880. He was born in Boston, November 21, 1814. Baird published little during the Cassinian period, being then intent upon the great work about to appear; but the number of workers in special fields attests the activity of the times. S. W. Woodhouse published his completed observations upon the birds of the Southwest in an illustrated octavo volume. Zadock Thompson’s “ Natural History HISTORICAL PREFACE. XXV of Vermont” (1853) paid attention to the birds of that state. Birds of Wisconsin were catalogued by P. R. Hoy; of Ohio, by M. C. Read and Robert Kennicott ; of Illinois, by H. Pratten ; of Indiana, by R. Haymond ; of Massachusetts, by F. W. Putnam; and various other ‘‘faunal lists”? and local annotations appeared, including President Jeffer- son’s Virginian ornithology, three-quarters of a century out of date. Dr. T. C. Henry and Dr. A. L. Heermann wrote upon birds of the Southwest ; Reinhardt continued ob- servations on Greenland birds; Dr. Henry Bryant published some valuable papers. The since very eminent English ornithologist, Dr. P. L. Sclater, appeared during this period in the present connection. The series of Pacific Railroad Reports, which were to culminate, so far as ornithology is concerned, with the famous ninth volume, were in progress ; the sixth volume, containing Dr. J. S. Newherry’s valuable and interesting article upon the birds of California and Oregon, was published in 1857. Thus the Cassinian period, besides being marked as already said in its broader features, was notable in its details for the increase in the number of active workers, the extent and variety of their independent observations, and the consequent accumulation of materials ready to be worked into shape and system. (1858-18—.) The Batrdian Period. — The ninth volume of the “ Pacific Railroad Reports ” was an epoch-making work, bearing the same relation to the times that the respective works of Audubon and Wilson had sustained in former years. A great amount of material — not all of which is more than hinted at in the foregoing paragraph — was at the service of Professor Baird. In the hands of a less methodical, learned, and sagacious naturalist, — of one less capable of elaborating and systematizing, — the result would probably have been an ordinary official report upon the collections of birds secured during a few years by the naturalists of the several explorations and surveys for a railroad route from the Mississippi Valley to the Pacific Ocean. But having already transformed the eighth volume of the Reports from such a “public document” into a systematic treatise on North American Mammals, this author did the same for the birds of North America, with the codperation of Cassin and Lawrence. This portly quarto volume, published in 1858, represents the most important and decided single step ever taken in North Ameri- can ornithology in all that relates to the technicalities of the science. It effected a revolution — one already imminent in consequence of Cassin’s studies — in classification and nomenclature, nearly all the names of our birds which had been in use in the Audubonian epoch being changed in accordance with more modern usages’ in generic and specific determinations. While the work contains no biographical matter, — nothing of the life-history of birds, it gives lucid and exact diagnoses of the species and genera known at the time, with copious synonymy and critical commentary. Various new genera are characterized, and many new species are described. The influence of the great work was immediate and widespread, and for many years the list of names of the 738 species contained in the work remained a standard of nomenclature from which few desired or indeed were in position to deviate. The value of the work was further enhanced in 1860 by its republication, identical in the text, but with the addition of an atlas of 100 colored plates. Many of these plates were the same as those which had appeared in other volumes of the Pacific Railroad Reports, notably the sixth and tenth XXVi HISTORICAL PREFACE. and twelfth (the two latter volumes having appeared in 1859) ; others were those con- tained in the “Mexican Boundary Report” which had appeared under Professor Baird’s editorship.in 1859; about half of them were new. I have spoken of the collaboration of Cassin and Lawrence in the production of this remarkable. treatise. Considering it only as one of a series of reports upon the Pacific Railroad Surveys, I should bring into somewhat of association the names of those who contributed the ornithological portions of other volumes, as the fourth, sixth, tenth, and twelfth, — Dr. C. B. R. Kennerly, Dr. J. 8. Newberry, Dr. A. L. Heermann, Dr. J. G. Cooper, and Dr, George Suckley. Nor should it be forgotten that numberless other col- lectors and contributors, whose specimens are catalogued throughout the volume, brought their hands to bear upon the erection of this grand monument. But what of the genius of this work ?— for I have not measured my words in speak- ing of Wilson and Audubon.’ Can any work be really great without that mysterious quality ? Certainly not. This work is instinct with the genius of the times that saw its birth. This work is the spirit of an epoch embodied. But here I must pause. My little sketch is brought upon the threshold of contem- poraneous history, — to the beginning of the Bairdian period, of the close of which, as of the duration of the Bairdian epoch, it is not.for me to speak. When the splendid achievements of American ornithologists during the past quarter of a century shall be seen in historical perspective; when the brilliant possibilities of our near future shall have become the realizations of a past; when the glowing names that went before shall have fired another generation with a noble zeal, a lofty purpose, and a generous emulation —- then, perhaps, the thread here dropped may be recovered by another hand. Yet a few words of Preface proper to the present work appear to be required. The original edition of the “Key” -was published in October, 1872, in an issue of about 2,200 copies. It was not.stereotyped, and has been for some years entirely out of print. It formed an imperial octavo of 361 pages, illustrated with 238 woodcuts in the text and 6 steel plates. It was designed asa manual or text-book of North American Ornithology. To meet this design, the Introduction consisted of a general account of the external characters of ‘birds, an explanation of the technical terms used in describing them, and some exposition of the leading principles of classification and nomenclature. An artificial “key” or analysis of the genera, constructed upon a plan found practically useful in botany, but seldom applied to zoélogy, was introduced, to enable one who had some knowledge of the technical terms to refer a given specimen 'to its proper genus. Then, in the body ofthe work, each species was briefly described, with indication of its geographical distribution and references to several leading authorities. The families and orders of North American birds were also’ characterized, and a synopsis of the fossil birds was appended. The work introduced many decided changes in classification and nomen- clature which the then state of the science seemed to require, and systematically recog- nized a large number of those subspecies or geographical races which are now indicated. by. the use of trinomial nomenclature, — a method now fully established and recognized as peculiar to the “ American school.” The central idea of the treatise was to enable one HISTORICAL PREFACE. XXvii to identify and label his specimens, though he might have no other knowledge of orni- thology than such as the book itself gave him. I have been given to understand that ‘the work has answered its purpose, and has had a useful career; and I have long since been advised by my esteemed publishers that they were ready to issue a second edition, which I have only just now found time to complete. The present edition of the ‘‘ Key ” is conceived in the same spirit as the former one, to fulfil precisely the same purpose. But it has been entirely rewritten, and is quite another work, though the old title is preserved. An author who practises his profession diligently for twenty years is apt to find fault with his first book, and seek to remedy its defects when opportunity offers. It has become quite clear to me, as it doubtless has to others, that the old ‘“ Key” no longer turns in the lock with ease and precision, — not that it has rusted from disuse, but that the more complicated mechanism of the lock re- quires its key to be refitted. During no previous period has our knowledge gone faster or farther or more surely than in the interval between the two editions of the ‘“ Key ;” there are scores of active and enthusiastic workers where there was one before ; scores of important treatises have appeared ; the literature of the subject has been searched, sifted, and systematized ; every corner of our country has been ransacked for birds, and the list of our species and subspecies has reached about 900 by the many late discoveries ; active interest in this branch of science is no longer confined to professed ornithologists ; the importance of avian anatomy is as fully recognized as is the beauty of the life-history of birds ; a distinctively American school of ornithology has grown up, introducing radical changes in nomenclature and classification ; a quarterly journal of ornithology has reached its ninth annual volume ; an American Ornithologists’ Union, the membership of which extends to every quarter of the globe, has been founded. So rapid, indeed, has been the progress, and so radical the changes wrought during the last few years, that I doubt not this is the time to take our bearings anew and proceed with judicious conservatism. Neither do I doubt that just at this moment a new departure is imminent, hinging upon the establishment of the American Ornithologists’ Union. It behooves us, therefore, to consider the question, not alone of where we stand to-day, but also, of whither we are tending ; for we are certainly in a transition state, and not even the near future can as yet be accurately forecast. The pliability and elasticity of our trinomial system of nomenclature is very great ; and the method lends itself so readily to the nicest discriminations of geographical races, — of the finest shades of variation in sub- specific characters with climatic and other local conditions of environment, that our new toy may not impossibly prove a dangerous instrument, if it be not used with judgment and cau- tion. We seem to be in danger of going too far, if not too fast, in this direction. It is not to ery “halt!” — for any advance is better than any standstill ; but it is to urge prudence, caution, and circumspection, lest we be forced to recede ingloriously from an untenable position, — that these words are penned, with a serious sense of their necessity. In the present unsettled and perplexing state of our nomenclature, when appeal to no “authority ” or ultimate jurisdiction is possible, it is well to formulate and codify some canons of nomenclature by which to agree to abide. It is well to apply such canons rigidly, with thorough sifting of synonymy, no matter what precedents be disre- garded, what innovations be caused. It is well to use trinomials for subspecific deter- minations. But it is not well to overdo the “variety business ;” feather-splitting is XXviii HISTORICAL PREFACE. no better than hair-splitting, and the liberties of the “American idea” must never degenerate into license. Our action in this regard must stop short of a point where an unfavorable reaction would be the inevitable result. But I have digressed, in saying a warning word, from the point of the conclusion of this Preface, which is simply to describe the new edition of the “ Key” with special reference to its difference from the former one. The classification and nomenclature are materially different, in consequence of the progress of our knowledge during the past twelve years. In 1873, a year after the old “Key” appeared, I published a “ Check List,” con- formed exactly with the nomenclature of the ‘‘ Key.” In 1882, when I had recast the “‘ Key,” I published a second edition of the “ Check List” in conformity with the new “ Key.” The present work, therefore, gives the same names, with scarcely any variance, though with a few additional ones; the new “Check List” and the new “ Key” being practically one in all that pertains to nomenclature, and representing a particular phase of the subject. The numbering of the species, also, corresponds with that in the “ Check List.” Part I. of the present work consists of my “ Field Ornithology,” originally published as a separate treatise in 1874, and now for the first time incorporated with the “Key.” It is reprinted nearly verbatim, but with some little amplification towards its end, and the intro- duction of a few illustrations. Part II. consists of the introductory matter of the old ‘‘ Key,” very greatly amplified. In its present shape it is a sort of “ Closet Ornithology ” as distinguished from a “ Field Ornithology ;” being a treatise on the classification and structure of birds, explaining and defining the technical terms used in ornithology, —in short, teaching the principles of the science and illustrating their application. Part III., the main body of the work, describes all the species and subspecies of North American birds known to me, defines the genera, and characterizes the families and higher groups. The descriptions are much more elaborate than those of the old “ Key,” and I trust that such amplification has been made without loss of that sharpness of definition which was the aim of the first edition. I have kept steadily in view my main purpose — the ready identification of specimens. In many cases I have drawn upon my other works — such as the “ Birds of the Colorado Valley,” the “ Birds of the North- west,” and several of my Monographs, — for available ready-made descriptions ; but for the most part the matter of this kind is new. Scarcely any of this part of the old “ Key ” remains as it was. One improvement, I think, will be found in the removal of the unnecessary references to authorities which closed the descriptive paragraphs of the old “ Key,” and the utilization of the space thus gained by introducing terse biograph- ical items, with special reference to nests and eggs, to song, flight, migrative and other habits ; the technical descriptions of the species thus also epitomizing the life-history of the birds. Geographical distribution is also more fully treated, as its importance de- serves. More attention has been paid to the description of the plumages of females and young birds. The specific names head their respective paragraphs, instead of tailing-off the same; they are also marked for accent, and their etymology is concisely stated, — though for this matter the student should continue to use the new “Check List.” As regards the artificial “key to the genera” of the old work, it has proven that too much was attempted in undertaking to carry the student at once to our refined mod- ern genera. I have accordingly substituted artificial keys to the orders and families ; HISTORICAL PREFACE. xxix and throughout the work have analyzed species under their respective genera, these under their subfamilies or families, and these again under their orders. Part IV. consists of a Synopsis of the Fossil birds of North America, corresponding to the appendix of the old ‘“‘ Key,” but augmented by later discoveries. As before, this part of the work has been revised by Professor O. C. Marsh. In the mechanical execution of the work, it has been my aim to compress the most matter into the least space and leave no waste paper, in order to keep the treatise within a single portable volume of convenient text-book size. I judge that there is nearly four times as much matter in the present volume as there was in the original edition, the page being much more closely printed, in a smaller type, and on thinner paper. The old “ Key” was insufficiently illustrated, and the average character of the cuts was not entirely satisfactory. The present edition more than doubles the number of illustrations. These are in part original, in part derived from various sources, all of which are duly accredited in the text. The basis of the series is of course the cuts of the former edition ; but many of these have been discarded and replaced by better ones. About fifty of the most effective engravings were secured by my publishers from Brehm’s “Thierleben ;” nearly as many more are from Dixon’s “ Rural Bird Life,” the American edition of which is owned by the same firm. A few have been copied from D. G. Elliot’s “ Birds of America,” and a few others from the Proceedings of the Zotlogical Society of London. About fifty of the prettiest ones were drawn by Mr. Edwin Sheppard and en- graved by Mr. H. H. Nichols, expressly for this edition. Another set—- how many there are of them I do not know —are from my own drawings, and have mostly appeared in other of my publications. Several of Mr. R. Ridgway’s drawings have been placed at my service, through his kind attentions, and with Professor Baird’s permission. I am in- debted to Dr. R. W. Shufeldt, U. 8. A., for about thirty original anatomical drawings, as well as for the colored frontispiece. Mr. Henry W. Elliott has kindly put at my dis- position several of his own artistic compositions, and I have received some very beautiful engravings with the compliments of the Century Company of New York. It is always agreeable to pay one’s respects when due, and acknowledge assistance and encouragement received in the preparation of one’s books. Yet what an embarrass- ment is mine now! For there is no writer of repute on North Amenvan ornithology, and scarcely a leader of the science at large, who has not assisted in the making of the “ Key ;” and there is no reader of the work who has not encouraged its author to produce this new edition. I am trebly in debt, —to thousands whose names I know not; to hundreds I only know by name and fame; to scores of tried and trusted friends. But let me say how much I am indebted to my vompositors and proof-readers of the University Press at Cambridge for the skill with which they have turned copy into print, and to the proprietors of that justly-celebrated establishment for the pains they have taken in making the book an example of beautiful and accurate typography: Let me recognize here the liberality and generosity of my friend, Mr. Dana Estes, senior of the firm of Estes and Lauriat, in permitting me to make the book to suit myself, and in sparing no expense to which he might be put in consequence. Let me not forget that during its preparation, as for many years previously, I have enjoyed to the fullest extent the privileges of the Smithsonian Institution and the National Museum, through the courtesy of Professor Baird, my access to the great collection of birds being always facili- XXX HISTORICAL PREFACE. tated by the attentions of Mr. Robert Ridgway, the Curator of Ornithology. And may that less tangible but not less real source of strength which inheres in the sympathetic and genial intercourse of a lifetime continue to be mine to draw upon, for all my works, from my warm friend, J. A. Allen, the first President of the American Ornithologists’ Union. ; “ Prefaces,” says some one, “ever were and still are but of two sorts; . . . still the author keeps to his old and wonted method of prefacing, when, at the beginning of his book he enters, either with a halter about his neck, submitting himself to his reader’s mercy whether he shall be hanged, or no; or else in a huffing manner he appears, with the halter in his hand, and threatens to hang his reader, if he gives him not his good word.” But I wish neither to hang nor be hanged; I wish the work were better than it is, for my reader’s sake ; I wish the author were better than he is, for my own sake ; and above all I wish that every author may rise superior to his best work, to the end that the man himself be judged above his largest achievements. It is well to do great things, but better still to be great. E. C. Smirusoni1an InstiTurion, Wasuineton, D.C., Aprit, 1884. Part IL FIELD ORNITHOLOGY: BEING A MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION FOR COLLECTING, PREPARING, AND PRESERVING BIRDS. ITELD ORNITHOLOGY must lead the way to Systematic and Descriptive Ornithology. The study of Birds in the field is an indispensable prerequisite to their study in the library and the museum. Directions for observing and collecting birds, for preparing and pre- serving them as objects of natural history, will greatly help the student on his way to become a successful Ornithologist, if he will faithfully and intelligently observe them. It is believed that the practical Instructions which the author has to give will, if followed out, enable any one who has the least taste or aptitude for such pursuits to become proficient in the necessary qualifications of the good working ornithologist. These instructions are derived from the writer’s own experience, reaching in time over twenty years, and extending in area over large portions of North America. Having made in the field the personal acquaintance of most species of North American birds, and having shot and skinned with his own hands several thousand specimens, he may reasonably venture to speak with confidence, if not also with authority, respecting methods of study and manipulation. Feeling so much at home in the field, with his gun for destroying birds, and his instruments for preserving their skins, he wishes to-put the most inexperienced student equally at ease; and therefore begs to lay formality aside, that he may address the reader familiarly, as if chatting with a friend on a subject of mutual interest. § 1.—IMPLEMENTS FOR COLLECTING, AND THEIR USE. The Double-barrelled Shot Gun is your main reliance. Under some circumstances you may trap or snare birds, catch them with bird-lime, or use other devices; but such cases are exceptions to the rule that you will shoot birds, and for this purpose no weapon compares with the one just mentioned. The soul of good advice respecting the selection of a gun is, Get the best one you can afford to buy ; go the full length of your purse in the matters of material and workmanship. To say nothing of the prime requisite, safety, or of the next most desirable quality, efficiency, the durability of a high-priced gun makes it cheapest in the end. 1 2 FIELD ORNITHOLOGY. Style of finish is obviously of little consequence, except as an index of other qualities; for inferior guns rarely, if ever, display the exquisite appointments that mark a first-rate arm. There is really so little choice among good guns that nothing need be said on this score; you cannot miss it if you pay enough to any reputable maker or reliable dealer. But collecting is a specialty, and some guns are better adapted than others to your particular purpose, which is the’ destruction, as a rule, of small birds, at moderate range, with the least possible injury to their plumage. Probably three-fourths or more of the birds of a miscellaneous collection average under the size of a pigeon, and were shot within thirty yards. A heavy gun is there- fore unnecessary, in fact ineligible, the extra weight being useless. You will find a gun of 74 to 8 pounds weight most suitable. For similar reasons the bore should be small; I prefer 14 gauge, and should not think of going over 12. To judge from the best sporting authorities, length of barrel is of less consequence than many suppose; for myself, I incline to a rather long barrel, — one nearer 33 than 28 inches, —believing that such a barrel may throw shot better; but Iam not sure that this is even the rule, while it is well known that several circumstances of loading, besides some almost inappreciable differences in the way barrels are bored, will cause guns apparently exactly alike to throw shot differently. Length and crook of stock should of course be adapted to your figure, —a gun may be made to fit you, as well as a coat. For wild-fowl shooting, and on some other special occasions, a heavier and altogether more powerful gun will be preferable. Breech-Loader ys. Muzzle-Loader, a case long argued, may be considered settled in favor of the former. Provided the mechanism and workmanship of the breech be what they should, there are no valid objections to offset obvious advantages, some of which are these: ease and rapidity of loading, and consequently delivery of shots in quick succession ; facility of cleaning; compactness and portability of ammunition ; readiness with which different-sized shot may be used. This last is highly important to the collector, who never knows the moment he may wish to fire at a very different bird from such as he has already loaded for. The muzzle-loader must always contain the fine shot with which nine-tenths of your specimens will be secured; if in both barrels, you cannot deal with a hawk or other large bird with reasonable prospects of success; if in only one barrel, the other being more heavily charged, you are crippled to the extent of exactly one-half of your resources for ordinary shooting. Whereas, with the breech-loader you will habitually use mustard-seed in both barrels, and yet can slip in a different shell in time to seize most opportunities requiring large shot. This con- sideration alone should decide the case. But, moreover, the time spent in the field in loading an ordinary gun is no small item; while cartridges may be charged in your leisure at home. This should become the natural occupation of your spare moments. No time is really gained ; you simply change to advantage the time consumed. Metal shells, charged with loose ammu- nition, and susceptible of being reloaded mnany times, may be used instead of any special fixed ammunition which, once exhausted in a distant place (and circumstances may upset the best calculations on that score), leaves the gun useless. On charging the shells mark the number of the shot used on the outside wad; or better, use colored wads, say plain white for dust shot, and red, blue, and green for certain other sizes. If going far away, take as many shells as you think can possibly be wanted — and a few more. Experience, however, will soon teach you to prefer paper cartridges for breech-loaders. They may of course be loaded according to circumstances, with the same facility as metal shells, and even reloaded if desired. It is a good deal of trouble to take care of metal shells, to prevent loss, keep them clean, and avoid bending or indenting ; while there is often a prac- tical difficulty in recapping— at least with the common styles that take a special primer. Those fitted with a screw top holding a nipple for ordinary caps are expensive. Paper cart- IMPLEMENTS FOR COLLECTING, AND THEIR USE. 3 ridges come already capped, so that this bother is avoided, as it is not ordinarily worth while to reload them. They are made of different colors, distinguishing various sizes of shot used without employ of colored wads otherwise required. They may be taken into the field empty and loaded on occasion to suit; but it is better to pay a trifle extra to have them loaded at the shop. In such case, about four-fifths of the stock should contain mustard-seed, nearly all the rest about No. 7, a very few being reserved for about No. 4. Cost of ammunition is hardly appreciably increased ; its weight is put in the most conveniently portable shape; the whole apparatus for carrying it, and loading the shells, is dispensed with; much time is saved, the entire drudgery (excepting gun-cleaning) of collecting being avoided. I was prepared in this way during the summer of 1873 for the heaviest work I ever succeeded in accomplishing during the same length of time. In June, when birds were plentiful, I easily averaged fifteen skins a day, and occasionally made twice as many. As items serving to base calculations, I may mention that in four months I used about two thousand cartridges, loaded, at $42 per M., with seven-eighths of an ounce of shot and two and three-fourths drachms of powder; only about three hundred were charged with shot larger than mustard-seed. In estimating the size of a collection that may result from use of a given number of cartridges, it may not be safe for even a good shot to count on much more than half as many specimens as cartridges. The number is practically reduced by the following steps: — Cartridges lost or damaged, or orig- inally defective; shots missed; birds killed or wounded, not recovered; specimens secured unfit for preservation, or not pieseeved for any reason ; specimens wodidentally spoilt in stuffing, or subsequently damaged so as to be not worth keeping; and finally, use of cartridges to supply the table. Other Weapons, etc. — An ordinary single-barrel gun will of course answer; but is a sorry makeshift, for it is sometimes so poorly constructed as to be unsafe, and can at best be only just half as effective. This remark does not apply to any of the fine single-barrelled breech- loaders now made. You will find them very effective weapons, and they are not at all expen- sive. An arm now much used by collectors is a kind of breech-loading pistol, with or without a skeleton gun-stock to screw into the handle, and taking a particular style of metal cartridge, charged with a few grains of powder, or with nothing but the fulminate. They are very light, very cheap, safe and easy to work, and astonishingly effective up to twenty or thirty yards; making probably the best ‘‘ second choice” after the matchless double-barrelled breech- loader itself. The cane-gun should be mentioned in this connection. It is a single-barrel, lacquered to look like a stick, with a brass stopper at the muzzle to imitate a ferule, counter- sunk hammer and trigger, and either a simple curved handle, or a light gunstock-shaped piece that screws in. The affair is easily mistaken for a cane. Some have acquired considerable dexterity in its use; my own experience with it is very limited and unsatisfactory ; the handle always hit me in the face, and I generally missed my bird. It has only two recommendations. If you approve of shooting on Sunday and yet scruple to shock popular prejudice, you can slip out of town unsuspected. If you are shooting where the law forbids destruction of small birds, ——a wise and good law that you may sometimes be inclined to defy, —artfully careless handling of the deceitful implement may prevent arrest and fine. A blow-gun is sometimes used. It is a long slender tube of wood, metal, or glass, through which clay-balls, tiny arrows, etc., are projected by force of the breath. It must be quite an art to use such a weapon successfully, and its employment is necessarily exceptional. Some uncivilized tribes are said to possess marvellous skill in the use of long bamboo blow-guns; and such people are often valuable employés of the collector. I have had no experience with the noiseless air-gun, which is, in effect, a modified blow-gun, compressed air being the explosive power. Nor can I say much of various methods of trapping birds that may be practised. On these points I must leave you to your own devices, with the remark that horse-hair snares, set over a nest, are often of great 4 FIELD ORNITHOLOGY. service in securing the parent of eggs that might otherwise remain unidentified. I have no practical knowledge of bird-lime ; I believe it is seldom used in this country. A method of netting birds alive, which I have tried, is both easy and successful. A net of fine green silk, some 8 or 10 feet square, is stretched perpendicularly across a narrow part of one of the tiny brooks, overgrown with briers and shrubbery, that intersect many of our meadows. Retreating to a distance, the collector beats along the shrubbery making all the noise he can, urging on the little birds till they reach the almost invisible net and become entangled in trying to fly through. I have in this manner taken a dozen sparrows and the like at one “drive.” But the gun can rarely be laid aside for this or any similar device. Ammunition,— The best powder is that combining strength and cleanliness in the highest compatible degree. In some brands too much of the latter is sacrificed to the former. Other things being equal, a rather coarse powder is preferable, since its slower action tends to throw shot closer. Some numbers are said to be “‘too quick” for fine breech-loaders. Inexperienced sportsmen and collectors almost invariably use too coarse shot. When unnecessarily large, two evils result: the number of pellets in a load is decreased, the chances of killing being corre- spondingly lessened; and the plumage is unnecessarily injured, either by direct mutilation, or by subsequent bleeding through large holes. As already hinted, shot cannot be too fine for your routine collecting. Use “‘ mustard-seed,” or ‘ dust-shot,” as it is variously called; it is smaller than any of the sizes usually numbered. As the very finest can only be procured in cities, provide yourself liberally on leaving any centre of civilization for even a country village, to say nothing of remote regions. A small bird that would have been torn to pieces by a few large pellets, may be riddled with mustard-seed and yet be preservable ; moreover, there is, as a rule, little or no bleeding from such minute holes, which close up by the elasticity of the tissues involved. It is astonishing what large birds may be brought down with the tiny pellets. I have killed hawks with such shot, knocked over a wood ibis at forty yards and once shot a wolf dead with No. 10, though I am bound to say the animal was within a few feet of me. After dust-shot, and the nearest number or two, No. 8 or 7 will be found most useful. Water- fowl, thick-skinned sea-birds, like loons, cormorants, and pelicans, and a few of the largest land birds, require heavier shot. I have had no experience with the substitution of fine gravel or sand, much less water, as a projectile; besides shot I never fired anything at a bird except my ramrod, on one or two occasions, when I never afterwards saw either the bird or the stick. The comparatively trivial matter of caps will repay attention. Breech-loaders not discharged with a pin take a particular style of short cap called a “ primer;” for other guns the best water-proof lined caps will prevent annoyance and disappointment in wet weather, and may save you an eye, for they only split when exploded; whereas, the flimsy cheap ones — that “G D” trash, for instance, sold in the corner grocery at ten cents a hundred —usually Hy to pieces. Cut felt wads are the only suitable article. Ely’s “chemically prepared” wadding is the best. It is well, when using plain wads, occasionally to drive a greased one through the barrel. Since you may sometimes run out of wads through an unexpected contingency, always keep a wad-cutter to fit your gun. You can make serviceable wads of pasteboard, but they are inferior to felt. Cut them on the flat sawn end of a stick of firewood: the side of a plank does not do very well. Use a wooden mallet, instead of a hammer or hatchet, and so save your cutter. Soft paper is next best after wads; I have never used Tags, cotton or tow, fearing these tinder-like substances might leave a spark in the barrels. Crumbled leaves or grass will answer at a pinch. I have occasionally, in a desperate hurry, loaded and killed without any wadding. Other Equipments. —(a.) For the Gun. A gun-case will come cheap in the end, especially if you travel much. The usual box, divided into compartments, and well lined, IMPLEMENTS FOR COLLECTING, AND THEIR USE. 5 is the best, though the full length leather or india-rubber cloth case answers very well. The box should contain a small kit of tools, such as mainspring-vice, nipple-wrench, screw-driver, etc. A stout hard-wood cleaning rod, with wormer, will be required. It is always safe to have parts of the gun-lock, especially mainspring, in duplicate. For muzzle-loaders extra nipples and extra ramrod heads and tips often come into use. For breech-loaders the appara- tus for charging the shells is so useful as to be practically indispensable. (b.) For ammuni- tion. Metal shells or paper cartridges may be carried loose in the large lower coat pocket, or in a leather satchel. There is said to be a chance of explosion by some unlucky blow, when they are so carried, but I never knew of an instance. Another way is to fix them separately in a row in snug loops of soft leather sewn continuously along a stout waist-belt; or in several such horizontal rows on a square piece of thick leather, to be slung by a strap over the shoul- der. But better than anything else is a stout linen vest, similarly furnished with loops holding each a cartridge; this distributes the weight so perfectly, that the usual “ forty rounds” may be carried without feeling it. The appliances for loose ammunition are almost endlessly varied, so every one may consult his taste or convenience. But now that everybody uses the breech-loader, shot-pouches and powder-flasks are among the things that were. (c.) For specimens. You must always carry paper in which to wrap up your specimens, as more par- ticularly directed beyond. Nothing is better for this purpose than writing-paper; ‘‘ rejected” or otherwise useless MSS. may thus be utilized. The ordinary game bag, with leather back and network front, answers very well; but a light basket, fitting the body, such as is used by fishermen, is the best thing to carry specimeris in. Avoid putting specimens into pockets, unless you have your coat-tail largely excavated: crowding them into a close pocket, where they press each other, and receive warmth from the person, will injure them. It is always well to take a little cotton into the field, to plug up shot-holes, mouth, nostrils, or vent, imme- diately, if required. (d.) For Yourself. The indications to be fulfilled in your clothing are these: Adaptability to the weather; and since a shooting-coat is not conveniently changed, while an overcoat is ordinarily ineligible, the requirement is best met by different underclothes. Easy fit, allowing perfect freedom of muscular action, especially of the arms. Strength of fabric, to resist briers and stand wear; velveteen and corduroy are excellent materials. Sub- dued color, to render you as inconspicuous as possible, and to show dirt the least. Multiplicity of pockets — a perfect shooting-coat is an ingenious system of hanging pouches about the person. Broad-soled, low-heeled boots or shoes, giving a firm tread even when wet. Close- fitting cap with prominent visor, or low soft felt hat, rather broad brimmed. Let india-rubber goods alone ; the field is no place for a sweat-bath. Qualifications for Success. — With the outfit just indicated you command all the required appliances that you can buy, and the rest lies with yourself. Success hangs upon your own exertions; upon your energy, industry, and perseverance; your knowledge and skill; your zeal and enthusiasm, in collecting birds, much as in other affairs of life. But that your efforts —maiden attempts they must once have been if they be not such now—may be directed to best advantage, further instructions may not be unacceptable. To Carry a Gun without peril to human life or limb is the a bc of its use. “ There’s death in the pot.” Such constant care is required to avoid accidents that no man can give it by continual voluntary efforts: safe carriage of the gun must become an unconscious habit, fixed as the movements of an:‘automaton. The golden rule and whole secret is: the muzzle must ; accidental discharge should send the shot into the ground before your There are several safe and easy ways of holding a piece: they e particular muscles when fatigued. 1. Hold it in the ft, as you can recover to aim in less time than from the never sweep the horizon feet, or away up in the air. will be employed by turns to reliev hollow of the arm (preferably the le 6 FIELD ORNITHOLOGY. tight), aeross the front of your person, the hand on the grip, the muzzle elevated about 45°. 9. Hang it by the trigger guard hitched over the forearm brought round to the breast, the stock passing behind the upper arm, the muzzle pointing to the ground a pace or so in front of you. 3. Shoulder it, the hand on the grip or heel-plate, the muzzle pointing upward at least 45°. 4. Shoulder it reversed, the hand grasping the barrels about their middle, the muzzle pointing forward and downward: this is perfectly admissible, but is the most awkward position of all to recover from. Always carry a loaded gun at half-cock, unless you are about to shoot. Most good guns are now fitted with rebounding locks, an arrangement by which the hammer is thrown back to half-cock as soon as the blow is delivered on the pin. This admirable device is a great safe-guard, and is particularly eligible for breech-loaders, as the barrels may be unlocked and relocked without touching the hammers. Unless the lock fail, accidental discharge is impossible, except under these circumstances: a, a direct blow on the nipple or pin; }, catching of both hammer and trigger simultaneously, drawing back of the former and its release whilst the trigger is still held, the chances against which are simply inealeulable. Full-cock, ticklish as it seems, is safer than no-cock, when a tap on the hammer or even the heel-plate, or a slight catch and release of the hammer, may cause discharge. Never let the muzzle of a loaded gun point toward your own person for a single instant. Get your gun over fences, or into boats or carriages, before you get over or in yourself, or at any rate no later. Remove caps or cartridges on entering a house. Never aim a gun, loaded or not, at any object, unless you mean to press the trigger. Never put a loaded gun away long enough to forget whether it is loaded or not; never leave a loaded gun to be found by others under circumstances reasonably presupposing it to be un- loaded. Never put a gun where it can be knocked down by a dog or a child. Never imagine that there can be any excuse for leaving a breech-loader loaded under any circumstances. Never forget that the idiots who kill people because they ‘‘ did n’t know it was loaded,” are perennial. Never forget that though a gunning accident may be sometimes interpreted (from a certain standpoint) as a “dispensation of Providence,” such dispensations happen oftenest to the careless. To Clean a Gun properly requires some knowledge, more good temper, and most “elbow-grease;” it is dirty, disagreeable, inevitable work, which laziness, business, tiredness, indifference, and good taste will by turns tempt you to shirk. After a hunt you are tired, have your clothes to change, a meal to eat, a lot of birds to skin, a journal to write up. If you “sub-let ” the contract the chances are it is but half fulfilled; serve yourself, if you want to be well served. If you cannot find time for a regular cleaning, an intolerably foul gun may be made to do another day’s work by swabbing for a few moments with a wet (not dripping) rag, and then with an oiled one. For the full wash use cold water first ; it loosens dirt better than hot water. Set the barrels in a pail of water; wrap the end of the cleaning rod with tow or cloth, and pump away till your arms ache. Change the rag or tow, and the water too, till they both stay clean for all the swabbing you can do. Fill the barrels with boiling water till they are well heated; pour it out, wipe as dry as possible inside and out, and set them by a fire. Finish with a laght oiling, inside and out; touch up all the metal about the stock, and polish the woud-work. Do not remove the locks oftener than is necessary ; every time they are taken out, something of the exquisite fitting that marks a good gun may be lost; as long as they work smoothly take it for granted they are all right. The same direction applies to nipples. To keep a gun well, under long disuse, it should have had a particularly thorough cleaning ; the chambers should be packed with greasy tow; greased wads may be rammed at intervals along the barrels; or the barrels may be filled with melted tallow. Neat’s-foot is recommended as the best easily procured oil; porpoise-oil which is, I believe, used by watch- makers, is the very best; the oil made for use on sewing-machines is excellent 3 “olive” oil IMPLEMENTS FOR COLLECTING, AND THEIR USE. 7 (made of lard) for table use answers the purpose. The quality of any oil may be improved by putting in it a few tacks, or seraps of zine, — the oil expends its rusty capacity in oxidizing the metal. Inferior oils get “sticky.” One of the best preventives of rust is mercurial (“blue”) ointment: it may be freely used. Kerosene: will remove rust; but use it sparingly for it “ eats” sound metal too. To Load a Gun effectively requires something more than knowledge of the facts that the powder should go in before the shot, and that each should have a wad a-top. Probably the most nearly universal fault is use of too much shot for the amount of powder; and the next, too much of both. The rule is bulk for bulk of powder and shot. If not exactly this, then rather less shot than powder. It is absurd to suppose, as some persons who ought to know better do, that the more shot in a gun the greater the chances of killing. The projectile force of a charge cannot possibly be greater than the vis inertie of the gun as held by the shooter. The explosion is manifested in all directions, and blows the shot one way simply and only because it has no other escape. If the resistance in front of the powder were greater than elsewhere, the shot would not budge, but the gun would fly backward, or burst. This always reminds me of Lord Dundreary’s famous conundrum — Why does a dog wag his tail? Because he is bigger than his tail; otherwise the tail would wag him. A gun shoots shot because the gun is the heavier; otherwise the shot would shoot the gun. Every unnecessary pellet is a pellet against you, not against the game. The experienced sports - inan uses about one-third less shot than the tyro, with proportionally better result, other things being equal. As to powder, moreover, a gun can only burn just so much, and every grain blown out unburnt is wasted if nothing more. No express directions for absulute weight or measures of either powder’ or shot can be given; in fact, different guns take as their most effective charge such a variable amount of ammunition, that one of the first things you have to learn about your own arm is, its normal charge-gauge. Find out, by assiduous target practice, what absolute amounts (and to a slight degree, what relative proportion) of powder and shot are required to shoot the furthest and distribute the pellets most evenly. This practice, further- more, will acquaint you with the gun’s capacities in every respect. You should learn exactly . what it will and what it will not do, so as to feel perfect confidence in your arm within a cer- tain range, and to waste no shots in attempting miracles. Immoderate recoil is a pretty sure sign that the gun was overloaded, or otherwise wrongly charged; and all force of recoil is sub- tracted from the impulse of the shot. It is useless to ram powder very hard; two or three sinart taps of the rod will suffice, and more will not increase the explosive force. On the shot the wad should simply be pressed close enough to fix the pellets immovably. All these direc- tions apply to the charging of metal or paper cartridges as well as to loading by the muzzle. The latter operation is so rarely required, now that guns of every grade break at the breach, that advice on this score may seem quite anachronistic; nevertheless, I let what I said in the original edition stand. When about to recharge one barrel see that the hammer of the other stands at half-cock. Do not drop the ramrod into the other barrel, for a stray shot might impact between the swell of the head and the gun and make it difficult to withdraw the rod. During the whole operation keep the muzzle as far from your person as you conveniently can. Never force home a wad with the flat of your hand over the end of the rod, but hold the rod between your fingers and thumb ; in case of premature explosion, it will make just the differ- ence of lacerated finger tips, or a blown-up hand. Never look into a loaded gun-barrel; you might as wisely put your head into a lion’s mouth to see what the animal had for dinner. After a miss-fire hold the gun up a few moments and be slow to reload; the fire sometimes “hangs” for several seconds. Finally, let me strongly impress upon you the expediency of light loading in your routine collecting. Three-fourths of your shots need not bring into action the gun’s full powers of execution. You will shoot more birds under than over 30 yards; not 8 FIELD ORNITHOLOGY. a few you must secure, if at all, at 10 or 15 yards; and your object is always to kill them with the least possible damage to the plumage. I have, on particular occasions, loaded even down to toz. of shot and 1§dr. of powder. There is astonishing force compressed in a few grains of powder ; an astonishing number of pellets in the smallest load of mustard-seed. If you can load so nicely as to just drive the shot into a bird and not through it and out again, do so, and save half the holes in the skin. To Shoot successfully is an art which may be acquired by practice, and can be learned only in the school of experience. No general directions will make you a good shot, any more than a proficient in music or painting. To tell you that in order to hit a bird you must point the gun at it and press the trigger, is like saying that to play on the fiddle you must shove the bow across the strings with one hand while you finger them with the other; in either case the result is the same, a noise—vox et preterea nihil—but neither music nor game. Nor is it possible for every one to become an artist in gunnery; a ‘‘crack shot,” like a poet, is born, not made. For myself I make no pretensions to genius in that direction; for although I generally make fair bags, and have destroyed many thousand birds in my time, this is rather .. owing to some familiarity I have gained with the habits of birds, and a certain knack, acquired by long practice, of picking them out of trees and bushes, than to skilful shooting from the sportsman’s standpoint ; in fact, if I cut down two or three birds on the wing without a miss I am working quite up to my average in that line. But any one not a purblind “ butter fin- gers,” can become a reasonably fair shot by practice, and do good collecting. It is not so hard, after all, to sight a gun correctly on an immovable object, and collecting differs from sporting proper in this, that comparatively few birds are shot on the wing. But I do not mean to imply that it requires less skill to collect successfully than to secure game; on the contrary, it is finer shooting, I think, to drop a warbler skipping about a tree-top than to stop a quail at full speed ; while hitting a sparrow that springs from the grass at one’s feet to flicker in sight a few seconds and disappear is the most difficult of all shooting. Besides, a crack shot, as understood, aims unconsciously, with mechanical accuracy and certitude of hitting; he simply wills, and the trained muscles obey without his superintendence, just as the fingers form letters with the pen in writing ; whereas the collector must usually supervise his muscles all through the act and see that they mind. In spite of the proportion of snap shots of all sorts you will have to take, your collecting shots, as a rule, are made with deliberate aim. There is much the same difference, on the whole, between the sportsman’s work and the collector’s, that there is between shot-gun and rifle practice, collecting being comparable to the latter. It is gener- ally understood that the acme of skill with the two weapons is an incompatibility ; and, cer- tainly, the best shot is not always the best collector, even supposing the two to be on a par in their knowledge of birds’ haunts and habits. Still a hopelessly poor shot can only attain fair results by extraordinary diligence and perseverance. Certain principles of shooting may per- haps be reduced to words. Aim deliberately directly at’an immovable object at fair range. Hold over a motionless object when far off, as the trajectory of the shot curves downward. Hold a little to one side of a stationary object when very near, preferring rather to take the chances of missing it with the peripheral pellets, than of hopelessly mutilating it with the main body of the charge. Fire at the first fair aim, without trying to improve what is good enough already. Never ‘‘pull” the trigger, but press it. Bear the shock of discharge with- out flinching. In shooting on the wing, fire the instant the but of the gun taps your shoulder; you will miss at first, but by and by the birds will begin to drop, and you will have laid the foundation of good shooting, the knack of “eovering” a bird unconsciously. The habit of “poking” after a bird on the wing is an almost incurable vice, and may keep you a poor shot all your life. (The collector's frequent necessity of poking after little birds in the bush is just what so often hinders him from acquiring brilliant execution.) Aim ahead of a SUGGESTIONS AND DIRECTIONS FOR FIELD-WORK. 9 flying bird —the calculation to be made varies, according to the distance of the object, its velocity, its course and the wind, from a few inches to several feet; practice will finally render it intuitive. § 2.— DOGS. A Good Dog is one of the most faithful, respectful, affectionate and sensible of brutes ‘ deference to such rare qualities demands a chapter, however brief. A trained dog is the indis- pensable servant of the sportsman in his pursuit of most kinds of game ; but I trust I am guilty of no discourtesy to the noble animal, when I say that he is a luxury rather than a necessity te the collector —a pleasant companion, who knows almost everything except how to talk, who converses with his eyes and ears and tail, shares comforts and discomforts with equal alacrity, and occasionally makes himself useful. So far as a collector’s work tallies with that of a sportsman, the dog is equally useful to both ; but finding and telling of game aside, your dog’s services are restricted to companionship and retrieving. He may, indeed, flush many sorts of birds for you; but he does it, if at all, at random, while capering about; for the brute intellect is limited after all, and cannot comprehend a naturalist. The best trained setter or pointer that ever marked a quail could not be made to understand what you are about, and it would ruin him for sporting purposes if he did. Take a well-bred dog out with you, and the chances are he will soon trot home in disgust at your performances with jack-sparrows and tomtits. It implies such a lowering and perversion of a good dog’s instincts to make him really a useful servant of yours, that I am half inclined to say nothing about retrieving, and tell you to make a companion of your dog, or let him alone. I was followed for several years by “‘ the best dog T ever saw” (every one’s gun, dog, and child is the best ever seen), and a first-rate retriever ; yet I always preferred, when practicable, to pick up my own birds, rather than let a delicate plumage into a dog’s mouth, and scolded away the poor brute so often, that she very properly returned the compliment, in the end, by retrieving just when she felt like it. However, we remained the best of friends. Any good setter, pointer, or spaniel, and some kinds of curs, may be trained to retrieve. The great point is to teach them not to “mouth” a bird; it may be accomplished by sticking pins in the ball with which their early lessons are taught. Such dogs are particularly useful in bringing birds out of the water, and in searching for them when lost. One point in training should never be neglected: teach a dog what ‘to heel” means, and make him obey this command. A riotous brute is simply unendurable under any circumstances. §3.— VARIOUS SUGGESTIONS AND DIRECTIONS FOR FIELD-WORK. To be a Good Collector, and nothing more, is a small affair; great skill may be ac- quired in the art, without a single quality commanding respect. One of the most vulgar, brutal, and ignorant men I ever knew was a sharp collector and an excellent taxidermist. Collecting stands much in the same relation to ornithology that the useful and indispensable office of an apothecary bears to the duties of a physician. A field-naturalist is always more or less of a collector; the latter is sometimes found to know almost nothing of natural history worth knowing. The true ornithologist goes out to study birds alive and destroys some of them simply because that is the only way of learning their structure and technical characters. There is much more about a bird than can be discovered in its dead body, —how much more, then, than can be found out from its stuffed skin! In my humble opinion the man who only gathers birds, as a miser money, to swell his cabinet, and that other man who gloats, as miser- like, over the same hoard, both work on a plane far beneath where the enlightened naturalist stands. One looks at Nature, and never knows that she is beautiful; the other knows she is beautiful, as even a corpse may be; the naturalist catches her sentient ‘expression, and knows 10 FIELD ORNITHOLOGY. how beautiful she is! I would have you to know and love her; for fairer mistress never swayed the heart of man. Aim high! — press on, and leave the half-way house of mere col- lectorship far behind in your pursuit of a delightful study, nor fancy the closet its goal. Birds may be sought anywhere, at any time; they should be sought everywhere, at all times. Some come about your doorstep to tell their stories unasked. Others spring up before you as you stroll in the field, like the flowers that enticed the feet of Proserpine. Birds flit by as you measure the tired roadside, lending a tithe of their life to quicken your dusty steps. They disport overhead at hide-and-seek with the foliage as you loiter in the shade of the forest, and their music now answers the sigh of the tree-tops, now ripples an echo to the voice of the brook. But you will uot always so pluck a thornless rose. Birds hedge them- selves about with a bristling girdle of brier and bramble you cannot break; they build their tiny castles in the air surrounded by impassable moats, and the drawbridges are never down. They crown the mountain-top you may lose your breath to climb; they sprinkle the desert where your parched lips may find no cooling draught; they fleck the snow-wreath when the nipping blast may make you turn your back; they breathe unharmed the pestilent vapors of the swamp that mean disease, if not death, for you; they outride the storm at sea that sends strong nen to their last account. Where now will you look for birds? And yet, as skilled labor is always most productive, so expert search yields more than random or blundering pursuit. Iimprimis ; The more varied the face of a country, the more varied its birds. A place all plain, all marsh, all woodland, yields its particular set of birds, perhaps in profusion: but the kinds will be limited in number. It is of first importance to remember this, when you are so fortunate as to have choice of a collecting-ground ; and it will guide your steps aright in a day’s walk anywhere, for it will make you leave covert for open, wet for dry, high for low and back again. Well-watered country is more fruitful of bird-life than desert or even prairie; warm regions are more productive thon cold ones. As a rule, variety and abundance of birds are in direct ratio to diversity and luxuriance of vegetation. Your most valuable as well as largest bags may be made in the regions most favored botani- cally, up to the point where exuberance of plant-growth mechanically opposes your operations. Search for particular Birds can only be well directed, of course, by a knowledge of their special haunts and habits, and is one of the mysteries of wood-eraft only solved by long experience and close observation. Here is where the true naturalist bears himself with con- scious pride and strength, winning laurels that become him, and do honor to his calling. Where to find game (‘‘game” is anything that vulgar people do not ridicule you for shooting) of all the kinds we have in this country has been so often and so minutely detailed in sporting- works that it need not be here enlarged upon, especially since, being the best known, it is the least valuable of ornithological material. Most large or otherwise conspicuous birds have very special haunts that may be soon learned; and as a rule such rank next after game in ornitho- logical disesteem. Birds of prey are an exception to these statements; they range everywhere, and most of them are worth securing. Hawks will unwittingly fly in your way oftener than they will allow you to approach them when perched: be ready for them. Owls will be startled out of their retreats in thick bushes, dense foliage, and hollow trees, in the daytime ; if hunting them at night, good aim in the dark may be taken by rubbing a wet lucifer match on the sight of the gun, causing a momentary glimmer. Large and small waders are to be found by any water's edge, in open marshes, and often on dry plains; the herons more particu-~ larly in heavy bogs and dense swamps. Under cover, waders are oftenest approached by stealth ; in the open, by strategy; but most of the smaller kinds require the exercise of no special precautions. Swimming birds, aside from water-fowl (as the ‘‘ game” kinds are called), are gen- erally shot from a boat, as they fly past; but at their breeding places many kinds that congre- SUGGESTIONS AND DIRECTIONS FOR FIELD-WORK. 11 gate in vast numbezs ¢ re more readily reached. There is a knack of shooting loons and grebes on the water; if they are to be reached at all by the shot it will be by aiming not directly at them but at the water just in front of them. They do not go under just where they float, but kick up behind like a jumping-jack and plunge forward. Rails and several kinds of sparrows are confined to reedy marshes. But why prolong such desultory remarks? Little can be said to the point without at least a miniature treatise on ornithology; and I have not yet even alluded to the diversified host of small insectivorous and granivorous birds that fill our woods and fields. The very existence of most of these is unknown to all but the initiated ; yet they include the treasures of the ornithologist. Some are plain and humble, others are among the most beautiful objects in nature; but most agree in being small, and therefore liable to be overlooked. The sum of my advice about them must be brief. Get over as much ground, both wooded and open, as you can thoroughly examine in a day’s tramp, and go out as many days as youcan. It is not always necessary, however, to keep on the tramp, especially dur- ing the migration of the restless insectivorous species. One may often shoot for hours without moving more than a few yards, by selecting a favorable locality and allowing the birds to come to him as they pass in varied troops through the low woodlands or swampy thickets. Keep your eyes and ears wide open. Look out for every rustling leaf and swaying twig and bending blade of grass. Hearken to every note, however faint; when there is no sound, listen for a chirp. Habitually move as noiselessly as possible. Keep your gun always ready. Improve every opportunity of studying a bird you do not wish to destroy ; you may often make observations more valuable than the specimen. Let this be the rule with all birds you recognize. But I fear I must tell you to shoot an unknown bird on sight; it may give you the slip in a moment and a prize may be lost. One of the most fascinating things about field- work is its delightful uncettainty: you never know what’s in store for you as you start out ; you never can tell what will happen next; surprises are always in order, and excitement is continually whetted on the chances of the varied chase. For myself, the time is past, happily or not, when every bird was an agreeable surprise, for dewdrops do not last all day; but I have never yet walked in the woods without learning something pleasant that I did not know before. I should consider a bird new to science ample reward for a month’s steady work; one bird new to a locality would repay a week’s search; a day is happily spent that shows me any bird that I never saw alive before. How then can you, with so much before you, keep out of the woods another minute ? - All Times are good times to go a-shooting; but some are better than others. (a.) Time of year. Tn all temperate latitudes, spring and fall — periods of migration with most birds — are the most profitable seasons for collecting. Not only are birds then most numerous, both as species and as individuals, and most active, so as to be the more readily found, but they include a far larger proportion of rare and valuable kinds. In every locality in this country the periodical visitants outnumber the permanent residents; in most regions the number of regular migrants, that simply pass through in the spring and fall, equals or exceeds that of either of the sets of species that come from the south in spring to breed during the summer, or from the north to spend the winter. Far north, of course, on or near the limit of the vernal migration, where there are few if any migrants passing through, and where the winter birds are extremely few, nearly all the bird fauna is composed of “summer visitants ;” far south, in this country, the reverse is somewhat the case, though with many qualifications. Between these extremes, what is conventionally known as “a season” means the period of the vernal or autumnal migration. For example, the body of birds present in the District of Columbia (where I collected for several years) in the two months from April 20th to May 20th, and from Septem- ber 10th to October 10th, is undoubtedly greater, as far as individuals are concerned, than the total number found there at all other seasons of the year together. As for species, the number 12 FIELD ORNITHOLOGY. of migrants about equals that of summer visitants; the permanent residents equal the winter residents, both these being fewer than either of the first mentioned sets; while the irregular vis- itors, or stragglers, that complete the bird fauna, are about, or rather less than one-half as many as the species of either of the other categories. About Washington, therefore, I would readily undertake to secure a greater variety of birds in the nine weeks above specified than in all the test of the year; for in that time would be found, not only all the permanent residents, but nearly all the migrants, and almost all the summer visitants; while the number of individual birds that might be taken exceeds, by quite as much, the number of those procurable in the same length of time at any other season. Mutatis mutandis, it is the same everywhere in this country. Look out then, for ‘the season;” work all through it at a rate you could not possibly sustain the year around; and make hay while the sun shines. (b.) Time of day. Early in the morning and late in the afternoon are the best times for birds. There is a myste- rious something in these diurnal crises that sets bird-life astir, over and above what is ex- plainable by the simple fact that they are the transition periods from repose to activity, or the reverse. Subtile meteorological changes occur; various delicate instruments used in physicists’ researches are sometimes inexplicably disturbed ; diseases have often their turning point for better or worse; people are apt to be born or die; and the susceptible organisms of birds manifest various excitements. Whatever the operative influence, the fact is, birds are particularly lively at such hours. In the dark, they rest — most of them do; at noonday, again, they are comparatively still; between these times they are passing to or from their feeding grounds or roosting places; they are foraging for food, they are singing; at any rate, they are in motion. Many migratory birds (among them warblers, etc.) perform their journeys by night; just at daybreak they may be seen to descend from the upper regions, rest a while, and then move about briskly, singing and searching for food. : Their meal taken, they recu- perate by resting till towards evening; feed again and are off for the night. If you have had some experience, don’t you remember what a fine spurt you made early that morning ?— how many unexpected shots offered as you trudged home belated that evening? Now I am no fowl, and have no desire to adopt the habits of the hen-yard; I have my opinion of those who like the world before it is aired ; I think it served the worm right for getting up, when caught by the early bird; nevertheless I go shooting betimes in the morning, and would walk all night to find a rare bird at daylight. (¢.) Weather. It rarely occurs in this country that either heat: or cold is unendurably severe; but extremes of temperature are unfavorable, for two reasons: they both occasion great personal discomfort ; and in one extreme only a few hardy birds will be found, while in the other most birds are languid, disposed to seek shelter, and therefore less likely to be found. A still, cloudy day of moderate temperature offers as a rule the best chance ; among other reasons, there is no sun to blind the eyes, as always occurs on a bright day in one direction, particularly when the sun is low. While a bright day has its good influence in setting many birds astir, some others are most easily approached in heavy or fall- ing weather. Some kinds are more likely to be secured during a light snowfall, or after a storm. Singular as it may seem, a thoroughly wet day offers some peculiar inducements to the collector. I cannot well specify them, but I heartily indorse a remark John Cassin once made to me:—‘“‘T like,” said he, ‘to go shooting in the rain sometimes; there are some curious things to be learned about birds when the trees are dripping, things too that have not yet found their way into the books.” How many Birds of the Same Kind do you want ? — All you can get — with some reasonable limitations; say fifty or a hundredfof any but the most abundant and widely diffused species. You may often be provoked with your friend for speaking of some bird he shot, but did not bring you, because, he says, ‘‘Why, you’ve got one like that!” Birdskins are capital ; capital unemployed may be useless, but can never be worthless. Birdskins are a SUGGESTIONS AND DIRECTIONS FOR FIELD-WORK. 18 medium of exchange among ornithologists the world over; they represent value, — money value and scientific value. If you have more of one kind than you can use, exchange with some one for species you lack; both parties to the transaction are equally benefited. Let me bring this matter under several heads. (.) Your own “series” of skins of any species is:incomplete until it contains at least one example of each sex, of every normal state of plumage, and every normal transition stage of plumage, and further illustrates at least the principal abnormal variations in size, form, and color to which the species may be subject; I will even add that every different faunal area the bird is known to inhabit should be represeuted by a specimen, particularly if there be anything exceptional in the geographical distribution of the species. Any additional specimens to all such are your only ‘‘ duplicates,” properly speaking. (b.) Birds vary so much in their size, form, and coloring, that a “‘ specific character” ean only be pre- cisely determined from examination of a large number of specimens, shot at different times, in different places ; still less can the “limits of variation” in these respects be settled without ample materials. (c.) The rarity of any bird is necessarily an arbitrary and fluctuating con- sideration, because in the nature of the case there can be no natural unit of comparison, — nor standard of appreciation. It may be said, in general terms, no bird is actually ‘ rare.” .’ With a few possible exceptions, as in the cases of birds occupying extraordinarily limited areas, like some of the birds of paradise, or about to become extinct, like the pied duck, enough birds of all kinds exist to overstock every public and private collection in the world, without sensible diminution of their numbers. ‘‘ Rarity” or the reverse is only predicable upon the accidental (so to speak) circumstances that throw, or tend to throw, specimens into naturalists’ hands. Accessibility is the variable element in every case. The fulmar petrel is said (on what authority I know not) to exceed any other bird in its aggregate of individuals ; how do the skins of that bird you have handled compare in number with specimens you have seen of the ‘‘ rare” warbler of your own vicinity? All birds are common somewhere at some season; the point is, have collectors been there at the time? Moreover, even the arbitrary appreciation of “rarity ” is fluctuating, and may change at any time; long sought and highly prized birds are liable to appear suddenly in great numbers in places that knew them not before ; a single heavy “invoice” of a bird from some distant or little-explored region may at once stock the market, and depreciate the current value of the species to almost nothing. For example, Baird’s bunting and Sprague’s lark remained for thirty years among our special desiderata, only one specimen of the former and two or three of the latter being known. Yet they are two of the most abundant birds of Dakota, where in 1873 I took as many of both as I desired; and specimens enough have lately been secured to stock all the leading museums of this country and Europe. (d.) Some practical deductions are to be made from these premises. Your object is to make yourself acquainted with all the birds of your vicinity, and to preserve a complete suite of specimens of every species. Begin by shooting every bird you can, coupling this sad destruction, however, with the closest observations upon habits. You will very soon fill your series of a few kinds, that you find almost everywhere, almost daily. Then if you are in a region the ornithology of which is well known to the profession, at once stop killing these common birds—they are in every collection. You should not, as a rule, destroy any more robins, ‘luebirds, song-sparrows, and the like, than you want for yourself. Keep an eye on them, studying them always, but turn your actual pursuit into other channels, until in this way, gradually eliminating the undesirables, you exhaust the bird fauna as far as possible (you will not quite exhaust it — at least for many years). But if you are in a new or little-known locality, I had almost said the very reverse course is the best. The chances are that the most abundant and characteristic birds are ‘‘ rare” in collections. Many a bird’s range is quite restricted: you may happen to be just at its metropolis ; seize the opportunity. and get good store, — yes, up to fifty or a hundred; all you can spare will be thankfully received by those who have none. Quite as likely, birds that are scarce just where you happen 14 FIELD ORNITHOLOGY. to be, are so only because you are on the edge of their habitat, and are plentiful in more acces- sible regions. But, rare or not, it is always a point to determine the exact geographical distribution of a species; and this is fixed best by having specimens to tell each its own tale, from as many different and widely separated localities as possible. This alone warrants pro- curing one or more specimens in every locality ; the commonest bird acquires a certain value if it be captured away from its ordinary range. An Eastern bluebird (Stalia sialis) shot in California might be considered more valuable than the ‘‘rarest” bird of that State, and would certainly be worth a hundred Massachusetts skins; a varied thrush (Turdus nevius) killed in Massachusetts is worth a like number from Oregon. But let all your justifiable destruction of birds be tempered with mercy; your humanity will be continually shocked with the havoc you work, ‘and should never permit you to take life wantonly. Never shoot a bird you do not fully intend to preserve, or to utilize in some proper way. Bird-life is too beautiful a thing to destroy to no purpose; too sacred a thing, like all life, to be sacrificed, unless the tribute is hal- lowed by worthiness of motive. ‘‘ Not a sparrow falleth to the ground without His notice.” I should not neglect to speak particularly of the care to be taken to secure full suites of females. Most miscellaneots collections contain four or more males to every female, — a dis- proportion that should be as far reduced as possible. The occasion of the disparity is obvious : females are usually more shy and retiring in disposition, and consequently less frequently noticed, while their smaller size and plainer plumage, as a rule, further favor their eluding observation. The difference in coloring is greatest among those groups where the males are most richly clad, and the shyness of the mother birds is most marked during the breeding season, just when the males, full of song, and in their nuptial attire, become most conspicuous. It is often worth while to neglect the gay Benedicts, to trace out and secure the plainer but not jess interesting females. This pursuit, moreover, often leads to. discovery of the nests and eggs, — an important consideration. Although both sexes are generally found together when breeding, and mixing indiscriminately at other seasons, they often go in separate flocks, and often migrate independently of each other; in this case the males usually im advance. Towards the end of the passage of some warblers, for instance, we may get almost nothing but females, all our specimens of a few‘days before having been males. The notable excep- tions to the rule of smaller size of the female are among rapacious birds and many waders, though in these last the disparity is not so marked. I only recall one instance, among Amer- ican birds, of the female being more richly colored than the male — the phalaropes. When the sexes are notably different in adult life, the yowng of both sexes usually resemble the adult female, the young males gradually assuming their distinctive characters. When the adults of both sexes are alike, the young commonly differ from them. In the same. connection I wish to urge a point, the importance of which is often over- looked ; it is our practical interpretation of the adage, ‘‘ a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.” Always keep the first specimen you secure of a species till you get another; no matter how common the species, how poor the specimen, or how certain you may feel of potting other better ones, keep it. Your most reasonable calculations may come to naught, from a variety of circumstances, and any specimen is better than no specimen, on general principles. And in general, do not, if you can help it, discard any specimen im the field. No tyro can tell what will prove valuable and what not; while even the expert may regret to find that a point comes up which a specimen he injudiciously discarded might have determined. Let a collection be “weeded out,” if at all, only after deliberate and mature examination, when the scientific results it affords have been elaborated by a competent ornithologist ; and even then, the refuse (with certain limitations) had better be put where it will do some good, than be destroyed utterly. For instance, I myself once valued, and used, some Smithsonian “ sweepings” ; and I know very weil what to do with specimens, now, to which I would not give house-room in my own cabinet. If forced to reduce bulk, owing to limited facilities for transportation in the field SUGGESTIONS AND DIRECTIONS FOR FIELD-WORK. 15 (as too often happens), throw away according to size, other things being equal. Given only so many cubic inches or feet, eliminate the few large birds which take up the space that would contain fifty or a hundred different little ones. If you have a fine large bald eagle or pelican, for instance, throw it away first, and follow it with your ducks, geese, ete. In this way, the bulk of a large miscellaneous collection may be reduced one half, perhaps, with very little depreciation of its actual value. The same principle may be extended to other collections in natural history (excepting fossils, which are always weighty, if not also bulky) ; very few bird- skins, indeed, being as valuable contributions to science as, for example, a vial of miscella- neous insects that occupies no more rvom may prove to be. What is “A Good Day’s Work ? ” — Fifty birds shot, their skins preserved, and obser- vations recorded, is a very good day’s work; it is sharp practice, even when birds are plentiful. I never knew a person to average anywhere near it; even during the ‘ season” such work cannot possibly be sustained. You may, of course, by a murderous discharge into a flock, as of. blackbirds or reedbirds, get a hundred or more in a moment; but I refer to collecting a fair variety of birds. You will do very well if you average a dozen a day during the seasons. I doubt whether any collector ever averaged as many the year around; it would be over four thousand specimens annually. The greatest number I ever procured and prepared in one day was forty, and I have not often gone over twenty. Even when collecting regularly and assiduously, I am satisfied to average a dozen a day during the migrations, and one-third or one-fourth as many the rest of the year. Probably this implies the shooting of about one in five not skinned for various reasons, as mutilation, decay, or want of time. Approaching Birds. There is little if any trouble in getting near enough to shoot most birds. With notable exceptions, they are harder to see when near enough, or to hit when seen ; particularly small birds that are almost incessantly in motion. As a rule—anda curious one it is— difficulty of approach is in direct ratio to the size of the bird; it is perhaps because large conspicuous birds are objects of more general pursuit than the little ones you ordinarily search for. The qualities that birds possess for self-preservation may be called wariness in large birds, shyness in small ones. The former make off knowingly from a sus- picious object; the latter fly from anything that is strange to them, be it dangerous or not. This is strikingly illustrated in the behavior of small birds in the wilderness, as contrasted with their actions about towns; singular as it may seem, they are more timid under the former cir. cumstances than when grown accustomed to the presence of man. It is just the reverse with a hawk or raven, for instance ; in populous districts they spend much of their time in trying to save their skins, while in a new country they have not learned, like Indians, that a white man is ‘mighty uncertain.” In stealing on a shy bird, you will of course take advantage of any cover that may offer, as inequalities.of the ground, thick bushes, the trunks of trees; and it is often worth while to make a considerable détour to secure unobserved approach. I think that birds are more likely, as a rule, to be frightened away by the movements of the collector, than by his simple presence, however near, and that they are more afraid of noise than of mere motion. Crackling of twigs and rustling of leaves are sharp sounds, though not loud ones; you may have sometimes been surprised to find how distinctly you could hear the move- ments of a horse or cow in underbrush at some distance. Birds have sharp ears for such sounds. Forma habit of stealthy movement; it tells, in the long run, in comparison with lumbering tread. There are no special preeautiuns to be taken in shooting through high open forest ; you have only to saunter along with your eyes in the tree-tops. It is ordinarily the easiest and on the whole the most renumerative path of the collector. In traversing fields and meadows move briskly, your principal object being to flush birds out of the grass; and as most of your shots will be snap ones, keep in readiness for instant: action. Excellent and varied 16 FIELD ORNITHOLOGY. shooting is to be had along the hedge rows, and in the rank herbage that fringes fences. It is best to keep at a little distance, yet near enough to arouse all the birds as you pass: you may catch them on wing, or pick them off just as they settle after a short flight. In this shooting, two persons, one on each side, can together do more than twice as much work as one. Thick- ets and tangled undergrowth are favorite resorts of many birds; but when very close, or, as often happens, over miry ground, they are hard places to shoot in. As you come thrashing through the brush, the little inhabitants are scared into deeper recesses ; but if you keep still a few minutes in some favorable spot, they are reassured, and will often come back to take a peep at you. A good deal of standing still will repay you at such times ; needless to add, you cannot be too lightly loaded for such shooting, when birds are mostly out of sight if a dozen yards off. When yourself concealed in a thicket, and no birds appear, you ean often call num- bers about you by a simple artifice. Apply the back of your hand to your slightly parted lips, and suck in air; it makes a nondescript ‘‘screeping” noise, variable in intonation at your whin, and some of the sounds resemble the cries of a wounded bird, or a young one in distress. It wakes up the whole neighborhood, and sometimes puts certain birds almost beside themselves, particularly in the breeding season. Torturing a wounded bird to make it scream in agony accomplishes the same result, but of course is only permissible under great exigency. ° In pen- etrating swamps and marshes, the best advice I can give you is to tell you to get along the best way you can. Shooting on perfectly open ground offers much the same case; you must ‘be left to your own devices. I will say, however, you can ride on horseback, or even in a buggy, nearer birds than they will allow you to walk up to them. Sportsmen take advantage of this to get within a shot of the upland plover, usually a very wary bird in populous districts ; T have driven right into a flock of wild geese; in California they often train a bullock to graze gradually up to geese, the gunner being hidden by its body. There is one trick worth know- ing; it is not to let a bird that has seen you know by your action that you have seen it, but to keep on unconcernedly, gradually sidling nearer. I have secured many hawks in this way, when the bird would have flown off at the first step of direct approach. Numberless other little arts will come to you as your wood-craft matures. Recovering Birds. — It is not always that you secure the birds you kill; you may not be able to find them, or you may see them lying, perhaps but a few feet off, in a spot practi- cally inaccessible. Under such circumstances a retriever does excellent service, as already hinted ; he is equally useful when a bird properly ‘‘ marked down” is not found there, having fluttered or run away and hidden elsewhere. The most difficult of all places to find birds is among reeds, the eternal sameness of which makes it almost impossible to rediscover a spot’ whence the eye has once wandered, while the peculiar growth allows birds to slip far down out of sight. In rank grass or weeds, when you have walked up with your eye fixed on the spot where the bird seemed to fall, yet failed to discover it, drop your cap or handkerchief for a mark, and hunt around it as a centre, in enlarging circles. In thickets, make a “bee line” for the spot, if possible keeping your eye on the spray from which the bird fell, and not for- getting where you stood on firing; you may require to come back to the spot and take a new departure. You will not seldom see a bird just shot at fly off as if unharmed, when really it will drop dead in a few moments. In all cases therefore when the bird does not drop at the shot, follow it with your eyes as far as you can; if you see it finally drop, or even flutter languidly downward, mark it on the principles just mentioned, and go in search. Make every endeavor to secure wounded birds, on the score of humanity; they should not be left to pine away and die in lingering misery if it can possibly be avoided. ' Killing Wounded Birds. — You will often recover winged birds, as full of life as before the bone was broken ; and others too grievously hurt to fly, yet far from death. Your object is SUGGESTIONS AND DIRECTIONS FOR FIELD-WORK. 17 tu kill them as quickly and as painlessly as possible, without injuring the plumage. This is to be accomplished, with all small birds, by suffocation. The respiration and circulation of birds is very active, and most of them die in a few moments if the lungs are so compressed that they cannot breathe. Squeeze the bird tightly across the chest, under the wings, thumb on one side, middle finger on the other, forefinger pressed in the hollow at the root of the neck, between the forks of the merrythought. Press firmly, hard enough to fix the chest immovably and compress the lungs, but not to break in the ribs. The bird will make vigorous but ineffect- ual efforts to breathe, when the muscles will contract spasmodically ; but in a moment more, the system relaxes with a painful shiver, light fades from the eyes, and the lids close. I assure you, it will make you wince the first few times; you had better habitually hold the poor creature behind you. You can tell by its limp feel and motionlessness when it is dead, without watching the sad struggle. Large birds obviously cannot be dealt with in this way; I would as soon attempt to throttle a dog as a loon, for instance, upon which all the pressure you can give makes no sensible impression. A winged hawk, again, will throw itself on its back as you come up, and show such good fight with beak and talons, that you may be quite severely scratched in the encounter: meanwhile the struggling bird may be bespattering its plumage with blood. In such a case — in any case of a large bird making decided resist- ance —I think it best to step back a few paces and settle the matter with a light charge of mustard-seed. Any large bird once secured inay be speedily dispatched by stabbing to the heart with some slender instrument thrust in under the wing — care must be taken too about the bleeding ; or, it may be instantly killed by piercing the brain with a knife introduced into the mouth and driven upward and obliquely backward from the palate. The latter method is preferable as it leaves no outward sign and causes no bleeding to speak of. With your thumb, you may indent the back part of a bird’s skull so as to compress the cerebellum; if you cap get deep enough in, without materially disordering the plumage, or breaking the skin, the method is unobjectionable. Handling Bleeding Birds.— Bleeding depends altogether upon the part or organ wounded ; but other things being equal, violence of the haemorrhage is usually in direct pro- _portion to the size of the shot-hole ; when mustard-seed is used it is ordinarily very trifling, if it occur at all. Blood flows oftener from the orifice of exit of a shot, than from the wound of entrance, for the latter is usually plugged with a little wad of feathers driven in. Bleeding from the mouth or nostrils is the rule when the lungs are wounded. When it occcurs, hold up the bird by the feet, and let it drip; a general squeeze of the body in that position will facilitate the drainage. In general, hold a bird so that a bleeding place is most dependent; then, pres- sure about the part will help the flow. .A ‘‘ gob” of blood, which is simply a forming clot, on the plumage may often be dexterously flipped almost clean away with a snap of the finger. It is first-rate practice to take cotton and forceps into the field to plug up shot-holes, and stop the mouth and nostrils and vent on the spot. I follow the custom of the books in recommend- ing this, but I will confess I have rarely done it myself, and I suspect that only a few of our most leisurely and elegant collectors do so habitually. Shot-holes may be found by gently raising the feathers, or blowing them aside; you can of course get only a tiny plug into the wound itself, but it should be one end of a sizable pledget, the rest lying fluffy among the feathers. In stopping the mouth or vent, ram the fluff of cotton, entirely inside. You cannot conveniently stop up the nostrils of small birds separately ; but take a light cylinder of cotton, lay it transversely across the base of the upper mandible, closely covering the nostrils, and confine it there by tucking each end tightly into the corner of the mouth. In default of such nice fixing as this, a pinch of dry loam pressed on a bleeding spot will plaster itself there and stop further mischief. Never try to wipe off fresh blood that has already wetted the plumage ; you will only make matters worse. Let it dry on, and then —but the treatment of blood- stains, and other soilings of plumage, is given beyond. 18 FIELD ORNITHOLOGY. Carrying Birds Home Safe.— Suppose you have secured a fine specimen, very likely without a soiled or ruffled feather; your next care will be to keep it so till you are ready to skin it. But if you pocket or bag it directly, it will be a sorry-looking object before you get home. Each specimen must be separately cared for, by wrapping in stout paper; writing paper is as good as any, if not the best. It will repay you to prepare a stock of paper before starting out; your most convenient sizes are those of a half-sheet of note, of letter, and of cap respectively. Either take these, or fold and cut newspaper to correspond; besides, it is always well to have a whole newspaper or two for large birds. Plenty of paper will go in the breast pockets of the shooting-coat. Make a ‘‘ cornucopia,” — the simplest thing in the world, but, like tying a particular knot, hard to explain. Setting the wings closely, adjusting disturbed feathers, and seeing that the bill points straight forward, thrust the bird head first into one of these paper cones, till it will go no further, being bound by the bulge of the breast. Let the cone be large enough for the open end to fold over or pinch together entirely beyond the tail. Be particular not to crumple or bend the tail-feathers. Lay the paper cases in the game bag or great pocket so that they very nearly run parallel and lie horizontal; they will carry better than if thrown in at random. Avoid overcrowding the packages, as far as is reasonably practicable; moderate pressure will du no harm, as a rule, but if great it may make birds bleed afresh, or cause the fluids of a wounded intestine to ooze out and soak the plumage of the belly, —a very bad accident indeed. For similar obvious reasons, do not put a large heavy bird on top of a lot of little ones ; I would sooner sling a hawk or heron over my shoulder, or carry it by hand. If it goes in the bag, see that it gets to the bottom. Avoid putting birds in pockets that are close about your person; they are almost always unduly pressed, and may gain just enough additional warmth from your body to make them begin to decompose before you can get at skinning them. Handle birds no more than is necessary, especially white- plumaged ones; ten to one your hands are powder-begrimed: and besides, even the warmth . and moisture of your palms may tend to injure a delicate feathering. Ordinarily pick up a bird by the feet or bill; as you need both hands to make the cornucopia, let the specimen dangle by the toes from your teeth while you are so employed. In catching at a wounded bird, aim to cover it entirely with your hand; but whatever you do, never seize it by the tail, which then will often be left in your hands for your pains. Never grasp wing-tips or tail-r feathers; these large flat quills would get a peculiar crimping all along the webs, very difficult to efface. Finally, I would add there is a certain’ knack or art in manipulating, either of a dead bird or a birdskin, by which you may handle it with seeming carelessness and perfect impunity; whilst the most gingerly fingering of an inexperienced person will leave its rude trace. You will naturally acquire the correct touch; but it can be neither taught nor described. A Special Case. — While the ordinary run of land birds will be brought home in good order by the foregoing method, some require special precautions. I refer to sea birds, such as gulls, terns, petrels, etc., shot from a boat. In the first place, the plumage of most of them is, in part at least, white and of exquisite purity. Then, fish-eating birds usually vomit and purge when shot. They are necessarily fished all dripping from the water. They are too large for pocketing. If you put them on the thwarts or elsewhere about the boat, they usually fall off, or are knocked off, into the bilge water; if you stow them in the cubby-hole, they will assuredly soil by mutual pressure, or by rolling about. It will repay you to pick them from the water by the bill, and shake off all the water you can; hold them up, or let some one do it, till they are tolerably dry ; plug the mouth, nustrils, and vent, if not also shot-holes ; wrap each one separately in a cloth (not paper) or a inass of tow, and pack steadily in a covered box or basket taken on board for this purpuse. With such precautions as these birds most liable to be soiled reach the skinning table in perfect order; and your care will afterward transform them into specimens without spot or blemish. HYGIENE OF COLLECTORSHIP. 19 § 4.— HYGIENE OF COLLECTORSHIP. It is Unnecessary to speak of the Healthfulness of a pursuit that, like the collector’s occupation, demands regular bodily exercise, and at the same time stimulates the mind by supplying an object, thus calling the whole system into exhilarating action. Yet collecting has its perils, not to be overlooked if we would adequately guard against them, as fortunately we may, in most cases, by simple precautions. The dangers of taxidermy itself are elsewhere noticed; but, besides these, the collector is exposed to vicissitudes of the weather, may endure great fatigue, may breathe miasm, and may be mechanically injured. Accidents from the Gun have been already treated; a few special rules will render others little liable to occur. The secret of safe climbing is never to relax one hold until another is secured; it is in spirit equally applicable to scrambling over rocks, a particularly difficult thing to do safely with a loaded gun. Test rotten, slippery, or otherwise suspicious holds before trusting them. In lifting the body up anywhere, keep the mouth shut, breathe through the nostrils, and go slowly. In swimming, waste no strength unnecessarily in trying to stem a current; yield partly, and land obliquely lower down; if exhausted, float; the slightest motion of the hands will ordinarily keep the face above water; and in any event keep your wits collected. In fording deeply, a heavy stone will strengthen your position. Never sail a boat experimentally ; if you are no sailor, take one with you or stay on land. In cross- ing a high, narrow footpath, never look lower than your feet; the muscles will work true if not confused with faltering instructions from a, giddy brain. On soft ground, see what, if anything, has preceded you; large hoof-marks generally mean that the way is safe; if none are found, inquire for yourself before going on. Quicksand is the most treacherous, because far more dangerous than it looks; but I have seen a mule’s ears finally disappear in genuine mud. Cattle paths, however erratic, commonly prove the surest way out of a difficult place, whether of uncertain footing or dense undergrowth. Miasm. — Unguarded exposure in malarious regions usually entails sickness, often pre- ventable. however, by due precautions. It is worth knowing, in the first place, that miasmatic poison is most powerful between sunset and sunrise; more exactly, from the damp of the evening until night vapors are dissipated; we may be out in the daytime with comparative impunity, where to pass a night would be almost certain disease. If forced to camp out, seek the highest and dryest spot, put a good fire on the swamp side, and also, if possible, let trees intervene. Never go out on an empty stomach ; just a cup of coffee and a crust may make a decided difference. Meet the earliest unfavorable symptoms with quinine; I should rather say, if unacelimated, anticipate them with this invaluable agent. Endeavor to maintain high health of all functions by the natural means of regularity and temperance in diet, exercise, and repose. “ Taking Cold.” — This vague ‘‘ household word ” indicates one or more of a long varied train of unpleasant affections, nearly always traceable to one or the other of only two causes: sudden change of temperature, and wnequal distribution of temperature. No extremes of heat or cold can alone effect this result; persons frozen to death do not “take cold” during the process. But if a part of the body be rapidly cooled, as by evaporation from a wet article of clothing, or by sitting in a draught of air, the rest of the body remaining at an ordinary tem- perature; or if the temperature of the whole be suddenly changed by going out into the cold, or, especially, by coming into a warm room, there is much liability of trouble. There is an old saying, — « When the air comes through a hole Say your prayers to save your soul;’”” 20 FIELD ORNITHOLOGY. and I should think almost any one could get a “cold” with a spoonful of water on the wrist held to a key-hole. Singular as it may seem, sudden warming when cold is more dangerous than the reverse; every one has noticed how soon the handkerchief is required on entering a heated room on a cold day. Frost-bite is an extreme illustration of this. As the Irishman said on picking himself up, it was not the fall, but stopping so quickly that hurt him ; it is not the lowering of the temperature to the freezing point, but its subsequent elevation, that devitalizes the tissue. This is why rubbing with snow, or bathing in cold water, is required to restore safely a frozen part; the arrested circulation must be very gradually re-established, or inflammation, perhaps mortification, ensues. General precautions against taking cold are almost self-evident, in this light. There is ordinarily little if any danger to be apprehended from wet clothes, so long as exercise is kept up; for the ‘‘ glow” about compensates for the extra cooling by evaporation. Nor is a complete drenching more likely to be injurious than wetting of one part. But never sit still wet; and in changing rub the body dry. There isa general tendency, springing from fatigue, indolence, or indifference, to neglect damp feet; that is to say, to dry them by the fire; but this process is tedious and uncertain. I would say especially, off with the muddy boots and sodden socks at once; dry stockings and slippers, after a hunt, may make just the difference of your being able to go out again or never. Take care never to check perspiration ; during this process, the body is in a somewhat critical condi- tion, and sudden arrest of the function may result disastrously, even fatally. One part of the business of perspiration is to equalize bodily temperature, and it must not be interfered with. The secret of much that might be said about bathing when heated, lies here. A person over- heated, panting it may be, with throbbing temples and a dry skin, is in danger partly because the natural cooling by evaporation from the skin is denied, and this condition is sometimes not far from a ‘‘sunstroke.” Under these circumstances, a person of fairly good constitution may plunge into the water with impunity, even with benefit. But if the body be already cooling by sweating, rapid abstraction of heat from the surface may cause internal congestion, never unattended with danger. Drinking ice-water offers a somewhat parallel vase; even on stoop- ing to drink at the brook, when flushed with heat, it is well to bathe the face and hands first, and to taste the water before a full draught. It is a well-known excellent rule, not to bathe immediately after a full meal; because during digestion the organs concerned are compara- tively engorged, and any sudden disturbance of the circulation may be disastrous. The imperative necessity of resisting drowsiness under extreme cold requires no comment. In walking under a hot sun, the head may be sensibly protected by green leaves or grass in the hat; they may be advantageously moistened, but not enough to drip about the ears. Under such circumstances the slightest giddiness, dimness of sight, or confusion of ideas, should be taken as a warning of possible sunstroke, instantly demanding rest and shelter. Hunger and Fatigue are more closely related than they might seem to be; one is a sign that the fuel is out, and the other asks for it. Extreme fatigue, indeed, destroys appetite ; this simply means, temporary incapacity for digestion. But even far short of this, food is more easily digested and better relished after a little preparation of the furnace. On coming home tired, it is much better to make a leisurely and reasonably nice toilet than to eat at once, or to lie still thinking how tired you are; after a change and a wash you will feel like a “new man,” and go to table in capital state. Whatever dietetic irregularities a high state of civili- zation may demand or render practicable, a normally healthy person is inconvenienced almost as soon as his regular meal-time passes without food; a few can work comfortably or profit- ably fasting over six or eight hours. Eat before starting; if for a day’s tramp, take a lunch; the most frugal meal will appease if it do not satisfy hunger, and so postpone its urgency. As a sinall scrap of practical wisdom, I would add, keep the remnants of the lunch, if there are any; for you cannot always be sure of getting in to supper. REGISTRATION AND LABELLING. 21 Stimulation. — When cold, fatigued, depressed in mind, and on other occasions, you may feel inclined to resort to artificial stimulus. Respecting this many-sided theme I have a few words to offer of direct bearing on the collector’s case. It should be clearly understood in the first place that a stimulant confers no strength whatever; it simply calls the powers that be into increased action at their own expense. Seeking real strength in stimulus is as wise as an attempt to lift yourself up by the boot-straps. You may gather yourself to leap the ditch and you clear it; but no such muscular energy can be sustained; exhaustion speedily renders further expenditure impossible. But now suppose a very powerful mental impression be made, say the circumstance of a succession of ditches in front, and a mad dog behind; if the stimulus of terror be sufficiently strong, you may leap on till you drop senseless. Alcoholic stimulus is a parallel case, and is not seldom pushed to the same extreme. Under its influence you never can tell when you are tired; the expenditure goes on, indeed, with unnatural rapidity, only it is not felt at the time; but the upshot is you have all the original fatigue to endure and to recover from, plus the fatigue resulting from over-excitation of the system. Taken as a forti- fication against cold, alcohol is as unsatisfactory as a remedy for fatigue. Insensibility to cold does not imply protection. The fact is the exposure is greater than before; the circulation and respiration being hurried, the waste is greater, and as sound fuel cannot be immediately supplied, the temperature of the body is soon lowered. The transient warmth and glow over, the system has both cold and depression to endure ; there is no use in borrowing from yourself and fancy- ing you are richer. Secondly, the value of any stimulus (except in a few exigencies of disease or injury) is in proportion, not to the intensity, but to the equableness and durability of its effect. This is one reason why tea, coffee, and articles of corresponding qualities, are preferable to alcoholic drinks ; they work so smoothly that their effect is often unnoticed, and they “stay by” well; the friction of alcohol is tremendous in comparison. A glass of grog may help a veteran over the fence, but no one, young or old, can shoot all day on liquor. I thave had so much experience in the use of tobacco as a mild stimulant that Iam probably no impartial judge of its merits: I will simply say I do not use it in the field, because it indisposes to mus- cular activity, and favors reflection when observation is required; and because temporary abstinence provokes the morbid appetite and renders the weed more grateful afterwards. Thirdly, undue excitation of any physical function is followed by corresponding depression, on the simple principle that action and reaction are equal; and the balance of health turns too easily to be wilfully disturbed. Stimulation is a draft upon vital capital, when interest alone should suffice; it may be needed at times to bridge a chasm, but habitual living beyond vital income infallibly entails bankruptcy in health. The use of alcohol in health seems practically restricted to purposes of sensuous gratification on the part of those prepared to pay a round price for this luxury. The three golden rules here are, —never drink before breakfast, never drink alone, and never drink bad liquor; their observance may make even the abuse of alcohol tolerable. Serious objections for a naturalist, at least, are that science, viewed through a glass, seems distant and uncertain, while the joys of rum are immediate and unques- tionable ; and that intemperance, being an attempt to defy certain physical laws, is therefore eminently unscientific. §5— REGISTRATION AND LABELLING. A mere Outline of a Field Naturalist’s Duties would be inexcusably incomplete with- out mention of these important matters; and, because so much of the business of collecting must be left to be acquired in the school of experience, I am the more anxious to give explicit directions whenever, as in this instance, it is possible to do so. Record your Observations Daily. — In one sense the specimens themselves are your record, — prima facie evidence of your industry and ability; and if labelled, as I shall presently 22 FIELD ORNITHOLOGY. advise, they tell no small part of the whole story. But this is not enough; indeed, I am not sure that an ably conducted ornithological journal is not the better half of your operations. Under your editorship of labelling, specimens tell what they know about themselves ; but you can tell much more yourself. Let us look at a day’s work: You have shot and skinned so many. birds and laid them away labelled. You have made observations about them before shooting, and have observed a number of birds that you did not shoot. You have items of haunts and habits, abundance or scarcity ; of manners and actiuns under special circumstances, as of pairing, nesting, laying, rearing young, feeding, migrating, and what not; various notes of birds are still ringing in your ears ; and finally, you may have noted the absence of species you saw a while before, or had expected to occur in your vicinity. Meteorological and topegraphi- eal items, especially when travelling, are often of great assistance in explaining the occurrences and actions of birds. Now you know these things, but very likely no one else does; and you know them at the time, but you will not recollect a tithe of them in a few weeks or months, to say nothing of years. Don’t trust your memory: it will trip you up; what is clear now will grow obscure; what is found will be lost. Write down everything while it is fresh in your mind; write it out in full: time so spent now will be time saved in the end, when you offer your researches to the discriminating public. Don’t be satisfied with a dry-as-dust item ; clothe a skeleton fact, and breathe life into it with thoughts that glow; let the paper smell of the woods. There’s a pulse in a new fact; catch the rhythm before it dies. Keep off the quicksands of mere memorandum— that means something ‘to be remembered,” which is just what you cannot do. Shun abbreviations; such keys rust with disuse, and may fail in after times to unlock the secret that should have been laid bare in the beginning. Use no signs intelligible only to yourself: your note-books may come to be overhauled by others whom you would not wish to disappoint. Be sparing of sentiment, a delicate thing, easily degraded to drivel :* crude enthusiasm always hacks instead of hewing. Beware of literary infelicities : ‘* the written word remains,” it may be, after you have passed away; put down nothing for your friend’s blush, or your enemy’s sneer; write as if a stranger were looking over your shoulder. Ornithological Book-keeping may be left to your discretion and good taste in the details of execution. Each may consult his preferences for rulings, headings, and blank forms of all sorts, as well as particular modes of entry. But my experience has been that the entries it is advisable to make are too multifarious to be accommodated by the most ingenious formal ruling; unless, indeed, you make the conventional heading ‘‘ Remarks” disproportionately wide, and commit to it everything not otherwise provided for. My preference is decidedly for a plain page. I use a strongly bound blank book, cap size, containing at least six or eight quires of good smooth paper; but smaller may be needed for travelling, even down to a pocket note-book. I would not advise a multiplicity of books, splitting up your record into different departments: let it be journal and register of specimens combined. (The registry of your own collecting has nothing to do with the register of your cabinet of birds, which is sure to include a proportion of specimens from other sources, received in exchange, donated, or pur- chased. I speak of this beyond.) I have found it convenient to commence a day’s record with a register of the specimens secured, each entry consisting of a duplicate of the bird’s label (see beyond), accompanied by any further remarks I have to offer respecting the particular specimens ; then to go on with the full of my day’s observations, as suggested in the last para- graph. You thus have a “register of collections” in chronological order, told off with an unbroken series of numbers, checked with the routine label-items, and continually interspersed with the balance of your ornithological studies. Since your private field-number is sometimes an indispensable clew to the authentication of a specimen after it has left your own hands, never duplicate it. If you are collecting other objects of natural history besides birds, still have REGISTRATION AND LABELLING. 23 but one series of numbers; duly enter your mammal, or mineral, or whatever it is, in its place, with the number under which it happens to fall. Be scrupulously accurate with these and all other figures, as of dates and measurements. Always use black ink; the ‘ fancy ” writing-fluids, even the useful carmine, fade sooner than black, while lead-pencilling is never safe. Labelling. — This should never be neglected. It is enough to make a sensitive ornithol- ogist shiver to see a specimen without that indispensable appendage —a label. I am sorry to observe that the routine labelling of most collections is far from being satisfactory. A well- appointed label is something more than a slip of paper with the bird’s name on it, and is still defective, if, as is too often the case, only the locality and collector are added. A complete label records the following particulars: 1. Title of the survey, voyage, exploration, or other expedition (if any), during which the specimen was collected. 2%. Name of the person in charge of the same (and it may be remarked that the less he really cares about birds, and the less he actually interests himself to procure them, the more particular he will be about this). 3. Title of the institution or association (if any) under the auspices or patronage of which the specimen was procured, or for which it is designed. 4. Name of collector; partly to give credit where it is due, but principally to fix responsibility, and authenticate the rest of the items. 5. Collector’s number, referring to his note-book, as just explained; if the specimen afterwards forms part of a general collection it usually acquires another number by new regis- try; the collector’s then becoming the “original,” as distinguished from the ‘“ current,” number. 6. Locality, perhaps the most important of all the items. A specimen of unknown or even uncertain origin is worthless or nearly so; while lamentable confusion has only too often arisen in ornithological writings from vague or erroneous indications of locality: I should say that a specimen ‘‘not authentic” in this particular had better have its supposed origin erased and be let alone. Nor will it do to say simply, for instance, ‘‘ North America” or even “‘United States.” The general geographical distribution of birds being according to recognized faunal areas, ornithologists generally know already the quarter of the globe from which any. bird comes ; the locality of particular specimens, therefore, should be fixed down to the very spot. If this be obscure add the name of the nearest place to be found on a fairly good map, giving distance and direction. 7. Date of collection, —day of the month, and year. Among other reasons for this may be mentioned the fact that it is often important to know what season a particular plumage indicates. 8. Sex, and if possible also age, of the specimen, — an item that bespeaks its own importance. Ornithologists of all countries are agreed upon certain signs to indicate sex. These are: ¢ for male, 9 for female,—the symbols respectively of Mars and Venus, Immaturity is often denoted by the sign ,; thus, g ,, young male. Or, we may write 9 ad., 9 yg., for adult female, young female, respectively. It is preferable, however, to use the language of science, not our vernacular, and say gf juv. (juvenis, young). “ Nupt.” signifies breeding plumage; ‘‘ hornot.” means a bird of the year. 9. Measurements of length, and of extent of wings; the former can only be obtained approximately, and the latter not at all, from a prepared specimen. 10. Color of the eyes, and of the bill, feet, or other naked or soft parts, the tints of which may change in drying. 11. Miscellaneous partic- ulars, such as contents of stomach, special circumstances of capture, vernacular name, ete. 12. Scientific name of the bird. This is really the least important item of all, though generally thought to take precedence. But a bird labels itself, so to speak; and nature’s label may be deciphered at any time. In fact, I would enjoin upon the collector not to write out the supposed name of the bird in the field, unless the species is so well known as to be absolutely unquestionable. Proper identification, in any case to which the slightest doubt may attach, can only be made after critical study in the closet with ample facilities for examination and comparison. The first eight items, and the twelfth, usually constitute the 24 FIELD ORNITHOLOGY. face of a label ; the rest are commonly written on the back. Labels should be of light card- board, or very stiff writing paper; they may be dressed attractively, as fancy suggests; the general items of a large number of specimens are best printed; the special ones must of course be written. Shape is immaterial; small ‘‘cards” or “ tickets” are preferred by some, and certainly look very well when ueatly appointed; but I think, on the whole, that a shape answering the idea of a ‘‘ slip” rather than a ‘‘ ticket” is most eligible. A slip about three inches long and two thirds of an inch wide will do very well for anything, from a hawk to a humming-bird. Something like the ‘shipping tag” used by merchants is excellent, particu- larly for larger objects. It seems most natural to attach the string to the left-hand end. The slip should be tied so as to swing just clear of the bird’s legs, but not loose enough to dangle several-inches, for in that case the labels are continually tangling with each other when the birds are laid away in drawers. The following diagrams show the face and back of the last label I happened to write before these lines were originally penned; they represent the size and shape that I find most convenient for general purposes; while the “‘ legend” illustrates every one of the twelve items above specified. 3 Explorations in Dakota. Dr. Elliott Coues, U.S.A. 5 ™ a g No. 2655. Buteo borealis(Gm.)V. ? juv. Es oe ' Fort Randall, Missouri River. Oct. 29, 1872. 8 & Obverse. z 23.00 x 53.00 x 17.60. — Eyes yellowish-gray; bill horn-blue, darker at tip; cere wax-yellow; tarsi dull yellowish; claws bluish-black. Stomach contained portions of a rabbit; also, a large tapeworm. : Reverse. Directions for Measurement may be inserted here, as this matter pertains rightfully to the recording of specimens. The following instructions apply not only to length and extent, but to the principal other dimensions, which may be taken at any time. For large birds, a tape-line showing inches and fourths will do; for smaller ones, a foot-rule graduated for inches and eighths, or better, decimals to hundredths, must be used; and for all nice measurements the dividers are indispensable. ‘‘ Length: ” Distance between the tip of the bill and end of the longest tail-feather. Lay the bird on its back on the ruler on a table; take hold of the bill with one hand and of both legs with the other ; pull with reasonable force to get the curve all out of the neck ; hold the bird thus with the tip of the bill flush with one end of the ruler, and see where the end of the tail points. Put the tape-line in place of the ruler, in the same way, for larger birds*- “‘ Extent:” Distance between the tips of the outspread wings. They must be fully outstretched, with the bird on its back, crosswise on the ruler, its bill pointing to your breast. Take hold of right and left metacarpus with the thumb and forefinger of your left and tight hand respectively, stretch with reasonable force, getting one wing-tip flush with one end of the ruler, and see how much the other wing-tip reaches. With large birds pull away as hard as you please, and use the table, floor, or side of the room; mark the points and apply tape-line. ‘‘ Length of wing:” Distance from the carpal angle formed at the bend of the wing to the end of the longest primary. Get it with compasses for small birds. In birds with a convex wing, do not lay the tape-line over the curve, but under the wing in a straight line. This measurement is the one called, for short, ‘‘ the wing.” ‘ Length of tail: Distance MATERIALS FOR PREPARING BIRDSKINS. 25 from the roots of the rectrices to the end of the longest one. Feel for the pope’s nose; in either a fresh or dried specimen there is more or less of a palpable lump into which the tail-feathers stick. Guess as near as you can to the middle of this lump; place the end of the ruler oppusite this point, and see where the tip of the longest tail-feather comes. “‘ Length of bill: Some take the curve of the upper mandible; others the side of the upper mandible from the feathers : others the gape, ete. I take the chord of the culmen. Place one foot of the dividers on the culmen just where the feathers end; no matter whether the culmen runs up on the forehead, or the frontal feathers run out on the culmen, and no matter whether the culmen is straight or curved. Then with me the length of the bill is the shortest distance from the point just indi- cated to the tip of the upper mandible; measure it with the dividers. In a straight bill of course it is the length of the culmen itself; in a curved bill, however, it is quite another thing. ‘* Length of tarsus :” Distance between the joint of the tarsus with the leg above, and that with the first phalanx of the middle toe below. Measure it ahvays with dividers, and in front of the leg. “ Length of toes:” Distance in a straight line along the upper surface of a toe from the point last indicated to the root of the claw on top. Length of toe is to be taken without the claw, unless otherwise specified. “Length of the claws:” Distance in a straight line from the point last indicated to the tip of the claw. ‘“ Length of head” is often a convenient dimension for comparison with the bill. Set one foot of the dividers over the base of the culmen (determined as above) and allow the other to slip snugly down over the arch of the occiput. 4 § 6.— INSTRUMENTS, MATERIALS, AND FIXTURES FOR PREPARING BIRDSKINS. Instruments. — The only indispensable instrument is a pair of scissors or a knife; although practically you want both of these, a pair of spring forceps, and a knitting-needle, or some similar wooden or ivory object, yet I have made hundreds of birdskins consecutively without touching another tool. ‘‘ Persicos odi, puer, apparatus!” I always mistrust the emphasis of a collector who makes a flourish of instruments. You might be surprised to see what a meagre, shabby-looking bit our best taxidermists work with. Stick to your scissors, knife, forceps, and needle. But you may as well buy, at the outset, a common dissecting-case, just what medical students begin business with; it is very cheap, and if there are some unneces- sary things in it, it makes a nice little box in which to keep your tools. The case contains, among other things, several scalpels, just the knives you want; a ‘ cartilage-knife,” which is nothing but a stout scalpel, suitable for large birds; the best kind of scissors for your purpose, with short blades and long handles —if ‘‘ kneed” at the hinge so much the better; spring forceps, the very thing ; a blow-pipe, useful in many ways and answering well for a knitting- needle ; and some little steel-hooks, chained together, which you may want to use. But you will also require, for large birds, a very heavy pair of scissors, or small shears, short-bladed and long-handled, and a stout pair of bone-nippers. Have some pins and needles; surgical needles, which cut instead of punching, are the best. Get a hone or strop, if you wish, and a feather duster. Use of scissors requires no comment, and I would urge their habitual employ instead of the knife-blade ; I do nine-tenths of my cutting with scissors, and find it much the easiest. A double-lever is twice as effective as a single one, and besides, you gain in cutting soft, yielding substances by opposing two blades. Moreover, sealpels need constant sharpen- ing; mine are generally too dull to cut much with, and I suppose I am like other people — while scissors stay sharp enough. The flat, thin ivory or ebony handle of the scalpel is about as useful as the blade. Finger-nails, which were made before scalpels, are a mighty help. Forceps are almost indispensable for seizing and holding parts too small or too remote to be guasped by the fingers. The knitting-needle is wanted for a specific purpose noted beyond. The shears or nippers are only needed for what the ordinary scissors are,too weak to do. Our instruments, you see new, are ‘a short horse soon curried.” 26 , FIELD ORNITHOLOGY. Materials. — (a.) For stuffing. ‘‘ What do you stuff ’em with?” is usually the first question of idle curiosity about taxidermy, as if that were the gréat point; whereas, the stuffing is so small a matter that I generally reply, “‘ anything, except brickbats!” But if stuffing birds were the final cause of Cotton, that admirable substance could not be more perfectly adapted than it is to the purpose. Ordinary raw cotton-batting or wadding is what you want. When I can get it I never think of using anything else for small birds. I would use it for all birds were expense no object. Here tow comes in; there is a fine, clean, bleached article of tow prepared for surgical dressings; this is the best, but any will do. Some say chop your tow fine; this is harmless, but unnecessary. A crumpled newspaper, wrapped with tow, is first-rate for a large bird. Failing cotton or tow, any soft, light, dry, vegetable substance may be made to answer, — rags, paper, crumbled leaves, fine dried grass, soft fibrous inner bark, etc. ; the down of certain plants, as thistle and silkweed, makes an exquisite filling for small birds. But I will qualify my remark about brickbats by saying: never put hair, wool, feathers, or any other ANIMAL substance in a birdskin ; far better leave it empty: for, as we shall see in the sequel, bugs come fast enough, without being invited into a snug nest. (b.) For preserv- ing. ARSENIC, — not the pure metal properly so called, but arsenic of the shops, or arsenious acid, —is the great preservative. Use dry powdered arsenic, plenty of it, and nothing else. There is no substitute for arsenic worthy of the name, and no preparation of arsenic so good as the simple substance. Various kinds of ‘ arsenical soap” were and may still be in vogue; it Is a nasty greasy substance, not fit to handle; and although efficacious ehough, there is a very serious hygienic objection to its use.1 Arsenic, I need not say, is a violent irritant poison, and must therefore be duly guarded, but may be used with perfect impunity. It is a very heavy substance, not appreciably volatile at ordinary temperatures, and therefore not liable, as some suppose, to be breathed, to any perceptible, much less injurious, extent. It will not even at once enter the pores of healthy unbroken skin ; so it is no matter if it gets on the fingers. The exceedingly minute quantity that may be supposed to find its way into the system in the course of time is believed by many competent physicians to be rather beneficial as a tonic. I will not commit myself to this; for, though I have never felt better than when working daily with arsenic, I do not know how much my health was improved by the out-door exercise always taken at the same time. The simple precautions are, not to let it lie too long in con- tact with the skin, nor get into an abrasion, nor under the nails. It will convert a scratch or cut into a festering sore of some little severity ; while if lodged under the nails it soon shows itself by soreness, increased by pressure; a white speck appears, then a tiny abscess forms, dis- charges and gets well in a few days. Your precautions really respect other persons more than yourself; the receptacle should be conspicuously labelled ‘“‘POISON!” Arsenic is a good friend of ours; besides preserving our birds, it keeps busybodies and meddlesome folks away from the scene of operations, by raising a wholesome suspicion of the taxidermist’s surround- ings. It may be kept in the tin pots in which it is usually sold; but some shallower, broader receptacle is more convenient. A little drawer say 6x6 inches, and an inch deep, to slip under the edge of the table, or a similar compartment in a large drawer, will be found handy. A salt-spoon, or little wooden shovel whittled like one, is nice to use it with, though in effect, T always shovel it up with the handle of a scalpel. As stated, there is no substitute for arsenic; 1 “Strange as it may appear to some, I would say avoid especially all the so-called arsenical soaps ; they are at best but filthy preparations ; besides, it is a fact to which I can bear painful testimony that they are, especially when applied to a greasy skin, poisonous in the extreme. I have been so badly poisoned, while working upon the skins of some fat water birds that had been prepared with arsenical soap, as to be made seriously ill, the poison having worked into the system through some small wounds or scratches on my hand. Had pure arsenic been used in preparing the skins, the effect would not have been as bad, although grease and arsenic are generally a blood-poison in some degree; but when combined with ‘soap’ the effect, at least as far as my experience gogs, is much more injurious.” (MAYNARD, Guide, p. 12.) In endorsing this, I would add that the combination is the more poisonous, in all probability, simply because the soap, being detersive, mechanically facilitates the entrance of the poison, without, however, chemically increasing its virulence. . MATERIALS FOR PREPARING BIRDSKINS. 27 but at a pinch you can make temporary shift with the following, among other articles: —table salt, or saltpetre, or charcoal strewn plentifully; strong solution of corrosive sublimate, brushed over the skin inside ; creosote ; impure carbolic acid; these last two are quite efficacious, but they smell horribly for an indefinite period. A bird threatening to decompose before you can get at it to skin, may be saved for a while by squirting weak carbolic acid or creusote down the throat and up the fundament; or by disembowelling, and filling the cavity with powdered charcoal. (c¢.) For cleansing. Gypsum is an almost indispensable material for cleansing soiled plumage. ‘Gypsum ” is properly native hydrated sulphate of lime ; the article referred to is ‘‘ plaster of Paris” or gypsum heated up to 260° F. (by which the water of erystalliza- tion is driven off) and then finely pulverized. When mixed with water it soon solidifies, the original hydrate being again formed. The mode of using it is indicated beyond. It is most conveniently kept in a shallow tray, say a foot square, and an inch or two deep, which had better, furthermore, slide under the table as a drawer; or form a compartment of a larger drawer. Keep gypsum and arsenic in different-looking receptacles, not so much to keep from poisoning yourself, as to keep from not poisoning a birdskin. They look much alike, and skinning becomes such a mechanical process that you may get hold of the wrong article when your thoughts are wandering in the woods. Gypsum, like arsenic, has no worthy rival in its own field ; some substitutes, in the order of their applicability, are: — corn-meal, probably the best thing after gypsum; calcined magnesia (very good, but too light — it floats in the air, and makes you cough); bicarbonate of magnesia; powdered chalk (‘‘ prepared chalk,” creta preparata of the drug shops, is the best kind); fine wood-ashes; clean dry loam. No article, however powdery when dry, that contains a glutinous principle, as for instance gum-arabic or flour, is admissible. (d.) For wrapping, you want a thin, pliable, strong paper ; water-closet paper is the very best; newspaper is pretty good. For making the cones or cylinders in which birdskins may be set to dry, a stiffer article is required ; writing paper answers perfectly. Naturalists habitually carry a Pocket Lens, much as other people do a watch. You will find a magnifying glass very conveniént in your search for the sexual organs of small birds when obscure, as they frequently are, out of the breeding season; in picking lice from plumage, to send to your entomological friend, who will very likely pronounce them to be of a ‘“new species ;” and for other purposes. Fixtures. When travelling, your fixtures must ordinarily be limited to a collecting- chest ; you will have to skin birds on the top of this, on the tail-board of a wagon, or on your lap, as the case may be. The chest should be very substantial —iron-bound is best; strong as to hinges and lock—and have handles. A good size is 30x18 x 18 inches. Let it be fitted with a set of trays; the bottom one say four inches deep; the rest shallower; the top one very shallow, and divided into compartments for your tools and materials, unless you fix these on the under side of the lid. Start out with all the trays full of cotton or tow. At home, have a room to yourself, if possible; taxidermy makes a mess to which your wife may object, and arsenic must not come in the way of children. At any rate have your own table. I prefer plain deal that may be scrubbed when required; great cleanliness is indispensable, especially when doing much work in hot weather, for the place soon smells sour if neglected. I use no special receptacle for offal, for this only makes another article to be cleaned; lay down a piece of paper for the refuse, and throw the whole away. A perfectly smooth surface is desirable. I generally have a large pane of window-glass on the table before me. It will really be found advantageous to have a scale of inches scratched on the edge of the table; only a small part of it need be fractionally subdivided; this replaces the foot-rule and tape-line, just as the tacks of a dry-goods counter answer for the yardstick. You will find it worth while to rig some sort of a derrick arrangement, which you can readily devise, on one eud of the 28 FIELD ORNITHOLOGY. table, to hitch your hook to, if you hang your birds up to skin them ; they should swing clear of everything. The table should have a large general drawer, with a little drawer for gypsum and arsenic already mentioned, unless these be kept elsewhere. Stuffing may be kept in a box under the table, and make a nice footstool; or in a bag slung to the table leg. Query: Have you cleansed the bird’s plumage? Have you plugged the mouth, nostrils, and vent? Have you measured the specimen and noted the color of the eyes, bill, and feet, and prepared the labels, and made the entry in the register? Have you got all your apparatus within arm’s length? Then we are ready to proceed. §7.—HOW TO MAKE A BIRDSKIN. a. THe REGULAR PROCESS. Lay the Bird on its Back, the bill pointing to your righttelbow. Take the scalpel like a pen, with edge of blade uppermost, and run a straight furrow through the feathers along the middle line of the belly, from end of the breast-bone to the vent. Part the feathers com- pletely, and keep them parted.? Observe a strip of skin either perfectly naked, or only cov- ered with short down; this is the line for incision. Take scissors, stick in the pointed blade just over the end of the breast-bone, cut in a straight line thence to and into the vent; cut extremely shallow.® Take the forceps in your left hand, and scalpel in your right, both held pen-wise, and with the forceps seize and lift up one of the edges of the cut skin, gently pressing away the belly- walls with the scalpel-point ; no cutting is required; the skin may be peeled off without trouble. Skin away till you meet an obstacle; it is the thigh. Lay down the instruments; with your left hand take hold of the leg outside at the shank; put your right forefinger under the raised flap of skin, and feel a bump; it is the knee ; push up the leg till this bump comes into view; hold it so. Take the scissors in your right hand; tuck one blade under the concavity of the knee, and sever the joint at a stroke; then the thigh is left with the rest of the body, while the rest of the leg is dissevered and hangs only by skin. Push the leg further up till it has siipped out of its sheath of skin, like a finger out of a glove, down to the heel-joint. You have now to clear off the flesh and leave the bone there; you may scrape till this is done, but there is a better way. Stick the closed points of the scissors in among the muscles just below the head of the bone, then separate the blades just wide enough to grasp the bone; snip off its head; draw the head to one side; all the muscles follow, being there attached ; strip thein downward from the bone; the bone is left naked, with the muscle hanging by a bundle of tendons (‘‘leaders”).at its foot; sever these tendous collectively at a stroke. This whole performance will occupy about three seconds, after practice; and you may soon discover you can nick off the head of the bone of a small bird with the thumb-nail. Draw the leg bone back into its sheath, and leave it. Repeat all the foregoing steps on the other side of the bird. If you are bothered by the skin-flaps settling against the belly-walls, insert a fluff of cotton. 1 Reverse this and following directions for position, if you are left-handed. 2 The motion is exactly like stroking the right and left sides of a moustache apart; you would never dress the hairs smoothly away from the middle line, by poking from ends to reot; nor will the feathers stay aside, unless stroked away from base to tips. 8 The skin over the belly is thin as tissue paper in a small bird; the chances are you will at first cut the walls of the belly too, opening the cavity; this is no great: matter, for a pledget of cotton will keep the bowels in; nevertheless, try to divide skin only. Reason for cutting into vent: this orifice makes a nice natural termination of the incision, buttonhole-wise, and may keep the end of the cut from tearing around the root of the tail. Reason for beginning to cut over the edge of the sternum: the muscular walls of the belly are very thin, and stick so close to the skin that you may be in danger of attempting to remove them with the skin, instead of removing the skin from them; whereas, you cannot remove anything but skin from over the breast bone, so you have a guide at the start. Youcan tell skin from belly-wall, by its livid, translucent whitisness instead of redness. HOW .TO MAKE A BIRDSKIN. 29 Keep the feathers out of the wound; cotton and the moustache movement will doit. Next you must sever the tail from the body, leaving a small ‘‘ pope’s-nose” for the feathers to stay stuck into. Put the bird in the hollow of your lightly closed left hand, tail upward, belly toward you; or, if too large for this, stand it on its breast on the table in similar position. Throw your left forefinger across the front of the tail, pressing a little backward; take the scissors, cut the end of the lower bowel free first, then peck away at bone and muscle with cautious snips, till the tail-stump is dissevered from the rump, and the tail hangs only by skin. You will soon learn to do it all at one stroke; but you cannot be too careful at first; you are cutting right down on to the skin over the top of the pope’s-nose, and if you divide this, the bird will part company with its tail altogether. Now you have the rump-stump protruding naked; the legs dangling on either side; the tail hanging loose over the bird’s back between them. Lay down scissors, take up forceps1 in your left hand; with them seize and hold the stump of the rump; and with point or handle of scalpel in the other hand, with finger-tips, or with thumb-nail (best), gently press down on and peel away skin.? No cutting will be required (usually) till you come to the wings: the skin peels off (usually) as easily as an orange-rind; as fast as it is loosened, evert it; that is make it continually turn itself more and more completely inside out. Work thus till you are stopped by the obtruding wings. You have to sever the wing from the body at the shoulder, just as you did the leg at the knee, and leave it hanging by skin alone. Take your scissors,* as soon as the upper arm is exposed, and cut through flesh and bone alike at one stroke, a little below (outside of) the shoulder-joint. Do the same with the other wing. As soon as the wings are severed the body has been skinned to the root of the neck; the process becomes very easy ; the neck almost slips out of its sheath of itself; and if you have properly attended to keeping the feathers out of the wound and to continual ever- sion of the skin, you now find you have a naked body connected dumb-bell-wise by a naked neck to a cap of reversed skin into which the head has disappeared, from the inside of which the legs and wings dangle, and around the edges of which is a row of plumage and a tail.® Here comes up an important consideration: the skin, plumage, legs, wings, and tail together weigh something, — enough to stretch ® unduly the skin of the neck, from the small cylinder of which they are now suspended; the whole mass must be supported. For small birds, gather it in the hollow of your left hand, letting the body swing over the back of your hand out of the 1 Or at this stage you may instead stick a hook into a firm part of the rump, and hang up the bird about the level of your breast ; you thus have hoth hands free to work with. This is advisable with all birds too large to be readily taken in hand, and will help you, at first, with any bird. But there is really no use of it with a small pird, and you may as well learn the best way of working at first as afterward. 2 The idea of the whole movement is exactly like ungloving your hand from the wrist, by turning the glove inside out to the very finger tips. Some people say, pull off the skin; I say never pull a bird’s skin under any cir- cumstances: push it off, always operating at lines of contact of skin with body, never upon areas of skins already detached. 3 The elbows will get in your way before you reach the point of attack, namely, the shoulder, unless the wings were completely relaxed (as was essential, indeed, if you measured alar expanse correctly). Think what a difference it would make, were you skinning a man through a slit in the belly, whether his arms were stretched above his head, or pinned against his ribs. It is just the same with a bird. When properly relaxed the wings are readily pressed away toward the bird’s head, so that; the shoulders are encountered before the elbows. 4 Shears will be required to crash through a darge arm-bone. Or, you may with the scalpel unjoint the shoulder. The joint will be found higher up and deeper among the breast muscles than you might suppose, unless you are used to carving fowls at table. With asmall bird, you may snap the bone with the thumb-nail and tear asunder the muscles in an instant. 5 You find that the little straight cut you made along the belly has somehow become a hole larger than the greatest girth of the bird; be undismayed; it is all right. 6 If you have up to this point properly pushed off the skin instead of pulling it, there is as yet probably no stretching of any consequence; but, in skinning the head, which comes next, it is almost impossible for a beginner to avoid stretching to an extent involving great damage to the good looks of askin. Try your utmost, by delicacy of manipulation at the lines of contact of skin with flesh, and only there, to prevent lengthwise stretching. Cross- wise distension is of no consequence; in fact more or less of it is usually required to skin the head, and it tends to counteract the ill effect of undue elongation. 30 FIELD ORNITHOLOGY. way; for large ones, rest the affair on the table or your lap. To skin the head, secure the body in the position just indicated, by confining the neck between your left thumb and fore- finger; bring the right fingers and thumb to a cone over the head, and draw it out with gentle foree; or, holding the head itself between the left thumb and forefinger, insert the handle of the scalpel between the skin and skull, and pry a little, to enlarge the neck-cylinder of skin enough to let the head pass. It will generally! slip out of its hood very readily, as far as its greatest diameter ;? there it sticks, being in fact pinned by the ears. Still holding the bird as before, with the point of the scalpel handled like a nut-picker, or with your thumb-nail, detach the delicate membrane that lines the ear-opening ; do the same for the other ear. The skull is then shelled out to the eyes, and will skin no further of its own accord, being again attached by a membrane, around the border of the eye-socket. Holding the scalpel as before, run its. edge around an are (a semicircle is enough to let you into the orbit) of the circumference, dis- severing the membrane from the bone. Reverse the scalpel, and scoop out the eyeball with the end of the handle; you bring out the eye betwixt the ball of your thumb and the handle of the instrument, tearing apart the optic nerve and the conjunctival tissue, but taking care not to open the eyeball? or lacerate the eyelids. Do the same with the other eye. The head is then skinned far enough ; there is no use of getting quite to the base of the bill. You have now to get rid of the brain and flesh of the nape and jaws,* and leave most of the skull in; the cranial dome makes the only perfect “stuffing” for the skin of the head. This is all done at once by only four particular cuts. Hold the head between your left thumb and fingers, the bill point- ing towards you, the bird’s palate facing you; you observe a space bounded behind by the base of the skull where the neck joins, in front by the floor of the mouth, on either side by the prongs of the under jaw, —these last especially prominent. Take the scissors; stick one blade just inside one branch of the lower jaw, thence into the eye-socket which lies below (the head being upside down), thence into the brain-box; make a cut parallel with the jaw, just inside of it, bringing the upper scissor blade perpendicularly downward, crashing through the skull just inside of the angle of the jaw. Duplicate this cut on the other side. Connect the anterior ends of these cuts by a transverse one across the floor and roof of the mouth. Connect the posterior ends of the side cuts by one across the back of the skull near its base, -—just where the nape-muscle ceases to override the cranium. You have enclosed and cut out a squarish- shaped mass of bone and muscle, and, on gently pulling the neck (to which of course it remains attached), the whole affair comes out, bringing the brain with it, but leaving the entire roof of the skull supported on a scaffolding of jaw-bone. It only remains to skin the wings. Seize the arm-stump with fingers or forceps; the upper arm is readily drawn from its sheath as far as the elbow; but the wing must be skinned to the wrist (carpus — “bend o: the wing”); yet it will not come out so easily, because the secondary quills grow to one of the fore-arm bones (the ulna), pinning down the skin the whole way along a series of points. To break up these connections, hold the upper arm firmly with the left thumb and forefinger, the convexity of the elbow looking towards you; press the right thumb-nail closely against the back edge of the ulna, and strip downward, scraping the bone with the nail the whole way. If you only hit the line of adhesions, there is no trouble at all about this. Now you want to 1 The special case of head too large for the calibre of the neck is treated beyond. 2 and you will at once find a great apparent increase of amount of free skin in your hand, owing to release and extension of all that was before shortened in length by circular distension, in enlargement of the neck- cylinder. 3 An eyeball is much larger than it looks from the outside; if you stick the instrument straight into the socket, you may punch a hole in the ball and let out the water; a very disagreeable complication. Insinuate the knife-handle close to the rim of the socket, and hug the wall of the cavity throughout. * You may of course at this stage cut off the neck at the nape, punch a hole in the base of the skull, dig out the brains, and scrape away at the jaw-muscles till you are satisfied or tired; an unnecessary job, during which the skin may have become dry and shrivelled and hard to turn right side out. The operation described in the text may require ten seconds, perhaps. HOW TO MAKE A BIRDSKIN. 31 leave in one of the two fore-arm bones, to preserve sufficiently the shape of the limb, but to remove the other, with the upper-arm bone and all the flesh. It is done in a moment: stick the point of the scissors between the heads of the two fore-arm bones, and cut the hinder one (ulna) away from the elbow; then the other fore-arm bone (radius), bearing on its near end the elbow and the whole upper arm, is to be stripped away from the ulna, taking with it the flesh of the fore-arm, and to be cut off at its far end close to the wrist-joint, one stroke severing the bone and all the tendons that pass over the wrist to the hand; then the ulna, bare of flesh, is alone left in, attached at the wrist. Draw gently on the wing from the outside till it slips into the natural position whence you everted it. Do the same’for the other wing. This finishes the skinning process. The skin is now to be turned right side out. Begin any way you please, till you see the point of the bill reappearing among the feathers; seize it with fingers or forceps, as convenient, and use it for gentle traction. But by no means pull it out by holding on to the rear end of the skin —that would infallibly stretch the skin. Holding the bill, make a cylinder of your left hand and coax the skin backward with a sort of milking motion. It will come easily enough, until the final stage of getting the head back into its skull-cap; this may require some little dexterity ; but you cannot fail to get the head in, if you remember what you did to get it out. When this is fairly accomplished, you for the first time have the pleasure of seeing something that looks like a birdskin. Your next! care is to apply arsenic. Lay the skin on its back, the opening toward you and wide spread, so the interior is in view. Run the scalpel-handle iuto the neck to dilate that cylinder until you can see the skull; find your way to the orifices of the legs and wings; expose the pope’s-nose ; thus you have not only the general skin surface, but all the points where some traces of flesh were left, fairly in view. Shovel in arsenic; dump some down the neck, making sure it reaches and plentifully besprinkles the whole skull; drop a little in each wing hole and leg hole; leave a small pile at the root of the tail; strew some more over the skin at large. The simple rule is, put in as much arsenic as will stick anywhere. Then close the opening, and shake up the skin ; move the head about by the bill; rustle the wings and move the legs; this distrib- utes the poison thoroughly. If you have got in more than is necessary, as you may judge by seeing it piled up dry, anywhere, hold the skin with the opening downward over the poison- drawer, and give it a flip and let the superfluous powder fall out. Now for the “make up,” upon which the beauty of the preparation depends. First get the empty skin into good shape. Let it lie on its back; draw it straight out to its natural length. See that the skin of the head fits snugly ; that the eyes, ears, and jaws are in place. Expand the wings to make sure that the bone is in place, and fold them so that the quills override each other naturally ; set the tail-feathers shinglewise also; draw down the legs and leave them straddling wide apart. Give the plumage a preliminary dressing ; if the skin is free from kinks and creases, the feath- ers come naturally into place; particular ones that may be awry should be set right, as may be generally done by stroking, or by lifting them free repeatedly, and letting them fall; if any {through carelessness) remain turned into the opening, they should be carefully picked out. Remove all traces of gypsum or arsenic with the feather duster. The stuffing is to be put in through the opening in the belly; the art is to get in just enough, in the right places. It would never do to push in pellets of cotton, as you would stuff a pillow-case, till the skin is filled up; no subsequent skill in setting could remove the distortion that would result. It takes just fowr? pieces of stuffing — oue for each eye, one for the neck, and one for the body; 1 Some direct the poisoning to be done while the skin is still wrong side out; and it may be very thoroughly effected at that stage. I wait, because the arsenic generally strews over the table in the operation of reversing the skin, if you use as much as I think advisable; and it is better to have a cavity to put it into than a surface to atrew it on. 2 For any ordinary bird up to the size of a crow. It is often directed that the leg-bones and wing-bones be wrapped with cotton or tow. I should not think of putting anything around the wing-bones of any bird up to the size of an eagle, swan, or pelican. Examination of a skinned wing will show how extremely compact it is, except 32 FIELD ORNITHOLOGY. while it requires rather less than half as much stuffing as an inexperienced person night suppose. Take a shred of cotton that will make a tight ball as large as the bird’s eye; stick it on the end of your knitting-needle, and by twirling the needle whilst the cotton is confined in your finger tips, you make a neat ball. Introduce this through the belly-opening, into the eye-socket; if you have cut away skull enough, as already directed, it will go right in; disengage the needle with a reverse twirl, and withdraw it. Take hold of the bill with one hand, and with the forceps in the other, dress the eyelids neatly and naturally over the elastic substance within. Repeat for the other eye. Take next a shred of cotton that will roll into a firm cylinder rather less than the size of the bird’s neck. Rod it on the needle much as you did the eye-ball, introduce it in the same way, and ram it firmly into the base of the skull; disengage the needle by twirling it the other way, and withdraw it, taking care not to dislodge the cotton neck. If now you peep into the skin you will see the end of this artificial neck; push it up against the skin of the breast, — it must not lie down on the back between the shoulders. The body-wad comes next; you want to imitate the size and shape of the bird’s trunk. Take a mass of cotton you think will be enough, and take about half of this; that will be plenty (cotton is very elastic). It should make a tolerably firm ball, rather egg-shaped, swelling at the breast, smaller behind. If you simply squeeze up the cotton, it will not stay compressed; it requires a movion something like that which bakers employ to knead dough into the shape of a loaf. Keep tucking over the borders of the cotton till the desired shape and firmness are attained. Insert the ball between the blades of the forceps in such way that the instrument confines the folded-over edges, and with a wriggling motion insinuate it aright into the body. Before relaxing the forceps, put your thumb and forefinger in the bird’s armpits, and pinch: the shoulders together till they almost touch; this is to make sure that there is no stuffing between the shoulders, — the whole mass lying breastwards. Loosen the forceps and withdraw them. If the ball is rightly made and tucked in, the elasticity of the cotton will chiefly expend itself in puffing out the breast, which is just what is wanted. Be careful not to push the body too far in; if it impacts against the skin of the neck, this will infallibly stretch, driving the shoulders apart, and no art will remedy the unsightly gape resulting. You see I dwell on this matter of the shoulders; the whole knack of stuffing correctly focuses just over the shoulders. If you find you have made the body too large, pull it out and make a smaller one; if it fits nicely about the shoulders, but is too long to go in, or too puffy over the belly, let it stay, and pick away shreds at the open end till the redundancy is remedied. Your bird is now stusfed. Close the opening by bringing the edges of the original cut together. There is no use of sewing? up the cut, for a small bird; if the stuffing is correct, the feathers will hide the opening; and if they do not, it is no matter. You are not making an object for a show case, but for a naturalist’s just at the shoulder. What you remove will never make any difference from the outside, while you would almost inevitably get in too much, not of the right shape, and make an awkward bulging no art would remedy; I say, then, leave the wings of all but the largest birds empty, and put in very little under any circumstances, As for legs, the whole host of small perching birds need no wrapping whatever; depend upon it you will make a nicer skin without wrapping. But large birds and those with very muscular or otherwise prominent legs must have the removal of flesh compensated for. I treat of these cases beyond, : 1 Although a bird’s neck is really, of course, in direct continuation of the back-bone, yet the natural sigmoid curve of the neck is such that it virtually takes departure rather from the breast, its lower curve being received between the prongs of the merrythought. This is what we must imitate instead of the true anatomy. If you let the end of the neck lie between the shoulders, it will infallibly press them apart, so that the interscapular plumage cannot shingle over the scapular feathers as it should, and a gaping place, showing down or even naked skin, will result. Likewise if the neck be made too large (the chances are that way, at first), the same result follows. These seemingly trifling points are very important indeed; I never made a decent birdskin till I learned to get the neck small enough and to shove the end of it against the breast. 2 But sew it up, if you please, though you may be perhaps giving: the man who subsequently mounts the bird the trouble of ripping out the stitches. Stitches, however, will not come amiss witb a /arge bird. I generally, in such cases, pin the edges of the cut in one or more places. HOW TO MAKE A BIRDSKIN. 33 cabinet. Supposing you to have been so far successful, little remains to be done; the skin already looks very much like a dead bird; you have only to give the finishing touches, and “set” it, Fixing the wings nicely isa great point. Fold each wing closely; see that the carpal bend is well defined, that the coverts show their several oblique rows perfectly, that all the quills override each other like shingles. Tuck the folded wings close up to the body — rather on the bird’s back than along its sides; see that the wing tips meet over the tail (wnder the tail as the bird lies on its back); let the carpal angle nestle in the plumage; have the shoulders close together, so that the interscapulars shingle over the scapulars. If the wing be pressed in too tightly, the scapulars will rise up on end; there must be neither furrow nor ridge about the insertion of the wings; everything must lie perfectly smooth. At this stage of the process, I generally lift up the skin gingerly, and let it slip head first through one hand after the other, pressing here or there to correct a deformity, or uniformly to make the whole skin compact. The wings set, next bring the legs together, so that the bones within the skin lie parallel with each other; bend the heel-joint a little, to let the tarsi cross each other about their middle; lay them sidewise on the tail, so that the naturally flexed toes lie flat, all the claws mutually facing each other. See that the neck is perfectly straight, and, if anything, shortened rather than outstretched ; have the crown of the head flat on the table, the bill point- ing straight forward,! the mandibles shut tightly.2- Never attempt any ‘‘fancy” attitudes with a birdskin; the simpler and more compactly it is made up the better.2 Finally, I say, hang over your bird (if you have time); dress better the feathers that were well dressed before ; perfect every curve; finish caressingly, and put it away tenderly, as you hope to be shriven yourself when the time comes. There are several ways of laying a birdskin. A common, easy, and slovenly way is to thrust it head first into a paper cone; but it makes a hollow-chested, pot-bellied object, unpleasant to see, and renders your nice work on the make-up futile. A paper cylinder, corresponding in calibre to the greatest girth of the birdskin, binds the wings well, and makes a good ordinary specimen, — perhaps better than the average. Remarking that there are some detestable practices, such as hanging up a bird by a string through the nose (methods only to be mentioned to be condemned), I will tell you the easiest and best way, by which the most elegant and tasteful results are almost necessarily secured. The skins are simply laid away in cotton, just as they come from your hands. Take a considerable wad of cotton, make a “bed” of it, lay the specimen in, and tuck it up nicely around the edges. In effect, I gener- . 7 ay ip 9 p y 8 ally take a thin sheet of cotton wadding, the sizing of which confers some textile consistency, and wrap the bird completely but lightly in it. By loosening or tightening a trifle here or there, laying down a “‘ pillow” or other special slight pressure, the most delicate contour-lines may be preserved with perfect aoe Unnecessary pother is sometimes made about drying 1 Exceptions, Woodpeckers, ducks, and some other birds treated of beyond, are best set with the head flat on one side, the bill pointing obliquely to the right or left; owls, with the bill pointing straight up in the air as the bird lies on its back. 2 If the mandibles gape, run a thread through the nostrils and tie it tightly under the bill, Or, since this injures the nostrils (and we frequently want to examine their structure) stick a pin in under the bill close to the gonys, driving it obliquely into the palate. Sometimes the skin of the throat looks sunken betwixt the sides of the jaw. A shred of cotton introduced with forceps through the mouth will obviate this. 8 Don’t cock up the head, trying to impart a knowing air — it cannot be done, and only makes the poor bird look ridiculous. Don’t lay the skin on one side, with the legs in perching position, and don’t spread the wings — the bird will never perch nor fly again, and the suggestion is unartistic because incongruous. The only permis- sible departure from the rule of severe simplicity is when some special ornament, as a fine crest, may be naturally displayed, or some hidden markings are desired to be brought out, or a shape of tail or wing to be perpetuated ; but in all such cases the “flowery”? inclination should be sparingly and judiciously indulged. It is, however, frequently desirable to give some special set to hide a defect, as loss of plumage, etc.; this may often be accom- plished very cunningly, with excellent result. No rules for this can be laid down, since the details vary in every case; but in general the weak spot may be hidden by contracting the skin of the place, and then setting the bird {nan attitude that naturally corresponds, thus making a virtue of necessity. 3 34 FIELD ORNITHOLOGY. skins ; the fact being that under ordinary circumstances they could not be kept from drying perfectly ; and they dry in exactly the shape they are set, if not accidentally pressed upon. At sea, however, or during unusually protracted wet weather, they of course dry slowly, and may require some attention to prevent mildew or souring, especially in the cases of very large, thick-skinned, or greasy specimens. Thorough poisoning, and drying by a fire, or placing in the sun, will always answer. Very close packing retards drying. When travelling, or operating under other circumstances requiring economy of space, you must not expect to turn out your collection in elegant order. Perfection of contour-lines can only be secured by putting each specimen away by itself; undue pressure is always liable to produce unhappily outré configuration of a skin. Trays in a packing box are of great service in limiting possi- bilities of pressure ; they should be shallow; oue four inches deep will take a well stuffed hen- hawk, for example, or accommodate from three to six sparrows a-top of one another. It is well to sort out your specimens somewhat according to size, to keep heavy ones off little ones; though the chinks around the former may usually be economized with advantage by packing in the less valuable or the less neatly prepared of the latter. When limited to a travelling chest, I generally pass in the skins as fast as made, packing them “ solid” in one sense, yet hunting up a nice resting-place for each. If each rests in its own cotton coffin, it is astonishing how close they may be laid without harm, and how many will go in a given space; a tray 30 x 18 x 4 inches will easily hold three hundred and fifty birds six inches long. As a tray fills up, the drier ones first. put in may be submitted to more pressure. A skin originally dried in good shape may subsequently be pressed perfectly flat without material injury; the only thing to avoid being contortion. The whole knack of packing birds corresponds to that of filling a trunk solidly full of clothes, as may easily be done without damage to an immaculate shirt- front. Finally, I would say, never put away a bird unlabelled, not even for an hour; you may forget it or die. Never tie a label to a bird’s bill, wing, or tail; tie it securely to both legs where they cross, and it will be just half as liable to become detached as if tied to one leg only. Never paste a label, or even a number, on a bird’s plumage. Never put in glass eyes before mounting. Never paint or varnish a bird’s bill or feet. Never replace missing plumage of one bird with the feathers of another — no, not even if the birds came out of the same nest. b. SprcraAL Processes; COMPLICATIONS AND ACCIDENTS. The Foregoing Method of procedure is a routine practice applicable to three-fourths if not nine-tenths of the ‘‘ general run” of birds. But there are several cases requiring a modi- fication of this programme; while several circumstances may tend to embarrass your operations, The principal special conditions may therefore be separately treated to your advantage. Size. — Other things being equal, a large bird is more difficult to prepare than a small one. In one case, you only need a certain delicacy of touch, easily acquired and soon becom- ing mechanical ; in the other, demand on your strength may be made, till your museles ache. It takes longer, too;1 I could put away a dozen sparrows in the time I should spend over an eagle; and I would rather undertake a hundred humming-birds than one ostrich. For 1 The reader may be curious to know something of the statistics on this score — how long it ought to take him to prepare an ordinary skin. He can scarcely imagine, from his first tedious operations, how expert he may become, not only in beauty of result, but in rapidity of execution. I have seen taxidermists make good small skins at the rate of ten an hour; but this is extraordinary. The quickest work I ever did myself was eight an hour, or an average of seven and a half minutes apiece, and fairly good skins. But I picked my birds, all small ones, well shot, labelled, measured, and plugged beforehand, so that the rate of work was exceptional, besides including only the actual manipulations from first cut to laying away. No one averages eight birds an hour, even excluding the necessary preliminaries of cleansing, plugging, etc. Four birds an hour, everything included, is good work. A very eminent ornithologist of this country, and an expert taxidermist, once laid a whimsical wager, that he would skin and stuff a bird before a certain friend of his could pick all the feathers off a specimen of the same kind. I forget the time, but he won, and his friend ate crow, literally, that night. HOW TO MAKE A BIRDSKIN. 385 “large” birds, say anything from a hen-hawk upward, various special manipulations I have directed may be foregone, while however you observe their general drift and intent. You may open the bird as directed, or, turning it tail to you, cut with a knife! Forceps are rarely required; there is not much that is too small to be taken in hand. As soon as the tail is divided, hang up the bird by the rump, so you will have both hands free. Let it swing clear of the wall or table, at any height most convenient. The steel hooks of a dissecting case are not always large enough; use a stout fish-hook with the barb filed off. Work with your nails, assisted by the scalpel if necessary. I know of no bird, and I think there is none, in this country at least, the skin of which is so intimately adherent by fibrous or muscular tissue as to require actual dissecting throughout; a pelican comes, perhaps, as near this as any; but in many cases the knife may be constantly employed with advantage. Use it with long clean sweeping strokes, hugging the skin rather than the body. The knee and shoulder commonly require disarticulation, unless you use bone-nippers or strong shears; the four cuts of the skull may presuppose a very able-bodied instrument, even a chisel. The wings will give you the most trouble, and they require a special process; for you cannot readily break up the adhesions of the secondary quills to the ulna, nor is it desirable that very large feathers should be deprived of this natural support. Hammer or nip off the great head of the upper arm-bone, just below the insertion of the breast muscles; clean the rest of that bone and leave it in. Tie a string around it (what sailors call “‘two half hitches” gives a secure hold on the bony cylinder), and tie it to the other humerus, inside the skin, so that the two bones shall be rather less than their natural distance apart. After the skin is brought right side out, attack the wings thus: Spread the wing under side uppermost, and secure it on the table by driving a tack or brad through the wrist-joint; this fixes the far end, while the weight of the skin steadies the other. Raise a whole layer of the under wing-coverts, and make a cut in the skin thus exposed, from elbow to wrist, in the middle line between the two forearm bones. Raise the flaps of skin and all the muscle is laid bare; it is to be removed. This is best done by lifting each muscle from its bed separately, slipping the handle of the scalpel under the individual bellies; there is little if any bony attachment except at each end, and this is readily severed. Strew in arsenic; a little cotton may be used to fill the bed of muscle removed from avery large bird; bring the flaps of skin together, and smooth down the coverts; you need not be particular to sew up the cut, for the coverts will hide the opening; in fact, the operation does not show at all after the make-up. Stuffing of large birds is not commonly done with only the four pieces already directed. The eyeballs, and usually the neck-cylinder, go in as before; the body may be filled any way you please, provided you do not put in too much stuffing nor get any between the shoulders. All large birds had better have the leg-bones wrapped to nearly natural size. Observe that the leg-muscles do not form a cylinder, but a cone; let the wrapping taper naturally from top to bottom. Attention to this point is neces- sary for all large or medium-sized birds with naturally prominent legs. The large finely feathered legs of a hawk, for example, ought to be well displayed ; with these birds, and also "with rails, etc., moreover, imitate the bulge of the thigh with a special wad laid inside the skin. Large birds commonly require also a special wad introduced by the mouth, to make the swell of the throat; this wad should be rather fluffy than firm. As a rule, do not fill out 1 Certain among larger birds are often opened elsewhere than along the belly, with what advantage I cannot say from my own experience. Various water birds, such as loons, grebes, auks, gulls, and ducks (in fact any swimming bird with dense under plumage) may be opened along the side by a cut under the wings from the shoulder over the hip to the rump; the cut is completely hidden by the make-up, and the plumage is never ruffled, But I see no necessity for this; for, as a rule, the belly opening can, if desired, be completely effaced with due care, though a very greasy bird with white under plumage generally stains where opened, in spite of every precaution. Such birds as loons, grebes, cormorants, and penguins are often opened by a cut across the fundament from one leg to the other; their conformation in fact suggests and favors this operation. I have often seen water birds slit down the back; but I consider it very poor practice. 36 FIELD ORNITHOLOGY. large birds to their natural dimensions; they take up too much room. Let the head, neck, and legs be accurately prepared, but leave the main cavity one-third if not one-half empty ; no more is required than will fairly smooth out creases in the skin. Reduce bulk rather by flattening out than by general compression. Use tow instead of cotton ; and if at all short of tow, economize with paper, hay, ete., at least for the deeper portions of the main stuffing. Large birds may be “set” in a great quantity of tow; wrapped in paper, much like any other parcel ; or simply left to dry on the table, the wings being only supported by cushioning or other suitable means. Shape. — Some special configurations have been noticed in the last paragraph, prema- turely perhaps, but leading directly up to further considerations respecting shape of certain birds as a modifying element in the process of preparation. As for skinning, there is one extremely important matter. Most ducks, many woodpeckers, flamingoes, and doubtless some others with which I am not familiar, cannot be skinned in the usual way, because the head is too large for the calibre of the neck and cannot be drawn through. In such cases, skin as usual to the base of the skull, cut off the head there (inside the skin of course), and operate upon it, after turning the skin right side out, as follows: Part the feathers carefully in a straight line down the back of the skull, make a cut through the skin, just long enough to permit the head to pass, draw out the skull through this opening, and dress it as already directed. Return it, draw the edges of the cut nicely together, and sew up the opening with a great many fine stitches. Simple as it may appear, this process is often embarrassing, for the cut has an unhappy tendency to wander about the neck, enlarging itself even under the most careful manipulation; while the feathers of the parts are usually so short, that it is diffi- cult to efface all traces of the vperation. I consider it very disagreeable ; but for ducks I know of no alternative. I have however found out a way to avoid it with woodpeckers, excepting the very largest; it is this: Before skinning, part the eyelids, and plunge the scalpel right into the eyeballs; seize the cut edge of the ball with the forceps, and pull the eye right out. It may be dexterously done without spilling the eye-water on the plumage; but, for fear of this, previously put a little pile of plaster on the spot. Throw arsenic into the socket, and then fill it with cotton poked in between the lids. The eyes are thus disposed of. Then, in skinning, when you come to the head, dissever it from the neck and work the skull as far out as you can; it may be sufficiently exposed, in all cases, for you to gouge out the base of the skull with the scissors, and get at the brain to remove it. Apply an extra large dose of arsenic, and you will never hear from what jaw-muscle has been left in. In all these cases, as already remarked, the head is preferably set lying on one side, with the bill pointing obliquely to the right or left. Certain birds require a special mode of setting ; these are, birds with very long legs or neck, or both, as swans, geese, pelicans, cormorants, snakebirds, loons, and especially cranes, herons, ibises, and flamingoes. Long legs should be doubled completely on themselves by bending at the heel-joint, and either tucked under the wings, or laid on the under surface ; the chief point is to see that the toes lie flat, so that the claws do not stick up,* to catch in things or get broken off. A long neck should be carefully folded; not at a sharp angle with a crease in the skin, but with a short curve, and brought round either to the side of the bird or on its breast, as may seem most convenient. The object is to make a “ bale” of the skin as nearly as may be, and when it is properly effected it is surprising what little space a crane, for instance, occupies. But it is rarely, if ever, admissible to bend a tail back on the body, however inconveniently long it may be. Special dilations of skin, like the pouch of a pelican, or the air sacs of a prairie hen, may be moderately displayed. Thin Skin. — Loose Plumage. — It is astonishing how much resistance is offered by the thin skin of the smallest bird. Though no thicker than tissue paper, it is not very liable HOW TO MAKE A BIRDSKIN. 37 to tear if deftly handled; yet a rent once started often enlarges to an embarrassing extent if the skin be stretched in the least. Accidental rents and enlargements of shot-holes should be neatly sewn up, if occurring in an exposed place; but in most cases the plumage may be set to hide the openings. The trogons are said to have remarkably thin and delicate skin; I have never handled one in the flesh. Among our birds, the cardinal grosbeak and the species of Caprimulgide have, I think, about the tenderest skins. The obvious indication in all such cases is simply a little extra delicacy of manipulation. In skinning most birds, you should not loose more than a feather or two, excepting those loosened by the shot. Pigeons are peculiar, among our birds, for the very loose insertion of their plumage; you will have to be particularly careful with them, and in spite of all your precautions a good many feathers will probably drop. As stripping down the secondary quills from the forearm, in the manner already indicated, will almost invariably set these feathers free from the skin, I recommend you not to attempt it, but to dress the wings as prescribed for large birds. Fatness. — Fat is a substance abhorred of all dissectors; always in the way, embarrass- - ing operations and obscuring observations; while it is seldom worth examination after its structure has once been ascertained. It is particularly obnoxious to the taxidermist, since it is liable to soil the plumage during skinning, and also tu soak into the feathers afterwards ; and greasy birdskins are never pleasing objects. A few birds never seem to have any fat; some, like petrels, are always oily ; at times, especially in the indolent autumn season, when birds have little to do but feed, the great majority acquire an embonpoint doubtless to their own satisfaction, but to the taxidermist’s discomfort. In all such cases gypsum should be lavishly employed. Strew plaster plentifully, from the first cut all through the operation; dip your fingers in it frequently, as well as your instruments. The invaluable absorbent will deal with most of the ‘‘running” fat. When the skin is completely reversed, remove as much of the solid fat as possible; it is generally found occupying the areolar tissue of particular definite tracts, and most of it may usually be peeled or flaked off in considerable masses. Since the soft and oozy state of most birds’ fat at ordinary temperatures may be much improved by cold, it will repay you to leave your birds on ice for a while before skinning, if you have the means and time to do so; the fat will become quite firm. There is a device for preventing or at any rate lessening the soiling of the plumage so apt to occur along the line of your incision; it is invaluable in all cases of white plumage. Take a strip of cloth of greater width than the length of the feathers, long enough to go up one side of the cut and down the other. Sew this closely to the skin all around the cut, and it will form an apron to guard the plumage. You will too frequently find that a bird, prepared without soiling and laid away apparently safe, afterwards grows greasy; if the plumage is white, it soon becomes worse than ever by showing dust that the grease catches. Perhaps the majority of such birds in our museums show the dirty streak along the belly. The reason is, that the grease has oozed out along the eut, or wherever else the skin has been broken, and infiltrated the plumage, being drawn up apparently by capillary attraction, just as a lampwick “sucks up” oil. Sometimes, without obviously soiling the plumage, the grease will run along the thread that ties the label, and make a uniformly transparent piece of “‘oil-paper.” I have no remedy to offer for this gradual infiltration of the plumage. It will not wash out, even with soap and water. Possibly careful and persistent treatment with an ether might be effective, but I am not prepared to say it would be. Removal of all fat that can be got off during skinning, with a liberal use of plaster, will in a measure prevent a difficulty that remains incurable. Bloodstains, ete. —In the nature of the case, this complication is of continual occurrence ; fortunately it is easier dealt with than greasiness. Much may be done in the field to prevent bloodying of the plumage, as already said. A little blood does not show much on a dark 38 FIELD ORNITHOLOGY. plumage ; but it is of course conspicuous on light or white feathers. Dried blood may often be scraped off, in imitation of the natural process by which a bird cleanses its plumage with - the bill; or be pulverized by gently twiddling the feathers between the fingers, and then blown off. But feathers may by due care be washed almost as readily as clothing; and we must ordinarily resort to this to remove all traces of blood, especially from white surfaces. If properly dried they do not show the operation. With a soft rag or pledget of cotton dipped in warm water bathe the place assiduously, pressing down pretty hard, only taking care to stroke the feathers the right way, so as not to crumple them, until the red color disappears ; then you have simply a wet place to deal with. Press gypsum on the spot; it will cake; flake it off and apply more, till it will no longer stick. Then raise the feathers on a knife-blade and sprinkle gypsum in among them; pat it down and shake it up, wrestling with the spot till the moisture is entirely absorbed. Two other fluids of the body will give you occasional annoy- ance, —the juices of the alimentary canal and the eye-water. Escape of the former by mouth, nostrils, or vent is preventable by plugging these orifices, and its occurrence is inexcusable. But shot often lacerates the gullet, crop, and bowels, and though nothing may flow at the time, subsequent jolting or pressure in the game-bag causes the escape of fluids: a seemingly safe specimen may be unwrapped to show the whole belly-plumage a sodden brown mass. Such accidents should be treated precisely like bloodstains ; but it is to be remarked that these stains are not seldom indelible, traces usually persisting in white plumage at least in spite of our best endeavors. Eye-water, insignificant as it may appear, is often a great annoyance. This liquor is slightly glairy, or rather glassy, and puts a sort of sizing on the plumage difficult to efface; the more so since the soiling necessarily occurs in a conspicuous place, where the plumage is too scanty and delicate to bear much handling. It frequently happens that a lacer- ated eyeball, by the elasticity of the coats, or adhesion of the lids, retains its fluid till this is pressed out in manipulating the parts; and recollecting how the head lies buried in plumage at that stage of the process, it-will be seen that not only the head, but much of the neck and even the breast may become wetted. If the parts are extensively soaked, the specimen is almost irreparably damaged, if not ruined. Plaster will absorb the moisture, but much of the sizing may be retained on the plumage ; therefore, though the place seems simply wet, it should be thoroughly washed with water before the gypsum is applied. I always endeavor to prevent the accident; if I notice a lacerated eyeball, I extract it before skinning, in the manner described for woodpeckers. Miscellaneous stains, from the juices of plants, ete., may be received ; all such are treated on general principles. Blood on the beak and feet of rapacious birds, mud on the bill and legs of waders, et¢., etc., may be washed off without the slightest difficulty. A land bird that has fallen in the water should be recovered as soon as possible, picked up by the bill, and shaken ; most of the water will run off, unless the plumage is com- pletely soaked. It should be allowed to dry just as it is, without touching the plumage, before being wrapped and bagged. If a bird fall in soft mud, the dirt should be scraped or snapped off as far as this can be done without plastering the feathers down, and the rest allowed to dry; it may afterward be rubbed fine and dusted off, when no harm will ensue, except to white feathers which may require washing. Mutilation. — You will often be troubled, early in your practice, with broken legs and wings, and various lacerations ; but the injury must be very severe (such as the cartying away of a limb, or blowing off the whole top of a head) that cannot be in great measure remedied by care and skill. Suppose a little bird, shot through the neck or small of the back, comes apart while being skinned; you have only to remove the hinder portion, be that much or little, and go on with the rest as if it were the whole. If the leg bone of a small bird be broken near the heel, let it come away altogether; it will make little if any difference. In case of the same accident to a large bird that ought to have the legs wrapped, whittle out a peg and stick HOW TO MAKE A BIRDSKIN. 39 it in the hollow stump of the bone; if there is no stump left, file a piece of stout wire to a point and stick it into the heel joint. If the forearm bone that you usually leave in a small bird is broken, remove it and leave the other in; if both are broken, do not clean the wings so thoroughly that they become detached ; an extra pinch of arsenic will condone the omission. In a large bird, if both bones of the forearm are broken, splint them with a bit of wood laid in between, so that one end hitches at the elbow, the other at the wrist. A humerus may be replaced like a leg bone, but this is rarely required. If the skull be smashed, save the pieces, and leave them if you can; if not, imitate the arch of the head with a firm cotton-ball. . A broken tarsus is readily splinted with a pin thrust up through the sole of the foot: if too large for this, use a pointed piece of wire. There is no mending a bill when part of it is shot away ; for I think the replacing of part by putty, stucco, etc., inadmissible; but if it be only fractured, the pieces may usually be retained in place by winding with thread, or with a touch of glue or mucilage. It is singular, by the way, what unsightliness results from a very trifling injury to the bill; much, I suppose, as a boil on a person’s nose is peculiarly deplorable. I have already hinted how artfully various weak places in a skin, due to mutilation or loss of plumage, may be hidden. Decomposition. — It might seem unnecessary to speak of what may be smelled out so readily as animal putrescence; but there are some useful points to be learned in this connection, besides the important sanitary precautions that are to be deduced. Immediately after death the various fluids of the body begin to ‘ settle” (so to speak), and shortly after the muscular system as a rule becomes fixed in what is technically called rigor mortis. This stiffening usually occurs as the animal heat dies away; but its onset, and especially its duration, is very variable, according to circumstances, such as cause of death ; although in most cases of sudden violent death of an animal in previous good health, it seems to depend chiefly upon tempera- ture, being transient and imperfect, or altogether wanting, in hot weather. As it passes off, the whole system relaxes, and the body soon becomes as “limp” as at the moment of death. This is the period immediately preceding decomposition ; in fact, it may be considered as the stage of incipient putridity ; it is very brief in warm weather, and it should be seized as the last opportunity of preparing a bird without inconvenience and even danger. If not skinned at once, putrescence becomes established; it is indicated by the effluvium (at the outset ‘‘ sour,” but rapidly acquiring a variety of disgusting odors) ; by the distension of the abdomen with gaseous products of decomposition ; by the loosening of the cuticle, and consequently of the feathers; and by other signs. If you part the feathers of a bad-smelling bird’s belly to find the skin’ swollen and livid or greenish, while the feathers come off at a touch, the bird is too far gone to be recovered without trouble and risk that no ordinary specimen warrants. It is a singular fact that this early putrescence is more poisonous than utter rottenness; as physicians are aware, a post-mortem examination at this stage, or even before it, involves more risk than their ordinary dissecting-room experience. It seems that both natural and pathological puisons lose their early virulence by resolution into other products of decay. The obvious deduction from all this is to skin your birds soon enough. Some say they are best skinned perfectly fresh, but I see no reason for this; when I have time to choose, I take the period of rigidity as being preferable on the whole; for the fluids have then “‘ settled,” and the limbs are readily relaxed by manipulation. If you have a large bag to dispose of, and are pressed for time, set them in the coolest place you can find, preferably on ice; a slight lowering of temper- ature may make a decided difference. Disembowelling, which may be accomplished in a moment, will materially retard decomposition. Injections of creosote or dilute carbolic acid will arrest decay for a time, for an indefinitely long period if a large quantity of these anti- septics be employed. When it becomes desirable (it can never be necessary) to skin a putres- cent bird, great care must be exercised not only to accomplish the operation, but to avoid 40 FIELD ORNITHOLOGY. danger. I must not, however, unconsciously lead you to exaggerate the risk, and will add that I think it often overrated. I have probably skinned birds as “‘ gamey ” as any one has, and repeatedly, without being conscious of any ill effects. I am sure that no poison, ordinarily generated by decomposition of a body healthy at death, can compare in virulence with that commonly resulting after death by many diseases. I also believe that the gaseous products, however offensive to the smell, are innocuous as arule. The danger practically narrows down to the absorption of fluids through an abraded surface; the poison is rarely taken in by natural pores of healthy skin, if it remain in contact but a short time. Cuts and scratches may be closed with a film of collodion, or covered with isinglass or court plaster, or protected by rubber cots on the fingers. The hands should, of course, be washed with particular care immediately after the operation, and the nails scrupulously dressed. Having never been poisoned (to my knowledge), I cannot give the symptoms from personal experience; but I will quote from Mr. Maynard: “Tn a few days numerous pimples, which are exceedingly painful, appear upon the skin of the face and other parts of the person and, upon those parts where there is chafing or rubbing, become large and deep sores. There is a general languor and, if badly poisoned, complete prostration results; the slightest scratch becomes a festering sore. Once poisoned in this manner (and I speak from experience), one is never afterward able to skin any animal that has become in the least putrid, without experiencing some of the symptoms above described. Even birds that you handled before with impunity, you cannot now skin without great care. The best remedy in this case is, as the Hibernian would say, not to get poisoned, ... + batife the parts frequently in cold water ; and, if chafed, sprinkle the parts after bathing, with wheat flour. These remedies, if persisted in, will effect a cure, if not too bad; then, medical advice should be procured without delay.” 1 How to mount Birds.— As some may not improbably procure this volume with a reasonable expectation of being taught to mount birds, I append the required instructions, although the work only professes to treat of the preparation of skins for the cabinet. Asa rule, the purposes of science are best subserved by not mounting specimens; for display. the only end attained, is not required. I would strongly advise you not to mount your rarer or otherwise particularly valuable specimens; select for this purpose nice, pretty birds of no special scientific value. The principal objections to mounted birds are, that they take up altogether too much room, require special arrangements for keeping and transportation, and cannot be handled for study with impunity. Some might suppose that a mounted bird would givea better idea of its figure and general aspect than a skin; but this is only true to a limited extent. Faultless mounting is an art really difficult, acquired by few; the average work done in this line shows something of caricature, ludicrous or repulsive, as the case may be. To copy nature faithfully by taxidermy requires not only long and close study, but an artistic sense; and this last is a rare gift. Unless you have at least the germs of the faculty in your composition, your taxidermal success will be incommensurate with the time and trouble you bestow. My own taxidermal art is of a low order, decidedly not above average; although I have mounted a great many birds that would compare very favorably with ordinary museum work, few of them have entirely answered my ideas. A live bird is to me such a beautiful object that the slightest taxidermal Haw in the effort to represent it is painfully offensive ; per- haps this makes me place the standard of excellence too high for practical purposes. I like a good honest birdskin that does not pretend to be anything else; it is far preferable to the 1 Avoid all mechanical irritation of the inflamed parts; touch the parts that have ulcerated with a stick of lunar caustic; take a dose of salts; use syrup of the iodide of iron, or tincture of the chloride of iron, say thirty drops of either, in a wineglass of water, thrice daily; rest at first, exercise gradually as you can bear it; and skin no birds till you have completely recovered. HOW TO MAKE A BIRDSKIN. 41 ordinary taxidermal -abortions of the show-cases. But if, after the warnings that I mean to convey in this paragraph, you still wish to try your hand in the higher department of taxi- dermy, I will explain the whole process as far as manipulation goes; the art you must discover in yourself. The operation of skinning is precisely the same as that already given in detail; then, instead of stuffing the skin as directed above, to lie on its back in a drawer, you have to stuff it so that it will stand up on its feet and look as much like a live bird as possible. To this end a few additional implements and materials are required. These are: a, annealed wire of vari- ous numbers; it may be iron or brass, but must be perfectly annealed, so as to retain no elasticity or ‘“‘ spring ;” b, several files of different sizes; c, sume slender, straight, brad awls ; d, cutting pliers; e, setting needles, merely sewing or darning needles stuck in a light wooden handle, for dressing individual feathers ; f, plenty of pins (the long, slender insect pins used by entomologists are the best) and sewing thread; g, an assortment of glass eyes. (The fixtures and decorations are noticed, beyond, as occasion for their use arises.) There are two principal methods of mounting, which may be respectively styled soft stuff- ing and hard stuffing. In the former, a wire framework, consisting of a single anterior piece passing in the middle line of the body up through the neck and out at top of the head, is immovably joined behind with two pieces, one passing through each leg; around this naked forked frame soft stuffing is introduced, bit by bit, till the proper contour of the skin is secured. IT have seen very pretty work of this kind, particularly on small birds; but I consider it much more difficult to secure satisfactory results in this way than by hard stuffing, and I shall there- fore confine attention to the latter. This method is applicable to all birds, is readily “practised, facilitates setting of the wings, arranging of the plumage, and giving of any desired attitude. Tn hard stuffing, you make a firm ball of tow rolled upon a wire of the size and shape of the bird’s body and neck together ; you introduce this whole, afterwards running in the leg wires and clinching them immovably in the mass of tow. Having your empty skin in good shape, as already described; cut three pieces of wire of the right! size; one piece somewhat longer than the whole bird, the other pieces two or three times as long as the whole leg of the bird. File one end of each piece to a fine sharp point ; try to secure a three-edged cutting point like that of a surgical needle, rather than the smooth punching point of a sewing-needle, as the former perforates more readily. Have these wires perfectly straight.2_ Bend a small portion of the unfiled end of the longer wire irregularly upon itself, as a convenient nucleus for the ball of tow.2 Take fine clean tow, in loose dossils, and wrap it round and round the wire nucleus, till you make a firm ball, of the size and shape of the bird’s body and neck. Study the contour of the skinned body: notice the swelling breast- muscles, the arch of the lower back, the hollow between the furcula into which the neck, when naturally curved, sinks. Everything depends upon correct shaping of the artificial body; if it be misshapen, no art can properly adjust the skin over it. Firmness of the tow ball and accurate contour may both be secured by wrapping the mass with sewing thread, loosening here, tightening there, till the shape is satisfactory. Be particular to secure a smooth super- ficies; the skin in drying will shrink close to the stuffing, disclosing its irregularities, if there be any, by the maladjustment of the plumage that will ensue. Observe especially that the neck, though the direct continuation of the backbone, dips at its lower end into the hollow of the merry-thought, and: so virtually begins there instead of directly between the shoulders. 1 The right size is the smallest that will support the whole weight of the stuffing and skin without bending, when a piece is introduced into each leg. If using too thick wire, you may have trouble in thrusting it through the legs, or may burst the tarsal envelope. 2 If accidentally kinky, the finer sizes of wire may be readily straightened by drawing strongly upon them go as to stretch them a little. Heavier wire must be hammered out straight, 3 Cotton will not do at all; it is too soft and elastic, and moreover will not allow of the leg wires being thrust into it and there clinched. 42 FIELD ORNITHOLOGY. The three mistakes most likely to be made by a beginner are, getting the body altogether too large, not firm enough, and irregular. When properly made, it will closely resemble the bird’s body and neck, with an inch or several inches of sharp-pointed wire protruding from the anterior extremity of the neck of tow. You have now to introduce the whole affair into the skin. ‘With the birdskin on its back, the tail pointing to your right elbow, and the abdominal opening as wide as possible, hold the tow body in position relative to the skin; enter the wire, pass it up through the neck, bring the sharp point exactly against the middle of the skull, pierce skull and skin, causing the wire to protrude some distance from the middle of the crown. Then by gentle means insinuate the body, partly pushing it in, partly drawing the skin over it, till it rests in its proper position. This is just like drawing on a tight kid glove, and no more difficult. See that the body is completely encased; you must be able to close the abdominal aperture entirely. You have next to wire the legs. Enter the sharp point of one of the leg-wires already prepared, exactly at the centre of the sole of the foot, thrusting it up inside the tarsal envelope the whole length of the ‘‘shank,” thence across ‘the heel joint + and up along the next bone of the leg, still inside the skin. The point of the wire will then be seen within the skin, and may be seized and drawn a little further through, and you will have passed a wire entirely out of sight all the way along the leg. The end of the wire is next to be fixed immovably in the tow ball. Thrust it in at the point where the knee, in life, rests against the side of the body.? Bring the point to view, bend it over and reinsert it till it sticks fast. There are no special directions to be given here; fasten the wire in ary way that effectually prevents ‘‘ wabbling.” You may find it convenient to wire both legs before fastening either, and then clinch them by twisting the two ends together. But remem- ber that the leg-wires may be fixed respecting each other, yet permit a see-saw motion of the body upon them. This must not be; the body and legs must be fixed upon a jointless frame. Having secured the legs, close the abdominal opening nicely, either by sewing or pinning; you may stick pins in anywhere, as freely as in a pin-cushion; the feathers hide their heads. Stick a pin through the pope’s nose to fix the tail in place. All this while the bird has been lying on its back, the neck stretched straight in continua- tion of the body, wired stiffly, the legs straddling wide apart, straight and stiff, the wings lying loosely, half-spread. Now bring the legs together, parallel with each other, and make the sharp bend at the heel joint that will bring the feet naturally under the belly (over it, as the bird lies on its back). Pick up the bird by the wires that project from the soles and set it on its stand, by running the wires through holes bored the proper distance apart, and then secur- ing the ends by twisting. The temporary stand that you use for this purpose should have a heavy or otherwise firm support, so as not easily to overturn during the subsequent manipu- lations. At this stage the bird is a sorry-looking object ; but if you have stuffed correctly and wired securely, it will soon improve. Begin by making it stand properly. The common fault here is placing the tarsi too nearly perpendicular. Perching birds, constituting the majority, habitually stand with the tarsi more nearly horizontal than perpendicular, and generally keep the tarsi parallel with each other. Wading and most walking birds stand with the legs more nearly upright and straight. Many swimming birds straddle a little; others rarely if ever. See that the toes clasp the perch naturally, or are properly spread on the flat surface. Cause the flank feathers to be correctly adjusted over the tibiee (and here I will remark that with most birds little, if any, of the tibiz shows in life), the heel joint barely, if at all, projecting 1 There is occasionally difficulty in getting the wire across this joint, from the point sticking into the enlarged end of the shin-bone, In such case, take stout pliers and pinch the joint till the bone is smashed to fragments. The wire will then pass and the comminution will not show. If there is any trouble in passing the wire through the tarsus, bore a hole for it with a brad awl. 2 This point is further forward and more belly-ward than you might suppose. Observe the skinned body again, and see where the lower end of the thigh lies. If you insert the wire too far back, you cannot by any possi- bility balance the bird naturally on its perch; it will look in imminent danger of toppling over. HOW TO MAKE A BIRDSKIN. 43 from the general plumage. It is a common fault of stuffing not to draw the legs closely enough to the body. Above all, look out for the centre of gravity; though you have really fastened the bird to its perch, you must not let it look as if it would fall off if the wires slipped; it. must appear to rest there of its own accord. Next, give the head and neck a preliminary setting, according to the attitude you have determined upon. This will bring the plumage about the shoulders in proper position for the setting of the wings, to which you may at once attend. If the body be correctly fashioned and the skin of the shoulders duly adjusted over it, the wings will fold into place without the slightest difficulty. All that I have said before about setting the wings in a skin applies here as well; but in this case they will not stay in place, since they fall by their own weight. They must be pinned up. Holding the wing in place, thrust a pin steadily through near the wrist joint, into the tow body. Sometimes another pin is required to support the weight of the primaries; it may be stuck into the flank of the bird, the outer quill feather resting directly upon it. With large birds a sharp pointed wire must replace the pin. When properly set, the wing-tips will fall together or symmetri- cally opposite each other, the quills and coverts will be smoothly imbricated, the scapular series of feathers will lie close, and no bare space will show in front of the shoulder. Much depends upon the final adjustment of the head. The commonest mistake is getting it too far away from the body. In the ordinary attitudes of most birds little neck shows, the head appearing nestled upon the shoulders. Ifthe neck appears too long, it is not to be contracted by pushing the head directly down upon it, but by making an S curve of the neck. No precise directions can be given for the set of the head, but you may be assured it is a delicate, difficult matter; the slightest turn of the bill one way or another may alter the whole expression of the bird. You will of course have determined beforehand upon your attitude, upon what you wish the bird to appear to be doing; then, let your meaning be pointed by the bird’s bill. On the general subject of striking an attitude, and giving expression to a stuffed bird, little ean be said to good purpose. If you are to become proficient in this art, it will come from your own study of birds in the field, your own good taste and appreciation of bird life. The manual processes are easily described and practised; it is easy to grind paint, I suppose, but not so to be an artist. I shall therefore only follow the above account of the general processes with some special practical points. After “‘attitudinizing” to your satisfaction, or to the best of your ability, the plumage is to be carefully ‘ dressed.” Feathers awry may be set in place with a light spring forceps, or needles fixed in a handle, one by one if necessary. When no individual feather seems out of place, it often occurs that the general plumage has a loose, slovenly aspect. This is readily corrected by wrapping with fine thread. Stick a pin into the middle of the back, another into the breast, and perhaps others, elsewhere. Fasten the end of a, spool of sewing cotton to one of the pins, and carry it to another, winding the thread about among the pins, till the whole surface is covered with an irregular network. Tighten to reduce an undue prominence, loosen over a depression ; but let the wrapping as a whole be light, firm, and even. This procedure, nicely executed, will give a smoothness to the plumage not otherwise attainable, and may be made to produce the most exquisite curves, particularly about the head, neck, and breast. The thread should be left on till the bird is perfectly dry ; it may then be unwound or cut off, and the pins withdrawn. When a particular patch of skin is out of place, it may often be pulled into position and pinned there. You need not be afraid of sticking pins in anywhere: they may be buried in the plumage and left there, or withdrawn when the skin is dry. In addition to the main stuffing, a little is often required in particular places. As for the legs, they should be filled out in all such cases as I indicated earlier in this section ; small birds require no such stuffing. It is necessary to fill out the eyes so that the lids rest naturally ; it may be done as heretofore directed, or by putting in pledgets of cotton from the outside. A little nice stuffing is generally required about the upper throat. To stuff a bird with spread wings requires a special process, in most cases. The wings are to be wired, 44 FIELD ORNITHOLOGY. exactly as directed for the legs; they may then be placed in any shape. But with most small birds, and those with short wings, simple pinning in the half-spread position indicating flutter- ing will suffice; it is readily accomplished with a long, slender insect pin. I have already spoken of fixing the tail by pinning or wiring the pope’s nose to the tow body; it may be thus fixed at any desired elevation or depression. There are two ways of spreading the tail. One is to run a pointed wire through the quills, near their base, where the wire will be hidden by the coverts ; each feather may be set at any required distance from the next by sliding it along this wire. This method is applicable to large birds; for small ones the tail may be fixed with the desired spread by enclosing it near its base in a split match, or two slips of card-board, with the ends tied together. This holds the feathers until they dry in position, when it is to be taken off. Crests may be raised, spread, and displayed on similar principles. A small crest, like that of a cardinal or cherry bird, for instance, may be held up till it dries in position by sticking in behind it a pin with a little ball of cotton on its head. It is sometimes neces- sary to make a bird’s toes grasp a support by tying them down to it till they dry. The toes of waders that do not lie evenly on the surface of the stand may be tacked down with small brads. The bill may be pinned open or shut, as desired, by the method already given. Never paint or varnish a bird’s bill or feet. Substitution of an artificial eye for the natural one is essential for the good looks of a specimen. Glass eyes, of all sizes and colors, may be purchased at a moderate cost. The pupil is always black; the iris varies. You will, of course, secure the proper color if it is known, but if not, put in a dark brown or black eye. It is well understood that this means nothing ; it is purely conventional. Yellow is probably the next most common color; then come red, white, blue, and green, perhaps approximately in this order of frequency. But do not use these striking colors at hap-hazard; sacrificing truth, perhaps, to looks. Eyes are gen- erally inserted after the specimen is dry. Remove a portion of the cotton from the orbit, and moisten the lids till they are perfectly pliable; fix the eye in with putty or wet plaster of Paris, making sure that the lids are naturally adjusted over it. It goes in obliquely, like a button through a button-hole. Much art may be displayed in this little matter, making a bird look this way or that, to carry out the general ‘‘ expression.” On finishing a specimen, set it away to dry; the time required varies, of course, with the weather, the size of the bird, its fatness, etc. The more slowly it dries the better; there is less risk of the skin shrinking irregularly. You will often find that a specimen set away with smooth plumage and satisfactory curves dries more or less out of shape, perhaps with the feathers raised in places. I know of no remedy: it may, in a measure, be prevented by scru- pulous vare in.making the body smooth and firm, and in securing slow, equable drying. When perfectly dry remove the wrapping, pull out the superfluous pins or wires, nip off the others so short that the ends are concealed, and insert the eyes. The specimen. is then ready to be transferred to its permanent stand. Fixtures for the display of the object of course vary interminably. We will take the simplest case, of a large collection of mounted birds for public exhibition. In this instance, uniformity and simplicity are desiderata. ‘‘ Spread eagle” styles of mounting, artificial rocks and flowers, ete., are entirely out of place in a collection of any scientific pretensions, or designed for popular instruction. Besides, they take up too much room. Artistic grouping of an extensive collection is usually out of the question; and when this is unattainable, half- way efforts in that direction should be abandoned in favor of severe simplicity. Birds look best on the whole in uniform rows, assorted according to size, as far as a natural classification allows. They are best set on the plainest stands, with circular base and a short cylindrical erossbar on a lightly turned upright. The stands should be painted dead-white, and be no larger than is necessary for secure support ; a neat stiff paper label may be attached. A small collection of birds, as an ornament to a private residence, offers a different case; here, variety MISCELLANEOUS PARTICULARS. 45 of attitude and appropriate imitation of the birds’ natural surroundings are to be secured. A miniature tree, on which a number of birds may be placed, is readily made. Take stout wire, and by bending it, and attaching other pieces, get the framework of the tree of the desired size, shape, and number of perches. Wrap it closely with tow to a proper calibre, remembering that the two forks of a stem must be together only about as large as the stem itself. Gather a basket full of lichens and tree moss; reduce them to coarse powder by rubbing with the hands; besmear the whole tree with mucilage or thin glue, and sift the lichen powder on it till the tow is completely hidden. This produces a very natural effect, which may be heightened by separately affixing larger scraps of lichen, or little bunches of moss; artificial leaves and flowers may be added at your taste. The groundwork may be similarly prepared with a bit of board, made adhesive and bestrewn with the same substance; grasses and moss may be added. If a flat surface is not desired, soak stout pasteboard till it can be moulded in various irregular elevations and depressions; lay it over the board and decorate it in the same way. Rocks may be thus nicely imitated, with the addition of powdered glass of various colors. Such a lot of birds is generally enclosed in a cylindrical glass case with arched top. As it stands on a table to be viewed from different points, it must be presentable on all sides. A niche in parlor or study is often fitted with a wall-case, which, when artistically arranged, has a very pleasing effect. As such cases may be of considerable size, there is opportunity for the display of great taste in grouping. A place is not to be found for a bird, but a bird for the place, — waders and swimmers below on the ground, perchers on projecting rests above. The surroundings may be prepared by the methods just indicated. One point deserves atten- tion here; since the birds are only viewed from the front, they may have a ‘‘ show-side” to which everything else may be sacrificed. Birds are represented flying in such cases more readily than under other circumstances, supported on a concealed wire inserted in the back of the case. I have seen some very successful ‘attempts to represent a bird swimming, the duck being let down part way through an oval hole in a plate of thick glass, underneath which were fixed stuffed fishes, shells, and seaweed. It is hardly necessary to add that in all orna- mental collections, labels or other scientific machinery must be rigorously suppressed. Transportation of mounted birds offers obvious difficulty. Unless very small, they are best secured immovably inside a box by screwing the foot of the stands to the bottom and sides, so that they stay in place without touching each other. Or, they may be carefully packed in cotton, with or without removal of the stands. Their preservation from accidental injury depends upon the same care that is bestowed upon ordinary fragile ornaments of the parlor. The ravages of insects are to be prevented upon the principles to be hereafter given in treating of the preservation of birdskins. § 8.— MISCELLANEOUS PARTICULARS. Determination of Sex. — This is an important matter, which must never be neglected. For although many birds show unequivocal sexual distinctions of size, shape, and color, like those of the barnyard cock and hen for instance, yet the outward characteristics are more frequently obscure, if not altogether inappreciable, on examination of the skin alone. Young birds, moreover, are usually indistinguishable as to sex, although the adults of the same species may be easily recognized. The rule results, that the sexual organs should be examined as the only infallible indices. The essential organs of masculinity are the testicles ; similarly, the ovaries contain the essence of the female nature. However similar the accessory sexual struc- tures may be, the testicles and ovaries are always distinct. The male organs of birds never leave the cavity of the belly to fill an external bag of skin (scrotum) as they do among mammalia; they remain within the abdomen, and lie in the same position as the ovaries of the female. Both these organs are situated in the belly opposite what corresponds to the 46 | FIELD ORNITHOLOGY. ‘small of the back,” bound closely to the spine, resting on the front of the kidneys near their fore end. The testicles are a pair of subspherical or rather ellipsoidal bodies, usually of the same size, shape, and color, and are commonly of a dull opaque whitish tint. They always lie close together. A remarkable fact connected with them is, that they are not always of the samme size in the same bird, being subject to periodical enlargement during the breeding season, and corresponding atrophy at other seasons. Thus the testicles of a house sparrow, no bigger than a pin’s head in winter, swell to the size of peas in April.. The ovary (for although this organ is paired originally, only one is usually functionally developed in birds) will be recog- nized as a flattish mass of irregular contour, and usually whitish color; when inactive, it simply appears of finely granular structure which may require a hand lens to be made out; when producing eggs, its appearance is unmistakable. Both testis and ovary may further be recognized by a thread leading to the end of the lower bowel, —in one case the sperm-duct, in the other the oviduct; the latter is usually much the more conspicuous, as it at times transmits the perfect egg. There is no difficulty in reaching the site of these organs. Lay the bird on the left side, its belly toward you: cut with the scissors through the belly-walls diagonally from anus to the root of the last rib, or further, snipping across a few of the lower ribs, if these continue far down, as they do in a loon for instance. Press the whole mass of intestines aside collectively, and you at once see to the small of the back. There you observe the kidneys, — large, lobular, dark reddish masses moulded into the concavity of the sacrum (or back middle bone of the pelvis); and on their surface, towards their fore end, lie testes or ovary, as just described. The only precaution required is, not to mistake for testicles a pair of small bodies capping the kidneys. These are the adrenals or “‘ supra-renal capsules,” — organs whose function is unknown, but with which at any rate we have nothing to do in this connection. They occur in both sexes, and if the testicles are not immediately seen, or the ovary not at once recognized, they might easily be mistaken for testicles. Observe, that instead of lying in front, they cap the kidneys; that they are usually yellowish instead of opaque whitish ; and that they have not the firm, smooth, regular sphericity of the testicles. The testes, however, vary more in shape and color than might be expected, being sometimes rather oblong or linear, and sometimes grayish or livid bluish, or reddish. There is occasionally but one. The sex determined, use the sign ¢ or 9 to designate it, as already explained. In the very rare cases of impotence or sterility among birds, of course no organs will be observed; but I should dislike to become responsible for such labelling without very careful examination. The organs of a small bird out of the breeding season are never conspicuous, but may always be found on close scrutiny, unless the parts are disintegrated by a shot. Recognition of Age is a matter of ornithological experience requiring in many or most cases great familiarity with birds for its even approximate accomplishment. There are, how- ever, some unmistakable signs of immaturity, even after a bird has become full-feathered, that persist for at least one season. These are, in the first place, a peculiar soft fluffy “‘ feel” of the plumage ; the feathers lack a certain smoothness, density, and stiffening which they subse- quently acquire. Secondly, the bill and feet are softer than those of the adults; the corners of the mouth are puffy and flabby, the edges and point of the bill are dull, and the scales, etc., of the legs are not sharply cut. Thirdly, the flesh itself is tender and pale colored. These are some of the points common to all birds, and are independent of the special markings that belong to the youth of particular species. Some birds are actually larger for a while after leaving the nest, than in after years when the frame seems to shrink somewhat in acquiring the compactness of senility. On the other hand, the various members, especially the bill and feet, are proportionally smaller at first. Newly growing quills are usually recognized on sight, the barrel being dark colored and full of liquid, while the vanes are incomplete. In studying, for example, the shape of a wing or tail, there is always reason to suspect that the natural MISCELLANEOUS PARTICULARS. 4T proportions are not yet presented, unless the quill is dry, colorless, and empty, or only occupied with shrunken white pith. Examination of the Stomach frequently leads to interesting observations, and is always worth while. In the first place, we learn most unquestionably the nature of the bird’s food, which is a highly important item in its natural history. Secondly, we often secure valuable specimens in other departments of zodlogy, particularly entomology. Birds consume incal- culable numbers of insects, the harder kinds of which, such as beetles, are not seldom found intact in their stomachs; and a due percentage of these represent rare and curious species. The gizzards of birds of prey, in particular, should always be inspected, in search of the small mammals, ete., they devour; and even if the creatures are unfit for preservation, we at least learn of their occurrence, perhaps unknown before in a particular region. Mollusk-feeding and fish-eating birds yield their share of specimens. The alimentary canal is often the seat of parasites of various kinds, interesting to the helminthologist ; other species are to be found under the skin, in the body of muscle, in the brain, etc. Most birds are also infested with external parasites of many kinds, so various that almost every leading species has its own sort of louse, tick, etc. Since these creatures are only at home with a live host, they will be found crawling on the surface of the plumage, preparing for departure, as soon as the body cools after death. There is thus much to learn of a bird aside from what the prepared specimen teaches, and moreover apart from regular anatomical investigations. Whenever practicable, brief items should be recorded on the label, as already mentioned. Restoration of Poor Skins. —If your cabinet be a ‘‘general” one, comprising specimens from various sources, you will frequently happen to receive skins so badly prepared as to be unpleasant objects, besides failing to show their specific characters. There is of course no sup- plying of missing parts or plumage; but if the defect be simply deformity, this may usually be in a measure remedied. The point is simply to relax the skin, and then proceed as if it were freshly removed from the bird; it is what bird-stuffers constantly do in mounting birds from prepared skins. The relaxation is effected by moisture alone. Remove the stuffing ; fill the interior with cotton or tow saturated with water, yet not dripping ; put pads of the same under the wings; wrap the bill and feet, and set the specimen in a damp, cool place. Small birds soften very readily and completely ; the process may be facilitated by persistent manipulation. This is the usual method, but there is another, more thorough and more effective; it is expo- sure to a vapor-bath. The appointments of the kitchen stove furnish all the apparatus required for an extempore “ steamer ;” the regular fixture is a tin vessel much like a wash- boiler, with closed lid, false bottom, and stopcock at lower edge. . On the false bottom. is placed a heavy layer of gypsum, completely saturated with water; the birds are laid on a perforated tray above it; and a gentle heat is maintained over a stove. The vapor penetrates every part of the skin, and completely relaxes it, without actually wetting the feathers. The time required varies greatly of course ; observation is the best guide. The chief precaution is not to let the thing get too hot. Professor Baird has remarked that crumpled or bent feathers may have much of their original elasticity restored by dipping in hot water. Immer- sion for a few seconds suffices, when the feathers will be observed to straighten out. Shaking off superfluous water, they may be simply left to dry, or they may be dried with plaster. The method is chiefly applicable to the large feathers of the wings and tail. Soiled plumage of dried skins may be treated exactly as in the case of fresh skins. Mummification. — As before mentioned, decay may be arrested by injections of carbolic acid and other antiseptics; if the tissues be sufficiently permeated with these substances, the body will keep indefinitely; it dries and hardens, becoming, in short, a “mummy.” Injection 48 FIELD ORNITHOLOGY. should be done by the mouth and vent, be thorough, and be repeated several times as the fluid dries in. It is an improvement on this to disembowel and fill the belly with saturated tow or cotton. Due care should be taken not to soil the feathers in any case, nor should the carbolic solution come in contact with the hands, for it is a powerful irritant poison. I mention the process chiefly to condemn it as an atrocious one; I cannot imagine what circumstances would recommend it, while only an extreme emergency could justify it. It is further objection- able because it appears to lend a dingy hue to some plumages, and to dull most of them perceptibly. Birds prepared—rather unprepared — in this way, may be relaxed by the method just described, and then skinned; but the operation is rather difficult. Wet Preparations. — By this term is technically understood an object immersed in some preservative fluid. It is highly desirable to obtain more information of birds than their stuffed skins can ever furnish, and their structure cannot be always examined by dissection on the spot. In fact, a certain small proportion of the birds of any protracted or otherwise ‘‘ heavy ” collecting may be preferably and very profitably preserved in this way. Specimens in too poor plumage to be worth skinning may be thus utilized ; so may the bodies of skinned birds, which, although necessarily defective, retain all the viscera, and also afford osteological mate- rial. Alcohol is the liquid usually employed, and, of all the various articles recommended, seems to answer best on the whole. I have used a very weak solution of chloride of zine with excellent results; it should not be strong enough to show the slightest turbidity. As glass bottles are liable to break when travelling, do not fit corners, and offer practical annoyance about corkage, rectangular metal cans, preferably of copper, with screw-lid opening, are advisable. They are to be set in small, strong, wooden boxes, made to leave a little room for the lid wrench, muslin bags for doing up separate parcels, parchment for labels, ete. Unoc- cupied space in the cans should be filled with tow or a similar substance, to prevent the specimens from swashing about. Labelling should be on parchment; the writing should be perfectly dry before immersion ; india-ink is the best. Skinned bodies should be numbered to correspond with the dried skin from which taken; otherwise they may not be identifiable. Large birds thrown in unskinned should have the belly opened, to let in the alcohol freely. Birds may be skinned, after being in alcohol, by simply drying them: they often make fair specimens. They are best withdrawn by the bill, that the ‘‘ swash” of the alcohol at the moment of emersion may set the plumage all one way, and hung up to dry untouched. Watery moisture that may remain after evaporation of the alcohol may be dried with plaster. Fics 1, 2.— Views of sternum and pectoral arch of the ptarmigan, Lagopus albus, reduced; after A. New- ton. 1, lateral view, with the bones upside down; 2, viewed from below. a, sternum or breast-bone, showing two long slender lateral prc ; 6, ends of sternal ribs; c, ends of humerus, or upper arm-bone, near the shoulder- joint; ¢@, scapula, or shoulder-blade; e, coracoid; , merry-thought, or furculum (clavicles). Osteological and other Preparations (figs. 1-3). — While complete skeletonizing of a bird is a special art of some difficulty, and one that does not fall within the scope of this treatise, I may mention two bony preparations very readily made, and susceptible of rendering MISCELLANEOUS PARTICULARS. ornithology essential service. attachinents. afford in most cases invaluable is of course to sacrifice a skin, to mutilated or decayed specimens in this way. The breast-bone tilated, is always preservable with may form its natural accompani- with it the coracotds (the stout with the shoulders, figs. 1, 2, e), intervening between these bones, d), all without detachment from tively constitute the ‘ shoulder- off the large breast muscles close sertions into the wing-bounes (c) ; that tie the shoulder-blades tu the b) close to the side of the breast- usually found between the prongs hold of the shoulders (figs. 1, 2, affair, dividing some slight connec- behind it. The following points often has long slender processes mon fowl and the ptarmigan are shown in the figures), liable to be snapped ; the shoulder-blades usu- off; the merry-thought is some- When travelling, it is generally not tions of either skull or sternum ; finous flesh removed, and besprin- perfectly cleaned, is particularly pronged bones that hinge the jaw, push on the palate from behind. specting the identification of these which should invariably bear the it belongs; the label should be is more likely to be able to speak ally accompanied by a skin; never- eilitate its recognition should be are methods, with which I am not preparations. You may secure ing the bones; or, what is perhaps til] the flesh is completely rotted the sun. A little potassa or soda bones, if you can stop the process dissolved but the tougher ligaments preparation, as it is called; if the parts of a large specimen may be one gined. I think it best, with Fie. 3. — Trachea or windpipe of the male red- breasted merganser, Mer- gus serrator, about 4 nat. size, viewed from above (behind); after Newton, 4, tongue; BB, its attach- ments; C C, windpipe, di- lated in the middle and swelling below into abony box, D; £& £#, bronchial tubes, going to lungs. 49 I refer to the skull, and to the breast-bone with its principal These parts of the skeleton are, as a rule, so highly characteristic that they zoological items. To save a skull all intents; but you often have that are very profitably utilized (figs. 1, 2, a) excepting when imu- the skin, and for “choice” invoices ment. You want to remove along bones connecting the breast-bone the merry-thought (figs. 1, 2, f) and the shoulder-blades (figs. 1, 2, each other, for these bones collec- girdle,” or scapular arch. Slice to the bone, and divide their in- scrape or cut away the muscles chest ; snip off the ribs (figs. 1, 2, bone; sever a tough meinbrane of the wish-bone; then, by taking at ¢), you can lift out the whole tions underneath the bone and require attention: the breast-bone behind and on the sides (the com- extreme illustrations of this, as cut by mistake for ribs, or to be ally taper to a point, easily broken times very delicate or defective. advisable to make perfect prepara- they are best dried with only super- kled with arsenic. The skull, if Hable to lose the odd-shaped, and the freely movable pair that Great care should be exercised re- bones, particularly the sternum, number of the specimen to which tied to the coracoid bone. A skull for itself, and, besides, is not usn- theless, any recurd tending to fa- duly entered on the register. There familiar, of making elegant bony very good results by simply boil- better, macerating them in water away, and then bleaching them in hastens the process. With breast- just when the flesh is completely remain, you secure a ‘‘natural” ligaments go too, the associate wired together, those of a small skulls, to clean them entirely of ligament as well as muscle; for the underneath parts are usually those conveying the most desirable information, and they should not be in the slightest degree obscured. Since in. such 4 50 FIELD ORNITHOLOGY. ease the anvil-shaped bones, the palatal cylinders already mentioned, and sometimes other portions come apart, the whole are best kept in a suitable box. I prefer to see a skull with the sheath of the beak removed, though in some cases, particularly of hard-billed birds, it may profitably be left on. The completed preparations should be fully labelled by writing on the bone, in preference to an accompanying or attached paper slip, which may be lost. Some - object to this, as others do to writing on eggs, that it “ defaces ” the specimen ; but I confess J see in dry bones no beauty but that of utility. “(In many families of birds, as the ducks (Anatide), the trachea or windpipe of the male affords valuable means of distinguishing between the different natural groups, or even species, chiefly by the form of the bony labyrinth, or bulla ossea, situated at or just above the divari- cation of the bronchial tubes. A little trouble will enable the collector in all cases to preserve this organ perfectly, as represented in the annexed engraving (fig. 3). Before proceeding to skin the specimen, a narrow-bladed knife should be introduced into its mouth and by taking hold of the tongue (A) by the fingers or forceps, the muscles (B B) by which it is attached to the lower jaw should be severed as far as they can be reached, care being of course taken not to puncture the windpipe (C C); and later in the operation of skinning, when dividing the body from the neck or head, not to cut into or through it. This done, the windpipe can be easily withdrawn entire and separated from the neck, and then the sternal apparatus being removed as before described, its course must be traced to where, after branching off in a fork (D), the bronchial tubes (HE) join the lungs. At these latter points it is to be cut off. Then rinsing it in cold water, and leaving it to dry partially, it may, while yet pliant, be either wrapped round the sternum, or coiled up and labelled separately.” — (A. Newton.) § 9.— COLLECTION OF NESTS AND EGGS. Ornithology and Odlogy are twin studies, or rather one includes the other. A collec- tion of nests and eggs is indispensable for any thorough study of birds; and many persons find peculiar pleasure in forming one. Some, however, shrink from ‘ robbing birds’ nests” as something particularly cruel; a sentiment springing, no doubt, from the sympathy and deference that the tender office of maternity inspires; but with all proper respect for the humane emotion, it may be said simply, that birds’-nesting is not nearly so cruel as bird- shooting. What I saidin a former section, in endeavoring to guide search for birds, applies in substance to hunting for their nests; the essential difference is, that the latter are of course stationary objects, and consequently more liable to be overlooked, other things being equal, than birds themselves. Most birds nest on trees or bushes; many on the ground and on rocks; others in hollows. Some build elegant, elaborate structures, endlessly varied in details of form and material; others make no nest whatever. In this country, egging is chiefly practicable in May and during the summer; but some species, particularly birds of prey, begin to lay in January, while, on our southern border at least, the season of repro- duction is protracted through September ; so there is really a long period for search. Par- ticular nests, of course, like the birds that build them, can only be found through ornithological knowledge; but general search is usually rewarded with a varied assortmeut. The best clew to a hidden nest is the actions of the parents; patient watchfulness is commonly successful in tracing the bird’s home. As the science of odlogy has not progressed to the point of deter- mining from the nests and eggs to what bird they belong, in even a majority of cases, the utmost care in authentication is indispensable. To be worth anything, not to be worse than worthless in fact, an egg must be identified beyond question; must be not only unsuspected, but above suspicion. A shade of suspicion is often attached to dealers’ eggs; not necessarily implying had faith or even negligence on the dealers’ part, but from the nature of the case. Itis often extremely difficult to make an unquestionable determination, as for COLLECTION OF NESTS AND EGGS. 51 instance when numbers of birds of similar habits are breeding close together; or even impos- sible, as in case the parent eludes observation. Sometimes the most acute observer may be mistaken, circumstances appearing to prove a parentage when such is not the fact. It is in general advisable to secure the parent with the eggs: if shot or snared on the nest, the identification is simply unquestionable. If you do not yourself know the species, it then becomes necessary to secure the specimen, and retain it with the eggs. It is not required to make a perfect preparation; the head, or better, the head and a wing, will answer the purpose. When egging in downright earnest, a pair of climbing irons, a coil of $ inch rope, and a tin collecting box filled with cotton, become practically indispensable; these are the only field implements required in addition to those already specified. Preparing Eggs. For blowing eggs, a set of special tools is needed. These are “‘ egg- drills,” —steel implements with a sharp-pointed conical head of rasping surface, and a slender shaft; several such, of different sizes, are needed; also, blow-pipes of different sizes, a delicate ena Fie. 4. —Egg-drills, different sizes, nat. ob. Le 5 after Newton. ‘ thin pair of. scissors, light spring for- ceps, some little hooks, and a small g X Fie. 5. —Instruments for blowing eggs; after Newton. a, b, syringe. They are inexpensive, and blow-pipes, } nat. size; c, wire for cleansing them; d, syringe, } may be had of any dealer in natur- Bab sze(He ring of the handle mast be lrg enough to ae alists’ supplies. (See figs. 4-7.) Eggs should never be blown in the old way of making a hole at each end; nor are two holes any- where usually required. Opening should be effected on one side, preferably that showing least conspicuous or characteristic markings. If two are wade, they should be rather near together ; on the same side at any rate. But one is generally sufficient, as the fluid contents can escape around the blow-pipe. Holding the egg gently but steadily in the fingers,’ apply the point of 1 The usual method of emptying eggs through one small hole is doubtless supposed to be a very modern trick ; but.it dates back at least to 1828, when M. Danger proposed “‘ a new method of preparing and preseving eggs for the cabinet,” which is practically the one now followed, though he used a three-edged needle to prick the hole, instead of our modern drill, and did not appear to know some of our ways of managing the embryo. I make this reference to his article to call attention to one of the tools he recommends, which I think would prove useful, as being better than the fingers for holding an egg during drilling and blowing. The simple instrument will be un- derstood from a glance at the figure given in the Nuttall Bulletin, iii, 1878, p. 191. The oval rings are covered with light fabric, like mosquito-netting or muslin, and do not touch the egg, which is held lightly but securely in the netting. The cost would be trifling, and danger might be avoided by Dangevr’s method 52 FIELD ORNITHOLOGY. the drill perpendicularly to the surface, unless it be preferred to prick with a needle first. A twirling motion of the instrument gradually enlarges the opening by filmg away the shell, and so bores a smooth-edged circular hole. This should be no larger than is required to insert the blow-pipe loosely, with room for the contents to escape around it. Nor is it always necessary to imsert the pipe; a fine stream of water may be easily injected by holding the instrument close to the egg, but not quite touching. The blowing should be continuous and equable, rather than forcible ; a strong puff easily bursts a delicate egg. Be sure that all the contents are removed; then rinse the interior thoroughly with clean water, either by taking a mouthful and sending it through a blow-pipe, or with the syringe. Blowing eggs is a rather fatiguing process, more so than it might seem; the o\ AY cheek museles soon tire, A and the operator actually becomes “blown” himself before long. The opera- tion had better be done over a basin of water, both to receive the contents, and to catch the egg if it slip from the fingers. The membrane lining the shell should be removed if pos- sible. It may be seized by the edge around the hole, with the forceps, and drawn out, or picked out with a bent pin. But this is scarcely to be accom- plished in the case of fresh eggs, when the membrane _Fia. 6.— Scissors, knives, and forceps, }nat. may be simply pared size; after Newton. smoothly around the edge of the hole. Eggs that have been incubated of course offer diffi- culty, in proportion to the size of the embryo. The hole may be drilled, as before, but it must be larger; and as the drill is apt to split a shell after it has bored beyond a eertain size of hole, it is often Fig. 7.—Hooks for ex- well to prick, with a fine needle, a circular series of minute holes tracting embryos, nat. size ; 2 2 1, :. after Newton. a, 8, c, plain almost touching, and then remove the enclosed circle of shell. This yooxs; d, bill-hook, having must be very carefully done, or the needle will indent or crack the cutting edge along the con- shell, which, it must be remembered, grows more brittle towards Pavey: the time of hatching. Well-formed embryos cannot be got bodily through any hole that can be made in an egg; they must be extracted piecemeal. They may be cut to pieces with the slender scissors introduced through the hole, and the fragments be picked out with the forceps, hooked out, or blown out. No embryo should be forced through a@ hole too small; there is every probability that the shell will burst at the critical moment. Addled eggs, the contents of which are thickened or hardened, offer some difficulty, to overcome which persistent syringing and repeated rinsing are required; or it may be necessary to fill them with water, and set them away for such length of time that the contents dissolve by maceration ; carbonate of soda is said to hasten the solution ; the process may be repeated as often as may be necessary. In no event must any of the animal contents be suffered to remain in the shell. When emptied COLLECTION OF NESTS AND EGGS. 53 and rinsed, eggs should be gently wiped dry, and set hole downward on blotting-paper to drain.! Broken eggs may be neatly mended, sometimes with a film of collodion, or a bit of tissue paper and paste, or the edges may be simply stuck together with any adhesive substance. Even when fragmentary a rare egg is worth preserving. Eggs should ordinarily be left empty ; indeed, the only case in which any filling is admissible is that of a defective specimen to which some slight solidity can be imparted with cotton. It is unnecessary even to close up the hole. It is best, on all accounts, to keep eggs in sets, a ‘‘ set” being the natural clutch, or whatever less number was taken from a nest. The most scrupulous attention must be paid to accurate, complete, and permanent labelling. So important is this, that the undeniable defacing of a specimen, by writing on it, is no offset to the advantages accruing from such fixity of record. It is practically impossible to attach a label, as is done with a bird-skin, and a loose label is always in danger of being lost or displaced. Write on the shell, then, as many items as possible; if done neatly, on the side in which the hole was bored, at least one good ‘‘ show side ” remains. An egg should always bear the same number as the parent, in the collector’s record. In a general collection, where separate ornithological and odlogical registers are kept, identification of egg with parent is nevertheless readily secured, by making one the numerator the other the denominator of a fraction, to be simply inverted in its respective application. Thus, bird No. 456, and egg No. 123, are identified by making the former 43} the latter +338. All the eggs of a clutch should have the same number. If the shell be large enough, the name of the species should be written on it; if too small, it should be accompanied by a label, and may have the name indicated by a number referring to a certain catalogue. According to my ‘Check List,” for example, “No. 1” would indicate Turdus migratorius. The date of collec- tion is a highly desirable item; it may be abbreviated thus; 3 | 6 | 82 means June 3, 1882. It is well to have the egg authenticated by the collector’s initials at least. Since ‘‘ sets” of eggs may be broken up for distributions to other cabinets, yet permanent indication of the size of the clutch be wanted, it is well to have some method. A good one is to write the number of the clutch on each egg composing it, giving each egg of the set, moreover, its individual number. Supposing for example the clutch No. }2% contained five eggs ; one of them would be 422 | 5 | 1: the next 122 | 5 | 2, and so on. But it should be remembered that all such arbitrary memoranda must be systematic, and be accompanied by a key. Eggs may be kept in cabinets of shallow drawers in little pasteboard trays, each holding a set, and containing‘a paper label on which various items that cannot be traced on the shell are written in full. ' Reinforcing the Eggshell before Blowing. = Fig. 8 “ shows 4 piece of paper, a number of which, when gummed on to an egg, one over the other, and left to dry, strengthen the shell in such a mannér that the instruments above described can be introduced through the aperture in the middle and worked to the best advantage, and thus a fully fotmed embryo may be cut up, and the pieces extracted through a very moderately sized hole; thé number of thicknesses requiréd depends, of course, greatly upon the size of the egg, the length of time it has been incubated, and the stoutness of the shell and the paper. Five or six is the least number that it is safe to use. Hach piece should be left to dry before the next is gummed on. The slits in the margin cause them to set pretty smoothly, which will be found very desirable; the aperture in the middle of each may be cut out first, or the whole series of layers may be drilled through when the hole is made in the egg. For convenience’ sake, the papers may be prepared already gummed, and moistened when put on (in the same way that adhesive postage labels are used). Doubtless, patehes of linen or cotton cloth would answer equally well. When the opera- tion is over, a slight application of water (especially if warm) through the syringe will FH, 8,<-Nat. size. loosen them so that they can be easily removed, and they can be separated from one another, and dried to serve another time. The size represented in the sketch is that suitable for an egg of mod- erate dimension, such as that of a common fowl. The most effectual way of adopting this method of emptying eggs is by using véry many layers of thin paper and plenty of tick gum, but this is, of course, the most tedious. Nevertheless, it is quite worth the trouble in the case of really rare specimens, and they will be none the worse for operating upon from the delay of a few days caused by waiting for the gum to dry and harden. The naturalist to whom this method fitst o¢curred has found it answer remarkably well in every case that it has been used, from the egg of an eagle to that of a humming-bird, and among English odlogists it has been generally adopted.” (4, Newton, in Smiths. Misc. Coll. 139, 1860.) 54 FIELD ORNITHOLOGY. Such trays should all be of the same depth, —half an inch is a convenient depth for generat purposes; and of assorted sizes, say from one inch by one and one half inches up to three by six inches; it is convenient to have the dimensions regularly graduated by a constant factor of, say half an inch, so that the little boxes may be set side by side, either lengthwise or crosswise, without interference. Eggs may also be kept safely, advantageously, and with attractive effect, in the nests themselves, in which a fluff of cotton may be placed to steady them. When not too bulky, too loosely constructed, or of material unsuitable for preservation, nests should always be collected.1_ Those that are very closely attached to twigs should not be torn off. Nests threatening tu come tu pieces, or too frail to be handled without injury, may be secured by sewing through and through with fine thread: indeed, this is an advisable pre- caution in most cases. Packing eggs for transportation requires much care, but the precau- tions to be taken are obvious. I will only remark that there is no safer way than to leave them in their own nests, each wrapped in cotton, with which the whole cavity is to be lightly filled ; the nests themselves being packed close enough to be perfectly steady. § 10.—CARE OF A COLLECTION. Well Preserved Specimens will. last ‘‘ forever and a day,” so far as natural decay is concerned. I have handled birds in good state, shot back in the twenties, and have no doubt that some eighteenth century preparations are still extant. The precautions against defilement, mutilation, or other mechanical injury, are self-evident, and may be dismissed with the remark, that white plumages, especially if at all greasy, require the most care to guard against soiling. We have, however, tu fight fur our possessions against a host of enemies, individually despica- ble but collectively formidable, — foes so determined that untiring vigilance is required to ward off their attacks even temporarily, whilst in the end they prove invincible. It may be said that to be eaten up by insects is the natural end of all bird-skins not sooner destroyed. 1 “4 Plea for the Study of Nests,’ made by Mr. Ernest Ingersoll in his excellent “‘ Birds’-Nesting,”’ suits me so well that I will transcribe it. ‘*‘ Whether or not it is worth while to collect nests—for there are many per- sons who never do so —is, it seems to me, only a question of room in the cabinet. As a scientific study there is far more advantage to be obtained from a series of nests than from a series of eggs. The nest is something with which the will and energies of the bird are concerned. It expresses the character of the workman; is to a certain extent an index of its rank among birds, — for in general those of the highest organization are the best architects, — and give us a glimpse of the bird’s mind and power to understand and adapt itself to changed conditions of life. Over the shape and ornamentation of an egg the bird has no control, being no more able to govern the matter than it can the growth of its beak. There is as much difference to me, in the interest inspired, between the nest and the egg of a bird, as between its brain and its skull, — using the word brain to mean the seat of intellect. The nest is always more or less the result of conscious planning and intelligent work, even though it does follow a hereditary habit in its style; while the egg is an automatic production varying, if at all, only as the whole organization of the bird undergoes change. Don’t neglect the nests then. In them more than anywhere else lies the key to the mind and thoughts of a bird,—the spirit which inhabits that beautiful frame and bubbles out of that golden mouth. And is it not this inner life, —this human significance in bird nature, —this soul of ornithology, that we are all aiming to discover? ‘Nests are beautiful, too. What can surpass the delicacy of the humming-bird’s home glued to the surface of a mossy branch or nestling in the warped point of a pendent leaf; the vireo’s silken ham- mock ; the oriole’s gracefully swaying purse; the blackbird’s model basket in the flags; the snug little caves of the marsh wrens; the hermitage-huts of the shy wagtails and ground-warblers, the stout fortresses of the sociable swallows! Moreover, there is much that is highly interesting which remains to be learned about nests, and which can only be known by paying close attention to these artistic masterpieces of animal art. We want to know by what sort of skill the many nests are woven together that we find it so hard even to disentangle; we want to know how long they are in being built; whether there is any particular choice in respect to location; whether it be a rule, as is supposed, that the female bird is the architect, to the exclusion of her mate’s efforts further than his supplying a part of the materials. Many such points remain to be cleared up. Then there is the question of variation, and its extent in the architect of the same species in different quarters of its ranging area. How far is this carried, and how many varieties can be recorded from a single district, where the same list of materials is open to all the birds equally? Variation shows individual opinion or taste among the builders as to the suitability of this or that sort of timber or farniture for their dwellings, and observations upon it thus increase our acquaint- ance with the scope of ideas and habits characteristic of each species of bird.” CARE OF A COLLECTION. 55 Insect Pests (Figs. 9, 10, 11, 12) with which we have to contend belong principally to the two families Z’neide and Dermestide — the former are moths, the latter beetles. The moths are of species identical with, and allied to, the common clothes moth, Tinea flavifrontella, the carpet moth, T. tapetzella, etc., — small species observed flying about our apartments and museums, in May and during the summer. The beetles are several rather small thick-set species, princi- pally of the genera Dermestes and Anthrenus. I am able to figure species of these genera, with their larval stages, and of two other genera, Ptinus and Sttodrepa, through the attentions of Prof. C. V. Riley, the eminent entomologist. The larve (‘‘ caterpillars” of the moths, and ““orubs” of the beetles) appear to be the chief agents of the destruction. The presence of the mature insects is usually readily detected ; on disturbing an infested suite of specimens the moths Fig. 9.—Anthrenus scrofularie, enlarged; the short line shows nat. size. a, b, larve; c, pupa; d, imaga Fic. 10. — Dermestes lardarius, en- Fig. 11.— Sitodrepa panicea, Fic. 12. — Ptinus brunneus. larged. a, larva; b, anenlarged hair; enlarged. a, imago; 3, its an- c, imago. tenna, more enlarged. flutter about, and the beetles crawl as fast as they can into shelter, or simulate death. The insidious larvee, however, are not so easily observed, burrowing as they do among the feathers, or in the interior of a skin; whilst the minute eggs are commonly altogether overlooked. But the “‘bugs” are not long at work without leaving their unmistakable traces. Shreds of feathers float off when a specimen is handled, or fly out on flipping the skin with the fingers, and in bad cases even whole bundles of plumes come away at atouch. Sometimes, leaving the plumage intact, bugs eat away the horny covering of the bill and feet, making a peculiarly unhappy and irreparable mutilation. I suppose this piece of work is done by a particular insect, but if so I do not know what one. It would appear that when the bugs effect lodgment in any one skin, they usually finish it before attacking another, unless they are in great force. We may consequently, by prompt removal of an infested specimen, save further depredations ; 56 FIELD ORNITHOLOGY. nevertheless, the rest become ‘‘suspictous,” and the whole drawer or box should be quaran- tined, if not submitted to any of the processes described beyond. Our lines of defence are sev- eral. We may mechanically oppose entrance of the enemy ; we may meet him with abhorrent odors that drive him off, sicken or kill him, and finally we may cook him to death. I will notice these methods successively, taking occasion to describe a cabinet under head of the first. Cases for Storage or Transportation should be rather small, for several reasons. They are easier to handle and pack. There are fewer birds pressing each other. Particular speci- mens are more readily reached. Bugs must effect just so many more separate entrauces to infest the whole. Small lids are more readily fitted tight. For the ordinary run of small birds I should not desire a box over 18x18x18, and should prefer a smaller one; for large birds, a box just long enough for the biggest specimen, and of other proportions to correspond fairly, is most eligible. Whatever the dimensions, a proper box presupposes perfect jointing; but if any suspicion be entertained on this score, stout paper should be pasted along all the edges, both inside and out. We have practically to do with the lid only. If the lot is likely to remain long untouched, the cover may be screwed very close and the crack pasted like the others. Under other and usual circumstances the lid may be provided with a metal boss fitting a groove lined with india rubber or filled with wax. An excellent case may be made of tin with the lid secured in this manner, and further fortified with a wooden casing. Birdskins entirely free from insects or their eggs, encased in some such secure manner, will remain intact indefinitely ; but there is misery in store if any bugs or nits be put away with them. Cabinets. — As a matter of fact, most collections are kept readily accessible for examina- tion, display, or other immediate use, and this precludes any disposition of them in ‘‘hermeti- .eal” cases. The most we can do is to secure tight fitting of movable woodwork. The “cabinet” is most eligible for private collections. This is, in effect, simply a bureau, or chest of drawers, protected with folding doors, or a front that may be detached, either of plain wood or sashing for panes of glass. It is simply astonishing how many birdskins of average size can be accommodated in a cabinet that makes no inconvenient piece of furniture for an ordinary room. feather, though quite a8 6. in afew kinds j ely want- Fie. 20. — Two barbs, birds: a, a, of a vane, bearing an- 1rd$; terior, 6, b, and posterior, : ‘4 the ¢,varbules; enlarged; after large, strong wing- =_—\ Nitzsch. : I Ny) feathers. The vane cons, : of a series of appressed, e ywerlinear laminge or aychis by their bases, ean \PRe flat, narrowly linear or os plates, set obliquely on th i i t from it at av _ 19. — A partly pennaceous, partly plum- diverging ou ‘ : ee cer es Argus pheasant; after ing in a free point ; each such 3 9pen angle, end we d, main stem; d, calamus; @, rhachis; barb (Lat. barba. a béTow, acute plate a ae cut away on left side in order not 18 called a barb ( aa , dete, Sie. a) ° hterfens with b, the after-shaft, the whole of Now if these laminee or barbs sift; 18. ¥, 4, ae the right vane of which is likewise cut away. each other, like the leaves of a ie ea: oe i r nected together ; for, jo, the teather no consistency; therefore, they are connec ie : He — or series of bathe so does each barb bear its vanes of the seco Rey sacniene ace called barbules (dimin. of barba ; fig. 20, b, >, ¢). These are to ee ee the bare are to the shaft, and are similarly given off from both sides of t 2 : : tae he barbs; they make the vane truly a web, that is, they so connect the barkP a g ne : ie little force is required to pull them apart. Barbules are variously ee eee — ne sideways, with upper and lower border at base, rapidly eine : a pone = - ee a several barbules of the next barb, crossing’ " and are long enough to reach over sev Daa ae liquely. All the foregoing structures are seen by aad - eaen aca ji scri i microscope: they are the epcaaue. but the next to be described require a eee (ee Ota ; ine -lashes (fig. 21); and hamuli, or hooklets instance : barb); also agente i he barbules, just!Te befor». a Tittle § i ly a sort of fringe to the arbules, just, of. & hook; fig. 21). These are simp. ae : ee paneer ine edge rom each other in that beNaz,, int’ edg of the barbules were frayed out, and only differ y, 1) ee EXTERNAL PARTS OF BIRDS. — FEATHERS. 85 like processes, while hamuli are hooked at the end; they are not found on all feathers, nor on all parts of some feathers. Barbicels occur on both anterior and posterior rows of barbules, Fig. 21.— A single bar- bule, bearing barbicels and honk‘ets; mag- though rarely on the latter; hooklets are confined to any an- terior series of barbules, which, as we have seen, overlie the posterior rows, forming a diagonal mesh-work. The design of this beautiful structure is evident; the barbules are inter- locked, and the whole made a web; for each hooklet of one barbule catches hold of a barbule from the next barb in front, any barbule thus holding on to as many of the barbules of the next barb as it has hooklets; while, to facilitate this interlock- ing, the barbules have a thickened upper edge of the right size for the hooklets to grasp. The arrangement is shown in fig. 22, where a, a, a, a, are four barbs in transverse section, viewed from the cut surfaces, with their anterior, 6, b, b, b, and pos- terior, ¢, ¢, ¢, c, barbules, the former bearing the hooklets which catch over the edge of the latter. Types of Feathery Structure. — But all feathers do not answer the above description. The after-shaft may be wanting, as we have seen. Hooklets may not be developed, as frequently happens. Barbicels may be few or entirely wanting. Barb- ules may be similarly deficient, or so defective as to be only recognized by their position and relations. Even barbs them- selves may be few or lacking on one side of the shaft, or on Fie. 22, — Four barbs in cross section, a, a, a, a, bearing anterior, b, b, b, 6, and posterior C, ¢c, ¢, ¢, bar- bules, the form- er bearing hook~- lets which catch over the latter; magnified ; after Nitzsch. nified ; after Sich both sides, as in certain bristly or hair-like styles of feathers. Consideration of itzsch. these and other modifications of feather-structure has led to the recognition of three types or plans: 1. The perfectly feathery, plumous, or pennaceous (Lat. pluma, a plume, or penna, a feather fit for writing with; fig. 23), as above described. 2. The downy or plumulaceous (Lat. plumula, a little plume, a down-feather), when the stem is short aud weak, with soft rhachis and barbs, with long slender thready barbules, little knotty dilata- tions in place of barbi- . _ Betivons cels, and no hooklets. PSS 3. The hairy, bristly, or § Y Silo - plumaceous (Lat. filum, a thread), with a very long, slender stem, and rudimentary or very small vanes composed of fine cylindrical barbs and barbules, if any, and uo barbicels, knots, or hooklets. ‘There is no abrupt definition between these types of structure ; in fact, the same feather may be constructed on more than one of these plans, as in fig. 19, partly pennaceous, partly plumulaceous. All feathers are built upon one or another, or some combination, or modification, of these types; and, in all their endless diversity, may be reduced to four or five Fic. 283. — A feather from the tail of a kingbird, Tyrannus carolinensis, almost entirely pennaceous; no after-shaft. From nature, by Coues. Different Kinds of Feathers. —1. Contour-feathers, penne or plume proper, have a perfect stem composed of calamus and rhachis, with vanes of pennaceous structure, at least in part, usually plumulaceous toward the base. These form the great bulk of the surface- plumage exposed to light; their beautiful tints give the bird’s colors ; they are the most modified in detail of all, from the fish-like scales of a penguin’s wings to the glittering jewels of the humming-bird, and all the endless array of the tufts, crests, ruffs, and other ornaments of the feathered tribes; even the imperfect bristle-like feathers above mentioned may belong among 4 86 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. them. Another feature is, that they are usually individually moved by subcutaneous muscles, of which there may be several to one feather, passing to be attached to the sheath of the tube, inside the skin, in which the stem is inserted. These muscles may be plainly seen under the skin of a goose, and every one has observed their operation when a hen. shakes herself after a sand bath, or any bird erects its top-knot. 2 Down-feathers, plumule,* are charactefized by a downy structure throughout. They more or less completely invest'the bddy, but are almost always hidden beneath the contour-feathers, like padding about the bases éf the latter; occa- sionally they come to light, as in the fleeey ruff about the neck of the condor, anil then usually replace contour-feathers ; they have an after-shaft, or none; and sometinies no rhachis at all, the barbs then being sessile in a tuft at the end of the quill. They often stand in a regular quin- eunx (:-!) between four contour-feathers. 3. Semiplumes, semiplume, may be said to unite the characters of the last two, possessing the pennaceous stem of the former, and the plumula- ceous vanes of the latter; they are with or without after-shaft. They starid among perine, as the plumule do, about the edges of patches of the former, or in parcels by themselves, but are always covered by contour-feathers. 4. Filoplumes, filoplwme; or thread-feathers, haye an extremely slender, almost invisible stem, not well distinguished into barrel and shaft, and usually no vane, unless a terminal tuft of barbs may be held for such. Long as they are, they are usually hidden by the contour-feathers, close to which they stand as accessories, one or more seeming to issue out of the very sacs in which the larger feathers:are implanted. These are the nearest approach to hairs that birds have; they are very well shown on domestic poultry, being what a good cook finds it necessary to singe off after plucking a fowl for the table. 5. Certain down-feathers are remarkable for continuing to grow indefinitely, and with this unlimited growth is associated a continual breaking down of the ends of the’ barbs. Such plumule, from being always dusted over with dry, scurfy exfoliation, are called powder-down ; they may be entitled to rank as a fifth kind, or pulviplumes. They occur in the hawk, parrot, and gallinaceous tribes, and especially in the herons and their allies. They are always present in the latter, where they may be readily seen as at least two large patches of greasy or dusty, whitish feathers, watted over the hips and on the breast. The design is unknown. Feather Oil Gland. — Birds do not perspire, and cutaneous glands, corresponding to the sweat-glands and sebaceous follicles so common in Mammalia, are little known among ‘them. But their ‘oil-can” is a kind of sebaceous follicle, which may be noticed here in connection with other tegumentary appendages. This is a two-lobed or rather heart-shaped gland, sad- dled upon the ‘ pope’s nose,” at the root of the tail, and hence sometimes called the wropygial (Lat. uropygium, rump), or rump-gland. If there be no single word to name it, it may be called the elaodochon (Gr. édaso8éxos, elaiodochos, containing oil). .It is composed of numerous slender tubes or follicles which secrete the greasy fluid, the ducts of which, uniting successively in larger tubes, finally open by one or more pores, commonly upon a little nipple-like elevation. Birds press out a drop of oil with the beak and dress the feathers with it, in the well-known operation called ‘‘preening.” The gland is large and always present in aquatic birds, which have need of waterproof plumage ; smaller in land-birds, as a rule, and wanting in some. The presence or absence of this singular structure, and whether or not it is surmounted by a particu- lar circlet of feathers, distinguishes certain groups of birds, and has come to be made much use of in classification. Pterylography. — Feathered Tracts and Unfeathered Spaces. — Excepting certain birds having obviously naked spaces, as about the head or feet, all would be taken to be fully feathered. So they are all covered with feathers, but it does not follow that feathers are everywhere implanted upon the skin. On the contrary, a uniform and continuous pterylosis is the rarest of all kinds of feathering ; though such occurs, almost or quite perfectly, among EXTERNAL PARTS OF BIRDS.— FEATHERS. 87 certain birds, as the ostrich tribe, penguins, and toucans. If we compare a bird’s skin to a well-kept park, part woodland, part lawn ; then where feathers grow is the woodland; where they do uot grow is the lawn. The former places are called tracts or pteryle (dimin. from Gr. mrepov, pteron, a ‘pluue); the latter, spaces or apteria (Gr. u privative, and mrepév) ; they mutually distinguish certain definite areas. Not only are the pteryle and apteria thus definite, but their size, form, and arrangement mark whole families and even orders of birds; so that pterylosis becomes available, and is indeed found to be important, for purposes of classification. Pterylography, or the description of this matter, has been made a special study by the cele- brated Nitzsch, who has laid down the general plan of pterylosis which obtains in the great majority of birds, as follows: 1. The spinal or dorsal tract (pteryla spinalis; fig. 24, 1), running along the middle of the bird above from the nape of the neck to the tail; subject to great variation in width, to dilation and contraction, to forking, to sending out branches, to interruption, etc. 2. The humeral tracts (pt. humerales ; Lat. humerus, the shoulder, or upper arm-bone; fig. 24, 2), always present, one on each wing; they are narrow bands, running from the shoulder obliquely backward upon the upper arm-bone, parallel with the shoulder-blade. i | Fig, 24. — Pterylosis of Cypselus apus, drawn by Coues after Nitzsch; right hand upper, left hand lower, surface. 1. spinal tract; 2. humeral; 8, femoral; 4. capital; 5. alar; 6. caudal; 7. crural; 8. ventral. 3. The femoral tracts ¢ pt. femorales ; Lat. femur, the thigh; fig. 24, 3): a similar oblique band upon the outside of each thigh, but subject to great variation. 4. The ventral tract (pt. ventralis ; Lat. venter, the belly ; fig. 24, 8), which forms most of the plumage on the under part of a bird, commencing at or near the throat, and continued to the vent; like the dorsal tract, it is very variable, is usually bifurcate, or forked into right or left halves, with a median apterium, is broad or narrow, branched, etc.; thus, Nitzsch enumerates seventeen distinct modi- fications! The foregoing are mostly isolated tracts, that is, bands nearly surrounded by com- plementary apteria; the following are, in general, continuously and uniformly feathered, and thus practically equivalent to the part of the body they represent: Thus, 5, the head tract (pt. capitalis ; Lat. caput, capitis, head; fig. 24, 4) clothes the head, and generally runs into the beginning of both dorsal and ventral tracts. 6. The wing tract (pt. alaris ; Lat. ala, wing ; fig. 24, 5) represents all the feathers that grow upon the wing, excepting those of the humeral tract. 7. The tail tract (pt. caudalis ; Lat. cauda, tail; fig. 24, 6) includes the tail-feathers proper and their coverts, and those about the el@odochon, and usually receives the termination of the dorsal, ventral, and femoral tracts. 8. The leg tract (pt. cruralis ; Lat. crus, erwris, leg; figs. 24, 7) clothes the legs as far as these are feathered, which is generally to the heel, always below the knee, and sometimes to the toes or even the claws. — I need not enumerate the apteria, as these are merely the complements of the pteryle. The 88 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. highly important special “ flight-feathers ” of the wings and “‘ rudder-feathers” of the tail are to be examined beyond, in describing those members for purposes of classification. Endysis and Ecdysis. — Putting on and off Plumage. — Newly hatched birds are covered for some time with a kind ‘of down, entirely different from such feathers as they ulti- mately acquire. It is scanty, leaving much or all of the body naked, in most aléricial birds, such as are reared by the parents in the nest (Lat. aliriz, female nourisher) ; but thick and puffy in some Altrices, and in all Precoces (Lat. precox, precocious), which run about at birth. Since many birds which require to be reared in the nest are also hatched clothed, or very speedily become downy, a more exact distinction may be drawn by using the terms ptilopedic and psilo- pedic (Gr. rrirtov, ptilon, a feather; Widds, psilos, bare; and mais, pais, a child) respectively for those birds which are hatched feathered or naked ; a chicken and a canary-bird are familiar examples. It is the rule, that the higher birds are born helpless and naked, requiring to be reared in the nest till their feathers grow ; the reverse with lower birds, as the walking, wading, and swimming kinds; and a primary division of birds has even been proposed upon this physio- logical distinction. It offers, however, too many exceptions; thus, no birds are more naked and helpless at birth than young cormorants. Probably all precocial birds are also ptilopzedic and all psilopaedic birds altricial; but the converse is far from holding good, many altrices, as hawks and owls, being also ptilopedic. In other words, psilopedic birds are always altricial, but ptilopeedic birds may be either altricial or preecocial. In any case, true feathers are soon gained, in some days or weeks, those of the wings and tail being usually the first to sprout. The acquisition of plumage is called endysis (évdvots, endusis, putting on). The renewal of plumage is a process familiar to all, in its generalities, under the term ‘‘ moult,” or ecdysis (Gr. exducts, ekdusis, putting off).. Feathers are of such rapid growth, and make such a drain upon the vital energies, that we easily understand how critical are periods of the change. The first plumage is usually worn but a short time; then another more or less complete change commonly occurs. The moult is as a rule annual; and in many cases more than one moult is required before the bird attains the perfection of maturity in its feathering. It is: well known how different inany birds are the first year in their coloration from that afterward acquired; sometimes changes progress for several years; and some birds appear to have a period of senile decline. All such changes are necessarily connected, if not with actual moult, as is the rule, then at any rate with wear and, tear and repair of the plumage. The first plumage being gained, under whatever conditions peculiar to the species, it is the general rule, that birds are subject to single, or annual, moult. This commonly occurs in the fall, when the duties of incubation are concluded, and the well-worn plumage most needs renewal. This once-a-year moult, at least, happens to nearly or quite all birds. Many, however, moult twice a year, the additional moult usually occurring in the spring-time, when a fresh nuptial suit is acquired; in such cases, the moult is said to, be double, or semi-annual. Such additional moult is generally incomplete; that is, all the feathers are not shed and renewed, but more or fewer new ones are gained, with more or less loss of the old ones, if any. The most striking ornaments donned for the breeding season, as the elegant plumes of many herons, are usually worn but a brief time, being doffed in advance of the general fall moult. A few birds, as the ptarmigan (Lagopus), regularly have even a third or triple moult, shedding many of their feathers as usual in the early autumn, then changing entirely to pure white for the winter, then in spring moulting completely to assume their wedding-dress. As a rule, feathers are moulted so gradually, particularly those of the wings and tail, and so simultaneously upon right and left sides of the body, that birds are at. no time deprived of the power of flight. The first flight-feathers acquired by young birds are usually kept till the next season; but in those that fly very early, before they are half grown, as so many gallinaceous birds do, their first weak wing-feathers are included in the general moult EXTERNAL PARTS OF BIRDS. — FEATHERS. 89 which occurs to young and old in the fall. The duck tribe offer the remarkable case, that they drop their wing-quills so nearly all at once as to he for some time deprived of the power of flight. It is quite certain that many birds change the colors of their plumage remarkably, without losing or gaining any feathers, by some process which affects the texture of the feath- ers, such as the shedding of the barbicels and hooklets, or its pigmentation ; or by such processes combined. The male of our bobolink changes from the buff dress of the female to his rich black suit without losing or gaining any feathers. It is difficult to lay down any rules of moulting for particular groups of birds, since birds very closely related differ greatly in respect to their changes of plumage, and the subject has not yet received the attention its interest and impor- tance should claim for it. The physiological processes ‘involved are analogous to those con- cerned in the shedding of the hair of mammals and the casting of the cuticle of reptiles. Plumage-changes with Sex, Age, and Season. Aside from any consideration of the way in which plumage changes, whether by moult or otherwise, the fact remains that most birds of the same species differ more or less from one another according to certain circumstances. The dissimilarity is not only in coloration, though this is the usual and most pronounced difference, but also in the degree of development of plumes, — their size, form, and texture. Since young birds are those which have not come to sexual vigor; since breeding recurs at regular periods of the year; and since males and females usually differ in plumage, — nearly all the various dresses worn by different individuals of the same species are correlated with the conditions of the reproductive system. As the internal generative organs represent of course the essential or primary sexual characters, all those of the plumage just indicated may be properly classed as secondary secual characters. These are of great importance, not only in practical ornithology, but as the basis of some of the soundest views that have been advanced respecting the evolu- tion of specific characters in this class of animals. The generalizations may be made: that when the sexes are strikingly different in plumage, the young at first resemble the female; when the adults are alike, the young are different from either; when seasonal changes are great, the young resemble the fall plumage of the parents; and, further, that when the adults of two related species of the same genus are nearly alike, the young are usually intermediate, their specific characters not being fully developed. Specific characters are often to be found only in the male, the females of two related species being scarcely distinguishable, though the males may be told apart at a glance. Extraordinary developments of feathers, as to size, shape, and color, are often confined to one sex, usually the male. The more richly, extensively, or pecu- liarly the male is adorned, the simpler the female in comparison, as the peacock and peahen. The Wise Man of Late has formulated the several categories of secondary sexual characters, giving the following rules or classes of cases: ‘‘1. When the adult male is more beautiful or conspicuous than the adult female, the young of both sexes in their first plumage closely resemble the adult female, as with the common fowl and peacock; or, as occasionally occurs, they resemble her much more closely than they do the adult male. 2. When the adult female is more conspicuous than the adult male, as sometimes though rarely occurs [chiefly with certain birds of prey and snipe-like birds], the young of both sexes in their first plumage resemble the adult male. 3. When the adult male resembles the adult female, the young of both sexes have a peculiar first plumage of their own, as with the robin [usual]. 4, When the adult male resembles the adult female, the young of both sexes in their first plumage resemble the adults [unusual]. 5. When the adults of both sexes have a distinct winter and summer plumage, whether or not the male differs from the female, the young resemble the adults of both sexes in their winter dress, or much more rarely in their summer dress, or they resemble the females alone. Or the young may have an intermediate character; or again they may differ greatly from the adults in both their seasonal pluinages. 6. In some few: cases the young in their first plumage differ from each other according to sex; the young males re- 90 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. sembling more or less closely the adult males, and the young females more or less closely the adult females.” — (Darwin, Desc. of Man, new ed., 1881, p. 466.) Summary of Secondary Sexual Characters of Birds.— The temptation to give the conclusion of the whole matter in Darwin’s own words, summary of his views of Sexual Selection as so important a factor in Natural Selection, need not be resisted. I therefore quote again from the work last cited, pp. 496-499. “ Most male birds are highly pugnacious during the breeding-season, and some possess weapons adapted for fighting with their rivals. But the most pugnacious and the best armed males rarely or never depend for success solely upon their power to drive away or kill their rivals, but have special means for charming the female. With some it is the power of song, or of giving forth strange cries, or instrumental music, and the males in consequence differ in their vocal organs, or in the structure of certain feathers. From the curiously diversified means for pro- ducing various sounds, we gain a high idea of the importance of this means of courtship. Many birds endeavor to charm the female by love-dances or antics, performed on the ground or in the air, and sometimes at prepared places, But ornaments of many kinds, the most brilliant tints, combs, and wattles, beautiful plumes, elongated feathers, top-knots, and so forth, are by far the commonest means. In some cases mere novelty appears to have acted as a charm. The ornaments of the males must be highly important to them, for they have been acquired in not a few cases at the cost of increased danger from enemies, and even at some loss of power in fighting with their rivals. The males of very many species do not assume their ornamental dress until they arrive at maturity, or they assume it only during the breeding season, or the tints then become more vivid. Certain ornamental appendages become enlarged, turgid, and brightly colored during the act of courtship. The males display their charms with elaburate care and to the best effect; and this is done in the presence of the females. The courtship is sometimes a pro- longed affair, and many males and females congregate at an appointed place. To suppose that the females do not appreciate the beauty of the males, is to admit that their splendid decorations, all their pomp and display, are useless; and this is incredible. Birds have fine powers of discrimination, and in some few cases it can be shewn that they have a taste for the beautiful. The females, moreover, are known occasionally to exhibit a marked preference or antipathy for certain individual males, “Tf it be admitted that the females prefer, or are unconsciously excited by the more beautiful males, then the males would slowly but surely be rendered more and more attractive through sexual selection. That it is this sex which has been chiefly modified, we may infer from the fact that, in almost every genus where the sexes differ, the males differ much more from one another than do the females ; this is well shown in certain closely-allied representative species, in which the females can hardly be distinguished, whilst the males are quite distinct. Birds in a state of nature offer individual differences which would amply suffice for the work of sexual selection; but we have seen that they occasionally present more strongly-marked variations which recur so frequently that they woul: immediately be fixed, if they served to allure the female. The laws of variation must determine the nature of the initial changes and will have largely influenced the final result. ‘The gradations, which may be observed between the males of allied species, indicate the nature of the steps through which they have passed. They explain also in the most interesting manner how certain characters have originated, such as the indented ocelli on the tail-feathers of the peacock and the ball and socket ocelli on the wing-feathers of the Argus pheasant. It is evident that the brilliant colors, top-knots, fine plumes, &c., of many male birds cannot have been acquired as a protection; indeed, they sometimes lead to danger. That they are not due to the direct and definite action of the conditions of life, we may feel assured, because the females have been exposed to the same conditions, and yet often differ from the males to an extreme degree, Although it is probable that changed conditions acting during a lengthened period have in some cases produced a definite effect on both sexes, or sometimes on one sex alone, the more important result will have been an increased tendency to vary or to present more strongly marked individual differences : and such differences will have afforded an excellent ground-work for the action of sexual selection. “ The laws of inheritance, irrespectively of selection, appear to have determined whether the characters acquired by the males for the sake of ornament, for producing various sounds, and for fighting together, have been transmitted to the males alone or to both sexes, either permanently, or periodically during certain seasons of the year. Why various characters should have been transmitted sometimes in one way and sometimes in another, is not in most cases known; but the period of variability seems often to have been the determining cause. When the two sexes have inherited all characters in common, they necessarily resemble each other; but as the successive variations may be differently transmitted, every possible gradation may be found, even within the same genus, from the closest similarity to the widest dissimilarity between the sexes. With many closely-allied species, follow- ing nearly the same habits of life, the males have come to differ from each other chiefly through the action of sexua! selection; whilst the females have come to differ chiefly from partaking more or less of the characters thus acquired by the males. The effects, moreover, of the definite action of the conditions of life, will not have been masked in the females, as in the males, by the accumulation through sexual selection of strongly-pronounced colors and other ornaments. The individuals of both sexes, however affected, will have been kept at each successive period nearly uniform by the free intercrossing of many individuals. “ With species, in which the sexes differ in color, it is possible or probable that some of the successive varia- tions often tended to be transmitted equally to both sexes; but that when this occurred the females were pre~ EXTERNAL PARTS OF BIRDS. — TOPOGRAPHY. 91 vented from acquiring the bright colors of the males, by the destruction which they suffered during incubation. There is no evidence that it is possible by natural selection to convert one form of transmission into another. But there would not be the least difficulty in rendering a female dull-colored, the male being still kept bright-colored, by the selection by successive variations, which were from the first limited in their traasmission to the same sex. Whether the females of many species have actually been thus modified, must at present remain doubtful. When, through the law of the equal transmission of characters to both sexes, the females were rendered as conspicuously colored as the males, their instincts appear often to have been moditied so that they were led to build domed or concealed nests, “Tn one small and curious class of cases the characters and habits of the two sexes have been completely transposed, for the females are larger, stronger, more vociferous and brighter colored than the males. They have, also, become so quarrelsome that they often fight together for the possession of the males, like the males of other pugnacious species for the possession of the females. If, as seems probable, such females habitually drive away their rivals, and by the display of their bright colors or other charms endeavour to attract the males, we can under- stand how it is that they have gradually been rendered, by sexual selection and sexually-limited transmission, more beautiful than the males — the latter being left unmodified or only slightly modified. “ Whenever the law of inheritance at corresponding ages prevails, but not that of sexually-limited trans- mission, then if the parents vary late in life—and we know that this constantly occurs with our poultry, and occasionally with other birds — the young will be left unaffected, whilst the adults of both sexes will be moditied. If both these laws of inheritance prevail and either sex varies late in life, that sex alone will be modified, the other sex and the young being unaffected. When variations in brightness or in other conspicuous characters occur early in life, as no doubt often happens, they will not be acted on through sexual selection until the period of reproduction arrives; consequently if dangerous to the young, they will be eliminated through natural selection. Thus we can understand how it is that variations arising late in life have so often been pre- served for the ornamentation of the males; the females and the young being left almost unaffected, and therefore like each other. With species having a distinct summer and winter plumage, the males of which either resemble or differ from the females during both seasons or during the summer alone, the degrees and kinds of resemblance between the young and the old are exceedingly complex; and this complexity apparently depends on characters, first acquired by the males, being transmitted in various ways, as limited by age, sex, and season. “As the young of so many species have been but little modified in color and other ornaments, we are enabled to form some judgment with respect to the plumage of their early progenitors; and we may infer that the beauty of our existing species, if we look to the whole class, has been largely increased since that period, of which the plumage gives us an indistinct record. Many birds, especially those which live much on the ground, have undoubt- edly been obscurely colored for the sake of protection. In some instances the upper exposed surface of the plumage has been thus colored in both sexes, whilst the lower surface in the males alone has been variously ornamented through sexual selection. Finally, from the facts given in these four chapters (pp. 358-499 of the work in citation], we may conclude that weapons for battle, organs for producing sound, ornaments of many kinds, bright and con- spicuous colors, have generally beer. acquired by the males through variation and sexual selection, and have been transmitted in various ways according to the several laws of inheritance — the female and the young being left comparatively but little modified.” b. Tue TopoGRAPHY oF Brrps. The Contour of «a Bird with the feathers on is spindle-shaped, or fusiform (Lat. fusus, a spindle), tapering at both ends; it represents two cones joined base to base at the middle or greatest girth of the budy, tapering in front to the tip of the bill, behind to the end of the tail. The obvious design is easiest cleavage of air in front, and least drag or wash behind, in the act of flying. This shape is largely produced by the lay of the plumage; a naked bird pre- sents several prominences and depressions, this irregular contour being reducible, in general terms, to two spindles or double cones. The head tapers to a point in front, at the tip of the bill, and contracts behind, toward the middle of the neck, in consequence of diminution in bulk of the muscles by which it is slung on the neck; which last is somewhat contracted or hour-glass shaped near the middle, swelling where it is slung to the body. The body is largest in front and tapers to the tail. The Centre of Gravity is admirably preserved beneath the centre of the body, and opposite the points where it is supported by the wings. The enormous breast-muscles of a bird are among its heaviest parts, sometimes weighing, to speak roundly, as much as one-sixth of the whole bird. Now these are they that effect all the movements of the wings at the shoulder- joints, lifting as well as lowering the wings. Did these pectoral muscles pull straight, the lifters would have to be above the shoulder-joint ; but they all lie below it, and the lifters 92 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. accomplish their office by running through pulleys to change the line of their traction. They work liké men hoisting sails from the deck of a vessel; and thus, like a ship’s cargo, a bird’s chief weight is kept below the centre of motion. Top-heaviness is further obviated by the way in which. birds with a long heavy neck and head draw these parts in upon the breast, and extend the legs behind, as is well shown by the attitude of a heron flying. The nice adjust- ment of balance by the variable extension of the head and feet is exactly like that produced in weighing by shifting a weight along the arm of a steel-yard; and together with the slinging of the chief weight under the wings instead of over or even between them, enables a bird to easily keep right side up in flight. The Exterior of a Bird is divided for purposes of description into seven parts: —1. The head (Lat. caput); 2. The neck (Lat. collum) ; 3. The body proper, or trunk (Lat. truncus); 4. The bill or beak (Lat. rostrum); 5. The wings (Lat. pl. alg); 6. The tail (Lat. cauda) ; 7. The feet (Lat. pl. pedes). Of these, 1, 2, 3, the head, neck, and trunk, are collectively termed the body (Lat. corpus), in distinction from 4, 5, 6, 7, which are the members (Lat. membra). The wings and feet are of course double or paired parts. The Dill is strictly but a part of the head; but its manifold uses as an organ of prehension make it functionally a hand, and there- fore one of the ‘‘ members.” The Head has the general shape of a four-sided pyramid; of which the base is applied to the end of the neck, therefore not appearing from the exterior, and the apex of which ‘is frustrated at the base of the bill. The uppermost side is more or less convex or vaulted, sloping in every direction ; the under side is flattish and horizontal; the lateral surfaces are flattish and vertical ; all similarly taper forward. The departures from any such typical shape are endless in degree and variable in kind, giving rise to numerous general descriptive terms, such as ‘head flattened,” ‘‘head globular,” but not susceptible of exact definition. The head is moulded, of course, upon the skull, corresponding in a general way to the brain-cavity of the cranium proper, both in size and shape; but it differs in several particulars. In the first place, there is the scaffolding of the jaws; secondly, large excavations to receive the eye-balls, and smaller ones for the ear-parts; thirdly, muscular masses overlying the bone; aud lastly, in some birds, large hollow spaces in the bone between the inner and outer tables or plates of the cranial walls. Each side of the head presents two openings for the eye (Lat. oculus) and ear (Lat. awris), the position of which is variable, both absolutely and in relation to each other. But in the vast majority of birds, the eye is strictly lateral in situation, and near the middle of the side of the head; while the ear is behind and a little below the eye, near the articulation of the lower jaw. But the shape of the skull of owls is such, that the eyes are directed forward, and such birds are said to have “ eyes anterior.” Owls also have enormous outer ears, in some cases provided with a movable flap or conch, closing upon the opening like the lid of a box; and in many cases their ear-parts, and some of the cranium itself, is unsymmetrical. In most birds the ear-opening is quite small, and only covered by modified feathers. In the woodcock and snipe, owing to the way the brain-box is tilted up, the ears are below and not behind the eyes. The mouth (Lat. os, gen. oris) is always a fissure across the front of the head. The cleavage varies, both in extent and direction; the latter is usually horizontal, or nearly so, but may trend much downward ; the former varies from a mininum, in which the cleft does not reach back of the horny part of the bill, as in a snipe, to the maximum seen in fissure-billed -birds like the swifts and goatsuckers, which gape almost from ear to ear. There are no other openings in the head proper, for the nostrils are always in the bill. The Neck, in effect, is a simple cylinder, rendered somewhat hour-glass-shaped, as above said. It consists of a movable chain of bones, the cervical vertebra (Lat. cervix, the neck; verto, I EXTERNAL PARTS OF BIRDS.— TOPOGRAPHY. 98 turn) enveloped in muscle, along which in front lie the gullet (Lat. esophagus) and windpipe (Lat. trachea), with associate blood-vessels, nerves, etc. Its length is very variable, as is the number of its bones, the latter ranging from 8 to about 26. Bearing as it does the head, with the bill, which is the true hand of a bird, the neck is extremely flexible, to permit the neces- sarily varied movements of this handy member. Its least length may be said to be that which allows the point of a bird’s beak to reach the oil-gland on the rump; its greatest length some- times exceeds that of the body and tail together, as in the case of a swan, crane, or heron. The length is usually in direct proportion to that of the legs, in obvious design of allowing the beak to touch the ground easily to pick up food. The neck is habitually carried in a double curve, like an open § or italic f, the lower belly of the curve, convex forward, fitting in between the forks of the merry-thought (Lat. furculwm), the upper curve holding the head horizontal at the same time. This ‘sigmoid flexure” (sigma, Greek 8), highly characteristic of the bird’s neck, is produced by the saddle-shaping of the articular surfaces of the several bones. The mechan- ical arrangement is such, that the sigma may be easily bent till the upper end (head) rests on the lower convexity, or as easily straightened to a right line ; but little if any further deviation in opposite curvature is permitted. As a generalization, the neck may be called relatively longest in wading birds, as herons, cranes, ibises, etc. ; shortest in perching birds, as the great majority of small Insessores; intermediate in swimming birds. But many swimmers, as swans and cormorants, have extremely long necks; and some waders, as plovers, have very short ones. A long neck is a rarity among the higher birds (above the Galline), in most of which the head seems to nestle upon the shoulders. The longer the neck, the more sinuous and flexible is it likely to be. Anatomically, the neck ends before at the articulation of the atlas (first cervical vertebra) with the skull, and behind at the first vertebra which bears free jointed ribs reaching the sternum. (See also p. 183, Anatomy.) The shape of the Body proper, or Trunk, is obviously referable to that of the egg; it is ovate (Lat. ovum, an egg; whence oval, the plane figure represented by the middle lengthwise section of an egg; ovate or ovoid, the solid figure). The swelling of the breast represents the greatest diameter of the egg, usually near the larger end. But the ovoid is never perfectly expressed, and departures from the figure are numberless. In general, the higher perching birds have the body nearly of the ovate shape; among waders, the figure is usually compressed, or flattened vertically, as is well seen in the herons, and still better in the rails, where the lateral uarrow- ing is at an extreme; among swimmers, the body is always more or less depressed, or flattened horizontally, and especially underneath, that the birds may rest on the water with more stability, as well shown by a duck or diver. Anatomically the body begins with the foremost dorsal vertebre, or those that bear true ribs; laterally, it ceases quite definitely at the shoulder- joints, the whole of the fore limb being outside the general content of the trunk; behind, in the middle line, it includes everything, only the tail-feathers themselves being beyond it; behind and laterally, it includes more or less of the legs, for these are generally buried in the common integument of the body to the knee-joint, nearly or quite so, and sometimes to the heel-joint; though more strictly the trunk should be limited by the hip-joint. The rib-bearing part of the back-bone, the ribs themselves, and the greatly enlarged breast-bone (Lat. sternum) compose the cavity of the chest (Lat. thorax). Upon this bony box, which contains the heart and lungs and some other viscera, are saddled on each side the bones of the shoulder-girdle or scapular-arch, namely, the shoulder-blades (Lat. scapula), the coracoids, and the collar-bones (Lat. clavicula), all three of which come together at the shoulder-joint. The thoracic cavity is not separated by any partition or diaphragm from that of the belly (Lat. abdomen), which with the pelvis, or basin, contains. the digestive, urinary, and genital organs. The pelvis is composed, in dorsal mid-line, of so many of the vertebre (dorso-lumbar, sacral proper, and urosacral, as become immovably joined to one another, and laterally of the confluent haunch- 94 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. - bones. The numerous anchylosed (or confluent) vertebree compose the sacrum. The haunch- bones or ossa innominata consist on each side of three bones, wm, ischiwm, and pubis, in adult life more or less perfectly anchylosed. Where they all three come together is the hip-joint. The remaining bones, usually included among those of the body proper, are the coccygeal or caudal vertebrae. (For anatomical detail see beyond, under Osteology, etc.) Topography of the Body. — Besides being thus divided into head, neck, trunk, and mem- bers, the exterior of the body is further subdivided or mapped out into regions for the purposes of description. It is necessary for the student to become familiar with the ‘‘topography ” of a bird, as this kind of mapping out may be called, for the names of the regions or outer areas are incessantly used in ordinary descriptive ornithology. Many more names have been applied than are in common use; I shall try to define and explain all those which are usually em- ployed, beginning with the parts of the body, and ending with those of the members. 1. REGIONS OF THE BODY. Upper and Under Parts. — Draw a line from the corner of the mouth along the side of the head and neck to and through the shoulder-joint and thence along the side of the body to the root of the tail; all above this line, ineluding the upper surfaces of the wings and tail, are upper parts ; all below it, including under surfaces of wings and tail,are under parts ; for which the short words ‘‘ above” and ‘‘ below” often stand. The distinction is purely arbi- trary, but so-convenient as to be practically indispensable. It will be seen how an otherwise lengthy description, enumerating parts that lie over or under the ‘‘lateral line” can be put in so few words as, for example, ‘‘ above, green; below, yellow.” Many birds colors have some such simple general distribution. These parts are also the dorsal (Lat. dorsum, back) and ventral (Lat. venter, belly) surfaces or aspects. The upper parts of the body proper, or trunk, have also received the general name of notaum (Gr. véros, notos, back) ; the under parts, similarly restricted, that of gastrewm (Gr. yaoryp, gaster, belly): but these terms are not much used now. These two are never naked, while both head and neck may be variously bare of feathers. The only exception is the transient condition of certain birds during incubation, when, like the eider duck, they pull off feathers to furnish the nest, or when the plumage, as usually happens, wears off. The gastreum is rarely ornamented with -feathers different in texture or structure from those of the plumage at large; but such a case is furnished by our Lewis’s woodpecker (Asyndesmus torquatus). The noteeum, on the contrary, is often the seat of extraordinary development of feathers, either in size, shape, or texture, or all three of these qualities; as the singularly elegant dorsal plumes of many herons. Individual feathers of the noteeum are generally pennaceous, and for the most part straight and lanceolate; and as a whole lie smoothly shingled or imbricated. The ventral feathers are usually more largely plumulaceous, and less flat and imbricated, but even more compact, that is thicker, than those of the upper parts; especially among water birds, where they are more or less curly, and very thick set. There are subdivisions of the Notzum. — Beginning where the neck ends, and ending where the tail-coverts begin (see fig. 25, 12), this part of a bird is subdivided into back (Lat. dorsum ; fig. 25, 11) and rump (Lat. wropygium ; fig. 25,13). These are in direct coitinuation of each other, and their limits are not precisely defined ; the feathers of both are of the pteryla dorsalis. In general,we should call the anterior two-thirds or three-fourths of noteeum “back,” and the rest “rump.” With the former are generally included the scapular or shoulder-feathers, scapwlars or scapu- laries ; these are they that grow on the pteryle humerales. The region of noteum ‘they repre- sent is called scapulare (Lat. scapula, shoulder-blade), and that part of noteeum strictly EXTERNAL PARTS OF BIRDS.— TOPOGRAPHY. 95 between them is called the interscapulare (fig. 25, 10) ; it is often marked, as in the chipping sparrow, with streaks or some other distinctive coloration. A part of dorsum, lying between interscapulare and uropygium, is sometimes recognized as the ‘‘lower back” (Lat. tergum) ; but this distinction is not practically useful. To uropygium probably also belong the feathers of the pteryle femorales, or at any rate these are commonly included with the rump in descrip- tions; but they more properly represent the flanks (Lat. ilia, or hypochondria) ; that is, sides of the rump. They are sometimes the seat of largely developed or otherwise peculiarly inodified feathers, as the snowy flank plumes of the white-bellied swift (Panyptila saxatilis) or violet-green swallow (Tachycineta thalassina), which meet over the rump. The whole of noteum, taken together with the upper surfaces of the wings, is called the mantle (Lat. stragu- lum, a cloak) ; often a convenient term, as in describing gulls and terns for example. In like manner, the Fig, 25 — Topography of a Bird. 1, forehead (/rons). 2, lore. 8, circumocular region. 4, crown (vertex). B, eye. 6, hind head (occiput). 7, nape(nucka). 8, hind neck (cervix). 9, side of neck. 10, interscapular region. 11, dorswm, or back proper, including 10. 12, notewm, or upper part of body proper, including 10, 11, and 18. 13, rump(uwropygium). 14, upper tail-coverts. 15, tail. 16, under tail-coverts (crissum). 17, tarsus. 18, abdo- men. 19, hind toe (hallux). 20, gastreum, including 18 and 24. 21, outer or fourth toe. 22, middle or third toe. 23, side of the body. 24, breast (pectus), 25, primaries. 26, secondaries. 27, tertiaries; nos. 25, 26, 27 are all remiges. 28, primary coverts. 29, alula, or bastard wing. 30, greater coverts. 31, median coverts. 32, lesser coverts. 33, the ‘‘ throat,” including 34, 37, 38. 34, jugulum or lower throat. 35, auriculars. 36, malar region. 87, gula, or middle throat. 38, mentwm, or chin. 39, angle of commissure, or corner of mouth. 40, ramus of under mandible. 41, side of under mandible. 42, gonys. 43, apex, or tip of bill. 44, tomia, or cutting edges of the bill. 45, culmen, or ridge of upper mandible, corresponding to gonys. 46, side of upper mandible. 47, nostril. 48 passes across the bill a little in front of its base. "hgeteline : 24), belly (Lat. abdomen ; fig. 25, 18), and sides of the body (Lat. plewra ; fig. 25, 23). The “ sides” lor pleurze belong really as much to the dorsal as to the ventral aspects of a bird’s body; brit in consequence of the underneath-freighted shape, the line we drew passes so high up along'them, that they are almost entirely given over to gastreum. The breast begins over vt Cae is subdivided into regions, called, in general terms, breast (Lat. pectus ; fig. 25, 96 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. the merry-thought where juguluim (see beyond) ends; on either hand, it slopes up to “ sides” ; ; behind, its extension is indefinite. It should properly reach as far as the breast-bone does, to the limit of the thorax; but in many birds this would leave almost nothing for abdomen, and the limit would moreover fluctuate with almost every family of birds, the sternum being so variable in length. Practically, therefore, without reference to the breast-bone, ‘‘ breast” or pectus is restricted to the swelling anterior part of gastreeum, which we call belly or abdomen as soon as it begins to straighten out and flatten. Abdomen, like pectus, rounds up on either hand into sides ; behind, it ends definitely in a transverse line passing across the anus. It has been unnecessarily divided into epigastrium or “ pit of the stomach,” and venter or lower belly ; but these terms are rarely used. (Crisswm is a word constantly used for some indefinite region immediately about the vent; sometimes meaning the flanks, sometimes the vent-feathers or under tail-coverts proper; I refer to it again in connection with these last.) Though these boundaries seem fluctuating and not perfectly satisfactory, a little practice will enable the student to appreciate their proper use in descriptions, and to employ them himself with suffi-- cient accuracy. The adjectival terms are respectively pectoral, abdominal, and lateral. The anterior continuation of the trunk, or the Neck (Lat. collum) is likewise subdivided into regions. Its lateral aspects, except in those birds that have lateral neck-tracts of feathers, are formed by the meeting over its sides of the feathers that grow on the dorsal and ventral pteryle, the skin being usually not planted with feathers. Partly on this account, perhaps, a distinctively named region is not often expressed ; we say simply ‘‘ sides of the neck,” or “‘ neck laterally” (parauchenia, fig. 25, 9), The neck behind, or the dorsal (upper) aspect, is divided into two portions: a lower, the “hind neck” proper, or ‘‘ scruff of the neck” (Lat. cervix ; fig. 25, 8), next to the back ; and an upper, or ‘‘ nape of the neck” (Lat. nucha ; fig. 25,7), adjomming the hind head. These are otherwise respectively known as the cervical and nuchal region ; and, in speaking of both together, we usually say “‘the neck behind.” The front of the neck has been need- lessly subdivided, and these subregions vary with almost every writer. It suffices to call it throat (Lat. gula, fig. 25, 37, or jugulum, 34); remembering that the jugular portion is lowermost, vanishing in breast, and the gular uppermost, running into chin along the under surface of the head. Guttur is a term sometimes used to include gula and jugulum together : it is simply equivalent to ‘‘ throat,” as just defined ; the adjective is guttural. Though gener- ally covered with feathers, the neck, unlike the trunk, is frequently partly naked. When naked behind, it is usually cervix that is bare, as so characteristically occurs in herons, from interrup- tion of the forward extension of the pteryla spinalis. Nucha is seldom if ever naked, except as an extension of general bald-headeduess. Gula is similarly naked from above downwards, as conspicuously illustrated in the order Steganopodes, comprising the pelicans, cormorants, ete., which have a bare gular pouch; and as seen in many vultures, whose baldness extends over nucha and gula, and even all around the neck, as in the condor, whose nakedness ends with so singular a collar of close-set, downy feathers. The lower throat or jugulum becomes naked in a few birds, in which a distended crop or craw protrudes, pushing apart feathers of two branches of the pteryla ventralis as these ascend the neck. The rule is, that the neck is not the seat of enlarged or otherwise highly developed feathers, which might restrict the requisite freedom of its motion; but there are some signal exceptions, among which may be instanced the grouse fasnily. The ruffed grouse has a singular umbrella-like tuft on each side of the neck : the pinnated grouse has still more curious winglets in the same situation, covering bare disten- sible skin: the sharp-tailed grouse is in somewhat similar but less pronounced case; while the cock of the plains has some extraordinary jugular developments of feathers in connection with his subcutaneous tympanum. Cervix proper almost never has modified feathers, but often a transverse coloration different from that of the rest of the upper parts; when a this EXTERNAL PARTS OF BIRDS.— TOPOGRAPHY. 97 is called ‘‘ cervical collar,” to distinguish it from the guttural or jugular ‘‘ collars” or rings of color. Nucha is frequently similarly marked with a ‘nuchal band;” often special develop- ments there take the form of lengthening of the feathers, and we have a ‘ nuchal crest.” More particularly in birds of largely variegated colors, guttur and jugulum are marked lengthwise with stripes and streaks, of which those on the sides are apt to be different from those along the middle line in front. Jugulum occasionally has lengthened feathers, as in many herons. Higher up, the neck in front may have variously lengthened or otherwise modified feathers. Conspicuous among these are the ruffs, or tippets, of some birds, especially of the grebe family (Podicipedide), and, above all our other birds, of the male ruff (Machetes pugnax). But these, and a few other modifications of the feathers of the upper mR are more conveniently considered with those of the Head.— Though smaller than any of the areas already considered, the head has been more minutely mapped out, and much detail is required by the number and importance of its recognizable parts or regions. Without intending to mention all that have been named, I describe all needed to be known for any practical purposes. “Top of the head” is a collective term for all the upper surface, from base of bill to nape, and laterally to about the level of the upper border of the eyes; this is the pilewm or “cap” (fig. 25, 1, 4, 6); it is divided into three portions. The forehead, or frontal region, or simply ‘‘ the front” (Lat. frons ; fig. 25, 1), includes all that slopes upward from the bill, —generally to about opposite the anterior border of the eyes. Middle head or crown (Lat. corona) or vertex (Lat., fig. 25, 1), includes the top of.the head proper, or highest part, from the rise of the forehead to the fall of the hind-head towards nucha. This slope is the hind-head, or occiput (Lat., fig. 25, 6). The lateral border of all three constitutes the superciliary line, that is, the line over the eye (Lat. super, over; cilia, little hairs, especially of the brows). ‘‘ Crown” is often used as the same thing as pileum. The adjectives of the several words are frontal, coronal or vertical, and occipital: pileum has none in use, coronal being said instead. “ Side of the head” is a general term defining itself; it presents for consideration several regions. The orbital or cirewmorbital region, or simply the orbit (Lat. orbis, an orb, here the socket of the eyeball; fig. 25, 3), is a small space forming a ring around the eye. It includes the eye, and especially the eyelids (Lat. palpebre). The points where these meet, in front and behind, respectively, are the anterior canthus and posterior canthus (Gr. xavOés, kanthos, Lat. canthus, a tire). The orbital region is subdivided into supra-orbital, infra-orbital, ante-orbital, and post-orbital, according as its upper, under, front, or back portion is desired to be specially designated. The situation of the orbit varies much in different groups of birds; it is generally midway, as said above, but may be higher or lower, jammed on toward the bill, or pushed far up and back, as strikingly shown in the woodcock. In owls, the orbital region is exaggerated into a great disc of radiating feathers, conferring a peculiar physiognomy. The aural or auricular (Lat. auris, or auriculum, ear; fig. 25, 35) region lies about the external opening of the ear, or meatus auditorius ; its position varies in heads of different shapes, but it nearly always lies behind and a little below the eye. Wherever located, it may be recognized at a glance, by the peculiar texture of the feathers (the awriculars) which overlie the meatus. Doubtless to offer least obstacle to sound, these are a parcel of loose-webbed little plumes, which may be collectively raised and turned forward, exposing the orifice of the ear; they are extremely large and notable in those owls which have complicated external ear parts, and in such they form part of the great facial disc. The term ‘temporal region ” or “ temple” is not often used in ornithology, not being well distinguished from the post-orbital space between eye and ear, and having nothing special about it. At the lowermost back corner of the side of the head, generally just behind and below the ear, may be seen or felt a hard protuberance ; it is the sharpest corner-stone of the head, being the place where the lower jaw hinges upon the 7 98 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. skull. This is called the ‘angle of the jaw ;” it is a good Jandmark, which must by no means be confused with the ‘‘angle of the mouth,” where the horny parts of the beak come together. The lore (Lat. lorum, a strap, or bridle; hence, place where the cheek-strap passes; fig. 25, 2) includes pretty much all the space between the eye and the side of the base of the upper mandible; a considerable part of it is simply ante-orbital Thus we say of a hawk, “lores bristly ;” and examination of a bird of that kind will show how large a space is covered by the term. Lore, however, should properly be restricted to a narrow line between the eye and bill. in the direction of the nostrils. It is excellently shown in the heron and grebe families, where “naked lores” is a distinctive character. The lore is an important place, not only from being thus marked in mgny birds, but from being frequently the seat of specially modified or specially colored feathers. The-rest of the side of the head, including the space between angle of jaw and bill, has the name of cheek (Lat. gena, first eyelid, then, and generally, the prominence under the eye formed by the cheek-bones; fig. 25, 36). It is bounded above by loral, infra- orbital, and auricular regions; below, by a more or less straight line, representing the lower edge of the bony prong of the under mandible. It is cleft in front for a varying distance by the backward extension of the gape of the mouth; above this gape is more properly gena, or malar region (Lat. mala, upper jaw) in strictness; below it is jaw (maxilla), or rather ‘side of the jaw.” The lower edge of the jaw definitely separates the side of the head from the “‘ under surface” of the head; properly bounded behind by an imaginary line drawn straight across from one angle of the jaw to the other, and running forward to a point between the forks of the under mandible. As already hinted, ‘‘ throat” (gula ; fig. 25, 37) extends upward and forward into this space without obvious dividing line ; it runs into chim (Lat. mentum ; fig. 25, 38), of which it is only to be said, that it is the (varying in extent) anterior part of the under surface of the head. Anteriorly, it.may be conveniently marked off, opposite the point where the feathers end on the. side of the lower jaw, from the feathery space (when any) between the branches of the upper mandible itself; this latter is called the imterramal space (Lat. inter, between, ramus, fork). The head is so often marked lengthwise with different colors, apt to take such definite position, that these lines have received special names. Median vertical line is one along the middle of pileum, from base of bill to nucha; lateral vertical times bound it on either side. Supreiliary line has already been noticed; below it runs the lateral stripe ; that part of it before the eye, is loral or ante-orbital ; behind the eye, post-orbital ; when these are continu- ous through the eye, they form a trans-ocular (Lat. trans, across; oculus, eye) line; below this is malar line, or cheek-stripe (Lat. frenum, a bridle) ; below this, on the under jaw, max- illary or submaxillary line ; in the middle below, mental or gular lines. No part of the body has so variable a ptilosis as the head. In the great majority of birds it is wholly and densely feathered; it ranges from this to wholly naked; but nakedness, it should be observed, means only absence of perfect feathers, for most birds with unfeathered heads have a hair-like growth of filoplumes on the skin. Our samples of uaked-headed birds are the turkey, the vultures, the cranes, and some of the heron tribe, as ibises. Associated with more or less complete “‘ baldness,” is the frequent presence of various feshy outgrowths, as combs, wattles, caruncles (warty excrescences), lobes, and flaps of all sorts, even to enumerate which would exceed our limits. The parts of the barn-yard cock exemplify the whole; among North American birds they are very rare, being confined, in evident development at any rate, to the wild turkey. Sometimes horny plates take the place of feathers on part of the head; as the frontal shields of the coots and gallinules. A very common form of head-nakedness marks one whole order of birds, the Steganopodes, which have mentum and more or less of gula naked, and transformed into a sort of pouch, extremely developed in the pelicans, and well seen in the cormorants. The next commonest is definite bareness of the lores, as in all herons and grebes ; in the former including the whole circum-orbital region. A little orbital space is EXTERNAL PARTS OF BIRDS.—~ TOPOGRAPHY. 99 bare in many birds, as the vulturine hawks, and some pigeons; species of grouse have a bare warty supra-orbital space. Among water-birds particularly, more or less of the interramal space is almost always unfeathered ; the nakedness always proceeds from before backwards. With the rare exceptions of a narrow frontal line, and a little space about the angle of the mouth, no other special parts of the head than those above given are naked in any North American bird, unless associated with general baldness. The opposite condition, that of redundant feathering, gives rise to all the various erests (Lat., pl. eriste) that form such striking ornaments of many birds. Crests proper belong to the top of the head, but may be also held to include those growths on its side; these together being called crests in distinction to the ruffs, ruffles, beard, etc., of gula or mentum. Crests may be divided into two kinds: 1, where the feathers are simply lengthened or otherwise enlarged; and 2, where the texture, and sometimes even the structure, is altered. Nearly all birds possess the power of moving and elevating the feathers on the head, simulating a slight crest in moments of excitement. The general form of a crest is a full, soft elongation of the coronal feathers collectively; when perfect, such a crest is globular, as in the genus Pyro- cephalus ; generally, however, the feathers lengthen on the occiput more than on the vertex or front, and this gives us the simplest and commonest form. Such crests, when more par- ticularly occipital, are usually connected with lengthening of nuchal feathers, and are likely to be of a thin, pointed shape, as well shown in the kingfisher. Coronal or vertical crests proper are apt to be rather different in coloration than in specially marked elongation of the feathers ; they are perfectly illustrated in the king-bird, and other species of the genus Tyran- nus. Frontal crests are the most elegant of all; they generally rise as a pyramid from the forehead, as excellently shown in the blue jay, cardinal bird, tufted titmouse, and others. All the foregoing crests are generally single, but sometimes double; as shown in the two lateral occipital tufts of the “‘ horned” lark, in all the tufted or “‘ horned” owls, and in a few cormo- rants. Lateral crests are, of course, always double, one on each side of the head; they are of various shapes, but need not be particularized here, especially since they mostly belong to the second class of crests, — those consisting of texturally modified feathers. It is a general, though not exclusive, character of these last that they are temporary ; while the other kind is only changed with the general moult, these are assumed for a short period only, the breeding season ; and, furthermore, they are often distinctive of sex. Occurring on the top of the head, they furnish the most remarkable ornaments of birds. I need only instance the elegant helmet-like plumes of the partridges of the genus Lophortyx ; the graceful flowing train of Oreortyx ; the somewhat similar plumes of the night and other herons. The majority of the cormorants, and many of the auks, possess lateral plumes of similar description ; these, and those of the herons, ‘are probably — in most. cases certainly — deciduous ; while those of the partridges above men- tioned last as long as the general plumage. These lateral plumes, in many birds, especially among grebes, are associated with, and, in fact, coalesce with, the ruffs, which are singular lengthening and modifying in different ways of feathers of auriculars, gene and gula ; and are almost always temporary. Beards, or special lengthening of the mental feathers aldne, are comparatively rare; we have no good example among our birds, but a European vulture, Gypaétus barbatus, is one. The feathers sometimes become scaly (squamous), forming, for instance, the exquisite gorgelets or frontlets of humming-birds. They are often bristly (seta- ceous), as about the lores of nearly all hawks, the forehead of the dabchick, neadow-lark, ete. A particular set of bristles, which grow in single series along the gape of many birds, are called rictal bristles or vibrisse. These occur in greater or less development in most sinall insectivorous birds; they are large and stiff and highly characteristic of the family Tyrannida, or flyeatchers; while in some of the goatsuckers (Caprimulgide) they are prodigiously long, and in one species of that family (Antrostomus carolinensis) they have lateral filaments. While usually all the unlengthened head-feathers point backward, they are sometimes erect, forming 100 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. a velvety pile, or they may radiate in a circle from a given point, as from the eye in most owls, where they form a disc. In the foregoing paragraph I only mention a few styles of crests, chiefly needed to be known in the study of our birds; but should add that there are many others, with endless modifications, among exotic birds ; to these, however, I cannot even allude by name. Peculiar- ities of nasal feathers, and others around the base of the bill, are noticed below. Forms of crests are illustrated by many of the figures given passim in the present work. 2. OF THE MEMBERS: THEIR PARTS AND ORGANS. I. THE BILL. The Bill (Lat. rostrwm) is hand and mouth in one: the instrument of prehension. As hand, it takes, holds, and carries food or other substances, and in many instances, feels ; as mouth, it tears, cuts, or crushes, according to the nature of the substances taken ; assuming the functions of both lips and teeth, neither of which do any recent birds possess. An organ thus essential to the prime functions of birds, one directly related to their various modes of life, is of much consequence in a taxonomic point of view; yet its structural modifications are so various and so variously interrelated, that it is more important in framing genera than families or orders; more constant characters must be employed for the higher groups. The general shape of the bill is referable to the cone; it is the anterior part of the general cone that we have seen to reach from its point to the base of the skull. This shape confers the greatest strength combined with the greatest delicacy ; the end is fine to apprehend the smallest objects, while the base is stout to manipulate the largest. But in no bird is the cone expressed with entire precision ; and, in most, the departure from this figure is great. The bill always con- sists of two, the upper and the lower Mandibles (fig. 26), which lie, as their names indicate, above and below, and are sepa- rated by a horizontal fissure, — the mouth. Each mandible always consists of certain project- ing skull-bones, sheathed with more or less horny integument in lieu of true skin. The frame-work of the Upper Mandible is (chiefly) a bone called the intermazillary, or better, in this case, the premax- illary. In general, this is a three-pronged or tripodal bone running to a point in front, with the uppermost prong, or foot, implanted upon the forehead, and the other two, lower and horizontal, running into the sides of the front of the skull. The scaffold of the Under Mandible is a compound bone called inferior maxillary ; it is U- or Fre, 26.— Parts of a Bill. a, side of upper mandible; 6, culmen; ce, nasal fossa; d, nostril ; .¢ (see below); f, gape, or whole commissural line; g, rictus; 2, commissural point or angle of the mouth; i, ra-’ mus of under jaw ; j, tomia of under mandible (the refer- ence lines e should have been drawn to indicate the corre- sponding tomia of upper man- dible): %, angle of gonys; é, gonys; m, side of under man-~ dible; , tips of mandibles, V-shaped, with the point or convexity in front, and the prongs run- ning to either side of the base of the skull behind, to be there mov- ably hinged. These two bones, with certain accessory bones of the upper mandible, as the palate bones, etc., together with the horny investment, constitute the Jaws. Both jaws, in birds, are movable ; the under, by the joint’ just mentioned; the upper, either by a joint at, or by the elasticity of the bones of, the forehead; it is moved by a singular muscular and bony apparatus in the palate, further notice of which is given beyond, under head of Anatomy (Osteology). The motion of the upper mandible is freest and most extensive in the parrot tribe, where both fronto-maxillary and palato-maxillary sutures exist. When closed, the jaws meet and fit along their apposed edges or surfaces, in the same manner and for the same purposes as the lips and teeth of man or other vertebrate animals. All bills, thus similarly constituted, have been divided into EXTERNAL PARTS OF BIRDS.—THE BILL. 101 Four Classes, representing as many ways in which the two mandibles close upon each "other at the end. 1. The epignathous (Gr. émi, epi, upon, yvdbos, gnathos, jaw) way, plan, or type, in which the upper mandible is longer than the under, and its tip is evidently bent down over the tip of the lower. 2. The hypognathous (Gr. id, hupo, under), in which the lower mandible is longer than the other. 3. The paragnathous (Gr. mapa, para, at or by), in which both are of about equal length, and neither is evidently bent over the other. 4. The metagna- thous (Gr. pera, meta, with, beside, etc.), in which the points of the mandibles cross each other. The secoud and fourth of these are extremely rare; they are exemplified, respectively, by the skimmer and the cross-bill (genera Rhynchops and Lowia). The first is common, occurring throughout the birds of prey, the parrots, and among the petrels, gulls, etc., ete. The great majority of birds exhibit the third; and, among them, there is such evident grada- tion into epignathism, that it is necessary to restrict the latter to its complete development, exhibited in the intermaxillary bone divested of its horny sheath, which often, as among fly- catchers, etc., forms a little overhanging point, but does not constitute epignathism. These classes, it should be added, though always applicable, and very convenient in descriptions, are purely arbitrary, that is, they by no means correspond to any four large groups of birds ; but, on the contrary, usually only mark families and the subdivisions of families; and the four types may be seen in contiguous genera. The general shape of the bill has also furnished Other Classes, for many yeurs used as a large basis for ornithological classification, even for the establishment of orders; but which the progress of the science has shown to be merely as convevient as, and only less arbitrary than, the foregoing. The principal of these are represented by the following types: A, among land birds. 1. The fissirostral (Lat. fissus, cleft, and rostrum), or cleft, in which the bill is small, short, and with a very large gap run- ning down the side of the head; as in the swallow, chimney-swift, whippoorwill. 2. The tenuirostral (Lat. tenuis, slender), or slender, in which the bill is small, long, and with a short cleft ; as in the humming-bird, creeper, nuthatch. 3. The dentirostral (Lat. dens, a tooth), or toothed, in which, with a various general shape, there is present a nick, tooth, or evident lobe in the opposed edges of gne or both mandibles near the end; as in the shrike, vireo, and some wrens, thrushes, and warblers. 4. The conirostral (Lat. conus, a cone), or conical, suffi- ciently defined by its name, and illustrated by the great finch family and some allied ones. — B, among water birds. 5. The longirostral (Lat. longus, long), or long, an aquatic style of the tenuirostral, best exhibited in the great snipe family. 6. The pressirostral (Lat. pressus, pressed), or the compact, illustrated by the plovers, etc., and quite likely analogous to the couirostral. 7. The cultrirostral (Lat. culter, a knife), cutting, perhaps analogous to the dentirostral, exemplified in the heron group. None of these terms are now used to indicate natural groups, nor have we such absurdities as the ‘‘ orders” Fissirostres, Tenutrostres, etc. A swallow, for instance, and a swift are equally fissirostral, though only distantly related to each other; a swift is very closely related to a humming-bird, though the latter is extremely tenuirostral; and birds of contiguous genera may be dentirostral or not. The words are nevertheless convenient incidental terms in general descriptions. Various other similar terms, expressing special modifications, as lamellirostral (Lat. lamella, a plate), acutirostral (Lat. acutus, sharp), ete., are also employed as common names, simply descriptive of Other Forms. — A bill is called Jong, when notably longer than the head proper ; short, when notably shorter ; mediwm, in neither of these conditions. It is compressed, when higher than wide, at the base at least, and generally for some portion of its length; depressed, when wider than high ; terete (Lat. teres, cylindric), under neither of these conditions. It is recurved, when curved upwardg decurved, when curved downward; bent, when the variation in either direction is at an angle; straight, when not out of line with the axis of the head. A bill is 102 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. obtuse (said chiefly of the paragnathous sort) when it rapidly comes to an end that therefore is not fine; or when the end is knobby; it is acute when it runs to a sharp point; acuminate, when equally sharp and slenderer; attenuate, when still slenderer; subulate (awl-shaped), when slenderer still; acicular (needle-shaped), when slenderest possible, as in some humming- birds. A bill is arched, vaulted, turgid, twmid, inflated, etc., when its outlines, both crosswise and lengthwise, are notably more ur less convex ; and contracted, when some, or the principal, outlines are concave (said chiefly of depressions about the base of the upper mandible, or of concavity along the sides of both mandibles). A bill is hamulate (Lat. hamus, a hook), or unguiculate (Lat. wnguis, a claw), when strongly epignathous, as in rapacious birds, where the upper mandible is like the talon of a carnivorous beast; .it is dentate, when toothed, as in a falcon ; if there are a number of similar ‘‘ teeth,” it is serrate (Lat. serra, a saw), like a saw; it is eultrate (knife-like), when extremely compressed and sharp-edged, as in the auk, skimmer ; if much curved as well as cultrate, it is faleate (Lat. falx, a reaping-hook ; scythe-shaped) ; and each mandible may: be oppositely falcate, as in the cross-bill, constituting metagnathism. A bill much flattened and widened at the end (rare) is spatulate (Lat. spatula, a spoon) ; examples: spoonbill, shoveller duck. One is called lamellate, when it has a series of plates or processes just inside the edges of the mandibles; as in all the duck order, and in a few petrels ; the design is to furnish a sifter or strainer of water, just what is effected in the whale, by the “bone” in its mouth. Finally, the far end of the bill, of whatever shape, is called the tip or apex (fig. 26, m) ; the near end, joined to the rest of the skull, the base ; the rest is the continuity. Some other features of the bill as a whole are best treated under separate head of The Covering of the Bill. —(a.) In the great majority of birds, including nearly all perchers, many walkers, and some waders and swimmers, the sheathing of the mandibles is. wholly hard, horny, or corneous (Lat. cornu, a horn); it is integument modified much as in “the case of the nails or claws of beasts. In nearly all waders and most swimmers, the sheath becomes, wholly or partly, softer, and is of a dense, leathery texture. But some swimmers, as among the auks, furnish bills as hard-covered as any, while some perchers have it partly quite soft, so that no unexceptional rule can be laid down; and, moreover, the gradations from one extreme to the other are insensible. Probably the softest bill is found among the snipes, where it is skinny throughout, and in typical snipes and woodcocks vascular and nervous at the tip, becoming a true organ of touch, used to feel for worms out of sight in the mud. In all the duck order the bill is likewise soft; but there it is always terminated by a hard, horny, wnguis or ‘‘nail,” more or less distinct ; and such a horny claw also occurs in other water birds with softish bills, as the pelican. An interesting modification occurs in all, or nearly all, of the pigeon order ; these birds have the bill hard or hardish at tip and through most of ‘continuity, but towards and at the base of the upper mandible the sheath changes to a soft, tumid, skinny texture, overarching the nostrils; it is much the same with most plovers. But the most important feature in this connection is afforded by the parrots and all the birds of prey; one so remarkable that it has received a distinct name: CERE. The cere (Lat. cera, wax; because it looks waxy) is a dense membrane saddled on the upper mandible at base, so different from the rest of the bill, that it might be questioned whether it does not more properly belong to the head than to the bill, were it not for the fact that the nostrils open in it. Moreover, the cere is often densely feathered, as in the Carolina paroquet, in the bill proper of which no nostrils are seen, these being hidden in the feathered cere, which, therefore, inight easily be mistaken at first sight for the bird’s forehead. A sort of false cere occurs in some water birds, as the jaegers, or skua- gulls (genus Stercorarius). The tumid nasal skin of pigeons is sometimes called a cere; but the term had better be restricted to the birds first above named. The under mandible probably never presents softening except as a part of general skinniness of the bill? it may have a nail at the end. (b.) The covering is either entire or pieced. In most birds it is entire ; that is, the EXTERNAL PARTS OF BIRDS.— THE BILL. 108 sheath of either mandible may be pulled off whole, like the finger of a glove. It is, however, in many birds divided into parts, by various lines of slight connection, and then comes off in pieces ; as is the case with some water birds, particularly petrels, where the divisions are regu- lar, and the pieces have received distinctive names. Many auks (Alcid@) have the covering of the bill in particular pieces, and it is an extraordinary fact that such parts are of a secondary sexual character (see p. 90), being assumed at the breeding season and afterwards moulted like feathers. Such condition of the sheath of the beak, or of special developments of the sheath, is called caducous or deciduous. The entire covering of both jaws together is called rhamphotheca (Gr. paudos, hramphos, beak; Oxy, theke, a sheath), of the upper alone, rhinotheca (Gr. pis, hris, the nose) ; of the under, gnathotheca (Gr. yrabos, gnathos, jaw) ; but these terms are not much used. (c.) The covering is otherwise variously marked; sometimes so strongly that similar features are impressed upon the bones themselves beneath. The most frequent marks are various ridges (Lat. pl. caring, keels) of all lengths and degrees of expres- sion, straight or curved, vertical, oblique, horizontal, lengthwise, or transverse; a bill so marked is said to be striate (Lat. stria, a streak) or carinate ; when numerous and irregular, they are called ruge (Lat. vuga, a wrinkle) and the bill is said to be corrugated or rugose, When the elevations.are in points or spots instead of lines, they are called puncta (Lat. punc- tum, a point) ; a bill so furnished is punctate, but the last word is oftener employed to designate the presence of little pits or depressions, as in the dried bill of a snipe towards the end. Larger softish, irregular knobs or elevations pass under the general name of warts or papilla, and a bill so marked is papillose ; when the processes are very large and soft, the bill is said to be carunculate (Lat. caro, flesh, diminutive carwnculus, little bit of flesh). Various linear depres- sions, often but not always associated with caring, are grooves or sulet (Lat. sulcus, a furrow) and the bill is then called sulcate. Sulci, like carinz, are of all shapes, sizes, and positions ; when very large and definite, they are sometimes called canaliculi, or channels. The various knobs, “horns,” and large special features of the bill cannot be here particularized. Any of the foregoing features may oceur on both mandibles, and they are exclusive of that special mark of the upper the nasal fossa in which the nostrils open, and which is considered below. We have still to notice the special parts of either mandible; and will begin with the simplest, the Under Mandible. —In the majority of birds it is a little shorter and a little narrower and not nearly so deep as the upper; but sometimes quite as large, or even larger. The upper edge, double (3. e., there is an edge on both sides), is called the mandibular tomium, or in the plural, tomia (Gr. réuvew, temnein, to cut; fig. 26, 7), as far as it is hard; this is received against, and usually a little within, the corresponding edge of the upper mandible. The prongs already mentioned are the mandibular rami (pl. of Lat. ramus, a branch; fig. 26, 2) ; these meet at some point in front, either at a short angle (like >) or with a rounded joining dike >). At their point of union there is a prominence, more or less marked (fig. 26, k) ; this is the Gonys (corrupted from the Gr. yévu, gonu, a knee; hence, any similar protuber- ance). That is to say, this point is gonys proper; but the term is extended to apply to the whole line of union of the rami, from gonys proper to the tip of the under mandible; and in descriptions it means, then, the wnder outline of the bill for a corresponding distance (fig. 26, 2). This important term must be understood; it is constantly used in describing birds. The gonys is to the under mandible what the keel is to a boat; it is the opposite of the ridge or culmen of the upper mandible. It varies greatly in length. Ordinarily it forms, say, one- half to three-fourths of the under outline. Sometimes, as in conirostral birds, a sparrow for example, it represents nearly all tais outline; while in a few birds it makes the whole, and in some, as the puffin, is actually longer than the lower mandible proper, because it extends back- wards in a point. Other birds may have almost no gonys at all; as a pelican, where the rami 104 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. only meet at the extreme tip, or in the whole duck family, where there is hardly more. As the student must see, the length of the gonys is simply a matter of how extensive is the fusion of the rami, and that, similarly, their mode of fusion, as in a sharp ridge, a flat surface, a straight line, a curve, etc., results in corresponding modifications of its special shape. The interramal space is complementary to length of gonys: sometimes it runs to the tip of the bill, as in a pelican, sometimes there is next to none, as in a puffin; while its width depends upon the degree of divergence, and the straightness or curvature, of the rami. The surface between the tomium and lower edge of rami and gonys together is the side of the wnder mandible (fig. 26, m). The most important feature of the Upper Mandible is the culmen (Lat. for top of anything ; fig. 26, 6). The culmen is to the upper mandible what the ridge is to the roof of a house; it is the upper profile of the bill —the highest middie lengthwise line of the bill ; it begins where the feathers end on the fore- head, and extends to the tip of the upper mandible. According to the shape of the bill it may be straight or convex; or concave, or even somewhat w-shaped; or double-convex, as in the tufted puffin: but in the great majority of cases it is convex, with increasing convexity towards the tip. Sometimes it rises up into a thin elevated crest, as well shown in the genus Cro- tophaga, and in the puffins (Fratercula), when the upper mandible is said to be keeled, and the culmen itself to be cultrate ; sometimes it is really a furrow instead of a ridge, as toward the end of a snipe’s bill; but generally it is simply the uppermost line of union of the gently con- vex and sloping sides of the wpper mandible (fig. 26, a). Ina great many birds, especially those with depressed Dill, as all the ducks, there is really no culmen; but then the median lengthwise line of the surface of the upper mandible takes the place and name of culmen. The culmen generally steps short about opposite the proper base of the bill; then the feathers sweep across its end, and downwards across the base of the sides of the upper mandible, usually also obliquely backwards. Variations in both directions from this standard are frequent; the feathers may run out in a point on the culmen, shortening the latter, or the culmen may af a way up the forehead, parting the feathers; either in a point, as in the rails and gallinaceolis birds, or as a broad plate of horn, as in the coots and gallinules. The lower edge (double) of the upper mandible is the maxillary tomium, as far backward as it is hard and wo The most conspicuous feature of the upper mandible in most birds is the Nasal Fossa (Lat. fossa, a ditch), or nasal groove (fig. 26, c), in which the nostrils open. The upper prong of the intermaxillary bone is usually separated some ways from the two lateral prongs; the skinny or horny sheath that stretches betwixt them is usually sunken below the general level of the bill, especially in those birds where the prongs are long or widely separated; this ‘‘ ditch” is what we are about. It is called fossa when short and wide, with varying depth ; swleus or groove when long and narrow; the former is well illustrated in the gallinaceous birds; the latter in nearly all wading birds and many swimmers. When the intermaxillary prongs are soldered throughout, or are very short and close together, there is no (or no evident) nasal depression, the nostrils then opening flush with the level of the bill. The Nostrils (fig. 26, d), two in number, vary in position as follows :— they are lateral, when on the sides of the upper mandible (almost always); culminal, when together on the ridge (rare) ; superior or inferior when evidently above or below midway betwixt culmen and tomia; they are basal, when at the base of the upper mandible; swb-basal when near it (usual) ; median when at or near the middle of the upper mandible (frequent, as in cranes, geese, ete.) ; terminal when beyond this (very rare; probably there are now no birds with nostrils at the end of the bill, except the Apteryx). The nostrils are pervious, when open, as in nearly all EXTERNAL PARTS OF BIRDS.—THE BILL. 105 birds; impervious, when not visibly open, as among cormorants and other birds of the same order ; they are perfordte when there is no septum (partition) between them, so that you can look through them from one side of the bill to the other, as in the turkey-buzzard, crane, ete. ; imperforate when partitioned off from each other, as in most birds ; but different ornithologists use these terms interchangeably. The principal shapes of the nostrils may be thus exhibited : —a line, linear nostrils; a line variously enlarged at either end, clavate, club-shaped, oblong, ovate nostrils ; a line, enlarged in the middle, oval or elliptic nostrils; this passing insensibly into the circle, round or circular nostrils ; and the various kinds of more or less linear nostrils may be either longitudinal, as in most birds, or oblique, as in a few; almost never directly transverse (up and down). Rounded nostrils may have a raised border or rim ; when this is prolonged they are called tubular, as in some of the goatsucker family, and in all the petrels. Usually, the nostrils are defined entirely by the substance surrounding them; thus, of cere, in a hawk ; of softish skin, in a pigeon, plover or snipe; or of horn, in most birds; but often their contour is partly formed by a special development, somewhat distinct either in form or texture, and this is called the nasal scale. Generally, it forms a sort of overhanging arch or portico, as well shown in all the gallinaceous birds, among the wrens, etc. A very curious case of this is seen in the European wryneck (Iynx torquilla), where the scale forms the floor instead of the roof of the nostrils. The nostrils also vary in being feathered or naked; the nasal fossa being a place where the frontal feathers are apt to run out in points (called antie), embracing the root of the culmen. This extension may completely fill and hide the fossa, as in many grouse and ptarmigan ; but it oftener runs for a varying distance toward, or above and beyond, the nostrils ; sometimes similarly below them, as in a chimney-swift ; and the nostrils may be densely feathered when there is no evident fossa, as in an auk. When thus truly feathered in varying degree, they are still open to view; another condition is, their being covered over and hidden by modified feathers not growing on the bill itself, but on the forehead. These are usually bristle-like (setaceous), and form two tufts, close-pressed and directed forwards, as is perfectly shown in a crow; or, the feathers may be less modified in texture, and form either two tufts, one over each nostril, or a single ruff, embracing the whole base of the upper mandible; as in nuthatches, titmice, red-poll linnets, snow buntings and many other northern Fringillide. Bristles or feathers thus growing forwards are called retrorse (Lat. retrorswm, backward; here used in the sense of in an opposite direction from the lay of the general plumage; but they should properly be called antrorse, i. e., forward). The nostrils, whether culminal or lateral, are, like the eyes and ears, always two in number, though they may be united in one tube, as in the petrels. The Gape. —It only remains to consider what results from the relations of the two mandibles to each other. When the bill is opened, there is a cleft or fissure between them ; this is the gape or rictus (Lat. rictus, mouth in the act of grinning). But while thus really meaning the open space between the mandibles, it is generally used to signify the line of their closure. Commissure (Lat. committere, to put or join together) means the point where the gape ends behind, that is, the angle of the mouth, angulus oris, where the apposed edges of the mandibles join each other; but, as in the last case, it is loosely applied to the whole line of closure, from true commissure to tip of the bill. So we say, ‘commissure straight,” or ‘‘ com- missure curved ;” also, ‘‘ commissural edge” of either mandible (equivalent to ‘‘ tomial edge ”) in distinction from culmen or gonys. But it would be well to have more precision in this matter. Let, then, tomia (fig. 26, j) be the true cutting edges of either maudible from tip to opposite base of bill proper; rictus (fig. 26, g) be their edges thence to the POINT commis- sure (fig. 26, h) where they join when the bill is open; the LINE commissure (fig. 26, f) to include both when the bill is closed. The gape is straight, when rictus and tomia are both straight and lie in the same line; curved, sinuate, when they lie in the same curved or waved 106 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. line ; angulated, when they are straight, or nearly so, but do not lie in the same line, and therefore meet at an angle. Synopsis.) (An important distinction. Il. THE WINGS. See under family Fringilide in the Definition. — Pair of anterior or pectoral limbs organized for flight by means of dermal outgrowths. D Fie. 27.— Bones of right wing of a duck, Clangula islandica, from above, j nat. size. (Dr. R.W. Shufeldt, U.S.A.) .4, shoulder, omos; B, elbow, ancon; C, wrist, carpus ; D, end of principal finger ; Z, end of hand proper, metacarpus. A B, upper arm, brachium; BC, fore-arm, antibrachium; CD, whole hand or pinion, manus; composed of CZ, hand proper or metacarpus, excepting d?; ED, or d? @4, d4, fingers, digits, digiti. h, humerus; rd, radius ; wl, ulna; se, outer carpal, scapholunare or radiale; cu, inner carpal, cuneiforme-or ulnare ; these two composing wrist or carpus. mec, the compound hand-bone, or meta- carpus, composed of three metacarpal bones, bearing as many digits — the outer digit seated upon a protuberance at the head of the metacarpal, the other two situated at the end of the bone. 2, the outer or radial digit, commonly called the thumb or pollex, composed of two phalanges; d#, the middle digit, of two phalanges; d4, the inner or ulnar digit, of one phalanx dis the seat of the feathers of the bastard wing or alula, D to C (whole pinion), seat of the flight- feathers called primaries; C to B (fore-arm), seat of the secondaries ; at B and above it in direction of A, seat of tertiaries proper; below .A, in direction of B, seat of scapularies (upon pteryla humeralis), often called tertiaries. The wing shown half-spread: complete extension would bring A BC D into a right line; in complete folding C goes to 4, and D to B; all these motions nearly in the plane of the paper. The elbow-joint and wrist are such perfect hinges, that, in opening or closing the wing, C cannot sink below the paper, nor D fly up above the paper, as would otherwise be the effect of the pressure of the air npon the flight-feathers. Observe also: rd and wi are two rods connecting Band C; the construction of their jointing at Band C, and with each other, is such, that they can slide lengthwise a little upon each other. Now when the point C, revolving about B, approaches 4 in the arc of a circle, rd pushes on se, while u/ pulls back cu; the motion is transmitted to _D, and makes this point approach B. Con- versely, in opening the wing, rd pulls back sc, and wi pushes on cu, making D recede from B. In other words. the angle A B C cannot be increased or dimin- ished without similarly increasing or diminishing the angle B C D; so that no part of the wing can be opened or shut without automatically opening or shut- ting the rest,— an interesting mechanism by which muscular power is corre- Jated and economized, This latter mechanism is further illustrated in fig. 28, where rcand ue show respectively the size, shape and position of the radial con- dyle and ulnar condyle of the humerus. It is evident that in the flexed state of the elbow, as shown in the middle figure, the radius, rd, is so pushed upon that its end projects beyond uw, the ulna; while in the opposite condition of extension, shown in the lower figure, rd is pulléd back to a corresponding extent. Used for this purpose by birds in general ; but by ostriches and their allies only as outriggers to aid running; by penguins as fins for swim- miug under water; used also in the latter capacity by some birds that fly well, as divers, cormorants, dippers. Want- ing in no recent birds, but imperfect in a few, as all Ratite ; greatly reduced in the Emeu, Cassowary, and Apteryx; also in the Moas (Dinornis) ; in the Creta- ceous Hesperornis only the rudimentary humerus is known. To understand their structure we must notice particularly The Bony Framework (figs. 27, 28, 29). — The skeleton of a bird’s wing is built upon a plan common to the fore or pectoral limb of all the higher vertebrates, so that its bones and joints may readily be compared and identified with those of any lizard or mammal, including man. But the member is highly special- ized; being fitted for accom- plishing flight, not only by the development of feathers, but also by modifications in the bones themselves. The axes of the bones have a special direction with refer- ence to each other and to the axes of the body; the movements of the joints are peculiar in some respects; and the whole extremity of the wing, from the wrist outward, is peculiarly con- EXTERNAL PARTS OF BIRDS.— THE WINGS. 107 structed, by loss of some of the digits that five-fingered animals possess, and by the compres- sion of those that are left. The wing proper begins at the shoulder-juint, where it hinges freely upon the shoulder, in a shallow socket formed conjointly by the shoulder-blade or scapula, and by the coracoid bone; these two, with the clavicles, collar-bones or mer- ry-thought, furculum, form- ing the shoulder-girdle, or pectoral arch (figs. 56, 59). The wing ordinarily con- sists, in adult life, of ten or } eleven actually separate bones; in the embryo (see fig. 29) there are indications of several more at the wrist-joint, which speedily lose their individual identity by fusing together and with bones of the hand. Aside from these, there is : . often an accessory ossicle at Fie. 28.— Mechanism of elbow-joint. (See explanation of tig. 27.) the shoulder-joint (fig. 56, ohs), sometimes one at the wrist-joint, occasionally an extra bone at the end of the principal finger. The normal or usual number is shown in fig. 27, taken from a duck (Clangula islandica), in which there are eleven. The upper arm-bone, h, reaching from the shoulder A to the elbow B, is the hwmerus. In the closed wing, the humerus lies nearly in the position of the same bone in man when the elbow is against the side of the body; in extension of the wing, the elbow is borne away from the body, as when we raise the arm, but carry it neither forward nor backward. A peculiarity of the bird’s humerus is, that it is rotated on its axis through about the quadrant of a circle, so that what is the front of the human bone is the outer aspect in the bird. The humerus is a cylindric bone, straightish or some- what italic f-shaped, with a globular head to fit the socket of the shoulder, a strong pectoral ridge for insertion of the breast muscles, and at the bottom two condyles (fig. 28, re, uc,) or joint-surfaces for articulation with a pair of sueceed- ing bones. The fore-arm, cubit or antibrachiwm, extending from elbow to wrist, B to C, in fig. 27, has two parallel bones of about equal lengths. These are the ulna, wl, and the radius, rd; the former, inner and posterior, the larger of the two, bearing the quills of the secondary series ; the LZ a latter, slenderer, outer and anterior. The enlarged proximal extremity of the ulna is called the olecranon, or ‘‘ head of the Fia. 29, from a young grouse (Centrocercus wrophasianus, six months old), is designed to show the composi- tion of the carpus and metacarpus before the elements of these bones fuse together: r, radius; wu, ulna; s, scaph- olunar or radiale; c, cuneiform or ulnare; om, a carpal bone believed to be os magnum, later fusing with the metacarpus; z, a carpal bone, supposed to be unciform, later fusing with metacarpus; 8, an unidentified fifth carpal bone, which may be called pentosteon, later fusing with the metacarpus; 7, radial or outer metacarpal bone, bearing the pollex or outer digit, consisting of two phalanges, d and £k; 91, principal (median) metacarpal bone, bearing the middle finger, consisting of the two phalanges, @/, d/” ; 9, inner or ulnar metacarpal, bearing @ digit of one phalanx, d///, The pieces marked om, z, 7, 8, 9. all fuse with 9’. (From nature by Dr. R. W. Shufeldt, U.S.A.) 108 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. elbow.” The third segment of the wing is the wrist or carpus. In adult life, this normally consists of two little knobby carpal bones, extremely irregular in shape,called the scapholunar, sc, and cuneiform, cu. One being at the end of the radius, the other at that of the ulna, they are also called radiale and ulnare. In the embryo, there is at least another carpal bone, that early fuses with the next segment. This fourth segment is the hand proper, or metacarpus, me, C to E (exclusive of d2). The single metacarpal or hand-bone is very composite; that is, compounded of several; for, besides including certain carpal elements, as already said, it consists of three bones fused (in all recent’ birds) in one, corresponding to the three digits or fingers that birds possess. In fact it is three metacarpals in one. The metacarpal corre- sponding to the principal finger is much the largest of the three; that of the first finger is very short, being only the expanded part seen in the figure just above the bone marked d 2; that of the third finger is nearly as long as the main metacarpal, but much slenderer, and usually fused only at its two ends, leaving between itself and the main metacarpal a considerable space, as seen opposite the letters mc in the figure. The wing is finished off with three fingers or digits, marked d2, d3, d4. The middle one of these, E to D in the figure, is much the largest, and forms the main continuation of the hand. This digit, d 8, ordinarily consists of two bones, called phalanges, placed end to end, as in the example before us; but oceasionally there is found a third phalanx. The outer or radial digit, d2, ordinarily con- sists of two bones, of which the terminal one is small, and may be wanting. The inner or ulnar digit, d 4, consists of a single small phalanx, closely bound to the side of the middle finger. Corresponding to the compactness and consolidation of these terminal segments, the digits enjoy little individual motion. The outer or radial digit is the most independent one. In the Archeopteryx the three metacarpals were free bones, and the whole hand more like that of a lizard. No bird now has free metacarpals in adult life; none has more than three digits. These three are supposed by some to correspond to the thumb and fore and middle fingers of our hands; by others, to the fore, middle, and ring fingers, and being consequently the second, third, and fourth digits, as marked in the figure. The digit marked d 2 is com- monly called a bird’s thumb or pollex. The Apteryx and the cassowary have but one complete digit. The resemblance to a lizard’s or quadruped’s digits is increased by the claws which many birds possess. These may be borne on the enlarged terminal phalanx of d 2 (k, in fig. 29), as is very well shown in the turkey-buzzard and other American Cathartide ; both on this and on the terminal phalanx of d 3 (d” in fig. 29), as in the ostrich; on the latter alone, as in the Apteryx, cassowary, American ostrich, and swan. The inner finger, d 4 (d’” in fig. 29) is not known to ever bear a claw, excepting in Archeopteryx. The whole segment, C to D, is commonly called “‘ the hand,” “ pinion,” or manus, though, as we have seen, it consists of hand proper (metacarpus), and fingers (digits) with their respective phalanges. (Fig. 112 ter.) Some other bones are observed in birds’ wings. As already said, there is a little ossicle in the shoulder-joint of many birds ; it is called the scapula accessoria (fig. 56, ohs). At the con- vexity of the elbow there may be one or more ossicles, not pertaining properly to the wing- skeleton, but developed in the tendons of muscles passing over the joint: they are sesamoids, like the human patella, or knee-cap. In various birds there is found at the convexity of the wrist, on the head of the metacarpal, an ossicle called the os prominens; apparently a sesamoid. Some other ossicles observed in the wrists of young birds are all supposed to be earpal elements, the exact homologies of which may be still questioned. The Mechanism of these Bones is admirable. The shoulder-joint is free, much like our own, permitting the humerus to swing all about; though the principal motions are to and from the side of the body (adduction and abduction), and up and down in a vertical plane. The elbow-joint is a very strict hinge, permitting motion in one plane, nearly that of the wing itself. The finger-bones have little individual motion. The construction of the wrist-joint is EXTERNAL PARTS OF BIRDS.—THE WINGS. 109 quite peculiar. In the first place the two bones of the forearm are so fixed in relation to each other, that the radius cannot roll over the ulna, like ours. If you stretch your arm upon the table, you can, without moving the elbow, turn the hand over so that either the palm or the knuekles are downward. This is a rotary motion of the bones of the furearm, called pronation and supination ; the prone when the palm touches the table, supine when the knuckles are downward. This rotation is absent from the bird’s arm; if it could occur, the action of the air upon the pinion-feathers would throw them all ‘at sea” during the strokes of the wing, render- ing flight difficult or impossible. The hingeing of the hand upon the wrist is such, also, that the hand does not move up and down, as ours can, in a plane perpendicular to the surface of the wing, but in the same plane as that surface. The motion is that which would take place in our hand if we could bring the little finger and its border of the hand so far around as to touch the corresponding border of the forearm. It is a motion of adduction, uot of flexion, and its opposite, abduction, not extension, by which a wing is folded and spread. Such abduction is the way in which the hand is ‘‘ extended” upon the wrist-joint, increasing and completing the unfolding of the wing that begins by the true extension of the forearm upon the elbow and abduction of the upper arm from the body. In a word, a wing is spread by the motion of abduction at the shoulder and wrist, of extension at the elbow; it is closed by adduction at the shoulder and wrist, and flexion at the elbow. The numerous muscles which unfold or straighten out the wing are called extensors ; those that bend or close it are flecors. Extensors lie upon the back of the upper arm, and the front of the forearm and hand, their “leaders” or tendons passing over the convexities of the elbow and of the wrist. The flexors occupy the opposite sides of the limb, with tendons in the concavities of the joints. The most powerful muscles of the wings are the great pectoral ur breast muscles, acting upon the upper end of the humerus; there are several of them, exerted in throwing out the arm from the body, and in giving both the up and down wing-strokes. Tendons are generally strong inelastic cords ; but there is an interesting arrangement of an elastic cord in a bird’s wing. In fig. 27, 4 BC isa deep angle formed by the naked bones, but none such is visible from the exterior, because the space is filled by a fold of skin passing from.C to near A. But C approaches and recedes from A as the wing is folded or unfolded, and a cord long enough to reach A—C would be slack in the folded wing, did not its elasticity enable it to contract and stretch, keeping the anterior border of the wing straight and smooth. (For another automatic mechanism, see explanation of fig. 28.) The point C is a highly important landmark in practical ornithology ; it represents, in any folded wing, a very prominent point, the distance from which to the tip of the longest flight-feather is a special measurement knowu as that of “‘the wing.” It is the convexity of the carpus, commonly called the ‘‘ carpal angle,” or ‘‘ bend of the wing.” Having thus glanced at the bony structure and mechanism of the wing, we are ready to examine the Feathers of the Wing (fig. 30). How important these are will be evident from the consideration that they are the bird’s chief organs of locomotion ; for without them the wing would be useless for flight. We also remember that such means of locomotion is the great specialty of birds. Wing-feathers are those which grow upon the pteryla alaris. They are of two main sorts: the flight-feathers proper, or long stiff quills, collectively called remiges (Lat. remex, pl. remiges, rowers) ; and the smaller, weaker feathers overlying them, and hence called coverts, or tectrices (Lat. tectrix, pl. tectrices, coverers). To these may be added as a third distinet group the bastard quills, which constitute the ; Alula, or Ala Spuria (Lat. alula, little wing, diminutive of ala, wing ; spwria, spurious, bastard). The ‘‘little wing” is simply the small parcel of feathers which grow upon the ‘thumb ” (see fig. 27,d@2; 29,dandk; 30, al). Highly significant as these may be in a mor- phological point of view, as representing what this part of the wing may have been in early times, 110 "GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. they are so much reduced in modern birds as to be of little account in practical ornithology. In fact, the unpractised student may fail to recognize them at first. They form a small packet on the fore outer border of the pinion near the carpal angle, and lie smoothly upon the upper surface of the wing, strengthening and finishing off what would be otherwise a weak spot in the contour of the wing-border. It is quite easy, on recognizing them, to lift them collectively a little away from the other feathers, owing to the slight mobility the thumb possesses. In fact, they are sometimes quite obtrusive, when faulty taxidermy has discomposed them. They are not often conspicuously modified either in size or color. In a few birds (e.g., Cathartes) a claw will be found at the end of the joint which bears them. The student must be careful to dis- criminate between the use of the word spwriows in the present connection and its application to a rudimentary condition of the first remex (see p. 113). The Wing-Coverts overlie the bases of the large quills on both the upper and under surfaces of the wing.. They are therefore conveniently divided into an upper set (tectrices supertores) ‘and an under set (tect. inferiores). The former are so much more conspicuous than the latter : that they are always under- stood when ‘‘ upper” is not specified. The latter are sometimes collectively called ‘‘the lining of the wings.” Coverts include all the small feathers of the wings except- ing the bastard quills; they extend a varying distance along the bases of the flight- feathers. The ordinary dis- position and division of the upper coverts is as follows: One set, rather long and stif- fish, grow upon the pinion, and are close-pressed upon the bases of the outer nine or ten remiges, covering these large feathers abont as far as their structure is plumulaceous. These are the upper PRIMARY coverts, or coverts of the primaries (fig. 30, pc) ; they are ordinarily the least conspicuous of any. All the rest of the upper coverts are SECONDARY; they spring mostly from the forearm. These are considered in three groups or rows. The greater upper secondary coverts, called simply the “‘ greater coverts ” (tectrices majores, fig. 30, gsc,) are the first, outermost, longest row, reaching nearest the tips of the flight-feathers; they overlie the bases of nearly all the remiges, excepting the first nine or ten. The median upper secondary coverts, shortly known as the ‘“ middle coverts” (tectrices medie), are a next row, shorter and therefore less exposed, but still quite evidently forming a special series (fig. 30, msc). It is a common feature of these median coverts that they shingle over each other contrary-wise to the way the greater coverts are imbricated, the outer vane of one being under the inner vane of the next outer one. All the rest of the upper secondary ecoverts, forming several indistinguishable rows, pass under the general name of lesser coverts (tectrices minores ; fig. 30, bc). The greater coverts furnish an excellent zodlogical character ; for in no Passeres ure they more than half as long as the remiges they cover, while the reverse is the case in most birds of lower orders. Woodpeckers, however, though non-passerine, have quite short coverts. The under coverts have the same general arrangement as the upper; but a 8 Fic. 30. — Feathers of a sparrow’s wing; nat. size. (For explanation see text.) EXTERNAL PARTS OF BIRDS.-—THE WINGS. 111 they are more alike and less distinctly disposed in rows or series; so that for practical purposes they pass under the general name of under wing-coverts, or lining of the wing. Since, when the wing is particularly marked on the under side, it is the coverts and not the remiges that are highly or variously colored, the common expression ‘wing below,” or “ under surface of the wing,” refers to the coverts more particularly. We should distinguish, however, from the under coverts in general, the avillars, or axillary feathers (Lat. axilla, the arm-pit). These are the innermost feathers lining the wings, lying close to the body; almost always longer, stiffer, narrower, or otherwise peculiarly modified. In ducks, for example, and many of the waders, as snipe and plover, they are remarkably well developed. The color of the axillaries is the principal distinction between some species of plovers. The Remiges, or Flight-Feathers (fig. 30, b, s, and ¢),give the wing its general character, mainly determining both its size and its shape; they represent most of its surface and of its inner and outer borders, and all of its posterior outline, forming a great expansion of which the- bony and fleshy framework is insignificant in comparison. The shape of the wing is indeed primarily affected by the relative lengths of its bony segments, the upper arm being, in a humming-bird, for example, very short in comparison with the terminal portion of the limb, and in an albatross again, both upper and forearm being greatly lengthened ; still in any case it is the fight-feathers that mainly determine the contour of the wing, by their absolute degree of development, their lengths proportionately to one another, and their individual shapes. They collectively form a thin, elastic, flattened surface for striking the air, quite firm along the front border where the bone and muscle lie, thence growing more mobile and resilient toward the posterior border and along the outer edge. Such surface may be quite flat, as in such birds as cut the air with long, pointed wings, like oar-blades ; but it is generally a little concave under- neath and correspondingly convex above ; such arching or vaulting of the wing-surface being usually associated with a short, broad, rounded wing, as in the gallinaceous tribe, and being least in birds which have the thinnest and sharpest wings. Corresponding differences in the mode of flight result. The short, rounded wing confers a powerful though labored flight for short distances, usually accompanied by a whirring noise resulting from the rapidity of the wing-beats; birds that fly thus are almost always thickset and heavy. The long, pointed wing gives a noiseless, airy, skimming flight, indefinitely prolonged, and accomplished with more deliberate wing-beats ; birds of this style of wing are generally trim and elegant. These, of course, are merely generalizations of the extremes of modes of flight, mixed and gradated in every degree in actual bird-life. Thus the humming-bird, which has sharp, thin wings, whirs them fastest of all birds, —so rapidly that the eye cannot follow the strokes, merely perceiving a haze about the bird while the ear hears the buzzing. The combination of acute- ness and concavo-convexity is a remarkably strong one, conferring a rapid, vigorous, whistling flight, as that of a duck or pigeon, or the splendid hurtling of a falcon. An ample wing, as one both long and broad without being pointed is called, is well displayed by such birds as herons, ibises, and cranes; the flight may be strong and sustained, but is rather slow and heavy. The longest-winged birds are found among the swimmers, particularly the pelagic fainily of the petrels, and some of the whole-webbed order, as pelicans, particularly the frigate- pelican. The last named, Tachypetes aquilus, has perhaps the longest wings for its bulk of body of any bird whatever, as well as the shortest feet. The American vultures are likewise of great alar expanse in proportion to their weight. The shortest wings, among birds possess- ing perfect remiges, occur among the lower swimmers, as auks and divers, and among some of the Gallinw. The great auk is, or was, perhaps the only flightless bird with well-formed flight-feathers, only too small to subserve their usual purpose; though certain South American ducks are said to be in similar predicament. In the penguins, the whole wing-structure is degraded, and the remiges abort in scale-like feathers, the wings being reduced to fins both 112 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. in form and function. The whole of the existing Ratite have rudimentary or very imperfect wings, as was the case with the Cretaceous Hesperornis ; but the contemporary of the latter, Icthyornis, and the still more ancient Archeopteryx, appear both to have had excellent ones. The disposition of the remiges in their mutual relations is very noteworthy. They have a rigid hollow barrel of great resistant powers, considering the amount of substance, — just like the cylindrical stem of the cereal plant; a stout, solid, highly elastic shaft; the outer web narrower than the inner, with its barbs set at a more acute angle upon the shaft. Any one of these stiffer outer vanes overlies the broader and more yielding inner vane of the next outer feather, which, on receiving the impact of air from below, resists as it were with the strength of a second shaft superimposed. Though the ‘‘ way of an eagle in the air” was a mystery to the wise man of old, the mechanics of ordinary flight are now better understood. But the sailing of some birds for an indefinite length of time, up as well as down, without visible motion of the wings, and without reference to the wind, remains an enigma. The flight of the albatross and turkey vulture, I venture to affirm, is not yet explained. The riddle of The Wing will be read when we know how the archsaurian escaped from ilus to ether. The number of true remiges ranges from about sixteen, as in a humming-bird, to up- wards of fifty, as in the albatross. Their shape is quite uniform, minor details aside. They are the stiffest, strongest, inost perfectly pennaceous of feathers, without evident hyporhachis, if any. They are generally lanceolate, that is, tapering regularly and gradually to an obtuse point, though not infrequently more parallel-sided, especially those of the secondary and tertiary series. Either or both webs may be incised toward the end; that is, more or less abruptly narrowed ; this is called emargination (see fig. 279); their ends may be transversely or obliquely truncate, or nicked in various ways. In a few birds, apparently for purposes of sexual ornamentation, they are developed in bizarre shapes of beauty, with evident decrease of utility as flight-feathers. Those of the ostrich and penguin tribes share the peculiarities of the general plumage of these extraordinary birds. Remiges are divided into three classes or series, according to where they grow upon the limb, whether upon the hand, the fore-arm, or the upper arm. In this distinction is involved one of the most important considerations of practical ornithology, of which the student must make himself master. The three classes of quill- feathers are: 1. the primaries; 2. the secondaries ; 3. the tertiaries. The Primaries (Fig. 30, 0) are those remiges which grow upon the pinion, or hand- and finger-bones collectively (fig. 27, Cto D). Whatever the total number of the remiges may be, im nearly all birds with true remiges the Primaries are either NINE or TEN in number. The humming-bird with sixteen remiges, the albatross with fifty or more, each have ten primaries. The grebes and a few other birds are said to have eleven primaries: if this be so, it is at any rate highly exceptional. No instance of a higher number than this is known to me. Again, it is only among the highest Passeres tliat the number nine is found, the Oscines having indifferently nine or ten. In a good many Oscines, rated as nine-primaried, there are actually ten, though the outermost is so rudimentary, and even out of allignment with the developed primaries, that it is not counted as one of them. Axnong Oscines, just this difference of one evident and unquestionable primary more or less forms one of the best distinc- tions between the families of that suborder. So the tenth feather in a bird’s wing, counting from the outside, becomes a crucial test in many cases; for, if it be last primary, the bird is one thing ; if it be first secondary, the bird is another. In such cases the necessity, therefore, of determining exactly which it is becomes evident. Of course it is always possible to settle the question by striking at the roots of the remiges and seeing how many are seated on the pinion; but this generally involves some defacing of the specimen, and there is usually an easier way of determining. Hold the wing half-spread: then, in most Oscines, the primaries come sloping down on one side, and thé secondaries similarly on the other, to form where they EXTERNAL PARTS OF BIRDS.—THE WINGS. 113 meet a reéntrant angle in fhe general contour of the posterior border of the wing; the feather that occupies this notch is the one we are after, and unluckily it is sometimes last primary, sometimes first secondary. But observe that primaries are so to speak, self-asserting, emphatic, italicized, remiges, stiff, strong, and obstinate ; while secondaries are retiring, whispering, in brevier, limber, weak, and yielding. Their different character is almost always shown by something in their shape or texture which the student will soon learn to recognize, though it cannot well be described. Let him examine fig. 30, where b marks the nine primaries of a sparrow’s wing, and s indicates the secondaries; he will see a difference at once. The primaries express themselves, though with diminishing emphasis, to the last one; then the secondaries begin to tell a different tale. Among North American birds the only ones with NINE primaries are the families Motacillide, Vireonide, Coerebide, Sylvicolide, Hirundinide, Tanagride, Fringillide, Icteride, part of Vireonidie, and the genus Ampelis. The condition of the first primary, whether spurious or not, is often of great help in this determination. The first primary is called ‘‘ spurious” when it is very short — say one third, or less, as long as the second, or longest, primary. Among Passeres, a spurious first primary only occurs in certain ten-primaried Oscines: whence it is evident, that to find such short first primary is equivalent to determining the presence of ten primaries, though not to find it does not prove there are only nine; the count should be made in all cases in which the outer primary is more than one-third as long as the next. The difference between nine primaries, and ten with the first spurious, is excellently illustrated among the species of Vireo. Any thrush, nuthatch, titmouse, or creeper shows a spurious primary to advantage, — large enough not to be over- looked, small enough not to be mistaken. The Secondaries (Fig. 30, s) are those remiges which are seated on the fore-arm (fig. 27, Bto C). They vary in number from six to forty or more. They have the peculiarity of being attached to one of the bones of the fore-arm, the ~ ulna. Tf an ulna be examined closely, there will be seen a row of little points showing the attachment ; such are indicated in fig. 27, along wl, and in fig. 31. ee ee The secondaries present no points necessary to dwell showing points of attachment of the second- upon here, after what has been said of the primaries, aries. (Dy. R. W. Shufeldt, U.S. A.) They are enormously developed in the Argus pheasant, and have curious shapes in some other exotic birds. They are often long enough to cover the primaries completely when the wing is closed, as in grebes; on the other hand, they are extremely short in the swifts and humming- birds. The Tertiaries (Fig. 30, ¢) are properly the remiges which grow upon the upper arm, humerus. But such feathers are not very evident in most birds, and the two or three inner- most secondaries, growing upon the very elbow, and commonly different from the rest in form or color, pass under the name of “tertiaries.” Again, in some cases, scapular feathers (fig. 80, scp,) are called tertiaries, especially when long or otherwise conspicuous. But there is an evident and proper distinction. Scapulars belong to the pteryla humeralis (see p. 87); while tertiaries, whether seated on the elbow or higher up the arm, are the innermost remiges of the pteryla alaris. These inner remiges are often shortly called tertials ; though the longer name is more correct, besides being conformable with the names of the other two series of remiges. Tertiaries often afford good characters for description, in peculiarities of their size, shape, or color. Thus it is very common among Frringillida for these feathers to be parti-colored differently from the other remiges. In many birds they are long and ‘flowing ”; as in the families Motacillide and Alaudida, where they reach about to the end of the primaries when the wing is closed. Their development is similar in many Scolopacide. In 8 114 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. such cases, the feather-border of the wing pronounces the letter W quite strongly, — outer lower angle at point of primaries; middle upper angle at reéutrance between primaries and secondaries; inner lower angle at point of tertiaries. The “point of the wing” is at the tip of the longest primary. It is best expressed when the first primary is longest. Sometimes the end is so much rounded off, that the midmost primary may be the longest one, the others being graduated on both sides of this projecting point. In speaking of the relative lengths of remiges, we always mean the way in which their tips fall together, not the actual total lengths of the feathers. Thus a second primary, whose tip falls opposite the tip of the first one, is said to be of equal length, though it may actually be longer, being seated higher up on the pinion. The development of the primaries also furnishes one of the most important measurements of birds: for the expression ‘length of wing,” or simply “the wing,” means the distance from the ‘bend of the wing,” or carpal angle, to the end of the longest primary. The integument of the wing does not very often develop anything but feathers. Occasionally Claws and Spurs are found upon the pinion. Claws have been already noticed (p. 108). They are properly so called, being horny growths comparable in every way to those upon the ends of the toes, like the claws of beasts, or human nails. A spur (Lat. calear), however, is something different, though of the same horny texture, since it dues not terminate a digital phalanx, but is off-set from the side of the hand. It is exactly like the spur on the leg of a fowl, which obviously is not a claw. The spur-winged guose (Plectropterus), pigeon (Didun- culus), plovers (Chettusia, etc.), and the doubly-spurred screamer (Palamedea), afford exain- ples of such outgrowths, of which the Jacanas (Parra) furnish the only, though a very well-marked, illustration among North American birds. (See fig. 53 ter.) Ill. THE TAIL. Its Bony Basis. — Time was when birds flew about with long, lizard-like, bony and fleshy tails, having the feathers inserted in a row on either side like the hairs of a squirrel’s. But we have changed all that distichous arrangement since when the Archgéopteryx was steered with such a rudder through the scenes of its Jurassic life. Now the true separate coceygeal bones are few, genérally about nine in number, and so short and stunted that they do not project beyond the general plumage,—in fact scarcely beyond the border of the pelvis. Anteriorly, within the bony basin of the pelvis, there are several vertebrae, which, fusing together and with the true sacrum, are termed urosacral or false tail-bones. To these succeed the true caudal vertebree, movable upon each other and upon the urosacrum. The last one of these, abruptly larger than the rest, and of peculiar shape, bears all the large tail-feathers, which radiate from it like the blades of a fan. The true caudal vertebre col- lectively form the coccyx (Gr. xéxkvé, kokkux, a cuckoo; from fancied resemblance of the human tail-bones to a cuckoo’s bill); the enlarged terminal one is the vomer (Lat. vomer, a plough-share, from its shape; not to be confused with a bone of the skull of same name) or pygostyle (Gr. mvyn, puge, ramp, and‘cridos, stulos, a stake, pale). The pygostyle, however, is a compound bone, consisting of several stunted coccygeal vertebre fused in one. The bones are moved by appropriate muscles, and upon the surface is seated the eleeodochon (p. 86). The whole bony and muscular affair is familiar to every one as the ‘‘ pope’s nose” of the Christmas turkey; it is a bird’s real tail, of which the feathers are merely appendages. In descriptive ornithology, however, the anatomical parts are ignored, the word ‘‘tail” having reference solely to the feathers. These, like those of the wings, are of two sorts: the coverts or tectrices, and the rudders or rectrices (Lat. rectrix, pl. rectrices, a ruler, guider; because they seem to, steer the bird’s flight); corresponding exactly to the coverts and remiges of the wings. The EXTERNAL PARTS OF BIRDS.—THE TAIL. 115 Tail-Coverts are the numerous comparatively small and weak feathers which overlie and underlie the rectrices, covering their bases and extending a variable distance toward their ends, contributing to the firmness and symmetry of the tail. They pass smoothly out from the body, by gradual lengthening, there being seldom, if ever, any obvious outward distinction between them and feathers of the rump and belly; but they belong to the pteryla caudalis (p. 87). The natural division of the coverts is into an upper and under set (tectrices super- tores, tectrices imferiores). The inferior coverts are the best distinguished from the general plumage, the anus generally dividing off these ‘‘ vent-feathers,” as they are sometimes called. It is to the bundle of under tail-coverts, behind the vent, that the term crisswm is most properly applied. Neither set is ever entirely wanting; but one or the other, particularly the upper one, may be very short, as in a cormorant, or duck of the genus Erismatura, exposing the quills almost to their bases. While the upper coverts are usually shorter and fewer than the under ones, reaching less than half-way to the end of the tail, they sometimes take on extraordinary development and form the bird’s chiefest ornament. The gorgeous, iridescent, argus-eyed train of the peacock consists of enormous tectrices, not rectrices; the elegant plumes of the paradise trogon, Pharomacrus mocinno, several times longer than the bird itself, are like- wise coverts. Occasionally, a pair of coverts lengthens and stiffens, and then resembles true tail-feathers; as in the Ptarmigan (Lagopus). The crissal feathers are more uniform in development; they ordinarily form a compact, definite bundle, as well shown in a duck, where they reach about to the end of the tail. In some of the storks, they become plumes of considerable pretensions; and in the wonderful humming-bird, Loddigesia mirabilis, the middle pair stiffens to resemble rectrices and projetts far beyond the true tail. The Rectrices, Rudders, or true tail-feathers, like the remiges or rowers, are usually stiff, well-pronounced feathers, pennaceous to the very base of the-vexilla, without after-shafts, as a rule, and with the outer web narrower than the other in most cases. They are always in pairs ; that is, there is an equal number of feathers on the right and left half of the tail; and their number, consequently, is an even one. The exceptions to this rule are so few and irregular, and then only among birds with the higher numbers of rectrices, that such are probably to be regarded as mere anomalies, from accidental arrest of a feather. They are im- bricated over each other in this wise: the central pair are high- est, lying with both their webs over the next feather on either side, the inner web of one of these middle feathers indifferently underlying or overlying that of the other; all thus successively overlying the next outer one so that they would form a pyra- mid were they thick instead of being so flat. The arrange- ment is perceived at once in the accompanying diagram ; where it will be seen, also, that spreading the tail is the diver- : gence of a from b, while closing the tail is bringing a and 6 together under ¢. The motion is effected by certain muscles that draw on either side upon the bases of the quills collectively ; they are the same that pull the whole tail to one side or the other, acting like the tiller-ropes of a boat’s rudder. The general , Shape of a Rectrix is shown in fig. 28. Such a feather is ordinarily straight, some- what clubbed or oblong, widening a little, regularly and gradually toward the tip, where it is gently rounded off. But the departures from such shape, or any that could be assumed as a standard, are numberless, and in some cases extreme. In fact, none of a bird’s feathers are more variable than those of the tail; it is impossible to specify all the shapes they assume. While most are straight, some are curved — and the curvature may be to or from the middle line of the body, in the horizontal plane, or up and down, in the vertical plane. Some shapes 116 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. have received particular names. A rectrix broad to the very tip, and there cut squarely off, is said to be truncate ; one such cut, obliquely off is incised, especially when, as often happens, the outline of the cut-off is concave. A linear rectrix is very narrow, with parallel sides; a lanceo- late one is broader at the base, thence tapering regularly and gradually to the tip. A notably pointed rectrix is said to be acute ; when the pointing is produced by abrupt centraction near the tip, as in most woodpeckers, the feather is acuminate. A very long and slender, more or less linear feather is called filamentous, as the lateral pair of a barn swallow or most sea swallows. The vanes sometimes enlarge abruptly at the end, forming a spoon-shaped or spatulate feather ; : or such a spoon may WY \ ry result from narrowing ANZ ee of the vanes near the WANG abut’ ) end, or their entire ab- yi sence, as in the ‘‘rack- et” of a saw-bill (Mo- motus). The vanes are sometimes wavy as if crimped; our Plotus is a fine example of this. Sometimes the vanes are entirely loosened, the barbs being remote from each other, as in the exotic genus Stipi- twrus, and some parts of the wonderful caudal appendage of the male lyre-bird (Menura su- perba). When the rha- chis projects beyond the vanes, the feather is spinose, or better, mu- cronate (Lat. muecro, a pricker), as excellently shown in the chimney- swift, Chetura (fig. 297). A pair of feathers Fic. 32.—The Lyre-bird of Australia, Menura superba, to show the unique abruptly extending far lyrate shape of the tail. (From Amer. Nat.) beyond the others are ‘ ealled long-exserted, after the analogous use of the term in botany. Tail-feathers also differ much in their consistency, from the softest and weakest, not well distinguished from coverts, to such stiff and rugged props as the woodpeckers possess. They are downy and very rudi- mentary in a few birds, notably all the grebes, Podicipedide, which are commonly said to have no tail. The tinamous of South America (Droma@ognathe) are also very closely docked. The ey SS x bY Typical Number of Rectrices is twelve. This holds in the great majority of birds. It is so uniform throughout the great group Oscines, that the rare exceptions seem perfectly anomalous. In the other group of Passeres (Clamatores) it is usually twelve, sometimes ten. Ten is the rule among Picarie, though many have twelve, a very few only eight, as in the genus Crotophaga. The whole of the woodpeckers (Picide) have apparently ten ; but really EXTERNAL PARTS OF BIRDS.— THE TAIL. 117 twelve, of which the outer one on each side is spurious, very small, and hidden between the bases of the second and third feathers. Birds of prey (Raptores) have about twelve. In pigeons the rule is twelve or fourteen, as in all our genera; but sixteen are found in some and twenty in one case. In birds below these, the number increases directly; there are often or usually more than twelve in the grouse, and there may be sixteen, eighteen, or twenty, as among our own genera of Tetraonide. Wading birds, often having but twelve, furnish in- stances of as many as twenty. Those swimming birds with large well-formed tails, as the Longipennes, and some Anatide, have the fewest, as tweive, sometimes fourteen, rarely sixteen; those with short soft tails have the most, as sixteen tv twenty-four. Among the penguins there are thirty-two or more. The Archeopteryx appears to have had forty, —a pair to each free caudal vertebra; and this may be considered the prototypic relation between the bones and feathers of the tail. The Typical Shape of the Tail, as a whole, is the fan. The modifications of form, how- ever, which are greater and more varied than those of the wing, are susceptible of better definition, and many-of them have received special names. Taking the simplest case, where the rectrices are all of the same length, we have what is called the even, square, or truncate tail. The other forms depart from this mainly by shortening or lengthening of certain feathers. A tail nearly or quite even may have the two central feathers long-exserted, as seen in the jaegers (Stercorarius), and tropic-birds (Phaéthon). The most frequent departure from the even shape results from gradual shortening of successive rectrices from the middle to the outer ones. This is called, in general, gradation or graduation (Lat. gradus, a step); such shortening may be to any degree. More precisely, graduation means shortening of each successive feather to the same extent, —say, each half an inch shorter than the next; but such exactitude is not often expressed. When the feathers shorten by more and more, we have the true rownded tail, probably the commonest form among birds; thus, the gradation between the middle and next pair may be just appreciable, and then increase regularly to an inch between the next and the lateral feather. The opposite gradation, by less and less shortening, gives the wedge-shaped or cuneate (Lat. cwneus, a wedge) tail; it is well shown by the magpie (Pica) in which, as in many other birds, the middle feathers would be called long- exserted were the rest all as short as the outer one is. A cuneate tuil, especially if the feathers be narrow and lanceolate, is also called acute, or pointed, as in the sprig-tailed duck (Dafila) or sharp-tailed grouse (Pediccetes). The generic opposite of the gradated is the forked tail; in which the lateral feathers successively increase in length from the middle to the outermost pair. The least appreciable forking is called emargination, and a tail thus shaped is said to be emarginate ; when it is better marked, as, for instance, an inch of forking in a tail six inches long, the tail is truly forked or furcate (Lat. furca, a fork). But the degrees of furcation, like those of gradation, are so insensibly varied, that qualified expressions are usual; as, ‘‘ slightly forked,” “deeply forked.” Deep furcation is usually accompanied by more or less narrowing or filamentous elongation of the lateral pair of rectrices, as in the barn swallows (Hirundo) and most of the sea-swallows (Sterna). An advisable term to express such an extreme furea- ‘tion is forficate (Lat. forfex, scissors), when the depth of the fork is at least equal to the length of the shortest feathers; it occurs among our birds in those last named, in the species of the flycatcher genus Milwulus, and elsewhere. Double-forked and double-rownded tails are not uncommon; they result from combination of both opposite gradations, in this way: The middle feathers being of a certain length, the next two or three pairs progressively increasing in length, and the rest successively decreasing, the tail is evidently forked centrally, rounded externally, which is the double-rounded form, each half of the tail being rounded ; it is shown in the genera Myiadestes and Anous. Now if with middle feathers as before, the next pair or two decrease in length, and then the rest increase to the outermost, we have 118 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. the double-forked, a common style among sandpipers, as if each half of the tail were forked. But in such case, the forking is slight, merely emargination, being little more than protrusion of the middle pair of feathers in an otherwise lightly forked tail; and in the double-rounded form the gradation is seldom if ever great. T should also allude to shapes of tail resulting from the relative positions of the feathers. Prominent among these is the complicate or folded tail of the barn-yard fowl, and others of the Phasianide, —a very familiar but not common form. It is only retained while the tail is closed and cocked up, —for when it is lowered and spread in flight it flattens out. The oppo- site disposition of the feathers is seen to some extent in our crow blackbirds (Quiscalus), where the lateral feathers slant upward from the lower- most central pair, like the sides of a buat from its keel; this is the scaphoid (Gr. oxady, a boat) or carinate (Lat. carina, a keel) tail. Our “boat - tailed” grackle has been so named on this account. One of the most beautiful and wonderful of Fic. 33. — Diagram of shapes of tail. adc, rounded ; aec, gradate; aic, he shapes of the tail is cuneate-gradate; alc, cuneate; abe, double-rounded; fey, square; hg, all , P emarginate; fneog, double-emarginate; kim, forked; kem, deeply forked; illustrated by the male of the kbm, forficate. lyre-bird (Menura superba, fig. 32), in which the feathers are anomalous both in shape and in texture, and the resulting form of the whole is unique. Various shapes, which the student will readily name from the foregoing paragraplis, are illustrated in many other figures of this work. It should be remem- bered that, to determine the shape, the tail should be nearly closed; for spreading will ob- viously make a square tail round, an emarginate one square, ete. I append a diagram of the principal forms (fig. 33). IV. THE FEET. The Hind Limbs, in all birds, are organized for progression— all can walk, run, or hop on land, though the power to do so is very slight in sume of the lower swimming birds, as loons and grebes, and certain of the lower perching birds, as hummers, swifts, goatsuckers, and kingfishers. They are specially fitted for perching on trees, bushes, and other supports requiring to be grasped, in the great majority of birds, as throughout the Passeres, Picarie, Accipitres, Columba, and, in fact, many water-birds ; there being few forms, mainly found among three- toed birds, or those in which the hind toe is short, weak, and elevated, in which the extremity of the limb has not decided grasping power. The limb becomes a paddle for swimming either on or in the water in many cases. In not a few, as parrots and birds of prey, the foot is serviceable as a hand. Those kinds of birds which live in trees and bushes habitually progress, even when on level ground, in a series of hops, or rather leaps, both feet being moved together: in all the lower birds, however, the feet move one after the other, as in ordi- nary walking or running. The modifications of the hind limb are more numerous, more diverse, and more important in their bearing on classification than those of either bill, wing, or tail; their study is consequently a matter of special interest. Their Bony Framework (fig. 34). — Beginning at the hip-joint, and ending at the extremities of the several toes, the skeleton of the hind limb consists in the vast majority of adult birds of twenty bones. This is the typical and nearly the average number; birds EXTERNAL PARTS OF BIRDS.— THE FEET. 119 scarcely ever have more, and the principal lessenings of the number result from the absence of one or two toes, or a slight reduction in the number of the joints of some toes, or absence of the knee-cap. Of the normal twenty, fourteen are bones of the toes ; one is an incomplete bone connecting the hind toe with the foot; one is the knee-cap, and four are the principal bones of the thigh (1), leg (2), and foot (1). The first or uppermost is the thigh-bone or femur (Lat. femur ; adjective, femoral), fm, from hip to knee, A to B in the figure. It is a rather short, quite stout, cylindrical bone, enlarging above and below. Above it has a globular head, a, standing off obliquely from the shaft, received in the acetabulum (Lat. aceta- bulum, a kind of receptacle) or socket of the hip, and a prominent shoulder or trochanter, which abuts against the brim of the acetabulum. Below, it expands into two condyles (Gr. kévdu- dos, a knob), for articu- lation with both the bones it meets at the knee. It is the same bone as the femur of a quadruped or of man, and corresponds to the humerus of the wing. In the knee-joint, many or most birds have a small ossicle, and a few have two such bony nod- ules, not shown in the figure, but nearly in the position of the letter B: the knee-pan or knee- cap, patella (Lat. patel- la). The thigh is the first. segment of the limb; the next segment is the leg proper, or crus (Lat. erus, the shin; adjective, Fie. 34.— Bones of a bird’s hind limb: from a duck, Clangula islandica, 3 nat. crural), B to C in the figure, or from knee to heel. This segment is occupied by two bones, the tibia (Lat. tibia, a tube, trumpet), tb, and fibula (Lat. fibula, a splint, clasp), fi. Of these the tibia is the principal, larger, inner size; Dr. R. W. Shufeldt, U.S.A. A, hip: B, knee: C, heel or ankle-joint; D, bases of toes. A to B, thigh or “second joint ’’; Bto C, crus, leg proper, “ drum- stick,’ often wrongly called “ thigh”’; C to D, metatarsus, foot proper, correspond- ing to our instep, or foot from ankle to bases of toes; in descriptive ornithology the tarsus; often called “shank.” From D outward are the toes or digits, fm. femur; 16, tibia, principal (inner) bone of leg; fi, fibula, lesser (outer) bone of leg; mt, principal ti sal bone, consisting chiefly of three fused metatarsal bones; am, accessory metatarsal, bearing 1¢, first or hind toe, with two joints; 2t, second toe, with three joints; 3¢, third toe, with four joints; 4¢, fourth toe, with five joints. At (there are in the embryo some small tarsal bones, not shown in the figure, uniting in part with the tibia. which is therefore a tibio-tarsus, in part with the metatarsus, which is therefore a tarso-metatarsus ; the ankle-joint being therefore between two rows of tarsal bones, not, as it appears to be, directly be- tween tibia and metatarsus. bone, running quite to the heel; the fibula is smaller, and (with rare exceptions, as in some of the penguins) only runs part way down the outside of the tibia as a slender pointed spike, close pressed against or even partly fused with the shaft of the tibia. Above, at the knee, both bones articulate with the femur; the tibia with both the femoral condyles, the fibula only with the outer condyle. Above, the tibia has an irregularly expanded head or cnemial process (Gr. 120 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. xvnpn, kneme, same as Lat. crus), which in some birds, as loons, runs high up in front above the knee-joint. Below, the tibia alone forms the ankle-joint, C, by articulating with the next bone. For this purpose it ends in an enlarged trochlear (Gr. rpoxadia), or pulley-like surface, presenting a little forward as well as downward, above which, in many birds, there is a little bony bridge beneath which tendons passing to the foot are confined. This finishes the leg, consisting of thigh, A B, and leg proper, B C, bringing us to the ankle-joint at the heel, C. Now a bird’s legs, unlike ours, are not separate from the body from the hip downward ; but, for a variable distance, are enclosed within the general integument of the body. The freedom of the limb is greatest among the high perching birds, and especially the Raptores, which use the feet like hands, and least among the lowest swimmers. The range of variation, from greatest freedom to most extensive enclosure of the limb, is from a little above B nearly to C, as in the case of a loon, grebe, or penguin. In no bird is the knee, B, seen outside the general contour of the plumage: it must be looked or felt for among the feathers, and in most prepared skins will not be found at all, the femur having been removed. It is a point of little practical consequence, though bearing upon the generalization just made. The first joint, or bending of the limb, that appears beyond a bird’s plumage is the heel, C; and this is what, in loose popular parlance, is called ‘‘ knee,” upon the same erroneous notions that make people call the wrist of a horse’s fure-leg ‘‘ knee.” People also call a bird’s crus or leg proper, B to C, the ‘‘thigh,” and disregard the true thigh altogether. This confusion is inexcusable; any one, even without the slightest anatomical knowledge, can tell knee from heel at a glance, whatever their respective positions relative to the body. Knee is at junction of thigh and leg proper; it always bends forward; heel is at junction of leg with foot, and always bends backward. This is as true of a bird, which is digitigrade, that is, walks on its toes with its heels in the air, as it is of a man, who is plantigrade, that is, walks on the whole sole of the foot, with the heel down to the ground. In a carver’s language, the thigh is the ‘‘second joint” (from below) ; the leg is the ‘‘drumstick”; the rest of a fowl’s hind limb does not usually come to table, having no flesh upon it. (See frontispiece, Th, Kn, Lg.) Before proceeding to the next segment of the limb, I must dwell upon the ankle-joint, situated at the heel, — the point C,— corresponding to the carpal angle or bend of the wing, C, in fig. 27. There we found, in adult birds, two small carpal bones, or bones of the wrist proper ; and noted the presence in the embryo of several other carpals (fig. 29), which early fuse with the metacarpus. Just so in the ankle, there are in embryonic life several tarsal bones, or bones of the tarsus (Lat. tarsus, the ankle) ; all of which, however, soon disappear, so that there appears to be no tarsus, or collection of little bones between the tibia and the next segment of the limb, the metatarsus. An upper tarsal bone, or-series of tarsal bones, fuses with the lower end of the tibia, making this leg-bone really a tébio-tarsus ; and similarly, a lower bone or set of bones fuses with the upper end of the metatarsus, making this bone a tarso-metatarsus. So there are left no free bones in the ankle-joint, which thus appears to be immediately between the leg-bone and the principal foot-bone; but which is nevertheless really between two series of tarsal bones, the identity of which has been lost.1 1 The exact homologues of a bird’s vanishing tarsal bones are still questioned. Gegenbaur showed the so- called epiphysis or shoe of bone at the foot of the tibia, and the similar cap of bone on the head of the principal metatarsal bone, to be true tarsal elements. Morse went further, showing the tibial epiphysis, or upper tarsal bone of Gegenbaur to be really two bones, which he held to correspond with the tibiale and fibulare, or astragalus and calcaneum of mammals; these subsequently combining to form the single upper tarsal bone of Gegenbaur, and finally becoming anchylosed with the tibia to form the bitrochlear condylar surface so characteristic of the tibia ot Aves. The distal tarsal ossicle he believed to be the centrale of reptiles. Wyman discovered the so-called ** process ot the astragalus” to have a distinct ossification, and Morse interpreted it as the intermedium of reptiles. Later views, however, as of Huxley and Parker, limit the tibial epiphysis to the astragalus alone of mammals. If these opinions be correct, other tarsal elements (more than one) are to be looked for in the epiphysis of the metatarsus. Whatever the final determination of these obscure points may be, it is certain that, as said in the text above, the lower end of a bird’s tibia and the upper end of a bird’s metatarsus include true tarsal elements, just as the upper EXTERNAL PARTS OF BIRDS.—THE FEET. 121 The next segment of the limb, C to D, or the foot proper, is represented by the principal metatarsal bone, mt. This corresponds to the human instep or arch of the foot, nearly from the ankle-joint quite to the roots of the toes. The metatarsal bone, like the metacarpal of the hand, which it represents in the foot, is a compound one. Besides including the evanes- cent tarsal element or elements already specified, it consists of three metatarsal bones con- solidated in one, just as the metacarpal is tripartite. Among recent birds, the three are partly distinct only in the penguins; but in all, excepting ostriches, the original distinction is indicated by three prongs or stumps at the lower end of the bone, forming as many articular surfaces for the three anterior toes. The other toe most birds possess, the hind toe,-is hinged upon the metatarsus in a different way, by means of a small separate metatarsal bone, quite imperfect; this is the accessory metatarsal, am. It is situated near the lower end toward the inner side of the principal metatarsal bone, and is of various shapes and sizes; it has no true jointing with the latter, but is simply pressed close upon it, much as the fibula is applied to’ tle tibia, or partly soldered with it. Above, it is defective; below, it bears a good facet for articu- lation with the hind toe. &" In spite of anatomical proprieties, the metatarsal part of a bird’s foot — from heel to base of toes —from C to D, is in ordinary descriptive ornithology invariably called “‘ The Tarsus” ; a wrong name, but one so firmly established that it would be finical and futile to attempt to substitute the correct name. In the ordinary attitude of most birds, it is held more or less upright, and seems to be rather “leg” than a part of the ‘ foot.” It is vulgarly called’ ‘the shank.” These points must be ingrained in the student’s mind to prevent confusion. (See fig. 112 bis, p. 229.) es The digits of the foot, or toes, upon which alone most birds walk or perch, consist of certain numbers of small bones placed end to end, all jointed upon one another, andthe basal or proximate ones of each toe separately jointed either with the principal or the accessory meta- tarsal bone. Like those of the fingers, these bones are called phalanges (Lat. phalanx, a rank or series) or wternodes (because coming between any two joints or nodes of ‘the toés). The furthermost one of each almost invariably bears a nail or claw (unguwis). The phalanges: are of various relative lengths, and of a variable number in the same or different toes. But all these points, being matters of descriptive ornithology rather than of anatomy proper, are fully treated beyond, as is also the special horny or leathery covering of the feet usually existing from the point C outward. We may here glance at the Mechanism of these Bones. — The hip is a ball-and-socket joint, permitting round-about as well as fore-and-aft movements of the whole limb, thotgh more restricted thaw the shoulder- joint. The knee is usually a strict ginglymus (Gr. yiyyAvupos, gigglumos, hinge) or hinge-joint, allowing only backward and forward motion ; and so constructed that the forward movement of the leg is never carried beyond a right line with the femur, while the backward is so extensive a that the leg may be quite doubled under the thigh. In some birds there is a slight rotatory motion at the knee, very evident in certain swimmers, by which the foot is thrown outward, so that the broad webbed toes may not “interfere.” The heel or ankle-joint is a strict hinge; its bendings are just the reverse of those of the knee; for the foot cannot pass back of a right line with the leg, but can come forward till the toes nearly touch the front of the knee. In some. birds the details of structure are such that, with the assistance of certain muscles, the foot is locked upon the leg when completely straightened out, so firmly that some little muscular effort is re-: quired to overcome the obstacle; birds with this arrangement sleep securely standing on one leg, which is the design of the mechanism. The jointing of the toes with the prongs of the meta-. tarsus is peculiar; for the articular surfaces are so disposed in a certain obliquity, that when end of the metacarpus includes carpal elements; and that a. bird’s ankle-joint is not tibio-tarsal or between leg-bone and foot-bones, a8 in mammals, but between proximal and distal series of tarsal bones, and therefore medio-tarsal, as in reptiles. 122 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. the toes are brought forwards, at right angles or’ thereabouts with the foot, they spread apart from each other automatically in the action, and the diverging toes of the foot thus opened are pressed upon the ground or against the water. When the toes are bent around in the opposite direction, they automatically come together and lie in a bundle more or less parallel with oue another, besides being each bent or flexed at their several nodes. The mechanism is best marked in the swimmers, which, for advantageous use of their webbed toes, must present a broad surface to the water in giving the backward stroke, and bring the foot forward with the toes closed, presenting only an edge to the water, —all on the principle of the feathering of oars in rowing. It is carried to an extreme in a loon, where, when the foot is closed, the digit marked 2¢ in the figure lies below and behind 3¢. It is probably least marked in birds of prey, which give the clutch with their talons spread. The jointings of the individual phalanges of the toes upon one another are simple hinges, permitting motion of extension to a right line or a little beyond in some cases, with very free flexion in the opposite direction. On the whole, the mechanics of a bird’s foot are less peculiar than those of the wing, and quite those of the limbs of a quadruped. In ordinary hopping, walking, and running, and in perching as well, only the toes rest upon or grasp the support, from D to beyond, C being more or less vertically over D. Such resting of the toes is complete for 2 ¢, 3%, 4¢ in the figure, or for all the anterior toes; but for the hind toe it varies according to the length and position of that digit, from complete incumbency, like that of the front toes, to mere touching of the tip of that toe, or not even this: the hind toe is then sure to be functionless. But many of the lower birds, such as loons and grebes, cannot stand at all upright on their toes, resting with the heel touching the ground; and in many such eases the tail furnishes additional support, making a tripod with the feet, as in the kangaroo. Such birds might be called plantigrade (Lat. planta, the sole; gradus, a step) in strict anatomical conformity with the quadrupeds so designated. The others are all digitigrade, standing or walking on their toes alone. But no birds progress on the ends of their toes, or toe-nails, as hoofed quodrupeds do. A bird’s ordinary walking or running is the same as ours, so far as the ordinary mechanics of the motions are concerned ; but its so-called ‘‘ hopping” is really leaping, both legs moving at once. Most birds, down to Colwmbe, leap when on the ground, a mode of progression characteristic of the higher orders; but many of the more terres- trial Passeres and Accipitres progress by ordinary walking when on the ground, as is invariably the case with parrots, pigeons, gallinaceous birds, and all waders and swimmers. The student need scarcely be reassured that, whatever their modifications, their relative development, motions, and postures, the several segments of both fore and hind limbs of any vertebrate, quadruped or biped, feathered or featherless, are fixed in one morphologically iden- tical series, thus: 1, shoulder or hip-joint; 2, upper arm or thigh, humerus or femur; 38, elbow or knee-joint; 4, fore-arm or leg proper, radius and ulna or tibia and fibula; 5, wrist, bend of wing, carpus, or heel, ankle, tarsus; 6, hand proper, metacarpus, or foot proper, metatarsus; 7, digits with their phalanges, of hand or foot, fingers or toes. 2, first segment; 4, second segment; 5, third segment (not separate in foot of bird); 6 and 7, fourth segment, in the wing'called manus or pinion, in the leg, pes. Observe the improper naming of parts, in the case of the hind limb, whereby 1, 2, 3, are not generally counted; 4 is called “thigh” ; 5 is called ‘“‘ knee”; 6 is called “leg” or “shank”; 7 is called “foot.” Observe also that in descriptive ornithology 6 is ‘‘ the tarsus.” The Plumage of the Leg and Foot varies within wide limits. In general, the leg is feathered to the heel, C, and the rest of the limb is bare of feathers. The thigh is always feathered, as part of the body plumage (pteryla femoralis). The crus or leg proper (thigh of vulgar language, B to C) is feathered in nearly all the higher birds, and in swimming birds without exception ; in the loons, the feathering even extends on the heel-joint. It is among EXTERNAL PARTS OF BIRDS.—THE FEET. 123 the walking and especially the wading birds that the crus is most extensively denuded ; it may be naked half-way up to the knee. A few waders,—among ours, chiefly in the snipe family, —have the erus apparently clothed to the heel-joint; but this is due, in most if not all cases, to the length of the feathers, for probably in none of them does the pteryla cruralis itself extend to the joint. Crural feathers are nearly always short and inconspicuous; but sometimes long and flowing, as in the ‘ flags” of most hawks, and in our tree-cuckoos. The tarsus (I now and hereafter use the term in its ordinary acceptation — C to D in fig. 34; ts in fig. 36) in the vast majority of birds is entirely naked, being provided with a horny or leathery sheath of integument like that covering the bill. Such is its condition in the Passeres and Pwarie (with few exceptions, as among swifts and goatsuckers) ; in the waders without ex- ception, and in nearly all swimmers (the frigate-bird, Tachypetes, has a slight feathering). The Raptores aud Galline furnish the most feathered tarsi. Thus, feathered tarsi is the rule among owls (Striges); frequent, either partial or complete, in hawks and eagles, as in Aquila, Archibuteo, Falco, Buteo, ete. All our grouse, and perhaps all true grouse, have the tarsus more or less feathered (fig. 35). The toes themselves are feathered in a few birds, as several of the owls, and all the ptarmigans (Lagopus). Partial feathering of the tarsus is often con- tinued downward, to the toes or upon them, by sparse modified feathers in the form of bristles ; as is well shown in the barn-owl (fig. 47). When incomplete, the feathering is generally want- ing behind and below, and it is almost invariably continuous above with the crural plumage. But in that spirit of per- versity in which birds delight to prove every rule Fig. 35. — Feathered tarsus of a grouse, Cupidonia cupido. Nat. size. we establish by furnishing exceptions, the tarsus is sometimes partly feathered discontinuously. A curious example of this is afforded by the bank-swallow, Cotile riparia, with its little tuft of feathers at the base of the hind toé; and some varieties of the barm-yard fowl sprout monstrous leggings of feathers from the side of the tarsus. The Length of Leg, relatively to the size of the bird, is extremely variable; a thrush or sparrow probably represents about average proportions of the limb. The shortest-legged bird known is probably the frigate-pelican, Tachypetes ; which, though a yard long more or less, has a tibia not half as long as the skull, and a tarsus under an inch. The leg is very short in many Picarian birds, as hummers, swifts, goatsuckers, kingfishers, trogons, ete., in many of which it scarcely serves at all for progression. Among Passeres, the swallows resemble swifts in shortness of their hind limbs. It is pretty short likewise in many zygodactyle, yoke-toed or scansorial birds, as woodpeckers, cuckoos, and parrots. In most swimming birds the limb may also be called short, especially in its femoral and tarsal segments; while the broad-webbed toes are comparatively longer. The leg lengthens in the lower perching birds, as many hawks and some of the terrestrial pigeons; it is still longer among walkers proper, such as the gallinaceous birds, and reaches its maximum among the waders, especially the larger ones, such as cranes, herons, ibises, storks, and flamingoes ; among all of which it is correlated with extension of the neck. Probably the longest-legged of all birds for its size is the stilt (Himantopus). Taking the tarsus alone as an index of length of the whole limb, this is in the frigate under one-thirty-sixth of the bird’s length; a flamingo, four feet long, has a tarsus a foot long: a stilt, fourteen inches long, one of four inches; so that the maximun and 124 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. minimum lengths of tarsus are nearly thirty and under three per cent. of a bird’s whole length. The Horny Integument of the Foot requires particular attention. That part of the limb which is devoid of feathers is covered, like the bill, by a hardened, thickened, modified integument, varying in texture from horny to leathery. This sheath is called the podotheca (Gr. mods, Todds, pous, podos, foot, and Onxy, theke, sheath). It is more corneous in land birds, and in water birds more leathery ; this general distinction has but few exceptions. The perfectly horny envelope is tight, and immovably fixed or nearly so, while the skinny styles of sheath _are looser, and may usually be slipped about a little. The integument may differ on different parts of the same leg, and in fact generally does so to some extent. Unlike the sheath of the pill, the podotheca is never simple and continuous, being divided and subdivided in various ways. The lower part of the crus, when naked, and the tarsus and toes, always have their integument cut up into scales, plates, tubercles, and other special formations, which have received particular names. The manner and character of such divisions are often of the utmost consequence in classification, especially among the higher birds, since they are quite significant of genera, families, and even some larger groups. Fria. 38. — a, Reticulate tarsus Fic. 37. — Scutellate of a plover. Nat. size. . b, Scutel- Fie. 36.— Booted laminiplantar laminiplantar tarsus of a late and reticulate tarsus of a tarsus of a robin. Nat. size. cat-bird. Nat. size. pigeon. Nat. size. The commonest division of the podotheca is into scales or scutella (Lat. scutellum, a little shield; pl. scwtella, not scutelle as often written) ; figs. 37, and 38, b. These are generally of large comparative size, arranged in definite vertical series up and down the tarsus and along the toes, and apt to be somewhat imbricated, or fixed shingle-wise, the lower edge of one overlapping the upper edge of the next. The great majority of birds have such seutella. They oftenest occur on the front of the tarsus (or acrotarsiwm, corresponding to our ‘ instep”), and almost invariably on the tops of the toes (collectively called acropodiwm) ; frequerfly also. on the sides and back of the tarsus or planta ; not so often on the crus, and rarely if ever on the sides and under surfaces of the toes. A tarsus so disposed as to its podotheca is said to be scutellate, —scutellate before (fig. 37), or behind, or both, as the case may be. The term is equally applicable to the acropodium, but'is not so often used because scutellation of the upper sides of the toes is so universal as to be taken for granted unless the contrary condition is expressly said. The most notorious case of the Oscine podotheca (figs. 36, 37), characterizing that great group of birds, is given beyond (next paragraph). . Plates, or reticulations (Lat. reticulum, a web; fig. 38, a) result from the cutting up of EXTERNAL PARTS OF BIRDS.—THE FEET. 125 the envelope in various ways by eross lines. Plates are of various shapes and sizes, and grade usually into true scutella, from which however they are generally distinguished by being smaller, or of irregular contour, or not in definite rows, or lacking the appearance of imbrica~ tion; but there is no positive distinction. They are oftenest hexagonal (six-sided), a form best adapted to close packing, as shown very perfectly in the cells of the honey-bee’s comb; but they may have fewer sides, or be polygonal (many-sided), or even circular; when crowded in one direction and loosened in another the shape tends to be oval or even linear. A leg so fur- nished is said to be reticulate : the reticulation may be entire, or be associated with scutellation, as often happens (fig. 38, 0). A particular case of reticulation is called granulation (Lat. granum, a grain): when the plates become elevated into little tubercles, roughened or not. Such a leg is said to be granular, granulated, or rugose: it is well shown by parrots, and the fish-hawk (Pandion). When the harder sorts of scales or plates are roughened without obvious elevation, the leg is said to be scabrous or scarious (Lat. scabrum, a scab). But scabrous is also said of the under surfaces of the toes, when these develop special pads, or wart-like bulbs (called tylart) : as is well shown in the sharp-shinned and many other hawks. The softer sorts of legs, and especially the webs of swimming birds, are often marked crosswise or cancellated with a lattice work of lines, these however not being strong enough to produce plates; it is more like the lines seen on our palms and finger-tips. The plates of a part of the leg occasionally develop into actual serrations ; as witnessed along the hinder edge of a grebe’s tarsus. When an unfeathered tarsus shows mo divisions of the podotheea in front (along the acrotarsium), or only two or three scales close by the toes, it is said to be booted or greaved ; and such a podotheea is holothecal (Gr. édos, holos, whole, entire, and @jxn; fig. 36). The generic opposite is schizothecal (Gr. cxifw, I cleave), whether by scutellation or reticula- tion or in any other way the integument may be cut up. A booted or holothecal tarsus chietly occurs in the higher Oscines, and is supposed by many, particularly German ornithologists, to indicate the highest type of bird structure. It is, however, found in a few water birds, as Wilson’s stormy petrel and other species of Oceanites. It is not a common modification. Exceptions aside, it only occurs in connection with an equally particular condition of the sides and back of the tarsus, or planta. In almost all Oscine Passeres (Alaudide are an exception), which constitute the great bulk of the large order Passeres, the planta is covered with one pair of plates or amine, one on each side, meeting behind in a sharp ridge ; a condi- tion called laminiplantar, in distinction from the opposite, scutelliplantar, state of the parts. A holothecal podotheca only oceurs in connection with the laminiplantar condition, the combi- nation resulting in the perfect “boot.” Among North American birds, the genus Oceanites aside, it is exhibited by the following genera, and by these only: Turdus, Cinclus, Saxicola, Sialia, Regulus, Cyanecula, Phylloscopus, Chamea, Myiadestes ; and even birds of these genera, when yowng, show scutella which disappear with age by progressive fusion of the acrotarsial podotheca. (Compare figs. 36, 37.) The Crus, when bare of feathers below, may, like the tarsus, be scutellate or reticulate before or behind, or both; such divisions of the crural integument being commonly seen in long-legged wading birds. Or, again, this integument may be loose, softish, and movable, not obviously divided, and passing directly into ordinary skin. The Tarsus, in general, may be called subcylindrical : it is often quite cireular in cross- section; generally thicker from before backward, and only rarely wider from one side to the other than in the opposite direction; but such a shape as this last is exhibited by the penguins. When the transverse thinness is noticeable, the tarsus is said to be compressed; and such compression is very great in a loon, in which the tarsus is almost like a knife blade. Quite cylindrical tarsi occur chiefly when there are similar scales or plates before and behind, as 126 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. happens in the larks (Alauwdide) ; they are rare among land birds, common among waders. Those swimming birds with a very thin skinny podotheca are apt to show traces of the four- sidedness of the metatarsal bone. The tarsus in the vast majority of land birds is seen on close inspection to be somewhat ovate or drop-shaped on cross-section, — gently rounded in front, more compressed laterally, and sharp-ridged behind. This results from the laminiplan- tation described above, and is equally well exhibited by most passerine birds, whether they have booted or anteriorly scutellate tarsi. The line of union of anterior scutella with postero- lateral plates on the sides of the tarsus is generally in a straight vertical line, — either a mere line of flush union, or a ridge, or oftener a groove (well seen in the crows), which may or may not be filled in with a few small narrow plates. In the Clamatorial Passeres, represented by our flycatchers, the tarsus is enveloped in a scroll-like podotheca of irregularly arranged plates, the edges of the scroll meeting along the inner side of the tarsus. But the full consider- ation of special states of the tarsal envelope, however important and interesting, would be part of a systematic treatise on ornithology, rather than of an outline sketch like this. The Number of Toes (individually, digiti ; collectively, podium) is fowr: there are never more. There are two in the ostrich alone, in which both inner and hind toe are wanting. There are three in all the other struthious birds (Rheide, Casu- artide), excepting Apteryx, which has four. There are like- wise three, the hind toe being suppressed, in the tinamine genera Calodromas and Tinamotis (Drom@ognathe) ; through- out the auk family (Aleide); in the petrel genus Pelecan- oides; apparently in the albatrosses (Diomedeine) ; usually in the gull genus Rissa; in the flamingo genus Phenicoparra ; throughout the bustard family (Otidide), and among various related forms, as Cidienemus, Esacus, Cursorius; in the plovers (Charadriide), excepting Squatarola; and in the Fia. 39. — Tridactyle foot of sand- bush-quails (Turnicide), excepting Pedionomus. In higher erling, Calidris arenaria; nat. size. irds three toes are a rare anomaly, only known to occur in three genera of woodpeckers (Picotdes, Sasia, and Tiga), and in one galbuline genus (Jaca- maralcyon), by loss of the hind toe ; in two genera of kingfishers (Ceyx and Alcyone), by sup- pression of the inner front tue; and in the passerine genus Cholornis, by defect of the outer front toe. North American three-toed birds are these only: the woodpeckers of the genus Picoides ; all auks (Alcide), and albatrosses (Diomedeine ; in these, however, there is a rudiment of the hind toe); all plovers (Charadrtide, excepting one, Squatarola) ; the oyster- catchers (Hematopus) ; the sanderling (Calidris, fig. 39); the stilt (Himantopus). Birds with two toes are said to be didactyle ; with three, tridactyle ; with four, tetradactyle. In the vast majority of cases, birds have three toes in front and one behind. Occasionally, either the hind toe, or the outermost front toe, is versatile, that is, susceptible of being turned either way. Such is the condition of the outer front toe in most owls (Striges), and in the fish-hawk (Pandion). We have no case of true versatility of the hind toe among North American birds; but several cases of its stationary somewhat lateral position, as in goatsuckers (Caprimulgide), some of the swifts (Cypselide), the loons (Colymbide), and all the totipalmate swimmers (Steganopodes). Nor have we any example of that rarest of all conditions (seen in some Cypselide, and the African Coliide) in which all four toes are turned forward. The arrange- ment of toes in pairs, two before and two behind, is quite common, being the characteristic of scansorial birds and some others, as all the parrots and woodpeckers, cuckoos, trogons, ete. Such arrangement is called zygodactyle or zygodactylous (Gr. (vydv, zugon, a yoke; ddxrvAos, daktulos, a digit) ; and birds exhibiting it are said to be yoke-toed (fig. 45). In all yoke-toed birds, excepting the trogons, it is the owter anterior toe which is reversed; in trogons, the EXTERNAL PARTS OF BIRDS.— THE FEET. 127 inner one. In nearly every three-toed bird, all three toes are anterior; our single exception ig in the genus Picoides, where the true hind toe is wanting, the outer anterior one being reversed as usual in zygodactyles. No bird has more toes behind than in front. Birds’ toes, and their respective joints, are Numbered, in a certain definite order, as follows (see figs. 34, 36): hind toe = first toe, lt; inner anterior toe = second tue, 2¢; middle anterior toe = third toe, 3¢; outer anterior toe = fourth toe, 4t. Such identification of 1 ¢, 2¢, 3¢, 4 ¢ applies to the ordinary case of three toes in front and one behind. But, obviously, it holds good for any other arrangement of the toes, if we only know which one is changed in position, —a thing always easy to learn, as we shall see at once. In birds with the hind toe reversed, leaving all four in front, the sane order is evident, though then 1¢ is the inner anterior, 2¢ the next, ete. ; for it always happens, when a hind toe turns forward, that it turns on the immer side of the foot. Similarly, in yoke- toed birds (excepting Trogonide), it is the outer anterior which is turned backward, as above said; then, evidently, inner hind toe =1¢; inner front toe = 2¢; outer front toe = 3¢; outer hind toe =4¢. In Trogonide, with inner front toe reversed, the correction of the formula is easily made. Moreover, when the number of toes decreases from four to three or two, the digits are almost always reduced in the same order: thus, in three-toed birds, 1 ¢ is the missing one; in the two-toed ostrich, 1¢ and 2t are gone. The only known exceptions to this general- ization are afforded by two exotic genera of kingfishers, Ceyx and Alcyone, in which 2¢ is defective ; and by the anomalous passerine Cholornis of China, in which 4¢ is in like case. The rule is proven by the Number of Phalanges, or joints, of the digits. The constancy of the joints in birds’ toes is remarkable, —it is one of the strongest expressions of the highly monomorphic character of Aves. In all birds, excepting Procellartide, 1 t when present Las two joints (not counting, of course, the accessory metatarsal). In all birds, 2¢ when present has three joints. In nearly all birds, 3¢ has four joints. In nearly all birds, 4¢ has five joints. Thus, any digit has one more joint than the number of itself. The exceptions to this regularity consist in the lessening of the number of joints of 1 ¢ or 3¢ by one, and of 4% by one or two. So when the joints do not run 2, 3, 4, 5, for toes 1 to 4, they run either, 1, 3, 4, 5, or 2, 8, 4, 4, or 2, 3, 3, 3. (These statements do not regard the anomalous cases of Ceyx, Alcyone, and Cholormis — see above.) This variability is nearly confined tu certain Picarian birds: our examples of it are in certain genera of Cypseline, fig. 40, where the ratio is 2, 3, 3, 3, of Caprimulgine, fig. 41, where it is 2, 3, 4, 4; and the petrel family, with 1,3, 4,5. Such adinirable conservatism enables ) NS us to tell what toes are missing in any case, or what ones are (Z y) out of the regular position. Thus, in Picotdes, the hind toe, y R apparently 1#, is known to be 4 ¢, because it is five-jointed; o Wh / i] R = Ss) ee ae ee in a trogon, the inner hind toe is 2 ¢, being three-jointed ; in G langes of Cypse- the ostrich, with only two toes, 3¢ and 4¢ are seen to be (9 line foot, 2,3,3,3. preserved, because they are respectively four- and five-jointed. iH] (See fig. 34, where the digits and their phalanges are numbered.) Besides Y this interesting numerical ratio, the phalanges have other inter-relations of te ee some consequence in classification, resulting from their comparative lengths. ,ngesof Caprimul- In some families of birds, one or more of the basal or proximal phalanges gine foot, 2, 3, 4,4. (those next to the foot — opposed to distal, or those at the ends of the digits) of the front toes are extremely short, being mere nodules of bone (fig. 40); in other and more frequent cases, they are the longest of all, as in figs. 34, 41. On the whole, they generally decrease in length from proximal to distal extremity, and the last one of any toe is quite sinall, serving merely 128 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. as a core to the claw. The difference in the lengths of the several phalanges, hike that of * the digits themselves, makes the tues inure efficieut in grasping, since they thereby clasp more perfectly upon an irregular object. The design and the principle are the same as seen in the human hand, in which model instrument the digits and their joints are all of different lengths. The Position of the Digits, other than in respect to their direction, is important. Iu all birds the front toes are iuserted un the metatarsus on the same level, or so nearly in one horizontal plane that the difference is not notable. The same may be said of the hind toes when they are a pair, as in zygodactyle birds. But the hind toe, or halluz, as it is often called, when present and single, varies remarkably in position with reference to the front toes ; and this matter requires special notice, as it is important in classification. The insertion of this digit varies, fron the very bottoin of the tarsus (metatarsus), where it is on a level with the front toes, to some distance up the bone. When the hallux is flush with the bases of the other toes, sc that its whole length is on the ground, it is said to be incwmbent. When just so much raised that its tip only touches the ground, it is called insistent. When inserted so high up that ‘t does nut reach the ground, it is termed remote (amotus) or elevated. But as the precise position varies insensibly, so that the foregoing distinctions are not readily perceived, it is practically best to recugnize only two of these three conditions, saying simply ‘hind toe elevated,” when it is inserted fairly above the rest, and ‘‘ hind toe not elevated,” when its insertion is flush with that of the other toes. In round terms: it is characteristic of all insessorial (Lat. insedo, I sit upon) or perching birds to have the hind toe Down; of all other birds to have it UP (when present). The exceptions to the first of these statements are extremely rare; among North American birds they are chiefly furnished by certain genera of Caprimulgide, perhaps also of Cypselide, and of Cathartide. But among other Raptores besides Cathartide, especially certain owls (Striges), and in some of the pigeons (Columbide), the hind toe is not quite down, or is decidedly uplifted (as in Starnenas, for example). It is elevated in all our rasorial birds (Galline); elevated in all our waders excepting the herons and some of their allies (Herodiones), though not very markedly so in the rail family (Rallide). It is elevated in all swimming birds, whether lobe-footed or completely or partly web-footed, but in the totipalmate order (Steyanopodes), where the hallux is lateral in position and webbed with the inner toe, the elevation is slight. Now since, curiously enough, the only ones of our insessorial genera (see above) that have the hind toe up, have also little webs between the front toes —since some Raptores are our only other insessorial birds with any such true webbing —since herons and some of their allies are our only birds with such ‘webbing that have the hallux down—the following rule is perhaps infallible for North American birds: Consider the hind toe up in any bird with any true webbing or lobing of the front toes, excepting herons and some of their allies and some birds of prey. The converse also holds almost as well; for our only birds with fully-cleft anterior toes and hind toe up, are the rails and gallinules (Rallid@), the black-bellied plover (Squatarola helvetica), our only four-toed plover, the turn-stone (Strepsilas interpres), the American woodcock (Philohela minor), the European woodeock (Scolopax rusticula), Wilson’s snipe (Gallinago wilsoni), and most of the sandpipers (Scolopacide). If the sense of this paragraph is taken in, the student who wishes to use my artificial ‘‘key ” will seldom be puzzled to know whether to take the toe up or down. The Hallux has other Notable Characters. —It is free and simple, in the vast majority of birds : in all insessorial birds, nearly all cursorial (Lat. cursor, a courser), and most natatorial (Lat. natator, a swimmer) forms. Its length, claw included, may equal or surpass that of the longest anterior toe; and generally exceeds that of one or two of these. It is never so long as when incumbent ; when thus down on a level with the rest it also acquires its greatest mobility EXTERNAL PARTS OF BIRDS.—THE FEET. 129 and functional efficiency. In most Passeres it is virtually provided with a special muscle for independent movement, so that it may be perfectly apposable to the other tves collectively, just as our thumb may be brought against the tip of any finger. In general, it shortens as it rises on the metatarsus; and probably in no bird in which it is truly elevated is it as long as the shortest anterior toe. It is short, barely touching the ground, in most wading birds; shorter still in some swimmers, as the gulls, where it is probably functionless; it is incom- plete in one genus of gulls (Rissa), where it bears no perfect claw; it has only one phalanx and is represented only by a short immovable claw in the petrels (Procellariide); it disappears in the birds named in the last paragraph but two above, and in some others. It is never actu- ally soldered with any other toe, for any noticeable distance ; but it is webbed to the base of the inner toe in the loons (Colymbus), and to the whole length of the toe in all the Steganopodes (fig. 52). It may also be independently webbed; that is, be provided with a separate flap or lobe of freemembrane. This lobation of the hallux is seen in all our sea-ducks and mergansers (Fuliguline and Mergine), and in all the truly lobe-footed birds, as coots (ulica), grebes (Podicipedide) and phalaropes (Phalaropodide). The modes of union of the anterior toes with one another may be finally considered under the head of the Three leading Modifications of the Avian Foot. — Birds’ feet are modelled, on the whole, upon one or another of three plans, furnishing as many types of structure ; which types, though they run into one another, and each is variously modified, may readily be appre- ciated. These plans are the perching or insessorial, the walking or wading, cwrsorial or grallatorial, and the swimming or natatorial — in fact, so well distinguished are they, that carinate birds have even been primarily divided into groups corresponding to these three evidences of physiological adaptation of the structure of the Avian pes. Independently of the number and position of the digits, the plans are pretty well indicated by the method of union of the toes, or their entire lack of union. 1. The insessorial type. (a) In order to make a foot the most of a hand, that is, to fit it best for that grasping function which the perching of birds upon trees and bushes requires, it is requisite that the digits should be as free and movable as possible, and that the hind one should be perfectly apposable to the others. Compare the human hand, for example, with the foot, and observe the perfection secured by the perfect freedom of the fingers and especially the appositeness of the thumb. In the most accomplished insessorial foot, the front toes are cleft to the base, or only coherent to a very slight extent; the hind toe is completely incumbent, and as long and flexible as the rest. Our thrushes (Turdide) probably show as complete cleavage — i if as is ever seen, practically as much as that of the i human fingers; the cleft between the inner and middle toe being to the very base, while the outer is only joined to the middle for about the length of its own basal joint. This is the typical passerine foot (figs. 36, 37, 42,43). There may be somewhat more cohesion of the toes at base, as in the wrens, titmice, creepers, vireos, ete., without, however, obscuring the true pas- serine character. As regards this matter, the point is, that when the toes are united at all, it is by their actual cohesion there, not by movable webbing. Besides the pig 4s ap: pal Paani eats typical passerine, there are several other modifications (‘The right-hand fig. is Plectrophanes lappo- of the insessorial foot. (b) Thus a kingfisher shows ™écus, nat, size.) what is called a syndactyle or syngnesious (Gr. ovv, sun, together ; yrnowos, gnesios, relating to way of birth) foot (fig. 44), where the outer and middle toes cohere for most of their extent and have a broad sole in common. It is a degradation of the insessorial foot, and not a common 9 150 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. one either; seen in those perching birds which scarcely use their feet for progression, but simply for sitting motionless. (¢) The zygodactyle or yoke-toed modification has been suffi- 45). It was formerly made much of, as a scansorial or climbing type of foot, and an absurd ‘‘ order” of birds has been called Scansores. But many of the zygodactyle birds do not climb, as the cuckoos; while the most nimble and adroit of climbers, such as the nuthatches and creepers, retain a typically pas- Fic. 45.—Zygodactyle foot of a woodpecker, Hylotomus serine foot. The scan- Pileatus, nat. size. sorial ” is simply one modification of the insessorial plan, and has little clas- ee eee sificatory significance, —no more than that attaching to the particular con- fisher, nat. size. dition of the insessorial foot (d) which results from elevation or versatility of the hind toe, as in some Cypselide and Caprimulgide. This is an abnormality which has received no special name; it is generally associated with some little webbing of the anterior toes at base, which is a de- parture from the true inses- sorial plan, or with abnorinal reduction of the phalanges of the third and fourth toes, as explained above (figs. 40, 41). (e) The raptorial is another modification of the insessorial foot. It is advantageous to a bird of prey to be able to spread the toes as widely as possible, that the talons may seize the prey like a set of Fic. 46.— Raptorial foot of a hawk, Accipiter cooperi, nat. size. grappling irons; and accord- ingly the toes are widely divergent from each other, the outer one in the owls and a few hawks being quite versatile. In a foot of raptorial character, the toes are cleft profoundly, or, if united at base, it is by movable webbing; the claws are im- meusely developed, and the under-surfaces of the toes are scabrous or bulbous for greater security of the object grasped. Any hawk or owl or old-world vulture exhibits the raptorial insessorial foot (figs. 46, 47). 2. The cursorial or grallato- rial type. The gist of this plan lies in the decrease or Fic. 47. — Raptorial foot of an owl, Aluco flammeus, nat. size. entire loss of the grasping function, and in the elevation, reduction in length, or loss of the hind toe; the foot is a good foot, but nothing of a hand. The columbine birds, which are partly terrestrial, partly arboreal, EXTERNAL PARTS OF BIRDS.— THE FEET. 131 exhibit the transition from the perching to the gradient foot, in some reduction of the hind toe, which is nevertheless in most cases still on the same level as the rest (fig. 38, b). In the gallinaceous or rasorial (Lat. rasor, a scraper) birds, which are essentially terrestrial, and noted for their habit of scratching the ground for food, the hind toe is decidedly elevated and shortened in almost all of the families (fig. 35). Such reduction and uplifting of the hallux is carried to an extreme in most of the waders, or gral- latores, in many of which this toe disappears (figs. 38, a, 39). Itis scarcely practicable to recognize special modifications of such gradient or grallatorial feet, since they merge insensibly into one another. The herons, which are the most arboricole of the waders, exhibit a reversion to the insessorial type, in the length and in- cumbency of the hallux. The mode of union of the Fia. 48. — Semipal- % baw mation in Ereunetes; front toes of the walkers and waders is somewhat char- Fic. 49. — Semi- i sage . ‘ almated bases of Talc, SIZE: acteristic. The toes are either cleft quite to the base, foos of Symphemia; or there joined by small webs; probably never actually coherent. Such nat. size. basal webbing of the toes is called semipalmation (‘‘half-webbing”). It is actually the same thing that occurs in many birds of prey, in most gallinaceous birds, etc. ; the term is mostly restricted, in descriptive ornithology, to those wading birds, or grallatores, in which it occurs. Such basal webs generally run out to the end of the first, or along part of the second, phalanx of the toes; usually farther between the outer and middle than between the middle and inner toes. Such a foot is well illus- trated by the semipalmated plover (gialites semipalmatus), semipalmated sandpiper (Ereunetes pusillus, fig. 48), and willet (Symphemia semipalmata, fig. 49). In a few wading birds, as the avocet and flamingo, the webs extend to the ends of the toes. This introduces us at once to the third main modification of the foot, 3. The natatorial type. Here the foot is transformed into a swimming implement, usually with much if not entire abrogation of its function as foot or hand. Swimming birds with few ex- ceptions are notoriously bad walkers, and few of them are perchers. The swimming type is presented under two principal modifica- tions: — (a.) In the palmate or ordinary webbed foot, all the front Frc. 50.— Palmate foot of a toes are united by ample webs (fig. 50). The palmation is usually tern, Sterna forsteri; nat. size. complete, extending to the ends of the toes; but one or both webs may be so deeply incised, that is, cut away, that the palmation is practically reduced to semipalmation, as in terns of the genus Hydrochelidon (fig. 51). The totipalmate is a special case of palmation, in which all four toes are webbed; this characterizes the whole order Steganopodes (fig. 52). (b.) In the lobate foot, a paddle results not from connecting webs, but from a series of lobes or flaps along the sides of the individual toes; as in the coots, grebes, phalaropes, and sun-birds (Heliornithide). Lobation is usually associated with semi- palmation, as is well seen in the grebes (Podicipedide). In the snipe- like phalaropes (Phalaropodide), lobation is present as a modification of a foot otherwise quite cursorial. The most emphatic cases of loba- tion are those in which each joint of the toes has its own flap, with a Fia. 51. — Incised pal- free convex border; the membranes as a whole therefore present a scol- mation of Hydrochelidon loped outline (figs. 53, 53 bis). Such lobes are merely a development Lanormes -mate Bie: of certain marginal fringes or processes exhibited by many non-lobate or non-palmate birds. ‘Thus, if the foot of some of the gallinules be examined in a fresh state, the toes will be seen to 1382 ; GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. have a narrow membranous margin running the whole length. The same thing is evident in a great many waders, and on the free borders of the inner and outer toes of web-footed birds. : In the grouse family (Tetraomde), mar- ginal fringes are very conspicuous ; there being a great development of hard horny substance, fringed into a series of sharp teeth or pectinations (fig. 35). These forma- Fic. 52.—Totipalmate foot of a tions appear to be pelican; reduced. deciduous, that is, ~ to fall off periodically, like parts of the claws of Fig. 53.— Lobate foot of a coot; reduced. some quadrupeds (lemmings). Claws and Spurs. — With rare anomalous exceptions, as in the case of an imperfect hind toe, every digit terminates in a complete claw. The general shape is remarkably constant in the class; variations being rather in degree than in kind. A cat’s claw is about the usual shape: it is compressed, arched, acute. The great talons of a bird of prey are only an en- largement of the typical shape ; and, in fact, they are scarcely longer, more curved, or more acute than those of a delicate canary bird; they are simply stouter. The claws of scansorial birds are very acute and much curved, as well as quite large. The under surface of the claw 3 is generally excavated, so that the transverse section, as well as the lengthwise outline below, is concave, and the under surface is bounded on either side by a sharp’edge. One of these edges, particularly the inner edge of the middle claw, is expanded or dilated in a great many birds; in some Fig. 53 bis. —Lobate foot of phala- It becomes a perfect comb, having a regular series of teeth. rope, Lobipes hyperboreus ; nat. size. This pectination (Lat. pecten, a comb), as it is called, only oceurs on the inner edge of the middle claw. It is beautifully shown by all the true herons (Ardeide) ; by the whip-poor-wills and night-hawks (Caprimulgide, fig. 41); by the frigate pelican (Tachypetes); and impertectly by the barn owl (Aluco flammeus). It is supposed to be used for freeing parts of the plumage that cannot be reached by the bill from parasites; but this is very questionable, seeing that some of the shortest-legged birds, which cannot possibly reach much of the plumage with the comb, possess that instrument. Claws are more obtuse among the lower birds than in the insessorial and scansorial groups, as the columbine and gallinaceous (rasorial) orders, and most natatorial families. Obtuseness is generally associated with flatness or depression; for in proportion as a claw becomes less acute, so does it lose its arcuation, as a rule. This is well illustrated by Wilson’s petrel (Oceanites oceanicus), as compared with others of the same family. Such condition is carried to an extreme in the grebes (Podicipedide), the claws of which birds resemble human finger- nails. Otherwise, deviations froin curvature, without loss of acuteness, are chiefly exhibited by the hind claw of many terrestrial Passeres, as in the whole family Alaudide (larks), and some of the finches (Fringillide), as the species of ‘‘ long-spur” (Centrophanes). But all the claws are straight, sharp, and prodigiously long, in birds of the genus Parra (fig. 53 ter); these jacands being enabled to run lightly over the floating leaves of aquatic plants by so much increase in the spread of their tues that they do not ‘slump in.” Claws are THE ANATOMY OF BIRDS.— OSTEOLOGY. 134 also variously carinate or ridged, sulcate or grooved. In a few cases they are rounded under. neath, so as to be nearly circular in cross-section, as is the case with those of the fish-hawk (Pandion). They are always horny (corneous). They take name from and are reckoned by their respective digits: thus, 1 cl. = claw of 1t; 2 cl. = claw of 2¢, ete. Fic. 53 ter.— Foot of Parra gymmostoma, nat. size, showing the long, straight claws. (From Pr. U. S. Nat. Mus. The spurred wing of the same bird is also shown. See p. 114.) Spurs (Lat. calcar, a spur) are developed on the metatarsal bones of a few birds. They are of the nature of claws, being hard, horny modifications of the epiderm: but they have nothing to do with the digits. They possess a bony core upon which they are supported, like the horns of cattle. Such growths chiefiy occur in gallinaceous birds: the spurs of the domestic fowl are a familiar case. Sometimes there are a pair of such weapons on each foot, as in the-Pavo bicalcaratus. The only instance of their occurrence among indigenous birds of North America is offered by the wild turkey (Meleagris gallipavo). Metatarsal spurs are characteristic of the male sex; they are offensive weapons, and belong to the class of ‘‘ second- ary sexual characters” (p. 90). (For wing-spurs, as shown in fig. 53 ter, see p. 114.) § 4.—AN INTRODUCTION TO THE ANATOMY OF BIRDS. Anatomical Structure now affords ornithologists many and the most important of the characters used in classification. In fact, few if any of the groups above genera can be securely established without consideration of internal parts and organs, as well of exterior modifications of structure. Therefore, the student who really ‘‘ means business” must be on speaking terms at least with avian anatomy. For example, none could in the least intelli- gently understand a wing or a leg without knowing the bony framework of those members. Yet, for me to adequately set this matter forth would be to occupy this whole volume with anatomy ; whereas, I can only devote a few pages to the entire subject. In such embarrass- ment, which attends any attempt to treat a great theme in a short way that shall not also be a small way, attention must be mainly confined to those points which bear most directly upon systematic ornithology as distinguished from pure anatomy, in order to bring forward the structures which are more particularly concerned in the classification of birds. I wish to give a fair account of the skeleton, as osteological characters are of the utmost importance for the determination of natural affinities; and to continue with some notice of prominent features of the muscular, vascular, respiratory, digestive, urogenital, and nervous systems, and organs of the special senses, as the eye and ear. The tegumentary system has already been treated at some length (pp. 82-91); so has the osseous system, so far as the bones of the limbs are concerned (pp. 106-109, 118-122, 127). What further I shall have to say is designed merely as an introduction to the rudiments of avian anatomy, and is supposed to be addressed to beginners only. 134 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. a. OSTEOLOGY: THE Osszous SysTEM, OR SKELETON. Osteology (Gr. daréov, osteon, a bone; Adyos, logos, a word) is a scientific description of bone in general and of bones in particular. Bone consists of an animal basis or matrix (Lat. matriz, « mould) hardened by deposit of earthy salts, chiefly phosphate of lime. Bone is either preformed in the gristly substance called cartilage (Lat. cartilago, gristle), and results from the substitution of the peculiar osseous tissue for the cartilaginous tissue, or it is formed directly in ordinary connective tissue, such as that of most membranes or any ligaments of the body. Bone tissue presents a peculiar microscopic structure, in which it differs from teeth, as it does also in not being developed from mucous membrane; the substance is called ostein, as distinguished from dentine. Though very dense and hard, bone has a copious blood-supply, and is therefore very vascular ; the nutrient fluid penetrates every part in a system of vessels called Haversian canals.. In the natural state bone is covered with a tough membrane called periosteum (Gr. epi, peri, around, and éoréov), which is to bone what bark is to a tree. The bones collectively constitute the osseous system, otherwise known as the skeleton (Gr. oxeAerdv, dried, as bones usually are when studied). The skeleton is divided into the endoskeleton (Gr. #6dov, endon, within), consisting of the bones inside the body ; and the exoskeleton (Gr. é&, ex, out of), or those upon the surface of the body, of which birds have none. Certain bones developed apart from the systematic endoskeleton, in fibrous tissue, are called scleroskeletal (Gr. oxdnpds, scleros, hard), as the ossified tendons or leaders of a turkey’s leg, the ring of ossicles in a bird’s eye (an ossicle is any small bone). Sesamoid (Gr. onoapn, sesame, a kind of pea) bones, so often found in the ligaments and tendons about joints, are probably best considered scleroskeletal. The endoskeleton is divided into bones of the axial skeleton, so called because they lie in the axis of the body, as those of the skull, backbone, chest, pelvis, and shoulder-girdle ; and of the appendicular skeleton, including bones of the limbs, considered as diverging appendages of the trunk. The skeleton is jointed; bones join either by immovable suture, or by movable articulation (Lat. articulus, a joint, dimin. of artus a limb). In free articulations, the opposing surfaces are generally smooth, and lubricated with a fluid called synovia. Progressive ossification often causes bones originally distinct to codssify, that is, to fuse together; this is termed ankylosis or anchylosis ; bones so melted - together are said to be ankylosed or anchylosed (Gr. dyxiAwois or dyytAwors, the stiffening of joints in a bent position). Thus all the bones of a bird’s brain-box are anchylosed together, though the box at first consists of many distinct ones ; and the determination of such osseous elements or integers in compounded bones is a very important matter, as a clue to their morphological composition. The names of most individual bones, chiefly derived from the old anatomists, are arbitrary and have little scientific signification; many are fanciful and mis- leading ; bones named since anatomy passed from the empiric stage, when it was little more than the art of dissecting and describing, however, have as a rule better naming. The shaft of a long bone is its continuity: the enlargements usually found at its extremities are called condyles (Gr. xdvdudos, kondulos, a lump, knot, as of the knuckles). Points where ossification commences in cartilage or membrane, are ossific centres, or osteoses ; valuable clues, usually, to the elements of compound bones. But ossification of individual simple bones may begin in more than one spot, and the several osteoses afterward grow together. This is especially the case with the ends of bones, which often make much progress in ossification before they unite with the shaft or main part; such caps of bone, as long as they are disunited, are called epiphyses (Gr. émi, epi, upon; vos, phusis, growth). Protrusive parts of bones have the general name of processes, or apophyses (Gr. dwé, apo, away from, and dicts); such have generally no ossific centres, being mere outgrowths. But many parts of a vertebra, which are called ‘ apophyses,” have independent ossific centres. The progress of ossification is usually rapid and effectual. THE ANATOMY OF BIRDS.— OSTEOLOGY. 7 185 The skeleton of birds is noted for the number and extent of its anehyloses, a great ten- dency to codssification and condensation of bone-tissue resulting from the energy of the vital activities in this hot-blooded, quick-breathing class of creatures. Birds’ bones are remarkably hard and compact. When growing, they are solid and marrowy, but in after life more or fewer of them become hollow and are filled with air. This pnewmaticity (Gr. mvevparixds, pneumatikos, windy) is highly characteristic of the avian skeleton. Air penetrates the skull-bones from the nose and ear-passages, and may permeate all of them. It gains access to the bones of the trunk and limbs by means of air-tubes and air-sacs which connect with the air-passages in the lungs; such sacs, sometimes of great extent, are also found in many places in the interior of the body, beneath the skin, etc. ; sometimes the whole subcutaneous tissue is pneumatic. The extent to which the skeleton is aérated is very variable. In many birds only the skull, in a few the entire skeleton, is in such condition; ordinarily the greater part of the skull, and the lesser part of the trunk and limbs, is pneumatized. The passage of air in some cases is so free, as into the arm-bone for example, that a bird with the windpipe stopped can breathe Fia. 54. — Ideal plan of the double-ringed body of a vertebrate. N,neural canal; 4, hemal canal; the body separating them is the centrum of any vertebra, bear- ing e, an epapophysis, and y, a hypapophysis; n,n, neu- rapophyses; d, d, diapophyses; ns, bifid neural spine; pl, pl, pleurapophyses; h, h, hemapophyses; hs, bifid hemal spine. Drawn by Dr. R. W. Shufeldt, U.S. A., after Owen. for an indefinite period through a hole in the humerus. Fia. 55. — Actual section of the body in the thoracic region of a bird. W, neural canal; , hemal canal; c, centrum of a dorsal vertebra; hy, hypapophysis; d, diapophysis ; z, zygapophysis; ms, neural spine; r, pleurapophysis, or vertebral part of a free rib, bearing u%, wncinate process or epipleura; cr, hemapophysis or sternal part of the same; st, section of sternum or breast-bone (hemal spine). Designed by Dr. R. W. Shufeldt, U.S.A. Pneumaticity is not directly nor necessarily related to power of flight; some birds which do not fly at all are more pneumatic . than some of the most buoyant. head of the respiratory system.) (On the general pneumaticity of the body see beyond under The Axial Skeleton (figs. 54, 55, 56) of a bird or any vertebrated animal, that is, one having a back-bone, exhibits in cross-section two rings or hoops, one above and the other below a central point, like the upper and lower loops of a figure 8. The upper ring is the F ural arch (Gr. vedpov, newron, a nerve), socalled because such a cylinder encloses a section the cerebro-spinal axis, or principal nervous system of a vertebrate (brain and spinal cord, 136 é GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. whence arise all the nerves of the body, excepting those of the sympathetic nervous system). The lower ring is the hemal arch (Gr. aiua, haima, blood), which similarly contains a section of the principal blood-vessels and viscera. Fig. 55 shows such a section, made across the thoracic or chest-region of the trunk. Here the upper ring (neural) is contracted, only sur- rounding the slender spinal cord, while the lower ring is expanded to enclose the heart and hereof the sixth floats; p, pelvic or sacral region of the spine, com- (For extent of dv, see note 2, p. 138.) ‘apophyses), whereof sr is sacral; 2, one of the five uncinate processes or and several lumbar, sacral proper, and urosacral vertebra; J, ilium; Js, ischium; P, pubis; a, acetabu- ; ¢, e/, cervical ribs, or free pleurapophyses; dv, dorsal vertebre, excepting the last one, minus the skull, of an owl, Asio wilsonianus, life size; from nature by Dr. R. W. Shufeldt, U.S. A. ; 0, obturator foramen; clv, caudal or coccygeal vertebrae, whereof py is the pygostyle; s, scapula; two of the six sternal ribs (heemapophyses), w ohs, 08 humero-seapulare; cl, clavicle; C, coracoid; S, sternum. Fic. 56.— Axial skeleton, prehending one dorsal, at, atlas; az, axis; cv, cervical vertebra which joins the sacrum; 9, two of the six true ribs (pleur: lum; iv, ischio-iliac foramen epipleura; er, lungs. Such a section, made in the region of the skull, would show the reverse; the upper ring greatly inflated to contain the brain, the lower contracted and otherwise greatly modified into bones of the jaws. Thus the trunk of a vertebrate is a double-barrelled tube ; one tube above for the nervous system, the other below for the viscera at large; the partition between the two being a jointed chain of solid bones from one end of the body to the other. These solid bones are the centrums or bodies of vertebre, in the trunk; and in the head certain THE ANATOMY OF BIRDS. — OSTEOLOGY. 137 bones which in some respects correspond with the centrums of vertebra. The entire chain or series of vertebrae composes the back-bone or spinal column; with its connections (thorax and pelvis) and anterior continuation (skull) it is the axial skeleton. The skull is considered by some competent anatomists to consist of modified vertebrae. The skull-bones have certainly the position and relations of parts of vertebrae; to a certain extent they resemble- vertebra, as in being divisible into several segments, like as many vertebral segments; they are also direct- ly in the axis of the body, enclosing a part of the cerebro-spinal nervous system above, and portions of the visceral systems below. But supposed strict morphological correspondence of cranial bones with vertebrae is not supported by their mode of development, and is now gen- erally denied, the relation being considered rather analogical and physiological than homological and morphological. 1. THE SPINAL COLUMN. A Vertebra (so called from the flexibility of the chain of vertebra; Lat. verto, I turn) consists. of a solid body or centrum, and more or fewer processes or apophyses, some of which have separate ossific centres. Plate-like processes which arch upward from either side of a centrum to enclose the neural canal are the newral arches or newrapophyses (fig. 54, n, n); at their union in the middle line above they commonly send up a process called the neural spine (ns). Transverse processes from the sides of the neural arch are diapophyses (Gr. 8:4, dia, across) (figs. 54, 55,d,d). Oblique processes from the sides of the same arches, serving to lock them together, are zygapophyses (Gr. tvyov, zugon, a yoke; fig. 55, 2); there are two on each side; one anterior, on the front border of an arch, a pre-zygapophysis ; one posterior, on the hind border, a post-zygapophysis. From the under-side of a centrum, in the middle line, there is often a hypapophysis (Gr. ind, hwpo, under; fig. 55, hy). These several processes, with some others not necessary to mention here, make with the centrum a vertebra in strictness; that is, when exist- ing at all, they are completely consolidated with one another and with the centrum into one bone. But certain important elements of a vertebra, developed from independent ossific centres, may or may not anchylose therewith, in different regions of the same spinal column. These are the pleurapophyses (Gr. wAeupdv, plewron, a rib; fig. 54 pl; fig. 55, 7). Any rib is in fact the pleurapophysial element of a vertebra ; it may be, and in most regions of the spinal column it is, quite small when existing at all, and anchylosed with the vertebra to which it belongs, as an integral portion thereof. Only in the lower region of the neck, and throughout the thoracic region, such pleurapophyses elongate, and are movably articulated with their respective verte- bre ; they then become the “ribs” of ordinary language. Moreover, the true thoracic ribs of birds are jointed near the middle, each thus consisting of two pieces; the upper piece is pleura- pophysis proper: the lower is called a hamapophysis (fig. 54, h; fig. 55, er) ; it vorresponds to a “costal cartilage ” of human anatomy. Once again: since the sternum (breast-bone) is theo- retically, and doubtless archetypically, a solidified set of those parts of the vertebral segments which complete the hzmal arches below, each segment of a sternum to which a hemapophysis is articulated is called a hemal spine, being compared to a neural spine above. Aside from any consideration of the ribs: proper and sternum, or free pleurapophyses, hemapophyses, and hemal spines, any “vertebra” of ordinary language is the compound bone which consists of centrum and neur-, di-, pre- and post-zyg-, pleur-, hyp- and other -apophyses, if any, and neural spine; the latter being often called the ‘‘ spinous process.” The Vertebre join one another, forming a continuous chain. Their centra are placed end to end, one after another; their neural arches are also locked together by the zygapophyses, when such articular processes are developed. Zygapophyses bear upon their free ends smooth articular facets, the faces of which are mostly horizontal; those of the pre-zygapophyses looking downward, and overriding the reversed faces of the post-zygapophyses. The mode of jointing 138 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. of the centra of such vertebree as are freely movable upon each other is highly characteristic of birds, in so far as the shapes of the articular ends of the vertebral centra are concerned. In anatomy at large, a vertebral centrum which is cupped or hollowed at both ends, is of course bi-concave. Such a vertebra is called amphicelous (Gr. dui, amphi, on both sides; xoios, koilos, hollowed) ; this is the rule in fishes, and obtained in some extinct Cretaceous birds, as Ichthyornis ; it is unknown in recent birds.1_ A centrum cupped in front only.is procelous ; one cupped only behind is opisthocelous (Gr. dmiode, opisthe, behind). Such structure neces- sarily results in a ball-and-socket jointing of vertebree. In those vertebre of birds in which this arrangement obtains, it is always the posterior face of a centrum which is cupped, the anterior one being balled; such vertebrae are therefore opisthocelous. But in the freest vertebral articulation of birds, that existing in the region of the neck, another modification occurs. Both ends of each vertebra are saddle-shaped ; 7. e., concave if one direction, convex in the other; a condition which may be called heterocelous (Gr. repos,. heteros, contrary). The concavo-convexity of any one vertebra fits the reciprocal concavo-convexity of the next. Anterior faces of heteroceelous vertebree are concave crosswise, up-and-down convex ; posterior faces are the reverse; consequently, such vertebre are procelous in horizontal section, but in vertical section opisthoccelous. The various physical characters of vertebra in different regions of the body, and their connections with and relations to other parts of the body, have caused their division into several sets, as cervical, dorsal, etc., which are best considered separately. Cervical Vertebre (fig. 56, cv) are those of the neck: all those in front of the thorax or chest, which do not bear free pleurapophyses in adult life, or the free pleurapophyses of which, if any, are not in two-jointed pieces and do not reach the breast-bone; ¢. e., have no hema- pophyses. It is advisable, in birds, to draw this line between cervical and succeeding vertebrae, no other being equally practicable; for, on the one hand, one, two or more of the cervicals (recognizable as such by their general conformation and free articulation) may have long free ribs, movably articulated; and all the cervicals, excepting usually the first, or first and second, have short pleurapophyses, auchylosed in adult life, but free in the embryo; while, on the other hand, a vertebra, apparently dorsal by its configuration and even its anchylosis with the dorsal series, may be entirely cervical in its pleurapophysial character.? Thus, in fig. 56, of an owl’s trunk, the bone which is apparently first dorsal, and is so marked (dv), bears a free styliform ‘riblet” an inch long (¢’), only it is not jointed, and does not reach the sternum ; while the next to the last cervical has a minute but still free rib (c). In a raven’s neck before me, the last cervical rib is about two inches long, articulating by well-defined head and shoul- der to body and lateral process of the vertebra; the penultimate rib is about half an inch long, with one articulation to the lateral process; while the next anterior vertebra (third from the last) has a minute ossicle, as a free ‘‘riblet.” The rule is two such free pleurapophyses or cervical ribs of any considerable length : sometimes one; rarely three; in the cassowary four. Rudimeutary pleurapophyses may usually be traced up to the second cervical vertebra, as slender 1 Except to this statement, however, the oddly-massed pygostyle, which, in birds where a terminal disc develops inferiorly, may be distinctly cupped at both ends, as it is in a raven for example. 2 The case is very puzzling; the more so because, viewing the whole series of birds, the ambiguous “ cervico- dorsal,” or two such equivocal vertebrae, may lean in different cases in opposite directions when the whole sum of characters is taken into account. Therefore it may be best, as already said, to make the possession of a jointed sternum-reaching rib the criterion of the first dorsal vertebra, even though an antecedent one may have the physical characters of a dorsal, and be anchylosed with the dorsal series. This is the view taken by Huxley, who says: ‘‘ The first dorsal vertebra is defined as such by the union of its ribs with the sternum by means of a sternal rib.” (Anat. Vert. Anim., 1872, p. 237.) Owen appears to regard as dorsal any of the vertebra in question which bear free ribs. The actual uncertainty in the case, and the discrepant reckoning by different authors, prevents us from making a satisfactory count of the numbers of the two series of vertebrae in any given case. Thus, tig 56, as marked by Dr. Shufeldt, shows siz dorsals (dv), to which is to be added the one under p, bearing the rib sr; and from which is to be subtracted the anterior one, bearing the rib c’, which is to be regarded as cervical, though its physical characters are evidently those of the dorsal series. LHE ANATOMY OF BIRDS. — OSTEOLOGY. 139 stylets or riblets, completely anchylosed with the neural arches in adult life, and lying parallel with the long axes of the bones. The anchylosis of pleuropophyses distinguishes inost cervical vertebre in another way: for from it results, on each side of the neural arch, a foramen (Lat. foramen, a hole, pl. foramina), through which blood-vessels (vertebral artery and vein) pass to and from the skull. The series of these foramina is called the vertebrarterial canal ; none such exist in those posterior cervical vertebra which bear free ribs; thus, in the raven the canal begins abruptly at the fourth from. the last cervical. But, as in Rhea for instance (and doubtless in many other cases), the vertebrarterial canal shades visibly into the series of foramina formed by the spaces between the head and shoulder of any rib and the side of the vertebra to which it is attached; such being, as I suppose, the true morphology of the canal. The cervical is the most flexible region of a bird’s spine; the articular ends of the vertebral bodies are the most completely suddle-shaped (heteroccelous); the zygapophyses are large and flaring, overriding each other extensively ; the largest processes are at the fore ends of the bones; the ap- positions of the central and zygapophysial articular surfaces are collectively such, that the column tends to bend in an S-shape or sigmoid curve. The vertebral bodies are more or less contracted in the middle, or somewhat hour-glass-shaped; on several lower cervicals, hypapophyses are likely to be well developed; as are neural spines toward both the beginning and end of the series. The vertebre on the whole are large; their neural canal is also of ample calibre. The first two cervicals are so peculiarly modified for the articulation of the skull as to have received special names. The first one, fig. 56, at, the atlas (so called because it bears up the head, as the giant Atlas was fabled to support the firmament), is a simple ving, apparently without a centrum. The lower part of the ring is deeply cupped to receive the condyle of the occiput into ball-and-socket joint. The second cervical is the axis, ax, which subserves rotary move- ments of the skull. It has a peculiar tooth-like odontoid (Gr. ddots, éddvros, odous, odontos, tooth ; ei8os, etdos, form) process, borne upon the anterior end of its body, fitting into the lower part of the atlantal ring; about which pivot the atlas, bearing the head, revolves like a wheel upon an eccentric axis. The cervicals of birds vary greatly in number; according to Huxley there are never fewer than eight, and there may be as many as twenty-three ;. Stejneger gives twenty-four for some of the swans. Twelve to fourteen may be about an average number. Thoracic or Dorsal Vertebre (fig. 56, dv) extend from the cervical to or into the pelvic region of the spine. In most animals, and in ordinary anatomical language, a “‘ dorsal” is one which bears a distinct free rib, and is therefore truly thoracic, since ‘ ribs” are the side- walls of the chest. But in birds, as we have seen, certain cervicals have distinct elongate ribs ; and, as will be seen soon, long jointed pleurapophyses are usually found in that region commonly called ‘ sacral.” The first dorsal, in birds, is arbitrarily considered to be that one which bears the first rib which is jointed, and which reaches the sternum by its lower (hema- pophysial) half. Five or six vertebra of birds commonly answer this description ; though the last one which bears a long free jointed rib (which may or may not reach the sternum) is com- inonly anchylosed with the sacrum, as sr. So few as only three heemapophysis-bearing ribs may reach the sternum. There may also be a long free-jointed rib which “ floats” at both ends ; 4. é., is articulated neither with the sternum uor with the vertebra to which it belongs as in the loon, for example. As the dorsal series thus shades insensibly behind into another series, the lumbar (which has no free, nor any distinct ribs, — ribs that one would not hesitate to call such), it is best to consider as dorsal or thoracic all those vertebra, succeeding the last cervical (which is to be determined as explained in the last paragraph), which have distinct jointed ribs, whatever the connection or disconnection of such pleurapophyses at either end. On this understanding, one, sometimes two or even three ‘‘ dorsal” vertebrae anchylose with the pelvic region of the spine. Fixity of the dorsal region being of advantage to flight, these vertebrae are very tightly locked together; not only by the close apposition or even 140 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. auchylosis of their yodies and processes, but also, in many cases, by ossifications of the tendons of museles of the back, and codssifications of these with the vertebra, like a set of splints, till the consolidation of the thoracic is only surpassed by that of the pelvic region of the spine. Dorsal vertebree also usually differ a good deal from most cervicals in having shorter bodies, laterally compressed, producing a ridge which runs along their middle line below; in lacking a vertebrarterial canal; in having on each side two articular facets, — one on the body and the other on the transverse process, for the head and shoulder of a rib. They are further distinguished, usually, by having large spinous processes, in the form of high, long, thin, squarish plates, often or usually anchylosed together. Their transverse processes are also very prominent laterally, thin and horizontal, and often anchylosed. More or fewer dorsals may bear large hypapophyses; which, as in the loon, may bifureate at their ends into two flaring plates. Such processes continue a similar series from the neck, and are in relation to the advantageous action of the muscles (rectus colli anticus and longus colli) by which the neck is made to straighten out from.the lower curve of its sigmoid flexure. The “Sacrum” of a Bird (figs. 57, and 60) is commonly considered to be that large solid mass of numerous anchylosed vertebrae in the region of the pelvis, covered in by, and fused more or less completely with, the principal bones of the pelvis, or haunch-bones (lia). But in this consolidation of an extremely variable number (averaging perhaps twelve, but run- ning up to at least twenty, eleven to thirteen being usual) of bones are included vertebree which in other animals belong to several different sets — dorsal, lumbar, sacral proper, and coceygeal or caudal. We have just seen that one or two, even three, vertebree, which are dorsal according to the definition agreed upon, may enter into the composition of the “ sacrum,” being firmly anchylosed therewith, and their long ribs issuing out from underneath the ilia, as shown in fig. 56, sr. Next _comes one bone, or a series of several (two to five or more) bones, anchylosed together by their bodies and spinous proc- esses, and also anchylosed with the ilia by means of stout lateral bars of bone sent transversely outward on either side from their respective centra to abut against the ilia. These cross-bars correspond in general form and position with the transverse process of the last true rib-bearing dorsal, — that process against which the shoulder of any developed rib abuts; they are variously considered to be, to represent, or to include rudimentary ribs; and such difference of view may be warranted by the state of the parts in different birds. However this may be, the bones just described are lumbar vertebree (Lat. lumbus, the loin; where such vertebre are situated in man and other mammals) ; which a certainly possess abortive ribs in some cases. On successive Fig. 67.—The “sacrum” of Jumbars the cross-bars, whatever their nature, commonly slip jens chee ai, i lower and lower downward (belly-ward) on the vertebral bodies, solumbar series, whereof the first till the last ones are quite down to the level of the ventral sen ey sere Ae sea aspect of the centrum; these are also commonly the stoutest, proper, or true sacrum, consist- most directly transverse, and. most nearly horizontal of the series ing of five vertebra; c, the uro- 2 é au o 7 sacral series, being those caudal Of processes, abutting against the ilia a little in advance of the vertebre, six in number, which gocket of the thigh bone. This ends a series of consolidated anchylose with one another and : sn 7 sriviLchelsacen, “sacral” vertebrae which are termed collectively ‘‘ dorso-lumbar,” THE ANATOMY OF BIRDS. — OSTEOLOGY. 141 -— all of them anterior to the true sacrum of a bird. The sacrum proper (fig. 57, s) consists of those few vertebres— three, four, or five—from foramina between which issue the spinal nerves that form the net-work called the sacral pleaus. These true sacral vertebre are ribless, and may be recognized, in a general way, by the absence of anything like the cross-bars above described, issuing from the vertebral centra; though their neural arches send off some small bars or plates to fuse with the ilia. These sacrals proper are at or near the middle of the whole sacral mass. After these come a large number — from five to ten or more — of verte- bree which, from their following the true sacrals, though consolidated therewith aad with one another, are considered to belong to what would be the caudal region of other animals, and are hence called ‘ tail-sacrals,” wro-sacrals (Gr. ogpa, tail, fig. 57, c.) These continue to send off a series of little plate-like processes from their neural arches, just as the true sacrals do; but, in addition to these, processes are given off from the bodies of the uro-sacrals, corre- sponding in position and relation to those which proceed from the bodies of the lumbars, and being apparently of the same morphological character (pleurapophysial). These ‘“riblets” are, however, quite slender, and also oblique in two directions; for instead of being trans- verse and nearly horizontal, they trend very obliquely backward and upward; they also shorten consecutively from before backward. The cross-bars of the latter uro-sacrals, however, are stouter and altogether more like those of a lumbar vertebra. The appearances described are those seen from below, or on the ventral aspect. Above, on the back of the pelvis, the line of confluent spinous processes of the dorso-lumbars is commonly distinct, separated a little from the flaring lips of the ilia. Such distinct formation may continue throughout the sacral and uro-sacral regions; oftener, however, the line of. spinous process sinks, flattens, and widens into a horizontal plate which becomes perfectly confluent with the ilia along the pos- terior portion of their extent; such smooth, somewhat lozenge-shaped surface being quite continuous with the superficies of the pelvis, but perforated with more or fewer pairs of inter- vertebral foramina. — Such is the general character of a bird’s complex sacrum; the description is taken chiefly from a raven (Corvus corax) ; the figure from the common fowl, after Parker. The kidneys are moulded into the recesses between the sacral and uro-sacral vertebrae and in the concavity of the ilia. The general shape of a “‘ sacrum,” viewed from below, is fusiform, broadest across the sacral bodies proper or just in front of them, tapering toward either end; the face of the sacrum is also flatjest about the middle, more or less ridged before and behind from compression of the vertebral bodies. It has little if any lengthwise curvature, and that chiefly in the uro-sacral region, where the concavity is downward. The total number of bones may be less than twelve, or more than twenty. The extensive anchyloses in this region of the spine are in evident adaptation to bipedal locomotion, which requires fixity hereabouts, that the trunk may not bend upon the fulcrum represented by a line drawn through the hip- joints, which are situated about opposite the middle of the sacral mass, as shown by the arrow, ac, in fig. 60. (The word “sacrum,” a ‘‘saered thing,” curious in this application, is very ancient in human anatomy, commemorating some superstitious or ritualistic notion, respecting this part of the body.) The Coccygeal, or Caudal Vertebrz (fig. 56, clv) proper, terminate the spinal column. They are called “ coccygeal,” from the fancied resemblance of the human tail-bones collectively to the beak of a cuckoo (Gr. xdxxv£, kokkux). The caudals are all the free bones situated behind the anchylosed uro-sacrals. The series commonly begins opposite the point where the pelvic bones end; it consists of a variable number of bones, from the twenty long slender ones which the Arehgopteryx possessed, down to seven or fewer separate ones. The usual number is eight without the pygostyle. They are stunted, degraded vertebree, whose chief office is to support the tail-feathers; for the leash of nerves which emerge from the spinal canal to form the sacral plexus by so much diminish the spinal cord that a mere thread is left to pene- 142 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. trate the tail, though the neural arches of all the coccygeals be still pervious. All may be freely movable, as in the American Ostrich (Rhea) ; but in almost all birds only the anterior ones are distinct and vertebra-like, the rest, to a variable number, being abortive, and melted into that extraordinary affair called the ‘“‘ploughshare” or pygostyle (Gr. muyn, puge, the rump; ordAos, a post), which may cunsist of no fewer than ten such metamorphosed tail-bones. It has usually a shape suggesting the share of a plough (see fig. 56, py), but is too variable to be concisely described. The pygostyle supports the tail-feathers ; and as these are morphologi- cally one pair to each rectrix-bearing vertebra, the number of tail-feathers may be primarily equal to the number of vertebre which fuse in the pygostyle. Thus the swan is said to have ten vertebre in this mass; our wild swan (Cygnus columbianus) has twenty tail-feathers. In this view, six should be the usual composition of the share-bone. A bird’s tail is really more extensive and lizard-like than commonly: supposed; thus the swan, besides its ten in the pygostyle, has seven free caudals, and ten uro-sacrals — twenty-seven post-sacral vertebra in all (Huxley). In the raven, the free caudals are six, exclusive of the pygostyle. These all have large flaring transverse processes and moderate spinous processes, and the latter ones are also provided with hypapophyses, some of which are bifureate. The pygostyle in many birds expands below into a large circular or polygonal disc. : 2. THE THORAX: RIBS AND STERNUM. The Thorax (Gr. dopag, a coat of mail; in anat., the chest; adj. thoracic; see fig. 56) is the bony box formed by the ribs on each side, the breast-bone below, and the back-bone above. In birds, it is very extensive, including most or all of the abdominal as well as the thoracic viscera, and its cavity is not partitioned off from that of the belly by a completed diaphragm, ° though a rudimentary structure of that kind is found in the class. The thorax is usually sol- dered behind to the pelvis by union of one or more pairs of ribs with the ilia; in front it al- ways and entirely bears the pectoral arch (see p. 145). The thorax is very movable in birds, by reason of the great length and jointedness of the ribs. The Ribs (Lat. costa, a rib; pl. coste@; adj. costal; see fig. 56, ¢, c’, R, er, sr, u),as said above, are the pleurapophysial elements of vertebree, which remain small and anchylosed, or become long and free. In the latter state only are they “ribs” in ordinary language. The one or more cervical ribs, however elongated, and the abortive lumbar and uro-sacral ribs, are to be excluded from the present description, and have been already considered. T'rue ribs are those which belong to the dorsal vertebrz proper, and are jointed in themselves; that is, have articulated hemapophyses (see p. 137), by which they may or do articulate with the sternum. Such true ribs are fixed, when they reach from back-bone to breast-bone; floating, when either or neither of these connections is made. Usually the last rib, though bearing a perfect hem- apophysis, does not reach the sternum; in the loon, for example, the last rib floats at both ends, having connection neither with vertebra nor sternum; and the two next ribs float at their sternal ends. The perfected ribs are few, — five or six is a usual number, though nine are hemapophysis-bearing in the loon. The last rib at least is usually ‘‘sacral;” i.e, be- longs to a dorsal vertebra which is anchylosed with the ‘‘sacral” mass; and two or even, as in the loon, three ribs may likewise issue out from under cover of the ilia. These “sacral ribs” are furthermore -distinguished by being devoid of the epipleural or uncinate processes (Lat. uncus, a hook ; fig. 56, «) with which other true ribs are furnished, forming a series of splint- bones proceeding obliquely from one rib to shingle over the next succeeding one, and thus inerease the stability of the thoracic side-walls. Such splints may be either articulated or an- chylosed with their respective ribs; they have independent ossific centres. The upper (pleura- pophysial) part of a rib, or ‘‘ vertebral rib,” when perfected, articulates with the side of the THE ANATOMY OF BIRDS.— OSTEOLOGY. 143 body of a vertebra by its head or capitulum (Lat. dimin. of caput, head), and also with the lateral process of the same vertebra by its shoulder or tuberculum (Lat. dimin. of tuber, a swelling). In well-marked cases, the head and shoulder are quite far apart, the rib seeming prolonged above; either of these vertebral connections may be disestablished, the other re- maining, or both may be lost. The lower (hemapophysial) part of a rib, or ‘sternal rib,” articulates with the side of the sternum by a simple enlargement; the ends of those sternal ribs which thus join the sternum tend to cluster closely together at a part of the breast-bone called its costal process (fig. 58); those which do not make the sternal connection are simply bundled together. Commonly five or six, sometimes four, rarely only three ribs reach the sternum. The ribs are ordinarily as slender and strict as those shown in fig. 56; but in Apteryx, for example, their pleurapophysial parts are expansive and plate-like. They lengthen rapidly - from before backward, both in their vertebral and their sternal moieties; these parts meet at’ angles of decreasing acuteness from before backward; but these angles, as those of the ribs both with vertebree and sternum, incessantly increase and diminish in the respiratory move- ments of the chest; all being in expiration more acute, and more obtuse in inspiration. The Avian Sternum (Gr. crépvoy, sternon, the breast; fig. 56, 8) is highly specialized; its extensive development is peculiar to the class of Birds, and its modifications are of more importance in classification than those of any other single bone. Thereupon it becomes an interesting object. Theoretically it is a collection of hemal spines of vertebrae. Though such morphological character is appreciable in those animals which have a long jointed ster- num, the segments of which, answering to pairs of ribs, develop from separate centres, there is little or nothing in the development’or physical characters of the avian sternum to favor this view. The great bone floors the chest and more or less of the belly, and furnishes the main point d’appui of hoth the bony and muscular apparatus of flight, receiving important bones of the scapular arch and giving origin to the immense pectoral muscles. (See also fig. 58.) Birds offer two leading types of sternal structure, the ratite and the carinate, or the “ raft- like” and the ‘“boat-like”, according as the bone is flat or keeled (Lat. ratis, a raft; adj. ratite; in an arbitrary nom. pl., Ratite, a name of one of the leading divisions of birds: Lat. .car- ima, a keel; adj. carinate: nom. pl. Carinate, name of another such division). 1. In all stru- thious birds, comprehending the ostrich and its allies (and also in the Cretaceous Hesperornis), the sternum is a flattish, or rather concavo-convex, buckler-like bone, of somewhat squarish or rhomboidal shape, developed from a single pair of lateral centres of ossification, —a “flat boat,” without any keel, built with reference to an important modification of ‘the shoulder-gir- dle, and a reduced or rudimentary condition of the wings, which are unfit for flight. 2. In all flying birds, and some which frum other than any fault of the sternum do not fly, —comprising all remaining recent birds, or Carinate, and also the Cretaceous Ichthyornis, —the sternum is keeled and develops from a median centre of ossification as well as from lateral paired cen- tres; usually two of these, making five iv all. Ina few Carinate the keel is rudimentary, as the flightless ground parrot of New Zealand, Stringops habroptilus ; or otherwise anomalous, as in the extraordinary Opisthocomus cristatus, where it is cut away in front, and in the rail- like Notornis, where the sternum is extremely like a lizard’s. In general, the development of the keel is an index of wing-power, whether for flying or swimming, or both; the effectiveness of the pectoral muscles being rather in proportion to depth of keel than to extent of the sides of the ‘‘boat-bone;” thus, the keel is enorinous in swifts (Cypselid@) and humming-birds (Trochilide). Ny, The carinate sternum normally develops from five centres, having consequently as many ‘Separate pieces in early life. Two of these are lateral and iu pairs; the third is median and single. The median ossification, which includes the keel, is the lophosteon(Gr. \dqos, lophos, acrest; daréov, osteon, a bone). The anterior lateral piece, that with which the ribs, or some ra 144 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. of them, articulate, is the plewrosteon (Gr. mdeupdy, pleuron, a rib); in adult life this becomes the costal process, so prominent in Passeres (fig. 58). The posterior lateral piece is the metosteon (Gr. werd, meta, after). From the latter are derived the pair, or two pairs, of lateral processes which the posterior border of the sternum has in so many birds. In fine, the extent of ossifica- tion of the lophosteon and metostea, and the mode of their codsification, determines all those various shapes of the posterior border of the sternum which, being commonly characteristic of genera and higher groups, are described for purposes of classification. Thus, if the lophosteon and the metostea are completely ossified and to the same extent behind, the posterior border of the sternurn will be transverse, and perfectly bony. Such a sternum is said to be entire. Ifthe lophosteon is longer than the lateral pieces, the sternum will have a central pointed or rounded projection; when such a formation is called the middle xiphoid process (Gr. Eidos, xiphos, a sword: ei8os, eidos, form). The projection of the metostea, not infrequent, similarly gives a pair of external lateral xiphoid processes. But such processes oftener result merely from de- fects of coésification between the elements of the sternum. Thus, there is often a deep notch in the posterior border of the sternum between the lophosteon and the metosteon of each side; the sternum is then said to be single-notched or single-emarginute (one pair of notches, one on each side; fig. 58). This conformation prevails throughout the great group Passeres, possibly without exception; it is therefore highly characteristic of that order, though a great many other birds also have it. In the natural state, the notch is filled in with membrane. Such a notch may also be converted into a ‘‘fontanelle” or fenestra (Lat. fenestra, a window), which is simply a hole in the bone, the metostea having grown to the lophosteon at their extremities, but left an opening between. Such a sternum is called fenestrate, more exactly uni-fenestrate (Lat. unus, one; one window on each side). Now, the parts remaining as before, let either each half of the lophosteon, or each metosteon, be notched or fenestrate ; obviously then, such a sternum is double-notched or bi-fenestrate, having four notches, or holes, two on each side, — two notches, or two holes; or notched and fenestrate, having a notch and a hole on each side. The latter is very frequent: when occurring, the hole is generally nearest the middle line, the notch ex- terior. Irregularity of ossification, converting a hole into a notch, and conversely, may in any case result in lack of symmetry; but this is a mere individual peculiarity. When there are two notches on each side, as in fig. 56, the sternum has evidently a median and two lateral back- ward extensions, which are then called respectively the middle, internal lateral, and external lateral xiphoid processes. Notching of the lophosteon in the middle line, at least to any extent, must be very rare, if indeed it ever occurs. The extreme case of emargination of the sternum is afforded by the Galline, and is highly characteristic of that group. Here the lophosteon is extremely narrow, and fissured deeply away from the metostea, which latter are deeply forked ; the arrangement giving rise to two very long slender lateral processes on each side (figs. 1 and 2, p- 48). The sternum of the tinamou, a dromeognathous bird, is still more deeply emargi- nated, but the extremely long and slender lateral processes, which enclose an oval contour, are simple, not forked. In a very few birds there are centres of ossification additional to those above described. In Turniz, there are said by Parker to be a pair of centres between the pleurostea, which he names coracostea, because related to the part of the sternum with which the coracoids (see p- 146) unite. The same authority describes for Dicholophus a posterior median cartilagi- nous flap having a separate centre, named wrosteon (Gr. odpa, owra, tail). In various birds the sternum is eked out in the middle line behind by cartilage which has no ossification. The sternum, especially of the higher birds, develops in the middle line in front a beak- like process called the rostrum or manubrium (Lat. manubrium, a handle) ; its size and shape vary ; itis well-marked in Passerine birds (fig. 58); and may be bifurcate at the end and run down the front of the keel some way, as in the raven. The fore border of the sternum is generally greatly convex from side to side, and then, in those birds which have prominent = THE ANATOMY OF BIRDS.— OSTEOLOGY. 145 pleurostea, produced in angular costal processes. This border is also thickened, and presents on each side a well-marked, smooth-faced groove, in which the expanded feet of the coracoid bones are instepped and firmly articulated. These deep grooves commonly meet in the middle; are occasionally continuous from one side to the other; sometimes each crosses jo the other side a little way. The costal processes on each side also have thickened edges, with a series of articular facets for the ribs, which gives this border a fluted . or serrate profile. Generally the fore half, or rather less, of the side border of the sternum is thus articular; and it is only such costiferous (rib-bearing) extent of sternum which corresponds to the whole body of the bone in a mammal, all the rest*being “‘ xiphoid.” The singular carinate sternum of Notornis, and the ratite bone of Apteryx, are concave crosswise along the front border, and bear the coracoids far apart, at the summits of antero-lateral projections. A sternum is generally concavo-convex in each direction, bellying downward; somewhat rectangular, it may be long and narrow, or short, broad, and squarish. It is commonly longer than broad, with convex front border, a median beak, which is often forked, prominent antero-lateral corners, pinched-in sides (bulg- ing in tinamou) and indeterminate hind border. The keel usually drops down lowest in front, sloping or curving gently up to the general level behind, with a concave (rarely protuberant) so . : Fig. 58.— Typical passerine vertical border, and pronounced apex, to which the clavicles may sternum, pectoral arches, and p ‘ H c sternal ends of ribs: from the or may not be anchylosed, as they are in a pelican for instance. In TAU Tundiua qilpeasarlis: Tat. Opisthocomus, the clavicles anchylose with the manubrium of size; Dr. R.W. Shufeldt, U.S.A. the sternum. The external surface, both of body and keel, is Sterum single-notched, with . ii Bcc i ‘ prominent costal processes and ridged in places, indicating lines of attachment of the different pec- forked manubrium; five ribs toral muscles. In a few birds, notably swans and cranes, the keel ae sternum, one rib “float: is expanded and hollowed out to receive folds of the windpipe inits ~~ interior (see figs. 99, 100).— But the numberless modifications of the sternum in details of configuration belong to systematic ornithology, not to rudimentary anatomy. 8. THE PECTORAL ARCH. The Pectoral Arch (Lat. pectus, the breast; figs. 1, 2, 56, 58, 59) is that. bony structure by which the wings are borne upon the axial skeleton. It is to the fore limb what the pelvic arch is to the hind limb; but is disconnected from the back-bone and united with the breast- bone, whereas the reverse arrangement obtains in the pelvic, which is fused with the sacral ‘region of the spine. Each pectoral arch of birds consists (chiefly) of three bones: the scapula and coracoid, forming the shoulder-girdle proper, or scapular arch ; and the accessory clavicles, or right and left half of the clavicular arch. There is also at the shoulder-joint of most birds an insignificant sesamoid ossicle, called scapula accessoria or os humero-scapulare (fig. 56, ohs) ; and in many a rudiment of a bone called procoracoid, which occurs in reptiles, but in birds is united with the clavicle. From the ribs, the scapula; from the sternum, the coracoid; from its fellow, the clavicle, converges to meet each of the two other bones at the point of the shoulder. The lengthwise scapular arches of opposite sides are distinct from each other ; the clavicular arch is crosswise, and nearly always completed on the middle line of the body; by which union of the clavicles the whole pectoral arch is coaptated. The coracoid bears the shoulder firmly away from the breast; the scapula steadies the shoulder against the ribs; the clavicles keep the shoulders apart from each other. The scapular arch is always present and complete ; the clavicular is sometimes defective or wanting. There are two leading styles of 10 146 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. scapular arch, corresponding to the ratite and carinate sternum. (1) In Ratite the axes of the coracoid and scapula are nearly coincident (for the most part in a continuous right line) ‘and anchylosed together ; the clavicles are usually wanting, or defective; and the eoracoids are in- stepped on the sternum far apart. (2) In all Carimate, the axes of the coracoid and scapula form an acute or scarcely obtuse angle (fig. 56, sgic); normally these bones are not anchylosed; perfect clavicles are present, &nchylosed with each other, but free from the other bones ; and the coracoids are instepped close together. Decided exceptions to these conditions, as in Notornis, are anomalous ; though incompletion of the clavicles repeatedly occurs, as noted below. The Coracoid (Gr. kdpaé, horax, a cro; «ides, eidos, form: the corresponding bone of the human subject, which is the stunted ‘‘ coracoid process of the scapula,” being likened to a crow’s beak ; no applicability in the present case ; figs. 56, ¢c, 59, c) is a stout, straight, cylindric bone, expanded at each end, extending forward, outward, and upward from the fore border of the sternum to the shoulder. Its foot is flattened and splayed to fit in the articular groove of fore border of the sternum already described; it often overlaps that of its fellow on the median line; is narrower and remote from its fellow in Ratite. The head of the bone, irregularly expanded, articulates or anchyloses with the end of the scapula, and also usually with the clavicle. It bears externally a smooth demi-facet, which represents the share it takes in forming the glenoid (Gr. yAnvn, glene, a shallow pit; fig. 59, gl) cavity, which is the socket of the humerus. This articular expansion is the glenoid process of the coracoid: the clavicular process is that by which the bone unites with the clavicle. The relation between the heads of the three bones (each uniting with the other two) is such that a pulley-hole is formed, through which plays the tendon of the pectoral muscle which ele- vates the wing. The coracoid is a very constant and characteristic bone of birds. Fia. 59.— Right pectoral arch of a bird, Pedie- cetes phasiomellus, nat. size, outside view; Dr. R. The Scapula (Lat. scapula, the shoulder- W. Shufeldt, U.S.A. 8, scapula; c, coracoid; gl, ‘ igi ‘ ‘ glenoid, the cavity for head of humerus; cl, clavicle ; blade; figs. 56, 59, s) merits in birds its name of he, hypocleidium. Jn situ, the right end of the fig- ‘‘ blade-bone,” being usually a long, thin, narrow, anpeshouad fit nye Mouloy peat $6: sabre-like bone, which rests upon the ribs— usu- ally not far from parallel with the spinal column, and near it; but in Ratite otherwise. It seldom gains much width, and is quite thin and flat in most of its length; but it has a thickened head or handle, expanding outwards into a glenoid process which unites with that of the coracvid to complete the glenoid cavity, and dilated inward to form-an acromial (Gr. dkpduov, akromion, point of the shoulder) process for articulation with the clavicle (as it-does in man), when that bone exists. The other end is usually sharp-pointed, but may be obtuse, or even clubbed, as in a woodpecker. The scapula is broadest and most plate-like in the pen- guins, in which birds all the bones of the flipper-like wing are singularly flattened. In Apteryx it reaches in length over only a couple of ribs; in most birds, over most of the thorax; and in some its point overreaches the pelvis. THE ANATOMY OF BIRDS.— OSTEOLOGY. 147 The Clavicles, or Furculum (Lat. clavicula, a little key: furculum, a little fork ; figs. 56, 59, cl), or the clavicular arch, are the pair of bones which when united together form the object well known as the ‘‘ merry-thought” or ‘‘ wish-bone,” corresponding to the human “ collar-bones.” They lie in front of the breast, across the middle line of the body like a V or U; the upper ends uniting as a rule both with scapula and coracoid. For this purpose, in most birds, the ends are expanded more or less; such expansion is called the epicleidiwm (Gr. ént, ept, upon; KAediov, kleidion, the collar-bone) ; in Passerine birds it is said to ossify separ- ately, and is considered by Parker to represent the procoracoid of reptiles. At the point of union below, the bones often develop a process (well shown in the domestic fowl) called the hypo- cleidium (Gr. ind, hypo, under ; fig. 59, he), supposed to represent the imierclavicle of reptiles. The clavicles are as a rule present, perfect, anchylosed together, articulated at the shoulder; ina few birds anchylosed there; in several, there and with the keel of the sternum; in Opisthocomus there and with the manubrium of the sternum. In various birds, chiefly Picarian and Psittacine, they are de- fective, not meeting each other. They are wanting in Struthio, Rhea, Apteryx, and some Psittacide. Besides curving toward each other, the clavicles have usually a fore-and-aft curvature, convex for- ward. In general, the strength of the clavicles, the firmness of their connections, and the openness of the V or U, are indications of the volitorial or natatorial power of the wings. The end of the fur- culum is hollowed for a fold of the windpipe in the crested pintado (Owen). A 4. THE PELVIC ARCH. The Pelvis (Lat. pelvis, a basin, fig. 60), is that posterior part of the trunk which receives the uro-genital, and lower portion of the digestive, vis- cera. It consists of the ‘‘sacral” vertebrae on the middle dorsal line, flanked on each side by the bones of the pelvic arch, which supports the hind limb. In vertebrates generally the pelvic basin is com- pleted on the ventral aspect by union (symphysis ; Gr. avy, sun, together; vous, growth) of the bones from opposite sides. Excepting only Struthio, which has a pubic symphysis; and Rhea, which has an ischiac symphysis just below the sacral vertebra, the pelvis of a bird is entirely open below and behind; each pelvic arch anchylosing firmly with the sacral vertebree to form a roof over the viscera above named. This sacro-iliac anchylosis is com- monly coextensive with the confiuence of the many Fie. 60. — Pelvis of a heron (Ardea herodias), nat. size, viewed from below; from nature by Dr. vertebree which make the ‘‘sacrum” of ordinary R.W.Shufeldt, U.S.A. dl, dorso-lumbar vertebre toe ; to and including the last one, sc; below sc, for the language, that is, from the first dorso-lumbar to the oitentofthe large black spaces(oppositethearrow) last uro-sacral. The whole roof-like affair looks are the true sacral vertebra; us, urosacral verte- i 2 ; 3 dat bree (opposite the five oval black spaces; JZ, ilium; something like a keeless sternum inverted. The 7, ‘ischium; P, pubis; 0b, obturator foramen, pelvic arch of each side consists of three bones, tiwm, The arrow flies into the acetabulum. 148 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. ischium, and pubis, which have independent ossific centres, but become firmly consolidated together to form the haunch-bone or os innominatum. “Each of these bones unites with the other two, somewhere near the middle of the whole affair, at a ring-like structure called the acetabulum (Lat., a vinegar-cruet, fig. 56, a; fig. 60, arrow ac), which all three consequently contribute to the formation of, and which is the socket for the head of the thigh-bone (femur, p- 119). When free ribs issue from under cover of the pelvis, they are commonly anchylosed with the ilia; and all the abortive pleurapophyses of the lumbar and uro-sacral vertebrae have likewise iliac anchylosis, as explained in treating of the sacrum (p. 140). Asa whole, the pelvis varies like the sternum in relative length, breadth, and degree of convexity ; and especially in the configuration of its posterior border; but few zodlogical characters are derived from this structure. , Viewed from below, the pelvis is seen to be much hollowed or excavated for the lodgment - of the kidneys, and cross-cut into compartments by the sacral rafters; the series of sacral bodies forming a ridge-pole along the middle line. Above, the series of sacral spinous pro-- cesses represent the ridge-pole; anteriorly, the somewhat spoon-shaped iliac bones are applied, concavity outward, to the dorso-lumbars ; posteriorly, in the middle line, is a more or less flattened horizontal expansion, and laterally are the more expanded sides of the ischiac roof, finished along the eaves and behind by the slender pubic bone, which commonly projects backward, and inclines tuward its fellow of the opposite side. The most prominent formation of the side wall of the pelvis is the thick-lipped smooth articular ring, the acetabulum, con- verted in the natural state into a cup by a membrane. The postero-superior segment of the rim is promi- nent, to form the antitrochanter (Gr. avri, anti, against ; tpoxayrnp, trochanter of the femur) against which the shoulder of the femur abuts when the head is in the ring. Fic. 61. — Pelvis of young grouse, showing three distinct bones. IZ, Zs, P. ilium, ischium, f 3 pubis, In front of former a dorsal vertebra pro- It is normal to recent Carinate birds to have trudes. (Dr. R. W. Shufeldt, U.S. A.) the ischium fused with the ilium, however distinct the pubis may remain; but to Cretaceous birds (even the carinate Ichthyornis), and the existing Ratite, to have both ischium and pubis distinct in most of their extent. The Ilium (Lat. ium, haunch-bone; pl. ila ; adj. iliac ; figs. 56, I; 60, 61, Ii) is the median, most anterior and longest of the haunch-bones, and the only one which extends in ad- vance of the acetabulum. Such anterior prolongation of this bone is the specialty of the avian pelvis: it commonly overlies one or more ribs, and is often overreached by the end of the scapula. It is longest and narrowest and flattest in some of the lower swimmers; the reverse among the highest birds. Its relations and connections have been sufficiently indicated. The bone is almost always separated from its fellow by the sacrum, though the approximation may be very close over the back of the pelvis, along the middle line. The Ischium (Gr. ioyiov, ischion, the haunch-bone; pl. ischia ; adj. ischiadic, ischiatic, better ischiac; figs. 56, 60, 61, Zs) lies entirely post-acetabular, or behind the socket which it contributes to form, and composes most of the side-wall of the pelvis thence to the end. It is generally a thin, plate-like bone. Among Cretaceous birds and existing Ratite it only unites with the ilium at and just behind the acetabulum, whence a deep ilio-ischiac fissure between the two exists, as in the young grouse, fig. 61; but in ordinary adult birds this fissure is con- verted into a fenestra or window of large size, just behind the acetabulum, by union of the two bones behind it. This vacuity, whether a notch or a hole, corresponds to the ‘ sacro-sciatic notch” of human anatomy (fig. 56, in). The ischia of opposite sides are distinct, except in Rhea. THE ANATOMY OF BIRDS.— OSTEOLOGY. 149 The Pubis (Lat. pubis, bone of the front of the human pelvis where the hair ‘grows at puberty ; pl. pubes ; adj. pubic; figs. 56, 60, 61 P), beginning at its share of the acetabular ring, is a long slender bone which runs along the lower border of the ischium, sometimes for a short distance only, often for the whole length of the ischium, and usually projecting behind; more or less perfectly parallel with, applied to, or united with, the inferior ischiac border. When separate, a long deep fissure results; when united at the end, a long narrow foramen is formed ; when incompletely united in any part of its ischiac continuity, a fissure and a foramen, in the ostrich two foramina, result. All these conditions occur; in any case, such ischio-pubic interval corresponds to the obturator foramen (fig. 56, 0; fig. 60, 00) of human anatomy ; it is greatest in Cretaceous birds and existing Ratite. The free ends of the pubes may be more or less expanded. In the ostrich only there is a pubic symphysis of the ends of the bones; in the same bird a separate ossicle, situated upon the lower border of the pubes, and called epipubic, is considered to represent a ‘‘ marsupial” bone (Garrod). In various birds, among them our ground cuckoo, Geococcyx californianus, the pubis projects a little forward, under the ace- tabulum: this prominence is the propubis. Separation of the pubes is supposed to be for amplification of the pelvic strait to facilitate the passage of the large chalky eggs birds lay. 5. THE SKULL. The Skull of a Bird is a poem in bone— its architecture is the ‘‘ frozen music” of morphology; in its mutely eloquent lines may be traced the rhythmic rhymes of the myriad amebiform animals which constructed the noble edifice when they sang together.1 The poésy (noinots, poiesis, a making) of the subject has been translated with conspicuous zeal and success by Mr. W. K. Parker; its zodlogical moral has been similarly pointed by Professor Huxley ; and the young ornithologist who would not be hopelessly unfashionable must be able to whistle some bars of the cranial song —'the pterygo-palatine bar at least. The rapid progress of ossification soon obliterates most of the original landmarks of the skull, fusing the distinct territories of bone in one great indistinguishable area. Thus the brain-box of almost any mature bird is apparently a single solid bone, and most parts of the jaw-scaffolding similarly run together. Aside from the bones of the tongue, which are collec- tively separate from those of the skull proper ; and of the compound lower jaw, which is freely articulated with the rest of the skull; only two or three other bones of the skull, as a rule, are permanently and perfectly free at both ends. These are the quadrate bones— the anvil-shaped pieces by which the lower jaw is slung tothe skull; the pterygoids, articulating the palate with the quadrate; and sometimes the vomer. Traces only of the bones of the face and jaws are usually found; but even such vestiges disappear, as a rule, from among the bones of the brain-box. It is necessary to any intelligent understanding of the construction of a bird’s skull, to learn somewhat of its mode of development in the embryonic stage; this being the only clue to the individual bones of which it is composed, and so to any correct idea of its morphology. One theory is, that the skull consists of four modified vertebree ; and the principal bones have been nained and described by some in terms indicating the elements of a theoretical vertebra. It is true that the skull is segmented, or may be segmented off, like a chain of several vertebree; that it continues the vertebral axis forward; that it has a basis cranii like a series of vertebral centrums, above which rises a segmented neural arch enclosing the great nervous mass, and below which depends a set of bones enclosing visceral parts like a hemal arch. The hindmost cranial ‘segment, the occipital bone, resembles a vertebra in many physical characters, and even in mode of development. But if the serial homology of the skull with 1 Bone-tissue chiefly consists of the aggregated skeletons of Osteamebe — a kind of uni-cellular protozoan animals which inhabit in myriads the bodies of nearly all the Vertebrata, possessing the faculty of feeding upon phosphate of lime and other earthy matters they find in the blood, and afterward excreting them in the form of multiradiate exoskeletons of their own, collectively forming the whole skeleton of their host. 150 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. the back«bone be real and true, it is so obscured by the extraordinay modifications: to which the vertebral elements have been subjected that the fact of such homology cannot be demon- strated; and to interpret the skull as something super-imposed upon, and morphologically different from the spinal column, is perfectly warranted if not required by the known facts of its constructive development. This is the view taken by the rulers of to-day’s science. As already said (p. 137) the relation between cranial and vertebral parts is rather the analogy of adaptive modification than a true homology of structure. Before proceeding to describe the mature skull, it will be best to consider its mode of development. In this I shall closely follow Parker, often using the words of that master, and illustrating the early stages of the embryo with figures borrowed from the same safe source. In the fewest words possible, I wish to convey an idea of the embryonic skull up to Parker’s ‘third stage,” at which it begins to ossify. Here, however, I will first insert a figure, kindly drawn for me by Dr. R. W. Shufeldt, of the U.S. Army, which shows most of the cranial bones, and will give the student a preliminary notion of the ‘lay of the land.” I advise him to contemplate this picture till he has learned the names printed on it by heart, and can apply them to the identification of the parts of the real skull he should have in hand at the same time. He may also meditate on fig. 63. Feterotats, composing, Fig. 62. — Skull of common fowl, enlarged; from nature by Dr. R. W. Shufeldt, U.S. A. The names of bones and some other parts are printed, requiring no explanation; but observe the following points: The distinction of none of the bones composing the brain-case (the upper back expanded part) can be found in a mature skull. The brain is contained between the occipital, sphenoidals, sguamosals, parietals and part of frontal; the ethmoidals belong to the same group of cranial bones proper. All other bones, excepting the three otic ear-bones, are bones of the face and jaws. The lower jaw, of five bones, is drawn detached; it articulates by the black surface marked articular with the prominence just above—the guadrate bone. Observe that from this quadrate a series of bones — quadrato-jugal, jugal, maxillary — makes a slender rod running to the premaziliary ; this is the zygoma, or jugal bar. Observe from the quadrate also another series, composed of pterygoid and palatine bones, to the pre- maxillary; this is the pterygo-palatine bar ; it slides along a median fixed axis of the skull, the rostrum, which bears the loose vomer at its end. The under mandible, quadrate, pterygoid, and vomer are the only movable bones of this skull. But when the quadrate rocks back and forth, as it does by its upper joint, ita lower end pulls and pushes upon the upper mandible, by means of the jugal and pterygo-palatine bars, setting the whole scaffolding of the upper jaw in motion. This motion hinges upon the elasticity of the bones of the forehead, at the thin place just where the reference-lines from the words ‘ lacrymal ” and ‘‘ mesethmoid”’ cross each other., The dark oval space behind the quadrate is the external orifice of the ear; the parts in it to which the three reference-lines go are diagrammatic, not actual representations ; thus, the quadrate articulates with a large pro-otic as well as with the sqguamosal. The great excavation at the middle of the figure, containing the circlet_ of unshaded bones, is the left orbital cavity, orbit, or socket of the eye. The mesethmoid includes most of the background of this cavity, shaded diagonally. The upper one of the two processes of bone extending into it from behind is the post-frontal or sphe- notice process ; the under one (just overthe quadrate) is the sguamosal process. A bone not shown, the presphenoid, lies just in front of the oval black space over the end of basisphenoid. This black oval is the optic foramen, THE ANATOMY OF BIRDS.— OSTEOLOGY. 151 through which the nerve of sight passes from the brain-cavity to the eye. The black dot a little behind the optic foramen is the orifice of exit of a part of the trifacial nerve. The black mark under the letters ‘‘on’’ of the word “frontal” is the olfactory foramen, where the nerve of smell emerges from the brain-box to go to the nose. The nasal cavity is the blank space behind nasal and covered by that bone, and in the oval blank before it. The parts of the beak covered by horn are only premazillary, nasal, and dentary. The condyle articulates with the first cervical vertebra; just above it, not shown, is the foramen magnum, or great hole through which the spinal medulla, or main nervous cord, passes from the skull into the spinal column. The basioccipital is hidden, excepting its condyle; so is much of the basisphenoid. The prolongation forward of the basisphenoid, marked “ rostrum,” and bearing the vomer at its end, is the parasphenoid, as tar as its thickened under border is concerned. Between the fore end of the pterygoid and the basisphenoidal rostrum, is the site of the basipterygoid process, by which the bones concerned articulate by smooth facets; further forward, the palatines ride freely upon the parasphenoidal rostrum. In any Passerine bird, the vomer would be thick in front, and forked behind, riding like the palatine upon the rostrum. The palatine seems to run into the maxillary inghis view; but it continues on to premaxillary. The mazillo-palatine is an important bone which cannot be seen in the figure because it extends horizontally into the paper from the maxillary about where the reference line “ maxillary’ goes to that bone. The general line from the condyle to the end of the vomer is the cranial ais, basis cranii, or base of the cranium. This skull is widest across the post-frontal; next most so across the bulge of the jugal bar. Fig. 63.— Skull of a duck ( Clangula istandica), nat. size; Dr. R. W. Shufeldt, U.S.A. a, premaxillary bone; 5, partly ossified internasal septum; 0’, pervious part of nostril; c, end of premaxillary, perforated for numerous branches of second division of the fifth cranial nerve; d, dentary bone of under mandible; e, groove for nerves, etc. ; f,avacuity between dentary and other pieces of the mandible; g, articular surface; h, recurved<‘angle of the jaw ;”’ i, occipital protuberance; j, vacuity in supraoccipital bone; k, muscular impression on back of skull; / is over the black ear-cavity; m, post-frontal process; 2, quadrate bone; o, pterygoid; p, palatine; g, quadrato-jugal; 7, jugal; s, maxillary ; ¢, fronto-parietal dome of the brain-cavity; u, the lacrymal bone, immense in a duck, nearly completing rim of the orbit by approaching m; v, vomer; w, supra-orbital depression for the nasal gland (see p. 157); x, cranio-facial hinge; y, optic foramen; 2, etc., interorbital vacuities. Development of the Fowl’s Skull (figs. 64 to 69).—In the chick’s head cartilage is formed along the floor of the skull by the fifth day of incubation. This cartilaginous basilar plate is formed on each side of th notochord, fig 64, ¢ (Gr. vérov, noton, back ; yop8h, chorde, a chord), a rod-like structure, the primordial axis of the body, around which, along the spinal column, the bodies of the vertebra are formed, and which runs in the middle line of the floor of the skull as far as the pituitary space, pts. The basilar plate is the parachordal (Gr. mapa, para, by the side of) cartilage. In this, at the earliest stage, are already planted certain parts of the ear, the cochlea, cl, (Lat. cochlea, a snail-shell), and the horizontal one of the three semi- circular canals, hsc. Opposite the end of the notochord, the border of the parachordal plate is notched, 5; this notch afterward forms the foramen ovale, for the passage of parts of the Jifth or trifacial nerve. Near the middle line, posteriorly, the plate is perforated for the passage of the twelfth or hypoglossal nerve, g. At each lateral corner is the separate quadrate cartilage, to form the quadrate bone. Anteriorly, the plate connects by a strap or bridge of cartilage, the lingula, Ig (Lat. lingula, a little tongue) with the trabecule, tr (Lat. trabe- cula, a little beam), which enclose the pituitary space, pts (Lat. pitwita, mucus: no applica- bility here). In front of this pituitary interval the trabecule come together to form an wmter- 152 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. nasal plate, which is so arched over downward as to disappear from this view, as seen in fig. 65, where fn is the fronto-nasal process, and ” is the future external nostril. After uniting in the inter-nasal plate, the fore ends of the trabecule separate and become free ; their free ends are the under extremities of this first visceral arch (first and only pre-oral arch). The same chick’s head, now viewed from below, fig. 65, shows the squarish aperture, m, of the future mouth ; the three post-oral arches, with their respective cartilaginous bars, out of which are to be formed the bones of the jaws and tongue. 1, 2, 3, are the corresponding visceral clefts, between the arches; the first of these is to be modelled into the ear- passages (outer and middle ear and eustachian tube) ; the others will disappear. The quadrate cartilage, g, is the same that was seen in fig. 64; it is already nearly in position, between the hind ends of the scaffolding of the upper and under jaw. The curved subocular or maxillo- palatine bar, map, developed in the first post-oral arch, already indicates anteriorly palatine, pa, and posteriorly, pterygoid, pg, parts; it will form the bones so named, and others of the Fic. 65.—Same as fig. 64, but seen from below. evl, anterior cerebral vesicle; e, eye; m, mouth ; pits, pituitary space; jn, fronto-nasal plate; ér, ends of the trabecule, free again after their union and bent strong- ly from the original axis of the trabecule; n, exter- nal nostril; map, subocular bar of cartilage, or ptery- go-palatine rod, to form pa, palatine, and pg, pterygoid Fic. 64. — Skull of chick, fifth day of incubation, 9 diameters, Seen from above, the membranous roof of the skull and the brain removed. evi, anterior cere- bral vesicle ; e, eye; ¢, notochord, running through the middle of the basilar plate or parachordal cartilage, in which are already visible the rudimentary ear-parts, cl, the cochlea, hac, the horizontal semicircular canal ; pts, the pituitary space, bounded by fr, the trabeculz, which come together before it to form the fronto-nasal plate, fn, in fig. 65; lg, lingula or bridge connecting trabecule with parachordal cartilage ; 5, notch after- ward becoming foramen ovale for passage of parts of the fifth (trifacial) nerve ; 9, foramen for hypoglossal nerve; q, separate cartilage forming the future quad- tate bone. (After Parker, in Ency. Brit.) bone, and other parts of the upper jaw, as the maxil- lary, jugal and quadrato-jugal; g, quadrate cartilage, same as seen in fig. 64; mk, meckelian cartilage, to form lower jaw; these parts are in the first post-oral visceral arch; ch, cerato-byal, and bh, basihyal, of second post- oral arch; cbr, cerato-branchial, ebr, epi-branchial, bbr, basi-branchial, of third post-oral arch; the darts of the second and third arch all going into the yoid bone. 1, 2, 3, 1st, 2d, 8d visceral clefts, whereof vue 1st is to be modified into the ear-passages, and the others are to be obliterated. (After Parker.) upper jaw. This subocular bar is an antero-superior part of the first post-oral arch, of which gq and mk are a postero-inferior portion; the cleft of the future mouth is to lie between them. The lower jaw bone, or mandible, is entirely developed from mk, its several bones developing around this rod of cartilage, the meckelian cartilage ; it is to become movably articulated with the bone, the quadrate, into which q will be transformed. Thus the postero-inferior part of the first post-oral arch (second of the whole series of arches) begins in two pieces, one of which is to become the suspensorium, or suspender of the mandible, and the other the mandible THE ANATOMY OF BIRDS.— OSTEOLOGY. 153 itself. The rest of the pieces belong to the second and third post-oral arches, and all together make up the very composite hyoid bone, or bone of the tongue (figs. 72, 73,74). The pieces ch and bh are in the second arch, and form respectively the ceratohyal and basihyal bones; the pieces cbr, ebr, and bbr are in the third arch, and form respectively the cerato- branchial, epibranchial and basibranchial bones. These pieces of the third arch have already outgrown those of the second arch, and they will form the greatest part of the hyoid bone. In the second stage, after the fifth day of incubation, but before any ossification has begun, a vertical section shows the appearances represented in fig. 66. The parachordal and trabecular cartilages are applied to, each other unconformably, the latter rising high between second and third cerebral vesicles to form the posterior pituitary wall, pel, in which the axial skeleton properly ends. There are other changes in the parachordal cartilages. The inter- nasal plate, formed by the union of the trabeculee in front of the pituitary space, has become a vertical median wall between the olfactory and optic chambers of the right and left sides (pn and eth, to ps and alc). This partition, besides forming finally the interorbital septum which divides the right and left orbits, will undergo further notable changes in direction, and will develop lateral plates and processes, which will make up the nasal labyrinth and the partition between the cavity of the nose and that of the eye, when any exists. Such lateral developments of the ethmoid plate are the aliethmoid, aliseptal, and alinasal. This plate extends backward in mid-line to the optic foramen, 2, ending in the ante- rior clinoid wall, asc, separated from the (parachordal) posterior clinoid wall by the original pituitary space, now the opening through which the carotid arteries, ic, enter the brain cavity. Besides ethmoidal parts proper, the plate develops at what will be the end of the upper beak a prenasal carti- lage, pn, to become the axis of the beak. The mouth is become already better formed, the axis of its cavity pointing more forward than downward; and great changes are undergoing in parts of the ear at the back corner of the mouth. The quadrate and meckelian cartilages are assuming much of their true form. The quadrate develops an orbital process, which extends free into the orbit, and an otic process which articu- lates with the auditory sac and parts of the exoccipital cartilage. The relations at Fic. 66.— Head of a chick, second stage, after five days of incubation, section in profile; x 6diameters. cvl, cv2, cv3, first, second, and third cerebral vesicles; 1, place of the first nerve, the olfactory; 2, place of second nerve, the optic; tc, internal carotid artery, running into skull at what was originally the pituitary space, now an opening bounded in front by the anterior, acl, behind by the posterior, pcl, clinoid walls; nc, notochord; oc, occipital condyle, thence to pel being the original parachordal cartilage, here seen in profile; eo, exoccipital; eth, ethmoid, with ps, its presphe- noid region posteriorly, and pn, pre-nasal part; this whole plate afterward developing into parts of the nose and the partition between the eyes; pa, palatine; pg, pterygoid region; pa and pg reference lines are in the chick’s mouth; mk meckelian cartilage (lower jaw); ch and bh, ceratohyal and basihyal parts of the hyoid or tongue bone. (After Parker.) this stage have not been made out in the fowl, but are figured and described from the corre- sponding stage of the European house martin (Chelidon urbica). In fig. 67, mk is the cut stump of the meckelian cartilage, of which ar is the articular part; q is the quadrate, of which a backward process is seen articulating with teo, the tympanic wing of the exoccipital. Just below and behind this otic process of the quadrate, exactly where in riper embryos is the Senestra ovalis in which is fitted the foot of the stapes or stirrup-bone of the middle ear, there appears a trowel-shaped projection of cartilage, the handle of which is continuous with the substance of the ear-capsule; the sickle-shaped piece behind which is the tympanic wing of 154 the exoccipital (teo). GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. This irowel of cartilage is the upper anterior segment of the hyoidean (second post-oral) arch, being to that arch what the pterygo-palatine bar is to the mandibular (first post-oral) arch. Several parts of this stapedial cartilage are recognized, as named in the SSE est\ Fic. 67.—The post-oral arches of the house martin, at middle of period of incuba- tion, lateral view, x 14 diameters. mk, stump of meckelian or mandibular rod, its articular part, ar, already shapen; g, quadrate bone, or suspensorium of lower jaw, with a free anterior orbital process and long posterior otic process articulating with the ear-capsule, of which Zeo, tympanic wing of occipital, is a part; mst, est, sst, ist, sth, parts of the suspensorium of the third post-oral arch, not completed to chy; mst, medio-stapedial, to come away from Zeo, bringing a piece with it, the true stapes or co- lumella auris; the oval base of the stapes fit- ting into the future fenestra ovalis, or oval window looking into the cochlea; sst, supra-sta- pedial ; est, extra-stapedial; ist, infra-stapedial, which will unite with sth, the stylo-hyal ; chy and bhy, cerato-hyal and basi-hyal, distal parts of the same arch; bbr, br 1, br 2, basi- branchial, epi-branchial and cerato-branchial pieces of the third arch, composing the rest of the hyoid bone; zg, tongue. (After Parker.) fine print under the figure. If the connections of the second post-oral arch were completed, as those of the first are, the tongue bone would be slung to the skull as the lower jaw is; but they are uot, the tract rep- resented by the dot-line from the stylo-hyal, sth, to the cerato-hyal, chy, being, like ist, above sth, only soft connective tissue. This defect of connection is made up for by the great development of the hyoidean parts of the third post-oral arch, br 1 and br 2, which retain the tongue-bone in position, without however articulating it with the skull. The hand of the trowel of cartilage soon segments itself off from the ear-cap- sule, bringing away with it a small oval piece of the periotic wall, which piece is the true stapes, and the oval space in which it fits is the fenestra ovalis leading into the inmost ear (the cochlea). The broad part of the trowel-blade is the extra-stapedial part, on which the membrana tympani, or ear-drum, will be stretched. The stylo-hyal, sth, will join the extra-stapedial plate, and the afterward chondrified band of union will be the infra-stapedial, ist. (Figs. 71, st, and 83.) Returning p ed now to the a! Ax.) chick’s head, which we left to examine the intricate ear-parts at the proximal Fic. 68. —Skull of chick, second stage, in profile, brain and membranes removed to end of the second post-oral arch, we see by fig. 68 how rapidly the parts are shaping themselves at the end of this second stage of development. This figure shows the cartilaginous skull, in which no trace of ossification has appeared, excepting in the under mandible. The brain and membranous parts of the cranium have been removed. The roof of the skull never becomes cartilaginous, bone there growing di- rectly from the membrane; and the whole of the chon- dro-cranium, as shown in the figure, is one continuous cartilaginous structure (like the whole skull of an adult shark or skate), excepting the parts of the post- oral arches, which are separate. The auditory cap- sule is environed by occipital cartilage, eo, stretching over the back of the skull, and by wing-like growths (alisphenoids, as) which wall most of the brain-box in front. froin the tract of the conjoined trabecule. show cartilaginous formations, x 4 diameters. eth, ethmoid, forming median nose-parts and inter-orbital septum; developing lateral parts, as ale, aliethmoid, als, aliseptum, aln, alinasal, pp, partition between nose and eye; pn, pre- nasal cartilage; ps, presphenoidal part of mid- ethmoid; 2, optic foramen; as, alisphenoid, walling brain-box in front; p/, post-frontal, bounding orbit behind; pa, pg, palatine and pterygoid; g, quadrate; so, supra-occipital; eo, ex-occipital; oc, occipital condyle, borne upon basi-occipital, and showing nc, remains of notochord; these occipitals bound the fora- men magnum, and eo expands laterally to form a tympanic wing, circumscribing the external auditory orifice behind and below; hse, psec, horizontal and posterior vertical semicircular canals of ear; jr, st, fenestra rotunda and fenestra ovalis, leading into inner ear, lat- ter closed by foot of the stapes; mk, ch, bh, bor, cbr, ebr, parts of jaw and tongue, as nam- ed in figs. 65, 66 and 67. (After Parker.) The high orbito-nasal septum is a continuous vertical plate of cartilage, upgrowing Lateral developments of this ethmoidal wall, in THE ANATOMY OF BIRDS. — front, are divided into several recognizable parts, ale, als, aln, the latter being the external nostril; pp isa transverse partition between the orbital and nasal cham- bers. The nasal cartilages ultimately become much convoluted to form the nasal labyrinth, among the con- volutions of which will be the superior and inferior tur- binal cartilages, in addition to those already noted. The ethmoidal wall ends behind at ps, the presphe- noidal region, where the brain case begins; below and behind, it is deeply notched for the optic foramen, 2. The pituitary space forms a circular foramen, through which the carotid arteries enter. The site of the orbit of the eye is bounded behind and below by the post- frontal process of the alisphenoid wing, pf of as. The pterygo-palatine rod is seen along the under border of the skull, pg and pa. The quadrate, q, has acquired nearly its shape, and the rest of the mandibular and hyoidean parts are clearly displayed, mk, etc. The proximal hyvidean element, st, is freed from the peri- otic cartilage, leaving the fenestra ovalis (see last para- graph). Below the general outline, pa to oc, is not shown a mat of soft tissue, in which are to be devel- oped the basitemporal and parasphenoid bones which underfloor the whole skull, — the former making a plat between the ears, fig. 69, bt, the latter forming the thick- ened under edge of the rostrum of the skull rbs. At the third stage, about the middle of the second week of incubation, the cartilaginous parts already described are neatly finished, and the skull is beginning to ossify. The occipital parts are well formed; the condyle is perfect; the foramen magnum is cireum- scribed by the ex- and supra-occipitals, eo and so, fig. 69. Investing bones, formed in membrane without pre- vious cartilage, are becoming apparent. The basitem- poral, bt, and parasphenoid, rls, are engrafting upon the base of the skull. The prenasal cartilage, pn, now at its fullest growth, is beginning to decline; on each side of it is formed a three-forked bone, the premaxil- lary, pz, having superiorly nasal, and laterally palatal and dentary processes. This bone is to grow to great size, forming most of the upper beak, and starving out the maxillary, which in mammals is the principal bone of the upper jaw. The palatal, pa, and pterygoid, pg, bones are ossified, and the quadrate, q, is ossifying. Between the premaxillary and the quadrate are the bones forming the zygoma, or jugal bar, developed in the outer part of the maxillo-palatine bar of the earlier embryo. They are the weak mamillary, mx, with its ingrowing process, the mamillo-palatine bone, mxp; next the jugal, j; then the quadrato-jugal, qj; the 155 OSTE OLOGY. Seo. Say Fie. 69.—Skull of chick, third stage, viewed from below, x 63 diameters. pn, prenasal cartilage, running behind into the septum nasi ; on each side of it the premax- illary, px, of which the (inner) palatal and (outer) dentary processes are seen (the upper nasal process hidden); mz, the maxillary, developing inner process, the maxillo-pala- tine, mxp ; pa, the palatal, well-formed, ar- ticulating behind with rbs, the sphenoidal rostrum, its thickened under border, the parasphenoid ; this will bear the vomer at its end when that bone is developed; j, jugal, joining mz and qj, the quadrato-jugal, join- ing j and g, the quadrate ; mz to g, the jugal bar’ or zygoma; pg, the pterygoid, making with pa the pterygo-palatine bar, joining g and pz ; bt, the basitemporal, great mat of bone from ear to ear, underflooring the skull proper, as rbs, a similar formation, does further forward; ic, outer end of carotid canal, to run between the bt plate and true floor of skull, and enter brain cavity at origi- nal site of pituitary fossa (figs. 64, 66, ic); ty, tympanic cavity —external opening of ear; as, alisphenoid, bounding much of brain- box anteriorly, and orbital cavity posteri- orly; psc, posterior semicircular canal of ear, in opisthotic bone, which will unite with the spreading co, exoccipital, which will reach the condyle shown in the middle line, above the foramen magnum, jm, completed above by so, supra-occipital; 8, foramen lacerum posterius, exit of pneumogastric, glosso-pha- ryngeal and spinal accessory nerve; 9, exit of hypoglossal nerve, in basi-occipital. (After Parker.) 156 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. whole forming an outer lateral rod from quadrate to premaxillary, like a duplicate of the pterygo-palatine rod from the same to the same. Among occurrences of later stages are to be noted the development in membrane in the middle line below of the vomer, borne upon the end of the rostrum; the roofing in of the whole skull by the parietal, squamosal, frontal and nasal bones; the completion of the periotic bones as the prodtic, epiotic and opisthotic, which form the otie capsule ; the development of lacrymal bones, bounding the orbits of the eyes in frout. Absorption of the middle wall of cartilage between the nasal and orbital cavities nicks off the nose parts from those of the orbit (fig. 70, between ntb and eth); and certain changes in the orbital septum develop the orbito- sphenoids. Very nearly all the bones of a bird’s skull having thus been accounted for, we may next consider them in their adult condition. Reference should now be made to figs. 62, 63, 70, 71. The Occipital Bone (fig. 62, 70, 71) forms the back part of the floor of the skull, and lower part. of the back wall of the skull; neither its boundaries nor its composition is visible in adult skulls. It is formed by the basioccipital, bo, below in the middle line; the supra-occipitat 80, above in the middle line; the exoccipital, eo, on either side. These bound the foramen magnum (fig. 69, fm), where the nerve mass makes its exit from the cavity of the cranium into the tube of the spinal column. At the lower part of the foramen is the protuberant occipital condyle (figs. 68, 71, 0c), borne chiefly upon the basioccipital, but to the formation of which the exoccipitals also contribute; the latter flare widely on each side, into the tympanic wings, which bound the external auditory meatus behind. The true basioccipital is mostly covered by the underlying secondary bone, the basitemporal (69, 70, bt), which extends from one tympanic cavity to the other, and more or less forward in thc middle line to the sphenoidal rostrum. Openings to be observed in the occipital region, besides the great foramen, are those for the hypoglossal nerve, 9, near the condyle ; for the parts of the vagus nerve, 8, more laterally, and the carotid canal, ic: also, above the foramen magnum, openings for veins, sometimes of great size, as in fig. 63, j. , The Parietals (figs. 62, and 70, p, 71). — Proceeding up over the brain-box, the next bones are a pair of parietals, between the occipital behind, the frontal before, and the squa~ mosal beside ; but their limits are rarely if ever to be seen in adult skulls. They are relatively small in birds; simply squarish plates, bounded as said, coming together in the midline. The Frontals (fig. 62, and 70, f, 71), originally paired, soon fuse together, and with sur- rounding bones of the skull, though maintaining some distinction from those of the nose and jaw. These roof over much of the brain cavity, close in much of it in front, and form the roof and eaves of the great orbital sockets. Anteriorly in the middle of the forehead line the feet of the nasal process of the premaxillary are implanted upon the frontal, usually distinctly ; more laterally, the nasal bones are articulated or anchylosed; this fronto-naso-premaxillary suture forming the fronto-facial hinge, (fig. 63, #) by the elasticity or articulation of which the upper jaw moves upon the skull, when acted on by the palatal and jugal bars. In the midst of the fore- head the two halves of the frontal sometimes separate, as they do in the fowl, allowing a little of the mesethmoid to come to the front. In the middle line, underneath, the frontals fuse with whatever extent there may be of the mesethmoid which forms the lengthwise inter-orbital septum, and often a crosswise partition between the orbital and nasal cavities. To the antero- external corners of the frontal are articulated or anchylosed the lacrymals. The post-frontal sprocess,! morphologically the post-frontal or sphenotic bone, bounds the rim of the orbit behind ; 1 There is apparently some ambiguity in the use of the term “ post-frontal” process by different authors. It would appear that this process, bounding the rim of the orbit behind, may be a projection of the frontal bone, and’ therefore strictly a post-frontal process. Or that, as said by Owen for Rhea, it may be a separate bone, and there- THE ANATOMY OF BIRDS.— OSTEOLOGY. 157 it is usually quite prominent. The frontal rim of the orbit in many birds shows a crescentic depression (very strong in a loon and many other water birds; fig. 63, w), for lodgment of the supra-orbital gland, the secretion of which lubricates the nasal passages. The cerebral plate of the frontal is often imperfectly ossified, showing large ‘‘ windows” besides the regular openings for the exit of nerves which are always found at the back of the orbit. View from above, the frontal is vaulted and expanded behind, over the brain cavity, then pinched more or less, some- times extremely narrow over the orbits, then usually somewhat expanded again at the fronto- facial suture. The extent of the.frontal between the orbits and face, in the lacrymal region, is very great in the duck family, as seen in fig. 63. The Squamosal (Lat. syuama, a scale; figs. 70, 71, sq.) bounds the brain-box laterally, between occipital, parietal, frontal and sphenoidal bones, its distinction from all of these being obliterated in adult life. It is situated near the lower back lateral corner of the skull, forming some part of the cranial wall just over the ear-opening, and a strong eaves for that orifice. It is firmly united also to the bones of the ear proper, and receives the larger share of the free articulation which the quadrate has with the skull. It often develops a strong forward-down- ward spur, the squaniosal process (fig. 62), looking like a duplicate post-frontal process ; between these two is the crotaphyte depression, corresponding to the ‘‘ temporal fossa” of man, in which lie the muscles which close the jaws. It scarcely or not enters iuto the orbit, the adjacent part of the orbit, being alisphenoidal. The Periotic Bones (Gr. mepi, peri, about; ods, drds, ows, ots, the ear; fig. 70) are those that form the petrogal bone (Lat. petrosus, rocky, from their hardness), or bony periotic capsule, containing the essential organ of hearing. When united with each other and with the squamosal, they form the very composite and illogical bone called “temporal” in human anat- omy. There are three of these otic bones, — an anterior, the pro-otic; a posterior and inferior, the opisthotie (Gr. émaGe, opisthe, beliind) and a superior and external, the epiotic. They can only be studied in young skulls, upon careful dissection ; they do not appear upon the outside of the skull at all, excepting a small piece of the opisthotic, which there fuses indistinguishably with the exoccipital. But somewhat of these bones are seen on looking into the cavity of the outer ear, and if the fenestra ovalis can be recognized, it determines a part of the boundary between the prodtic and opisthotic bones, while the fenestra rotunda lies wholly in the latter. The cavity of the periotic bone is hollowed for the labyrinth of the internal ear, including the cochlea, which contains the essential nervous organs of hearing, and the three semicircular canals —so much of them as does not invade surrounding bones. In the young fowl’s skull viewed internally (fig. 70), Parker figures a very large prodtic portion (po) of the periotic, perforated by the internal auditory meatus (7) for the entrance from the brain of the auditory nerve ; below and behind the prodtic a small opisthotic (op), in relation with the exoccipital, upon the surface of which it also appears, outside (fig. 69, at psc), and with which it blends; avery small epiotic centre (ep), between the proétic and supraoccipital; and the anterior semicircular canal (asc) embedded in the latter. In Dr. Shufeldt’s figure the otic elements are merely noted diagram- matically. According to Huxley’s generalization, the epiotic is in special relation with the pos- terior semicircular canal; the prodtic with the anterior vertical canal, between which and the foramen ovale (5) for the lower divisions of the trifacial nerve it lies. That part on which the inner foot of the quadrate is implanted is prodtic. Below the drooping eaves of the squamosal, before the flaring wing of the exoccipital, and behind the quadrate bone, is the always decided and considerable cavity of the ear, bounded pretty sharply by the squamosal and exoccipital rim, fore properly a post-frontal bone. Or, again, that it may have nothing to do with the frontal bone, but belong to the alisphenoid, as a process of the latter or a separate ossification; in which case it would be properly the sphe- notice. In no event has it anything to do with the sguamosat process lettered as such in fig. 62. 158 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. sloping with less distinction in front toward the orbital cavity. In this auditory hollow may be seen several openings: the meatus or proper ear-passage, through which, in one direction, a Fia. 70. — Ripe chick’s skull, longitudinal section, viewed inside, x 3 diameters; after Parker. In the mandible are seen: mk, remains of meckelian rod; d, dentary bone; sp, splenial; @, angular ; sw, surangular; ar, articular; iap, internal articu- lar process; pap, posterior articular process. In the skull: pn, the original prenasal cartilage, upon which is moulded the pre- maxillary, pz, with its nasal process, npx, and dentary process, dpx ; sn,septo-nasal cartilage, in which is seen nn, nasal nerve; ntb, nasal turbinal ; the reference line crosses the cranio-facial suture, the face parts and cranial parts being nearly separated here by the nick seen in the original cartilaginous plate; eth, ethmoid; pe, perpendicular plate of ethmoid, which will spread nearly throughout the dotted cartilaginous tract in which it lies, to form nearly all the interorbital septum; transverse thicken- ing (in some birds) below the reference line eth will form the pre-frontal, or orbito-nasal septum; io/, inter-orbital foramen ; ps, pre-sphenoidal region, just above which is the orbito-sphe- noidal region ; 2, optic foramen; as, alisphenoid, with 5, foramen for divisions of the 5th(trifacial) nerve ; 7, frontal ; sg, squamosal ; Pp, parietal; so, superoccipital ; asc, anterior semicircular canal; sc, a sinus (venous canal); ep, epiotic; co, exoccipital; op, opis- thotic ; po, proétic, with 7, meatus auditorius internus, for en- trance of 7th nerve; 8, foramen for vagus nerve; bo, basioccipi- tal; bt, basitemporal ; ic, canal (in original pituitary space ; fig. 66 ic) by which carotid artery enters brain cavity ; ap, basi- pterygoid process; ap to rbs, rostrum of the skull, being the parasphenoid bone underflooring the basisphenoid and future perpendicular plate of ethmoid. (‘he scaffolding cf the upper jaw not shown, excepting px, &c.) bristle may be passed to emerge at or near the middle line of the base of the skull, about the root of the basisphenoidal ros- trum. Such a passage is through the first visceral cleft of the early embryo, modi- fied into, meatus auditorius and eustachian tube, which latter communicates with the back part of the mouth. Besides the other ear-passages proper, may be found other openings of air-passages leading into the interior diploie tissue of bones of the skull, and especially into the lower jaw bone. The ear-parts are immensely de- veloped in owls, in many species of which they are unsymmetrical, that is, not sized and shaped alike on right and left sides of the head. The Sphenoid (Gr. o@qv, sphen, a wedge; cidos, eidos, form; figs. 62, 70, 71) is a compound bone, not easy to un- derstand as it occurs in birds, as much of it is hidden from the outside, some of it is very slightly developed, and all of it is completely consolidated with surround- ing bones in the adult. It is wedged into the very midst of the cranial bones proper, with its body in the middle line below, next in front of the basioccipital, and its wings spread on either side in the orbital cavity. A sphenoid consists es- sentially of the basisphenoid, or main part of the bone (fig. 62); the alisphe- noids or ‘‘ wings,” on either side (figs. 70, 7], as); the obscure presphenoid, (ps) in the middle line in front of and above the main body; and the small orbito-sphe- noids, which are in fact the wings of the presphenoid. The body is usually covered in by the underflogring of the basitem- poral; it is a flat triangular plate, pro- duced more or less forward in the middle line as the basisphenoidal rostrum, or beak of the skull. This rostrum is an important thing. It forms, in fact, the central axis of the base of the skull; with the mesethmoid plate the inferior border of the interorbital septum, usually THE ANATOMY OF BIRDS. — OSTEOLOGY. 159 thickened by the underflooring of the parasphenoid (fig. 70, rbs). The rostrum often bears ou each side a basipterygoid process (ap), — a smooth facet with which the pterygoid artic- ulates. These processes may be very strong, and far back on the basisphenoid body, when the pterygoids articulate with them near their own posterior ends, as in the struthious birds and tinamous (fig. 75, btp) ; or they may be further along on the rostrum, and the pterygoids then articulate near or at their fore-ends. The rostrum may.be produced far forward, beyond the maxillo-palatines and vomer even, as in an ostrich; or it may bear the vomer at its end; or may be embraced by forks of the vomer ; the palatines may glide along it, or be remote from it on either side. In any event, whatever its production, whatever part may be eth- moidal, or basisphenoidal, or parasphe- noidal thickening, pterygo-faceting, etc., this ‘‘ beak” of the basisphenoid is always in the axis of the base of the skull, and at the bottom of the inter- orbital plate; it may be horizontal, or obliquely ascending forward; and the variety of its relations with the pterygo- palatine and vomerine mechanism fur nishes important zodlogical characters, as we shall see when we come to treat. of palatal structure particularly. Just at the base of the beak, where it widens into the main body of the bone, may commonly be seen, coming from between the sphenoidal body and the lip of the basitemporal underflooring, the orifices of the eustachian tubes, and often also the anterior ends of the carotid canal. If a bristle, passed into a questionable foramen here, comes out of the ear, it Fic. 71. — Ripe chick’s skull, in profile, x 8 diameters; after Parker. px, premaxillary; aln, ali-nasal cartilage ; en, septo- nasal; n, nasal bone; /, lacrymal; pe, perpendicular plate of ethmoid, as in fig. 70; ps, presphenoidal region; qs, alisphe- noid; /, frontal; p, parietal; sg, squamosal; so, superoccipital; €0, exoccipital; oc, occipital condyle; st, the cross-like object, the stapes, whose foot fits fenestra ovalis, see fig. 83; g, quad- rate; pg, pterygoid; gj, quadrato-jugal; j, jugal; pa, palatine; mz, maxillary. In the mandible: d, dentary; su, surangular; a, angular; ar, articular; iap, internal angular process; pap, posterior angular process. 2, optic foramen; 5, foramen ovale, for inferior divisions of the 5th nerve. (Compare fig. 70.) has gone through the eustachian tube; if it comes out below the ear, on the floor of the skull, outside, it has run in the carotid canal. The extent of the alisphenoids (figs. 70, 71, as) can- not be detertnined in old skulls. They lie at the back lower border of the orbital cavity, clos- ing in most of the brain box that is not foreclosed by the frontal bone. You will always find at the back of the orbit, close to the mid-line, and rather low down, the very large optic fora- mina (any figs., 2); alisphenoid should not extend in front of these orifices. A little below and behind the optic foramina, and much more laterally, not far from the quadrate itself, is a con- siderable foramen, quite donstant, for transmission of the inferior divisions of the fifth (trigeminal or trifacial) nerve. This is the foramen ovale (any figs., 5); it is either in the alisphenoid, or between that bone and the prodtic; it must not be mistaken for one of the several smaller holes, usually seen close about the optic foramen, which’ transmit the nerves (oculo-motor, pathetic. 160 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. and abducent) which move the muscles of the eyeball; these holes being collectively about equivalent to the foramen lacerwm anterius of human anatomy. Parts about the optic foramen, before and above, are presphenoidal (figs. 70, 71, ps) and orbito-sphenoidal ; but they are obseure to all but the embryologist, and practically furnish no zodlogical characters. The Ethmoid (Gr. 70ué6s, ethmos, a sieve; froin the way it is perforated in the human species; fig. 62) is the bune of the mid-line of the skull, in front of the sphenoidal elements and below the frontal; it is in special relation with the olfactory nervous apparatus, or sense of smell. This is not an easy bone to ‘‘ get the hang of” in birds. Referring to figs. 66, 68, eth, the student will see in the early embryo a high thin plate of cartilage, the mesethmoid cartilage, which is developing lateral processes to form the convoluted walls of the nasal passages. By the uprising and forth-growing of the prenasal cartilage, the mesethmoidal plate is tilted back- ward, as it were, under the frontal. Next, by absorption of tissue just opposite the future ceranio-facial suture, the plate is nicked apart, the portion in front of the nick elaborating the nasal chambers, which usually remain cartilaginous, and the portion behind this nick becoming the permanent plate, fig. 70, eth, pe, to which the name mesethmoid or mid-ethmoid is more strictly applicable. Practically, a bird’s ethmoid is chiefly the inter-orbital septum, in vertical mid-line between the orbits, with such flange-like processes or lateral plates as may be developed to form an orbito-nasal septum separating the eye-socket from the nose-chamber. In general, the permanent ethmoidal plate becomes nearly coincident with this orbital wall, and pretty well cut off from the osseous or cartilaginous developments, when any, in the nasal eavi- ties. It is then fairly under cover of the frontal, with which, as with the sphenoidal elements posteriorly, it becomes completely. fused. "When this inter-orbital septum is fully developed, it completely divides the right and left orbital cavities, and its lower horizontal border, fused with the basisphenoidal rostrum, may like the latter be thickened by bearing its share of the parasphenoidal splint. Oftener, however, this lower border slopes upward and forward, from the sphenoidal base to the roof of the skull about the site of the cranio-facial suture; aud usually the septum is incomplete, having a membranous fenestra somewhere near its middle (fig. 70, tof). Along the upper border of the mesethmoid plate, or just in the crease between it and the overarching frontal may usually be seen a long groove, which, beginning behind at the olfactory foramen of the brain-box, conducts the thence-issuing olfactory nerve to the nasal chambers. Sometimes there is another such groove, from a similar foramen near by in the sphenoidal parts, which similarly traces the course of the ophthalmic (first) division of the tri- facial nerve. Occasionally, as in the fowls, the two halves of the frontal bone separate a little at the extreme forehead, allowing the mesethmoid plate there to come up flush with the outer surface of the skull. In some birds, as the low ostrich, for example, the original mesethmoidal cartilage-plate does not nick apart into orbital and nasal moieties, but ossifies as a continuous sheet of bone, dividing right and left halves of the skull far towards the point of the beak (see fig. 75, beyond Rito Pmz). A nasal septum, separated from the orbital septum, may persist to ossify ; form- ing, as in the raven, a vertical plate separate from all surroundings, and liable to be mistaken for a free vomer (see fig. 79, where the reference line v goes to it, instead of to the truncate vomer) ; or, as in many birds, a plate variously anchylosed with its surroundings. But these formations, as well as the various turbinal (Lat. turbo, a whorl) scrolls and whorls formed in this part of the skull, belong rather to the organ of smell than to the skull proper. The Cranial Bones proper are all those thus far described, excepting the nasal ossifica- tions just noted, which belong to the first pre-oral arch; and the stapedial parts of the ear, which belong to the hyoidean apparatus (second post-oral arch). Intermediate in some respects between the proper cranial bones and THE ANATOMY OF BIRDS. — OSTEOLOGY. 161 The Facial Bones proper is the Vomer. — By “facial bones,” as distinguished from ‘cranial ” bones, is meant the entire bony scaffolding of the upper and lower jaws, and of the tongue, —parts developed in the pre-oral or maxillary, and first, second, and third post-oral, or mandibular, hyoidean proper, and branchial, arches. The Vomer (Lat. vomer, a ploughshare ; figs. 62, 63, 75 to 80, v) is considered, by those who hold the vertebral theory of the skull, to be the body of the foremost (fourth from behind — the basioccipital, basisphenoid, and presphenoid being the other three) cranial vertebra. So far from having any such morphological significance, it is one of the late secondary bones, developed, if at all, apart from the general make-up of the skull, as a special superaddition underlying the ethmoidal region, as the parasphenoid and basitemporal underlie the skull further back. Its character is extremely variable in‘ the class of birds, though usually constant in the several natural divisions of the class, — a fact which confers high zodlogical value upon this anomalous bone. E sea ood a of RP ead ae Bag Paes Fo Ss PpoBeegega sg = ace a SOE a a o 5's ois WEE Zo @ a 6 Ea see 8 3s & —a23 2:30 & aseepowdo ae a HooYP BUSA Rog kE oW € . 2.2 50 | on 3 2 ie as 3 SHSSPEBSASHS4easPSSt rss sre iaeses Ass hSPeESVsds cochlea; the several mouths of the separate or uniting semicircular canals; opening into tympanum by fenestra ova- In the lis; conducting to meatus auditorius internus by the course of the auditory nerve. eagle, if its irregularities of contour were smoothed out, it would about hold a pea. Tn the language of human anatomy, the three semicircular canals are the (a) anterior or superior vertical, the (b) posterior or inferior vertical, and the (¢) external or horizontal; and the planes of their respective loops are approximately mutually perpendicular, in the three 190 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. planes of any cubical figure. In birds these terms do not apply so well to the situation of the tanals with reference to the axes of the body, nor to the direction of the loops; neither is mutual perpendicularity so nearly exhibited. The whole set is tilted over backward to some degree, so that the (a) ‘‘anterior” (though still superior) loops back beyond either of the others; the (0) ‘‘ posterior” loops behind and below the (c) horizontal, which tilts down backward ; the verticality of the planes of (a) and (6) is better kept. The canals may be better known as the (a) superior (vertical), and (6) inferior (vertical), and (¢) internal (horizontal). What- ever its inclination backward, there is no mistaking (a), much the longest of the three, looping high up over the rest, exceeding the petrosal and bedded in the occipital, the upper limb and loop of the arch bas-relieved upon the inner surface of the skull (fig. 70, asc). It makes much more than a semicircle —rather a horse-shoe. The inferior vertical (b) loops lowest of all, though little if any.of it reaches further backward than the great loop of (a); it is the second in size; in shape it is quite circular, —rather more than a half-cirele. Its upper limb joins the lower limb of (a), as in man, and the two open by one orifice in the vestibule; but it is not simple union, for the two limbs, before forming a common tube, twine half-round each other (like two fingers of one hand crossed). The loop of (0) reaches very near the back of the skull (outside). The canal (c) is the smallest, and, as it were, set within the loop of (6), though its plane is nearly the opposite of the plane of (b); and the cavities of (6) and (c) intereommuni- cate at or near the point of their greatest convexity, farthest from the vestibule. This decus- sation of (b) and (c), like the twining inosculation of (a) and (0), is well known. It may not be so generally understood that there is (in the eagle if not in birds generally) a third extra- vestibular: communication of the canals. My sections show this perfectly. The great loop of (a), sweeping past the decussating-place of (b) and (¢), is thrown into a cavity common to all three. Bristles threaded either way through each of the three canals can all three be seen in contact, crossiug each other through this curious extra-vestibular chamber, which may be named the trivia, or “three-way” place. (The arrangement I make out does not agree well with the figure of the owl’s labyrinth given by Owen, Anat. Vert., ii, 184. The trivia is at the place where, in fig. 84 or 85, the three membramous canals cross one another. It does not follow, however, that these contained membranous canals intercommunicate, and it appears from Ibsen’s figures that they do not. Study of these admirable illustrations, with the explanations given under them, should make the details perfectly clear to the reader.) All that precedes relates to the bony labyrinth, —the scrolled cavity of the periotic bone. The membranous labyrinth is a sac lying loosely in the hollow of the bone, and shaped just like it, lining the hollow of the vestibule and tubes of the semicircular canals. Withdrawn intact, it would be a perfect “‘ cast” of the labyrinth. Originally, this sac is also continuous with one in the cavity of the cochlea, called the membranous cochlea, which afterward becomes shut off from the main sac. This shut-off cochlear part lies between the scala tympani below and the scala vestibuli above ; its interior is the scala media. If demonstrable in birds, it must be quite as rudimentary as the other scale. The membraue is not attached to the bony walls of the labyrinth, but is separated by a space containing fluid, the perilymph, which also occupies the scala vestibuli and scala tympani. A similar fluid, the endolymph, is contained in the cavity of the membranous labyrinth, and scala media of the cochlea; in it are found concretions, or oto- hiths, of the same character as the great ‘‘ear-stones” so conspicuous in many fishes. This lymph has a wonderful office —that of equilibration, enabling the animal to preserve its equilibrium. The labyrinth and its contained fluid may be likened to the glass tubes filled with water and a bubble of air, by a combination of which a surveyor, for example, is enabled to adjust his theodolite true to the horizontal. Somehow a bird knows how the fluid stands in the self-registering levelling-tubes, and adjusts itself accordingly. Observations made on pigeons show that ‘‘ when the membranous canals are divided, very remarkable disturbances of equilibrium ensue, which vary in character according to the seat of the lesion. When the THE ANATOMY OF .BIRDS.— NEUROLOGY. 191 horizontal canals are divided rapid movements of the head from side to side, in a horizontal plane, take place, along with oscillation of the eyeballs, and the animal tends to spin round on a vertical axis. When the posterior or inferior vertical canals are divided, the head is moved rapidly backwards and forwards, and the animal tends to execute a backward somersault, head over heels. When the superior vertical canals are divided, the head is moved rapidly forwards and backwards, and the animal tends to execute a forward somersault, heels over head. Com- bined section of the various canals causes the most bizarre contortions of the head and body.” (Ferrier, Funct. of the Brain, 1876, p. 57.) Injury of the canals does not cause loss of hearing, nor does loss of equilibrium follow destruction of the cochlea. T'wo diverse though intimately connected functions are thus presided over by the acoustic nerve, — audition and equilibration. Senses of Taste and Touch: Gustation and Taction.— The hands of birds being hidden in the feathers which envelop the whole body — their feet and lips, and usually much if not all of the tongue, being sheathed in horn, these faculties would appear to be enjoyed in but small degree. While it is difficult to judge how much appreciation of the sapid qualities of sub- stances birds may be capable of, we must not be hasty in supposing their sense of taste to be much abrogated. One who has had the toothache, or teeth ‘‘set on edge” by acids, or pain- fully affected by hot or cold drinks, may judge how sensitive to impressions an extremely dense tissue can be. Persons of defective hearing may be assisted to a kind of audition by an instru- ment applied to the teeth; and it is not easy to define the ways in-which sensory functions may be vicariously performed or replaced. Birds are circumspect and discriminative, even dainty, in their choice of food, in which they are doubtless guided to some extent by the gustatory sensations they experience. As, however, only some human beings make these an end instead of a natural and proper means to an end, the selection of food by birds may be chiefly upon intuitions of what is wholesome. Such purely gustatory sense as they possess is presided over by the branches of the glosso-pharyngeal nerve which go to the back part of the tongue and mouth. Though the chorda tympani nerve exists, there is no lingual (gustatory) branch of the third division of the fifth cranial nerve. Yet the latter, which goes in mammals to the anterior part of the tongue, is less effectually gustatory than the glosso-pharyngeal ; as we know by the fact that the sensation of taste is not completely experienced until the sapid substance passes to the back of the mouth. Gustation is likewise connected with olfaction; the full effect of nauseous substances for example, being not realizeu if the nose is held. From these alternative considerations, each one may estimate for himself how much birds know of sapidity ; remember- ing also, how soft, thick, and fleshy are the tongue and associate parts in some birds, as parrots and ducks, in comparison with birds whose mouths are quite horny. The beak is doubtless the principal tactile instrument; nor does its hardness in most birds preclude great sensitiveness ; as witness the case of the teeth, above instanced. Sensation is here governed by the branches of the fifth nerve. In some birds, in which also the terminal filaments of this nerve are largest and most numerous, the bill acquires exquisite sensibility. Such is its state in the snipe family, in most members of which, as the woodcock, true snipe, and sandpipers, the hill is a very delicate nervous probe. The Apteryx also feels in the mud for its food, enjoying moreover the unusual privilege of having its nose at the end of its long exploration. Ducks dabble in the water to sift out proper food between the “ strainers” with which the sides of their beaks are provided; and the ends of the maxillary and mandibular bones themselves are full of holes, indicating the abundance of the nervous supply (fig. 638). The senses of birds and other animals are commonly reckoned as five —a number which may be defensively increased — as by a sixth, the muscular sense, which gives consciousness of strain or resistance, apart from purely tactile impressions; and perhaps a seventh, the faculty of equilibration, which has a physical mechanism of its own, at least as distinct and complete as that of hearing. The ordinary ‘‘ five senses” are curiously graded. Taction con- 192 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. notes qualities of matter in bulk, as density, roughness, temperature, etc. Gustation, matter dissolved in water — fluidic. Olfaction, matter diffused in air — aeriformed. Audition, atmos- pheric air in undulation. Véston, an ethereal substance in undulation. All animals are proba~ bly also susceptible of biogenation, which is the affection resulting from the influence of biogen ; a substance consisting of self-conscious force in combination with the minimum of matter required for its manifestation.? c. MyoLoay: THE MUSCULAR SYSTEM. Muscular Tissue consists of more or fewer amebiform animals; separate colonies of which creatures, isolated in various parts of the body, compose the individual different muscles. They are enveloped in fibrous tissue, the sheets of which are called fascie, and the ends of which, usually attached to bones by direct continuity with the periosteal covering of the latter, form tendons and ligaments. The muscle-animals belong to a genus which may be termed Myameba, differing from other genera of the amcebiforms which compose the body of a bird less in their physical character of being elongated and spindle-shaped, or even filiform, than in their physiclogical character of contractility. Under appropriate stimulus, as the passage of a current of electricity, or the wave of biogen-substance which constitutes a ‘nerve-impulse,” Myamebe shorten and thicken, tending towards a state of tonic contraction which, if completed and long sustained, would cause them to become encysted as spherical bodies; but extreme con- traction is never long continied. By alternate contraction and relaxation all the motions of the body in bulk are effected. The capacity of, or tendency to, contraction is called the tonicity of muscular fibre. The simultaneous contraction of any colony of Myamebe pulls upon the attach- ment of the muscle at each of its ends ; in some cases approximating both ends; oftener moving the part to which one end is attached, the other being fixed. The action of a muscle is upon the simplest mechanical principles, — nothing more or less than pulling upon a part, as by a rope, the line of traction being exactly in the line of contraction of the muscle; though it is often ingeniously changed by the passage of tendons around a corner of bone, or through a loop of fibrous tissue, as if through a pulley. Such movements as those of a turtle protruding its head, or a bird thrusting its beak forward, where muscle seems to push, are fallacious; when analyzed, the motion is invariably resolved into simple pulling. The swelling up of a muscle in contract- ing must indeed impinge upon neighboring parts and shove them aside; but that is an extrinsic result. Muscles contract most powerfully under resistance to their turgescence : what is effected by the fascize which bind them down ; — what the athlete seeks to increase by bandaging his swelling biceps. There are two species of Myameba. M. striata is the ordinary striped fibre of voluntary motion, and also of some motion not under control of the will, as that of the heart. This species is usually of a rich red color (pale pink in many birds of the grouse family), and is the ordinary “‘ flesh” of the body. The other species, M. levis, composes the pale or colorless smooth fibre of the involuntary muscles, as those of the intestines, the gullet, ete. A species of contractile tissue commonly referred to the genus Desmameba (indifferent connective-tissue cells) is very near Myameba levis ; example, maminalian dartos. The movements of erectile organs, as the neat combs over the eyes of grouse, or the turkey’s caruncles, are not in any sense myamebic, but depend mechanically upon influx of blood. The Muscular System of Aves can only be touched upon; it is impossible in my limits to even name all the muscles, much jess describe them. I can only note the leading peculiarities, and present a figure in which the principal muscles are named. 1 The reader who may be interested to inquire further in this direction is referred to a publication entitled : — Biogen: A Speculation on the Origin and Nature of Life. Abridged from a paper on the “ Possibilities of Proto- plasm,” read before the Philosophical Society of Washington, May 6, 1882. By Dr. Elliott Coues, etc. Washing- ton, Judd & Detweiler. 8vo, pp. 27. Second ed., Boston, Estes & Lauriat, 1884, THE ANATOMY OF BIRDS. — MYOLOGY. 193 The subcutaneous sheet of muscle (of which the human ‘ muscles of expression” and platysma myoides are segregations) is broken up in birds into a countless number of little slips which agitate the feathers collectively, and especially the great quills of the wings and tail. There are estimated to be 12,000 in a goose. The prime peculiarity of birds’ musculation is the enormous development of the pectorales, or breast muscles, which operate the wings. The great pectoral, p. major or p. primus, arises from the sternal keel, when that special bony sep- tum between the fellow-pectorals exists, and from more or less of the body of the sternum, pass- ing directly to the great pectoral or outer ridge of the humerus, near the upper end of that bone. Its origin may even exceed the limits of the sternum, invading the clavicle, etc. ; it may unite with its fellow. It is the depressor of the humerus, giving the downward stroke of the wing. The next pectoral, p. secundus or p. medius, arises froin much or most of the sternum not oecu- pied by the first, under cover of which it lies; it passes also the humerus, but by an interesting way it has of running through a pulley at the shoulder it elevates that bone, giving the upward wing-stroke. A third pectoral, p. tertius or p. minimus, arising from sternum, and often con- tiguous parts of the coracoid bone, passes directly to the humerus, supplementing the action of the first. A fourth muscle in many birds acts upon the humerus from the sternum or coracoid, particularly the latter. These four differ greatly in their relative development. Such extent of the sternum and pectoral muscles correspondingly reduces that of the belly-walls, and the abdominal muscles are consequently scanty. Fixity of the spinal column in the dorsal region diminishes the musculation of that part, the spinal muscles being much better developed in the cervical region; where, in cases of some of the long-necked birds, there are curious con- trivances for the mechanical advantage of the musele in flexing and extending this mobile part of the body. Muscles of the hyoidean apparatus acquire a sgular development in woodpeckers. The lower jaw is depressed particularly by muscle inserted into the end of the mandible; the upper is elevated by particular muscles operating the pterygoid and quadrate bones. Temporal, masseteric, and ordinary pterygoid muscles close the jaws. They are unsymmetrical in Lowia. The diaphragm, the musculo-membranous partition which in mammals divides the thoracic from the abdominal cavity, is only represented in birds in a rudimentary condition. Macegillivray has figured that of the rook as consisting of three fleshy slips, v, v, v, passing from as many ribs, 4, 5, 6, to the pleural sac of the lungs, ¢, ¢, in fig. 101, p. 206. It is best developed in the Apteryx. The remarkable specialization of both limbs, — the former for flight, the latter for the perfectly bipedal locomotion which only birds besides man enjoy, — results in corresponding peculiarities of the muscular mechanism. Muscles beyond the shoulder are greatly reduced in number and complexity from an ordinary quadrupedal standard; those of the legs are rather increased, and their configuration, relative size, and to some extent their relations are so much changed, that great difficulty is experienced in identifying them with the corresponding muscles of quadrupeds. The result is, great confusion in their nomenclature, which is still shifting, though much has been done of late to give it precision. Attention has recently been called by Garrod to the classificatory value of certain muscles of the limbs. The tensor patagti, that musele or muscles which may have elastic tendons, and by which the folds of skin in the angles of the wing bones are regulated, may have different characters in different groups of birds. It has long been known that particular muscles of the hind limb are in direct and important relation to the prehensile power of the toes, and consequently co-ordinated with the insessorial or the reverse character of the foot. In the highest birds, Passeres, the foot grasps with great facility, owing to the distinctness or individuality uf the flexor longus haillucis, or bender of the hind toe. The ambiens (Lat. ambiens, going around) is a muscle of which Garrod has even inade so much as to divide all birds into two primary groups according to whether they possess it or not. The ambiens arises from the pelvis about the acetabulum, and passes along the inner side of the thigh ; its tendon runs over the convexity of the knee to the outer side, and ends by 13 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. 194 ‘gronqrey sojonpae ‘$9 “HSep yorraror oyonpqe ‘g9 ‘snesuored ‘29 “yyerojied TIMIOPTIP 8910x0R “79 ‘19 ‘19 “TasOVUT THBP JoyONpav ‘ov ‘goovtd SNorseA Ul W998 STOPUS} ‘gm10}1S1p SNSUOT JOSU9}xXO ‘gq ‘suOpueg [e10Aes PUT ‘peoy qos pus Buoy :seou[d snolaea UT wees ‘guerojied 10 snpunjoid uIms0}1SIp 10xey ‘8g “gronqeq roxeg ‘Lg “‘sfouTTey 1OSUd}Xe ‘9G ~gnorsod st[vIqh ‘gq ‘snorque SITCIqt ‘pq ‘ouoq prodg oy} Jo aposnar we ‘eq ‘leyessvUL ‘gq “dyeos Jo oposnur gnoouyjna ‘1g “JUaULUSIT - guoy ‘og ‘Texodure3 ‘6h “(qqnour eq} Jo souado yorqs) snatsqees1p ‘gp ‘sntmeus0syses Op ‘gp ‘gp ‘“SnsoULpae[U1es ‘gp ‘snsouviquieui{ues ‘pp ‘syanso sdeaig ‘Sh §snqsea ‘Ch “qyBts ul UopUs, syt ATUO : SUazqUip Ssypowss ‘Tp “SOULS; SNUTTSSHYEL ‘op “‘Snp10zI8s ‘68 ‘gnumtid stiourey 1oyONpps ‘ge ‘snunrxemm sneynys ‘Le “gurean [dreo (-eyeul) 10x ‘9g “sTperpes [dzvoejoT 1OXEB ‘ge “sforfod staoiq JOxeB ‘ope ‘snpunjoid wmns0jS1p 10xdB ‘9 FE “SUTTANS uIna0j1SIp 10xey ‘MPS “SfAdI 1divovjeul 108ue4xo ‘eg “snSuoy Wdivovjour 108U94X2 ‘ZE ‘rop1eysod 13ezed 108004 Te ‘sqaed yerpes pue yedreo ‘“ndeyed 1osue} “2 0F ‘pog ‘snuTIssTAetg gnouooue ‘6z ‘SIA0Ig SnetwoOue "9g *(,, 890149 5, JO qred) snZuo[ sneu -ooue ‘1% ‘snZuot 1oyeurdns ‘9g ‘TryaBq sdeo1q ‘es “gITBITTDVIG-09B109 “FZ syemndeoseidns ‘eZ “PIOH9P "gg "Ws1Op SNUTISSIFBT ‘a ‘wo 1g ‘aofeut stpei0yoed ‘0% “‘SNUSYM SNYVl -zes ‘1 (sutzedeay) spreynono ‘gy ‘syurmopgE snutE}xe snnbiqo ‘Lt “(sxety}eeJ-1FBF 0} *818£0900 gnyeipenb) gnqienb stye1oye] ‘OT «gna3£0000-O7qost ‘ST «gnessov00-0qnd ‘FT, *(g8ne849900-01[1) gnagfa900-01nro ‘ep “81840000 aossaidep ‘ZI “s{s40909 107842, ‘{, ‘sepesroasuesIzI0}UT ‘ot ‘or «“satdeo gnSuo, 10 iopeyuy 10xeR ‘6 ‘sudo sojiedns Joxep ‘g ‘seTeuldsrures 4‘) ‘sfolAseo suapusosep ‘g “‘SToTA.199 gnugeut r0se}x9 ‘g “siyideo snduo] 10xeR ‘ “SI[B1098] sides 10xop ‘¢ “snxejduoo ‘z= “A118 ‘9 | IOMOT pus ‘gq 1 soddn puv “p | uopusy TeryUeO ITA ‘g1oTAdao 1oyHaALq “{ +90} 19]n0 ‘o £90} eTpprul ‘w !90} TeUuT ‘a $90} pully “7 /sussBzeJOUL fy fei ‘zo8uy perper ‘y Sean 6 ‘gniper (f fsnzeuing %4 syea “p Souq prosy ‘9 Seeroway ‘g f xusieyd ‘o “p Td ‘gzeT “4 “dwog ‘your “IL ‘gnaeg 10yye (snszu wapdwoy ) piyq & JO sapsnyy — 68 “Old THE ANATOMY OF BIRDS.— ANGEIOLOGY. 195 connecting with the flexor digitorum perforatus, — one of the muscles which bend the toes col- lectively. When this arrangement obtains, the result is that when a bird goes to roost, and squats on its perch, the toes automatically clasp the perch by the strain upon the ambiens that ensues as soon as the leg is bent upon the thigh, and the tarsus upon the leg, the weight of the bird thus holding it fast upon its perch. The effect is as if an elastic cord were tied to the hip joint, thence directed over the front of the knee and back of the heel and so on to the ends of the toes. Obviously, such a cord would be strained when the limb is bent, relaxed when the limb is straightened out. The reader may observe a corresponding effect of the muscular arrangement of his forearm by throwing the hand as far back as possible; the fingers tend to close by the strain on the flexors in passing over what is a convexity of the wrist when the hand is in that position. Passeres have no ambiens, the perfection of their feet in other respects answering all purposes. Birds having it are termed homalogonatous or ‘‘ normally-kneed” (Gr. éuadés, homalos, from 6pés, homos, like, even, etc.; ydvu, yovaros, gonu, gonatos, knee); those wanting it are called anomalogonatous, ‘‘ abnormally-kneed.” The distinction prevails with much applicability to various large groups of birds, and does good duty in diagnosis when duly connected with other characters ; but surely should not give name to primary groups founded upon it! Other muscles of the leg much used by the same sagacious and zealous anatomist are the femoro- caudal, accessory femoro-caudal, semitendinosus, and accessory semitendinosus. The whole five of these muscles ‘‘ vary ; any one or more than one may be absent in different birds; ... the con- stancy of the peculiarities in the different individuals of each species, or the species of each genus, aud very generally in the genera of each family, makes it evident to any one working at the subject that much respecting the affinities of the different families of birds is to be learnt from the study of their myology, in connection with the peculiarities of their other soft parts ; and that these features will, in the long run, lead to a more correct classification than one based on the skeleton alone, becomes almost equally certain.” (Garrod, P. Z. S., 1873, p. 630.) I quote in justice of this author, a modern Macgillivray in sincerity and love of truth; and very generally, in constructing my characters of the higher groups of birds in the body of this work, I shall be as glad to use the myological formule of Garrod, as I am here to pay this slight tribute to his memory. d. ANGEIOLOGY: THE VASCULAR OR CIRCULATORY SYSTEMS. ‘ Blood and Lymph gre the two media by the circulation of which throughout the body the various amoeboid anipials which compose the tissues are fed, their waste repaired, and their dead parts removed. Each species of Ameba has the faculty of selecting from the constituents of blood and lymph its appropriate food; and of converting such nourishment into its own proper substance. Refuse matters are either drained off by the kidneys and voided as excrement, or swept by the current of blood into the lungs and there cremated. The stream of lymph is a feeder to the blood, and when the mingled currents are no longer distinguishable has become blood. The machinery of cireulation is two sets of vessels — the hematic, or vascular system proper, consisting of the heart, arteries, veins and capillaries for the blood-circulation ; and the lymphatic, consisting of lymph-hearts and vessels, for the flow of lymph. The fymphetics, converging from all parts of the body, and especially from the intestines, end in vessels which pour the lymph into the veins of the neck. The heart is the central organ of the blood-circu- lation, by which that fluid is pumped into all parts of the body through the arteries or efferent vessels ; straining through the network of capillaries, it returns to the heart through the vems, or afferent vessels. The set of efferent vessels is the arterial system ; that of afferent vessels is. the venous system. The blood in arteries excepting the pulmonary is bright red; that in veins excepting the pulmonary is dark red. The change from bright to dark occurs in the capillaries of the system at lasge ; the change from dark to bright only in the capillaries of the lungs and air-sacs. The systemic blood circulation is completely separated from the pulmonic 196 GENERAL. ORNITHOLOGY. i in all animals in which, as in birds, the right and left sides of the heart are separated from each other; such circulation is said to be double ; that is, arterial and venous blood only mingle in the capillaries, whether of the lungs or others, and therefore at the periphery of the vascular system: the heart being the centre of that system. Blood, in all or some of its constituents, permeates absolutely every tissue of the body. Those tissues whose capillaries are large enough for the passage of all the constituents of blood are said to be vascular; those which only feed by sucking up certain constituents of the blood, and have no demonstrable capillaries, are called non-vascular. But nutrient fluid penetrates the densest tissue, as the dentine of teeth; no permanent tissues are really non-vascular, or they would soon die; as do feathers, which require to be renewed once a year or oftener. Lymph and the lymphatics are noticed further on. Blood consists of water in which several ingredients are dissolved, aud certain solid bodies are suspended. Its water is salted, albuminated, fibrinated, and corpuseulated. The proportions, which vary in different birds and at different times in the same bird, are in round numbers: water 80, fibrine and corpuscles 15, albumen and salts 5=100 parts. Withdrawn from the body and allowed to settle, blood sepa- rates into two parts, serum and coagulum. The serum is the clear yellowish salty albuminous water; the clot is the fibrine, in the meshes of which are mired the corpuscles, reddening the whole mass. The plasma, plasm or plastic material of the blood, is its substance dissolved in water; that is to say, minus the solid corpuscles. These latter interesting little bodies are a myriad of minute animals, which swim in the life-current, and are named Hematameba eruentata. They have been supposed to be of two species; but the so-called white blood corpuscles, or leucocytes, indistinguishable from lymph corpuscles, are simply the forma- tive stages of the red blood-dises. In its early colorless stage, the Haematameba is a nucleated mass of protoplasm (protoplasm is the indifferent substance out of which all animal tissue is derived), of no determinate size or shape, exhibiting active ameboid movements. Later in the life of the minute creature, it passes into a sort of encysted state, in which it red- dens and acquires definite dimensions and configuration. In birds, these ‘ blood-dises” are flat, elliptical, and nucleated, that is, containing a kernel; they average in the long diameter z7sa in the short sy45, of an inch. Thus they differ decidedly from the flat, circular, non- nucleated, red blood-dises of Mammalia, which latter are supposed to be rather free nuclei than perfected Hematamebe. The red color of blood is entirely due to the presence of these unicellular animals. The energy of respiration, and corresponding activity of circulation in birds, make them hematothermal, or hot-blooded; the pulse is quickest, the blood hottest, and richest in organic matter, in these of all animals. The Heart is a hollow muscular organ, at the physiological centre of the hematic vas- eular system. Its muscle presents the principal exception to the rule, that the contractility of Myameba striata (see p. 192) is subject to voluntary control. It is the most industrious organ of the body, never ceasing its rhythmic systole and diastole, or contraction and dilatation, from the moment of the first pulsation in the contractile vesicle which begins it, to that when the ‘muffled drum” gives the last beat of the ‘funeral march to the grave.” The arteries are the elastic thick-walled branching tubes which leave the heart on their way to the body at large; their pulsations, over which the vaso-motor nervous system presides, are isochronous with the heart-beats, and arterial blood thus flows in jets. The veins are the vessels converg- ing from all parts; thin-walled, less elastic, with more equable current. The capillaries are the communicating vessels, of such size as just to permit the Hematamebas to pass through ; their network represents the terminations of arteries and the commencements of veins. The heart in adult birds is completely double ; 1. ¢., the right and left sides are perfectly separated. Tt is also completely four-chambered ; 7. e., there is an auricle and a ventricle on each side, which eummunicate; in embryonic life the two auricles communicate by the foramen ovale, THE ANATOMY OF BIRDS.—ANGEIOLOGY. 197 which then closes. Arteries proceed from the strong muscular ventricles ; veins are received by the weaker auricles. The course of the blood is: From the body excepting the lungs it comes, dark and heavy with products of decomposition, through the caval veins into the right auricle ; from right auricle through the auriculo-ventricular opening into right ventricle ; from right ven- tricle through the pulmonary arteries to the lungs; in the capillaries of which it is relieved of its burden. There decarbonized and oxygenized, the bright red aerated blood returns through the pulmonary veins to the left auricle ; through the corresponding auriculo-ventricular open- ing to the left ventricle, which pumps it out through the aorta and other arteries to the capillaries, and so to the veins and heart again. Thus the pulmonary arteries convey black blood, the pulmonary veins red blood ; the reverse of the usual course. Before lungs come into play, in the egg, the blood is purified in the allantois, an embryonic organ which then sustains a respiratory function. Besides the pulmonary there is another special circulatory arrange- ment, the hepatic portal system of veins, by which blood coming from the chylopoetic viscera (stomach, intestines, ete., which make chyle in the process of digestion), strains through the liver before reaching the heart. There is no renal portal system in birds. The heart of birds is not peculiar in its conical shape, but is more median in position than inmammals. There being no completed diaphragm, the pericardial sac which holds it is received in a recess between lobes of the liver. The right ventricle is much thinner-walled than the left; the auricles have less of the elongation which has caused their name (‘little ears” of the heart) in mammals. The right auriculo-ventricular valve, which prevents regurgitation of blood, instead of being thin and membranous, is a thick fleshy flap which during the ventricular systole applies itself closely to the walls of the cavity. The pulmonary artery and the aorta are each provided at their origination with the ordinary three crescentic or ‘‘ semilunar” valves, as in mammals. The pulmonary artery arises single, forking for each lung. The pulmonary veins are two. The systemic veins, or vene cave, bringing blood from the body at large, are three — two pre-caval, from head and upper extremities, one post-caval, from trunk and lower extremities. The aorta, almost immediately at the root of that great trunk, figs. 90-95, h, divides into three primary branches; right, r¢, and left, k, innominate arteries, conveying blood to the neck, head and upper extremities; and main aortic, a, which curves over to the right (left in mammals) and supplies the rest of the body. More precise statement is, perhaps, that the aortic root, h, first gives off/the left innominate, #, then at once divides into right innominate, ri, and main aortic trunk, a, (right). It represents the fourth primitive aortic arch of the embryo. On the whole, the avian heart is a great improvement on that of most reptiles, though nearly resembling that of Crocodilia ; it is substantially as in any mammal, though differing in its fleshy right auriculo-ventricular valve, two instead of one pre-caval vein, tight instead of left aortic arch, and mode of origin of the primary aortic branches. The zodlogical interest of the avian blood-vessels centres in the carotid arteries, which, with the vertebral arteries, supply the neck and head. The carotids may be single or double; and other details of their disposition correspond well with certain families and orders of birds. They are the first branches of the innominates. In most birds, there is but one carotid, the left; in a few, one, formed by early union of two; in many, two, long distinct. The arrange- ment will be perceived by the diagrams taken from Garrod’s adinirable paper (P. Z. S., 1873, p. 457). In nearly the words of this author: 1. In what may be termed the typical arrange- ment (though it is not the usual one), two carotids, of equal size or nearly so, run up the front of the neck, converging till they meet in the middle line, and so continue up to the head, on the front of the bodies of the cervical vertebre, in the hypapophysial canal. Birds with this arrangement Garrod calls aves bicarotidine normales (fig. 90). 2. In most birds, the carotid branch of the right innominate being not developed, only the left, of larger size, traverses the hypapophysial canal; but it bifurcates before reaching the head, thus producing two carotids, distributed as if there had been two all the way up. Such birds are said to have a left carotid, 198 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. and are termed aves levo-carotidine (fig. 91). 3. In certain parrots only, with two carotids, the right is as in (1), but the left runs superficially along the neck with the jugular vein and pneumogastric nerve; such birds are aves bicarotidine abnormales (fig. 92). 4. Two carotids, arising normally, unite almost immediately, and the single trunk runs to near the head, just as if there were two as in (1); then it bifurcates, as in birds with left carotid only (2). Such birds are termed aves conjuncto-carotiding. Special cases of (4) are: in the bittern, the two roots are of nearly equal size (fig. 93); in the flamingo, the left is very small (fig. 94); in a cockatoo, the right is very small (fig. 95). Parrots display all four of the arrangements; the cases of the bittern and flamingo are unique. The question is thus for nearly all birds narrowed to whether - there be two normal carotids (1), or the left only (2). Observations upon three hundred genera show two in one hundred and ninety-three, in one hundred and seven the left only; but the * y Fie. 93. Fie. 94. Fie, 95. Fies. 90-95. — Diagrams of carotid arteries of birds: h, root of aorta; a, arch of aorta, to the right side ; li, left innominate; 7i, right innominate ; Js, left subclavian ; rs, right subclavian; Ic, left carotid; rc, right carotid. (1) Fig. 90. Aves bicarotidine normales, with two carotids, both alike. (2) Fig. 91. Aves levo-carotidine, with left carotid only. (8) Fig. 92. Aves bicarotidine abnormales, certain parrots, with two carotids, not alike. (4, 5, 6) Aves conjuncto-carotidine, with two carotids, which speedily unite in one. (4) Fig. 93, bittern, both alike. (5) Fig. 94, flamingo, left very small, (6) Fig. 95, cockatoo, right very smajl. (Copied by Shufeldt from Garrod.) numerical proportion of Passerine genera makes (2) the most frequent arrangement. There is but one carotid in all Passeres as far as known; in most Cypselide ; in Trogonide, Meropide, Upupide, Rhamphastide, some Psittaci, the Turnicide, Megapodide, Podicipedide, Alcida, Rheide, Apterygide. Thus in Passeres, Columbe, Accipitres, Gralle, and Anseres, the carotid arrangement is an ordimal character, all but the first named of these great groups having two. The character separates most of the families of ‘‘ Picarian” birds, and also dis- tinguishes the families Phenicopteride, Megapodide, Cracide, Turnicide, Podicipedide, and family groups of the Ratite, from among one another. It is apparently only a generic charac- ter in Psittact, and in Cypselide, Ardeide and Alcide. Reaching the skull, the carotids burrow in the bone, between the basitemporal plate and the true floor of the skull, and enter the cranial cavity by the ‘sella turcica” (the original pituitary space) ; their anastomosis furnishes a sort of ‘ circle of Willis.” (Figs. 66, 69, 70, ic.) THE ANATOMY OF BIRDS.—PNEUMATOLOGY. 199 Both limbs of birds have a prime peculiarity of their arteries as compared with mammals. In the fore limb, the blood supply being chiefly absorbed by the immense pectoral muscles, vessels which in mammals are small axillary branches appear like the main continuation of the subclavian trunk, and the brachial arteries are correspondingly reduced. In the leg, the main source of supply is the great ischiac artery, the femoral being small. This ischiac artery cor- responds to the twig which in man accompanies the great sciatic nerve (comes nervi ischiatict) ; and the rare human anomaly of a posterior main vessel of the thigh is therefore a reversion (atavism) to the avian rule. There is no single proper renal artery to-the kidney. The Lymphatics of birds consist chiefly of-a deep set accompanying the main blood- vessels, forming various plexus, —nodes, ‘‘glands,” or ‘lymph-hearts” in their course. Su- perficial lymphatics, so prominent in mammals, are little developed, though lymphatic glands are found in the arm-pit and groin of some birds. These are the systemic vessels; a special set, the lacteals, arise by numberless twigs in the course of the small intestine, uniting and re- uniting to form at length two (not one as in mammals) main tubes, which lie along either side of the spinal column. These are the thoracic ducts; which terminal trunks of the whole lym- phatic system empty into the right and left jugular veins at the root of the neck. The contents of the vessels differ correspondingly. Pure lymph is a pale, limpid, albuminous fluid, contain- ing when maturely elaborated a number of irregular amoeboid bodies, indistinguishable from the white formative corpuscles of the blood (p. 196). It is strained out of the tissues at large, being that material, not yet effete, which is still fit for feeding the blood. The lacteals contain chyle, —the other kind of lymph, drained off by the mucous membrane of the intestine from the prepared food in that tube; an albuminous fluid, milky or cloudy from the abundance of oil- globules, which, after mingling with the systemic lymph, is poured directly into the current of the blood, in the manner above said. Since the lacteals do not appear to begin with open mouths, the chyle must soak into them through the lining membrane of the intestines; and as this consists of a layer of ameeba-like animals, through whose bodies the chyle passes, it is quite true to say that the whole organism is nourished upon the excrement of amebas. t é. PNEUMATOLOGY: THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM. The Organs of Respiration provide for the ventilation of the body. Since the respira- tory process is also calorific, they likewise furnish a heating apparatus. They consist essen- tially of air-passages and air-spaces connected with lung-tissue, being therefore pulmonary organs. No other animals are so thoroughly permeated as birds with the atmospheric medium in which they live; in no others are the respiratory functions so energetic and effectual. The lung may be likened to a blast-furnace for the combustion of decayed animal matter; purifica- tion of the blood and warming of the body being two inseparable results obtained. Dark blood flowing to the lungs, heavy with effete carbonaceous matters, is there relieved of its bur- den and aérated by the action of oxygen; the products of combustion being exhaled in the form of carbonic dioxide and water. Aside from the proper lung-tissue, the capillary substance of the immense air-sacs tends to the same result. There is likewise, in birds, a lesser system of ventilation, by which air is admitted to cranial bones through the eustachian tubes; but this is unconnected with the proper respiratory office. Pulmonary tissue consists chiefly of a wonderful net (a rete mirabile) of capillaries, interlacing in every direction, bound together and supported by fine connective tissue, and invested with membrane so delicate that their walls seem naked, their exposure to the air being thus very thorough. Air gains such intimacy with the capillaries through the larynx, trachea (fig. 101, 0), and bronchial tubes (r, 1), these being the primary air-passages. But all thé bronchial tubes do not subdivide into the ultimate air-cells; some large ones run through the lung, pierce its surface (as at , w, fig. 101), and end 200 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. in that system of enormous air-spaces for which the respiratory system of birds is so remarkably distinguished, —like a heap of soap-bubbles, blown up en masse from a bowl of fluid; the extra- pulmonary air-spaces being the larger superficial bubbles, the minute vesicles of lung-tissue proper being little bubbles just formed. In this way air penetrates even the hollow skeleton of most birds (p. 135). The Lungs of Birds (fig. 10], ¢, t), notwithstanding their heated energy of respiration, are anatomically more like those of reptiles than of mammals. They are not shut by a dia- phragm in a special division of the great thoracic-abdominal cavity of the body, but extend from the apex of the chest as far as the kidneys, in the pelvic region. They are not divided into lobes, as in mammals, nor do they as in that class float freely in the chest by their mooring at their roots; nor, again, are they completely invested by a serous membrane forming a closed pleural . cavity. They are fixed in the dorsal region of the general cavity, covered in front with pleura, with which slips of the rudimentary diaphragm (v, v, v) are connected; but on the dorsal surface are accurately moulded to the intercostal spaces, showing the impressions of the ribs and verte- bree, —just as the lobulated kidneys are stamped with the sacral inequalities of surface. They are, as usual, two, right and left; their ‘‘ roots” are the bronchi (1, 1°), the pulmonary arteries and veins, nerves, and connective tissue. The Pneumatocysts. — A bird is literally inflated with these great membranous recepta- cles of air, and draws a remarkably ‘long breath,” —all through the trunk of the body, in several pretty definite compartments; in many, or most, or all, of the bones; in many inter- muscular spaces; in some birds also throughout the cellular tissue immediately beneath the skin. They vary so much in extent and disposition as tu be not easily described except either in the most general terms already used, or with particularity of detail for different species. Ac- cording to Owen, however, the usual disposition is: An imter-clavicular air-space, quite con- stant: this, with its cervical prolongations, furnishes the great ‘‘ air-drums” of our pinnated grouse and cock-of-the-plains. Anterior thoracic, about the roots of the lungs. Lateral tho- racic, prolonged to axillary, and to spaces and pagsages in the wings, including the hollow humerus. Large hepatic or posterior thoracic, about the lower part uf the lung and the liver. Abdominal, right and left, of great size, from the lower part of the lung where the longest bron- chial tubes open very freely; extending to pelvic and inguinal compartments, whence femoral sacs, the hollow of the femur, ete. The subcutaneous cells are enormously developed in the pelican and gannet; the extensive areolar tissue being thoroughly pneumatic, and furnished with an arrangement of the cutaneous muscle (panniculus carnosus) whereby, apparently, the air may be rapidly and forcibly expelled by compression. A similar muscle develops in some birds in connection with the interclavicular air-space. (For pneumaticity of the skeleton, see p- 135.) The purpose of this extensive respiratory apparatus is thus dwelt upon by the great ‘‘New- ton of Anatomy” just cited: ‘‘The extension from the lungs of ‘continuous air-receptacles throughout the body is subservient to the function of respiration, not only by a change in ‘the blood of the pulmonary circulation effected by the air of the receptacles on its repassage through the bronchial tubes; but also, and more especially, by the change which the blood undergoes in the capillaries of the systemic circulation which are in contact with the air-receptacles. The free outlet to the air by the bronchial tubes does not, therefore, afford an argument against the use of the air-cells as subsidiary respiratory organs, but rather supports that opinion, since the inlet of atmospheric oxygenated air to be diffused over the body must be equally free. A second use may be ascribed to the air-cells as aiding mechanically the action of respiration in birds. During the act of inspiration the sternum is depressed [lowered from the back-bone in horizontal position of a bird], the angle between the vertebral and sternal ribs made less acute, THE ANATOMY OF BIRDS.— PNEUMATOLOGY. 201 and the thoracic cavity proportionally enlarged; the air then rushes into the lungs and tho- racie receptacles, while those of the abdomen become flaccid; when the sternum is raised or approximated towards the spine, part of the air is expelled from the lungs and thoracic cells through the trachea, and part driven into the abdominal receptacles, which are thus alternately enlarged and diminished with those of the thorax. “Hence the lungs, notwithstanding their fixed condition, are subject to due compression through the medium of the contiguous air- receptacles, and are affected equally and regularly by every motion of the sternum and ribs. A third use, and perhaps the one which is most closely related to the peculiar exigencies of the bird, is that of rendering the whole body specifically lighter; this must necessarily follow from the desiccation of the marrow and other fluids in those spaces which are occupied by the air- cells, and by the rarification of the contained air from the heat of the body. ... A fourth use of the air-receptacles relates to the mechanical assistance which they afford to the muscles of the wings. This was suggested by observing that an inflation of the air-cells in the gigantic crane (Ciconia argala) was followed by an extension of the wings, as the air found its way along the brachial and anti-brachial cells. In large birds, therefore, which, like the argala [or our wood ibis, Tantalus loculator], hover with a sailing motion for a long-continued period in the upper regions of the air, the muscular exertion of keeping the wings outstretched will be lessened by the tendency of the distended air-cells to maintain that condition. It is not meant to advance this as other than a secondary and probably partial service of the air-cells. In the same light may be regarded the use assigned to them by Hunter, of contributing to sustain the song of birds and to impart to it tone and strength. It is no argument against this function that the air-cells exist in birds which are not provided with the mechanism necessary to pro- duce tuneful notes; since it was not pretended that this was the exclusive and only office of the air-cells.” (Owen, Anat. Vert., ii, 1866, p. 216.) Though nothing like them exists in mammals, it must not be inferred that these air- pouches are unique in birds. The general pulmonary mechanism is reptile-like, and the or- nithic development is simply a logical extreme of arrangements found in reptiles and lower vertebrates, — even to the swim-bladder of a fish, which is morphologically and homologically pulmonary, though fishes’ gills are functionally, and therefore analogically, their lungs; i. e., their respiratory apparatus. The Trachea (Gv. rpaxeia, tracheia, rough) or “‘ asper-artery” answers perfectly to its English name, wind-pipe. It is the tube which conveys air to and from the lungs (fig. 101, 1, 0 tog). It commences at the root of the tongue by a chink in the floor of the mouth (fig. 101, 3, ¢), runs down the neck in front between the gullet and the skin, and ends below by forking into right and left bronchus (fig. 101, 1,7, 17). It is composed of a series of very numerous gristly or bony rings connected together by elastic membrane. Lengthening and shortening, effected by muscles to be presently noted, is permitted by a very ingenious and in- teresting construction of these rings, which will be clearly under- stood with the help of the figures (96, a, b, 97 1,2) borrowed from Macgillivray’s admirable account. When contracted, the rings : look like an alternating series of lateral half-hoops, as in fig. ee ee ee 96, a; when stretched to the utmost, as in fig. 96, 6 they are chea, contracted to the utmost, clearly seen to be annular, or completely circular. The curious bs catacte ailaing en ae bevelling of the right and left sides of each ring alternately is stretched to two inches, the rings shown in, fig. 97, 1,2; and fig. 97, 1, 2, represents the same two evidently complete, with inter- aan t : b vening membrane. (After Mac- rings put together.: The principle by which any two rings slip _ gillivray.) 202 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. partly over each other on alternate sides is something like that upon which a cooper fastens the ends of any one barrel-hoop without any nailing or tying. The rings are in some birds perfectly cartilaginous: in most they become osseous. The trachea is moved by lateral muscles, which not only shorten the tube by approximating the rings, but also drag the whole structure backward, by their atcach- ment to the clavicle and sternum. The strip, Fig. 97.—1, 2, left hand, two tracheal rings, sepa- OF two strips, of muscle lying upon each side ees in fig. nel me 1, 2, ee ee same put of the trachea, is the contractor trachee (fig. ss halal male .. 101, 1, ss, ss); the most anterior, when there are two, as soon as it leaves the tube to go to the clavicle, becomes the cleido-trachealis, or cleido-hyotd, fig. 101, 1, f, f; the other is similarly the sterno-trachealis. The latter may be a direct continuation of the contractor, as in fig. 101, 1, the loose strips under g, or apparently arise separately from the side of the lower end of the tube, as in fig. 101,16, e. (Other muscles are to be described with the larynx superior and inferior.) The trachea is long in birds, pro- portionate to the extension of the neck; it is very flexuous, following with ease the bends of the neck in which it lies so loosely. Its cross section is oval or circular; but all that relates to the configuration and course of the pipe requires special description, —so variable is the organ in different birds. It is subject to dilatations and contractions in any part of its extent, and to deviations from its usual direct course to the lungs. Minor modifications must be passed over. The most remarkable expansions of the lower part of the tube occur in many sea-ducks and mergansers (Fuliguline and Merging), and some other birds; several lower rings of the trachea being enormously enlarged and welded together into a great bony and mem- branous box, of wholly irregular, unsymmetrical contour. Such a structure, represented in figs. 3 and 98, is termed a tracheal tympanum, or laby- rinth. Tt is not a part of the voice-organ proper, but may act as a reverberatory chamber to increase the vol- ume of the sound, without however modulating it. Being chiefly developed in the male, it is a kind of secondary sexual organ. The vagaries of the wind-pipe are still more remarkable. Very generally, in cranes and swans, the trachea enters the keel of the sternum, which is exca- vated to receive it, and where it forms one or more coils before emerging to pass to the lungs. This curious wind- ing is carried to an extreme in our Grus americana, the whooping crane, in which the wind-pipe is about as long as the whole bird, and about half of it — over two feet of it!—is coiled away in the breast-bone (fig. 99). The same thing occurs in G. canadensis to a less extent (fig. acme cect Mgt ie Bsa 100). Ina Guinea-fowl, Guttera cristata, a loop of the islandica, seen from behind, nat. size, Dr. trachea is received in a cup formed by the apex of the R. W. Shufeldt, U.S. A. clavicles. In various birds, as some of the curassows (Cra- cide), the capercaillie (Tetrao wrogallus), a goose, Anseranas semipalmata, and the female of the curious snipe, Rhynchea australis, the trachea folds between the pectoral muscles and the skin. The Larynx (the Gr. name, Adpuyé, larugx) is the peculiarly modified upper end of the trachea (fig. 101, 1, and 3 to 12). In mammals it is a complicated voice-organ, containing the vocal chords and other consonantal apparatus; in birds the construction is simpler, as the larynx merely modulates the sound already produced in the luwer end of the tube. It lies in THE ANATOMY OF BIRDS.— PNEUMATOLOGY. 208 Fig. 100. — Coiling of the windpipe in the sternum of Grus canadensis; reduced. (From Amer. Nat.) 204 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. the floor of the mouth, at the root of the tongue, between the forks of the hyoid bone, resting upon the uro-hyal. Besides its attachments of mucous and other membrane, it is connected with the hyoid bone by a pair of thyro-hyoid muscles (8, 11), and usually with the rest of the trachea by prolongations of the sterno- and cleido-tracheales. It is usually a small, simple, conical ‘‘ mouth-piece” of the pipe (4, a), without the dilatation which renders the corresponding structure —the ‘‘ Adam’s apple,” — so conspicuous in the human throat. Below, it communi- eates directly with the pipe: above, it opens into the mouth by the glottidean fissure, or rima glottidis (3, c), a median lengthwise chink, which opens and shuts as its sides diverge or close together, and which is further defended in front bya folding of the mucous membrane of the mouth, constituting a rudiment of that curious trap-door arrangement which, when fully developed, is called the epiglottis (8, d, e). Exclusive of two broken upper rings of the tra- chea (6, g), the cartilages (or oftener bones, —for they generally ossify) of the larynx are five. One is a large single median and inferior piece, the thyroid, or shield-piece (4, 6, 7, a), forming the most substantial part of the structure. It is somewhat triangular or oblong, run- ning to an obtuse end in front ; and with sides and posterior angles which curl upward behind. To its lateral posterior corner is attached on each side the small ‘‘horns” or cornicula laryngis (5, 6,7, 6). There is a small median upper posterior piece, supposed to represent all there is of the cricoid (5, 7, ¢), which in man makes a ring around the larynx below the thyroid. To the cricoid, as to a base, are attached a pair of straight slender arytenoids (6, 7, d), projecting forward along the upper surface of the larynx: these form the rima glottidis, — the fissure of the glottis being between them. ‘The arytenoids are attached in front by slender ligaments to the end of the thyroid (5, the little slips between d and e), and they are supplemented by carti- laginous edges (6, f, f) ; but there are no true vocal chords. Besides the extrinsic thyro-hyoid muscles, which pass from the larynx to the tongue-bone, the laryngeal parts are operated by intrinsic muscles, the sum of the motion given by which is the opening and shutting of the glottis by drawing apart or pulling together the arytenoids. Four pairs of such muscles are described for some birds. As named and figured by Macgillivray for the rook, there are: the thyro-arytenoids, which are the openers of the glottis (9, 22); the oblique arytenoids (19, 3,3) ; the thyro-cricoids (11, 44); and the posterior thyro-cricoids (11 and 12, 6,5), The Syrinx (Gr. cvpuyé, surigx, a pipe) or Lower Larynx is the voice-organ of birds; in most respects a more complicated structure than the larynx proper, and one so differently constructed in different birds that it affords characters of great significance in classification. The highest group of Passeres, for example, is signalized by the elaboration of this musical’ organ, the marvellously adroit fingering of the keys of which by the little muscular performers sends through the tracheal sounding-pipe the tuneful messages of bird’s highest estate. A few degraded or disgraced birds, as the ostrich and the American vultures, have no bucolic organ at all, the trachea forking as simply as possible. Others, as the common fowl, have a fair syrinx, but no muscles whatever to modulate their pastoral lays. Others have one, two, or three pairs of intrinsic muscles; to which may or may not be added a sterno-tracheal with syringeal attach- ment. It is not so much the bulk or mere fleshiness of the syrinx that indicates musical abil- ity; but the distinctness of the several muscles, and the mode of their insertion, which result in endless combinations of rotating and rocking movements of the parts, whereby an infinite modu- lation of the musical tones becomes possible. In Oscines, there are normally five or six pairs of muscles, without counting the extrinsic sterno-tracheales; and the gist of the arrangement, in these melodious Passeres, is the attachment of the muscles to the ends of the upper bronchial half-rings, as far as the third one. As Professor Owen remarks with appreciative feeling, ‘the manifold ways in which the several parts of the complex vocal organ in Cantores may be affected, each of the principal bony half-rings, as one or the other end may be pulled, being made to perform a slight rotatory motion, are incaleulable; but their effects are delightfully THE ANATOMY OF BIRDS.— PNEUMATOLOGY. 205 appreciable by the rapt listener to the singularly varied kind and quality of notes trilled forth in the stillness of gloom by the nightingale.” ; I should be able to make the plan of the syrinx clear to the student with the assistance of Macgillivray’s beautiful figures. These are drawn from the rook, — a corvine croaker, indeed, but one whose syrinx is in good order, though he has never learned to play. As the modifica- tions affect principally the soft parts covering and moving the music-box, one description of the latter is applicable to most birds. The last lower ring, or piece composed of several fused rings, of the trachea, at its bifurcation into bronchi, is enlarged or otherwise modified (fig. 101, 18, aba), and crossed below from front to back by a bony bar, the pessulus (18, at b; 15, a), or bolt-bar, which, dividing it into lateral halves (as at 14), forms thus two lateral openings instead of one median tube, —the beginnings of each bronchial tube. A membranous plate, strengthened by cartilage, rises vertically into the tracheal tube, furming a sepiwm, or median partition, between the orifices of each bronchus. The free curved upper margin of this septum, extending of course, from front to back of the orifice, is called the semilunar membrane; being the edge of a partition common to both bronchi, it forms, in fact, the inner lip of each bronchial orifice ; that is to say, the inner rima glotiidis syringis, or lip of the syringeal mouth-piece. This membrane vibrates with the column of air, and is, in fact, one of the “vocal chords.” Now the bronchial rings which succeed are not annular, circumscribing the bronchial tube, but are half-rings (15, b, b), or ares of circles to be completed by membrane, which forms more or less (scarcely or not half) of the circumference of the tube; this membranous part, termed the internal tympaniform membrane (35, c to ¢), being on the side of the bronchus which faces its fellow, while the hard bronchial half-rings complete the rest of the cylinder. The mem- brane is attached to the pessulus above. This accounts for the whole bronchial tube and its vocal septum from its fellow. Now the concavity of the upper two or three bronchial half- rings, on the outer wall of the tube, but in its interior, is the place where is developed a certain fold of the mucous membrane, projecting into the tube opposite the septum, and forming the outer lip of the syringeal glottis; for this membranous fold, like the semilunar membrane, is set quivering in vocalization. The upper tracheal rings which enter into this arrangement are enlarged and otherwise modified. Thus are formed two ‘‘ vocal chords,” upon the vibrations of which the harmonious or discordant notes of the bird depend. The cords are struck by the hand of air indeed, but endless musical variations result from the play of the muscles in increas- ing or diminishing and variously combining the tension of the several parts of the instrument. In giving four pairs of intrinsic syringeal muscles (anterior external, ‘anterior internal, inter- mediate, and posterior, besides the extrinsic sterno-tracheales), as figured in 16, a, b, ¢, d and e, Macgillivray is said to have understated the full oscine number, which is five or six. In the raven, Owen describes five, without counting the sterno-trachealis: broncho-trachealis anticus, anterior external; broncho-trachealis posticus, posterior external; broncho-trachealis brevis, posterior internal; bronchialis anticus, anterior internal; and bronchialis posticus. The general arrange- ment, however, is fairly indicated by Macgillivray in !6, where on the side of the syrinx, the mus- cles are seen to diverge from the tracheal lateral line to go to ends of the bronchial semi-rings. The student will understand that my description is particular only as regards the oscine syrinx; that in birds at large every possible modification, almost, of lower tracheal and upper bronchial rings occurs, and with various musculation, or with none. The non-oscine rule for the muscles is, one on each side, if any; and insertion into mid-parts, not ends, of the bronchial half-rings. The latter character chiefly distinguishes the non-oscine syrinx when it has sev- eral muscles. As to situations of the syrinx, three have been recognized : the ordinary broncho- tracheal, in formation of which both bronchi and trachea take part; the tracheal, only known to oceur in some American Passeres, as in Thamnophilus and Opetiorhynchus, situated wholly in the trachea, the lower part of which is extensively membranous ; and the bronchial, wholly in the bronchi, as in Crotophaga and Steatornis. 206 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. Fia. 101.— Respiratory and vocal organs of the Rook, Corvus frugilégus, an Oscine Passerine bird; nat. size, after Macgillivray. 1. a, tongue; b, basi-branchial, commonly called uro-hyal; c, c, horns of hyoid bone; d, d, genio-hyoid muscles; e¢, e, stylo-hyoid muscles; /,f, cleido-hyoid muscles; g, h, i, esophagus; j, proventriculus;. or secretory stomach; k, gizzard, or gigerium, the muscular stomach; /, m, n,n, intestine, duodenum to rectum ; THE ANATOMY OF BIRDS.— PNEUMATOLOGY. 207 0, p, trachea, or windpipe; q, inferior larynx, or syrinx; r,7, right and left bronchus: ss, ss, contractor muscles of trachea; ¢, ¢, lungs, with u, w, apertures communicating with thoracic air-cells ; v, v, v, three pairs of muscular slips answering to arudimentary diaphragm; 1, 2,3, 4,5,6,7, a8 many ribs. — 2. Hyoid bone; a, glosso-hyal, tipped with cartilage, its posterior horns being cerato-hyals proper; 0, basi-hyal; c, basi-branchial proper, commonly ealled uro-hyal; d, d, cerato-branchials proper, commonly called apo-hyals ; e, e, epibranchials proper, commonly called cerato-hyals, tipped with cartilage, 7, . —3. Glottis, or opening of trachea in the mouth; a, base of tongue; 6, b, horns of hyoid bone ; c, rima glottidis, cleft or chink of the glottis; d,a triangular vacuity ; e, an elastic liga- ment; d and e represent an epiglottis ; f f, a papillose surface. —4, Larynx viewed from before (below); a, thy- roid bone or cartilage.—5. Larynx viewed from behind (above); a, thyroid bone; 6, 6, its appendages; c, cricoid; d, d, arytenoids; e, e, anterior border of thyroid, to which d, d are connected by two arytenoid ligaments. —6. Larynx viewed from right side; a, thyroid; b, appendage ; c, cricoid; d, arytenoid; 7/, cartilage attached to ary- tenoid; g,a tracheal ring. —7. Larynx viewed from behind; a, thyroid; 0, b, its appendages; c, cricoid; d, d, ary- tenoids. — 8, 9,10, 11,12, Muscles of the larynx; 1,1 (fig. 8), thyro-hyoids; 2, 2 (fig. 9), thyro-arytenoids, or openers of the glottis; 3,3 (fig. 10), oblique arytenoids; 4, 4 (fig. 11), thyro-cricoids; 5,5 (figs. 11 and 12), posterior thyro- cricoids. — 13. Bifurcation of trachea; aba, last entire tracheal ring. —14. Last entire tracheal ring, viewed from below, crossed by the pessulus.—15. Bifurcation of trachea, and bronchi, viewed from below; a, pessulus, the bolt-bar, or “ bone of divarication ”; 0, 6, next succeeding ttacheal half-rings. —16. a, b, c, d, inferior laryngeal or syringeal muscles, not well made out in this figure; see text. But the typical oscine arrangement (acromyo- dian) is perceived, inasmuch as anterior (a) and postérior (d) intrinsic muscular masses go to ends of the first tracheal half-ring, at b and ¢; the extrinsic slip ¢ passing to sternum ; compare fig. 1, at g. —17. Trachea, etc., of . the nightingale, nat. size. (Compare figs. 3, 67, 72, 78, 74.) The Song of Birds unlocks the great secret of Genesis to those who can hear the key- note. It is the closest approach, in animate nature, to the ringing of the hydrogen bells in the physics of light. The musical instrument figured (101, 1”) is the identical pipe the ‘ great god Pan ” first fashioned for a legacy to all time, as so sweetly said by Mrs. Browning : — “He tore out a reed, the great god Pan, From the deep cool bed of the river. The limpid water turbidly ran, And the broken lilies a-dying lay, And the dragon-fly had fled away, Ere he brought it out of the river. “«This is the way,’ laughed the great god Pan, (Laughed while he sate by the river!) The only way since gods began x To make sweet music, they could succeed.’ Then dropping his mouth to a hole in the reed, Co He blew in power by the river “Sweet, sweet, sweet, O Pan, Piercing sweet by the river! Blinding sweet, O great good Pan! The sun on the hill forgot to die, And the lilies revived, and the dragon-fly Came back to dream on the river.” But the sad sequel, felt by Keats, when poor Psyche has seen and known, and Eros has found his wings : — “So did he feel who pulled the boughs aside, That we might look into a forest wide, To catch a glimpse of Fauns, and Dryades Coming with softest rustle through the trees; And garlands woven of flowers wild and sweet, Upheld on ivory wrists, or sporting feet: Telling us how fair trembling Syrinz fled Arcadian Pan, with such a fearful dread. Poor Nymph, — poor Pan, — how he did weep to find Naught but a lovely sighing of the wind Along the reedy stream! a half heard strain Full of sweet desolation, balmy pain.” The blessed blue-bird, ‘bearing the sky upon her back,” is burthened with the same “light load of song” — 208 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. Have you listened to the carol of the bluebird in the spring? Has her gush of molten melody been not poured forth in vain? Ah! then the pulse has quickened, and a sigh, perhaps, has risen, From the breast the bluebird’s music stirs to thoughts that lack expression — So tender, so tumultuous are the fancies thus aroused. The bluebird’s song breathes gladness — breathes the sweet and solemn triumph Love feels when all love’s passion melts in its own fruition. Exquisitely subtile are the chords the bluebird touches — Chords that quiver now in ecstasy, now thrill in fond expectancy, Now die in dreams of all that might have been. Hers is language to interpret, and translate in accents rhythmic, All the yearning of young love to claim his own — Of young love that trembles on the threshold of the passions, And shrinks before the images his ardor calls to life. Thus to the maiden musing come thronging thoughts unbidden, When she hears this speaking echo of the hopes that glow within; And the tell-tale blushes redden to the rose-tint on the bosom Of the bird that dares to breathe her secret joy. Thus to the youth impetuous, whose life is set to music — Let love but laugh and beckon from afar — Fulfilment sends a greeting in the soft voluptuous languor That steals upon the senses if the bluebird’s song be heard — This song of wondrous gladness, ever bubbling, welling, gushing, From a fountain full of promise, inexhaustible, divine ! Sweeter far these liquid accents when the buds of hope are blighted, And the tree of knowledge bears its bitter fruit; When memory sits brooding on the ashes of her birthright, And sackcloth shrouds a heart that once was young; For a silver chord is quickened where was greedy, silent sorrow — Responding to a sympathetic touch: The bird sings true and tender, with a precious burden laden, With the tidings of a love that never dies. So in the timid spring-time, when the world wears wreaths of roses, Ring clear the joyous melodies of hope! So in the summer season, when the wine of pleasure reddens, Ring passionate the triumphs of the heart! So in the sad, still autumn, when life bends beneath its burden, When what might have been has never come to pass, Rings once again this music on the crushed and wounded spirit, Bringing light where all was dark and drear before: All is not lost if the music that the bluebird bears be heeded, For her mission is to tell us love is God. Though it is a fact that “‘the Chenomorphe are not provided with intrinsic syringeal muscles,” there may be much truth in treatises de cantu Cyeni morituri which have appeared from time to time, and to the number of which I may be pardoned for adding : — How sadly sweet, how soft and low Is the music born of pain — How mournful sounds the ebb and flow, What measured beats, what throb and throe, In the wild swan’s dying strain! The archer, Death, and the twanging bow, And the fateful shaft on-sped, All state and grace and pride laid low, Disordered plumes and crimson flow — For the white swan’s heart has bled. But hear the mournful cry that rings On the startled air of night! As a spirit form in the darkness wings Its way unseen, the wild swan sings His psalm of life and light. THE ANATOMY OF BIRDS. —SPLANCHNOLOGY. 209 e How sadly sweet the solemn strain — The dirge of the dying swan! That wondrous music, child of pain, That requiem, sounding once again ~ And a bird’s soul passes on. jf. SPLANCHNOLOGY: THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. The Alimentary Canal, or digestive tract, is a tube which passes through the body from mouth to anus, conveying food, the nutritious qualities of which are drawn off by the lac- teals in transitu and .assimilated, the refuse being voided. This is digestion. The canal is really a tube within a tube, being contained in the cavity below the bodies of the vertebra, formed by the series of hemat arches (p. 135). Birds are fast livers, their digestive operations, like the processes of respiration and circulation, being very active and effectual; they require proportionally great quantities of food. The voracity of the cormorant is proverbial, but it is probably not greater than that of the ethereal nightingale. Birds as a class are omnivorous ; many species are as nearly omnivorous as any animals can well be; but the majority are either vegetarian or flesh-feeding. Very many birds feed upon fruits, hard or soft; but even these, when in the nest, are nourished for the most part upon the bodies of insects ; and it may be truly said, that the great majority of birds are insectivorous. Birds seem to be the great controlling agency in the economy of nature, of the increase of insect life ; agriculture would be difficult if not impracticable without them, and their econoinic value is simply incalculable. Insectivorous birds cannot be much interfered with, without destroying one of the most important and conse- quential of nature’s many beautiful adjustments. The bird cries perpetual ‘‘ échec!” to the insect. Even those birds which are mainly flesh-eaters, as the hawks and owls, are similarly beneficial, for the creatures they chiefly prey upon are the small rodents so fateful to husbandry. The carrion-eaters contribute largely to make tropical regions habitable to man. Various tribes of birds feed almost exelusively upon fish; and these sometimes reach the dignity of diplomatic and other political interests of wnankind: nations have gone to war over the dung of such birds, guano-beds being to some of the South American powers a large item of their revenue. Chili and Peru have been fighting lately, and the United States have been wrang- ling, over the excrements of the alimentary canal of sea-birds. This tube, in general, is shortest, simplest, and most direct in the flesh- and fish-eaters, the nature of whose food assim- ilates already more nearly to the substance of their bodies than does that of the vegetarians. The tube is modified in different portions of its extent, for the prehension, retention, saturation, maceration, and comminution of food, and the mixture with it of other solvent fluids than those secreted by the mucous membrane of the alimentary canal itself. Hence arise the various modifications of its length, dilatation here, contraction there; the presence in its lining mem- brane of numerous follicles ; and the annexation of various glandular organs. Being always longer than the body, the tube is necessarily coiled away in certain places; this folding taking place chiefly in the intestinal part of the tract. Modifications of structure make recognizable parts, as the mouth, gullet, crop, stomach, gizzard, intestine, cloaca, anus. Annex organs are the salivary glands, the liver, and the pancreas, all of which pour their secretions into the’ canal. This tube also receives the terminations of other systems of organs: the auditory organ of special sense; the respiratory system, which is at first a mere bud or off-set from the digestive ; the urinary and the generative, which, though originally distinct, primitively and permanently open into the lower bowel. ” The intestine is also continuous with the cavity of the umbilical vesicle of the embryo, a primitive structure which disappears as the chick matures; and with that of the allantois, another embryotic organ which begins by budding from the intes- tinal cavity. Its connection with the system of blood-vessels is direct through the lacteals and thoracic ducts (p. 199). Its operations are automatic and spontaneous, of the ‘‘reflex” order; 14 210 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. that is, excited by the presence of food, — having work to do making it work, so to speak. Its innervation is chiefly by the pneumogastric and sympathetic nerves; and digestion is the most purely vegetative function, dealing with the raw materials of nutrition and consequently of the growth and repair of the whole body. The active factors in this transaction are several spe- cies or varieties of small creatures, called Einteramebe; they are all derived by descent with modification from the hypoblastic cells of the early embryo. Those of the canal itself form all the mucous epithelium of that structure, with its various secretory crypts, follicles, and villi; similar creatures, perhaps of different genera, form the lining of the salivary, hepatic, and pan- creatic glands. Blood-vessels, in intimate connection with the digestive organs, form that special venous arrangement by which the blood coming from that part of the intestinal tract where chyle is made is collected in a portal system and sent through the liver, —in the embryo a sort of ‘‘ great dismal swamp” which interrupts the ordinary current. The tube within the tube is fixed not only at its ends, but by various membranous connections, among them the mesenteries. We will notice the several departments of the alimentary canal, and its annexes; reference should be made to the colored frontispiece, and to fig. 101, where most parts of the digestive system are shown. The Mouth and Tongue.— The most anterior of the special cavities in which the tube is divided, and the ‘‘manual” organ it contains. The mouth in general corresponds to the shape of the jaws, already sufficiently noted (pp. 100, 162). The anterior part is much hardened, like the beak; in fact, this hard- ness of the buccal cavity, and the absence, or very slight distinc- tion, of a “soft palate,” are among the peculiarities of a bird’s mouth. There is consequently little distinction, if any, between mouth proper and fauces, or pharynx, which is the posterior part, leading directly into the gullet. Besides this communication the mouth receives the terminations of four special cavities. 1. The posterior nares, on the roof of the mouth posteriorly, generally a median slit, leading into the nasal chambers. 2. The generally single and median and more posterior opening of the eustachian tubes, which lead into the tympanum, and are the remains of the first post-oral visceral cleft of the early embryo. 3. The glottis (fig. 101, 3, c), a slit at the base of the tongue, the opening of the wind- pipe, and so of the whole respiratory system, which is defended by a rudimentary trap-door, the epiglottis, if any. 4. One or several pairs of orifices, the openings of the ducts of the salivary glands. These structures, corresponding to the parotid, submaxillary, and sublingual glands of mammals, vary extremely in their develop- ment. In woodpeckers, for example, and some Raptores, elaborate special salivary glands occur, having a glomerate structure, and é a special ‘‘stenonine” duct. In many other birds, similarly com- Fic 102,—Gular pouch of. pound but less elaborate submaxillary glands pour their secretion bustard; copied by Shufeldt . ‘ from Garrod. a, tongue; 6, into the mouth by a series of pores. In most birds, however, the the pouch, opening under a, galivary glands are small, simple, and less distinct from various hanging in front ofc, the tra- % ei a chea, behind which is the Other sets of mucous erypts which open into the mouth. In the esophagus, d, with its crop, e. great bustard (Otis tarda; ‘fig. 102) there is a singular buccal struc- ture; a great: pouch opening’ beneath the tongue, susceptible of distension during those amatory antics termed the ‘‘ showing-off” of the creature. It is in fact an air-sac, but not of the kind already considered (p. 200), having no connection with the respiratory system. The narial, eustachian and glottidean apertures are commonly defended by retrorse papilla ; and other such THE ANATOMY OF BIRDS. — SPLANCHNOLOGY. 211 processes of mucous membrane, knobbed or acute, may occur elsewhere in lines and patches. The roof of the mouth is nearly all “‘ hard palate,” as already said; its soft floor is the mucuus membrane and skin between the jaws, with muscular or other intervening structures. The principal flooring muscle is the mylo-hyoid; the genio-hyoid (fig. 101, 1, d) is another, which passes, like the first, from the mandibular to the hyoid bone; a third is the stylo-hyoid (e). The floor in some cases forms a pouch, which, as in the case of the pelican, is of great extent and susceptible of enormous dilatation (fig. 501). The handler of the mouth, or lingual organ, is the tongue, which answers the same pur- pose as in other creatures: it is tactile, to some extent gustatory, sometimes prehensile, nearly always manipulatory. In some birds, as the pelican and ibis, and also the kingfisher, it is very slightly developed, — scarcely more than a pad at the bottom of the mouth, enjoying the most limited motion or other function. In some birds, as the parrot and duck tribes, and also the flamingo, the tongue is large, thick, and fleshy, quite filling the mouth. In the first- named of these, it is dexterously manipulatory ; the morsel of food is managed between the tongue and upper beak ; the tactile certainly and perhaps the gustatory sense is highly devel- oped; and the fleshiness of the tongue may affect that power of articulate speech for which some parrots are justly noted. In the Lamellirostres just mentioned the tongue has lateral processes corresponding to the denticulations of the beak, and the under surface is horny at the end, like a human finger-nail. In the woodpeckers (figs. 73, 74) the tongue itself (glosso-hyal part of the hyoid) is reduced to a slight horny and spiny tip of the lingual apparatus; but other parts of that mechanism are so extraordinarily developed that the ‘‘tongue” appears as a lumbriciform (worm-like), spear-headed organ usually capable of great protrusion from the mouth, and therefore acting as a prehensile instrument, being bedewed for that purpose with tenacious saliva from the great salivary glands; while it is actuated in protrusion and retraction by specially developed muscles. In the snipe and many of the long slender-billed waders, the tongue is similarly slender, but not protrusible. The long narrow tongue of the toucans (Rham- phastidg) is beset with slender processes, so that it seems feathery. The tongue of the hum- ming-bird is very singular, —delicately thready, yet double-barrelled, two tubes placed side by side, serving as siphons to extract the nectar of flowers. These and other interesting extremes aside, the ordinary style of a bird’s tongue is flat, narrow, more or less sagittate or lanceolate, and tipped or sheathed in horn, commonly with lateral backward pro- cesses like the barbs of an arrow head, —the whole glossal structure upborne pretty distinctly upon the end of the basihyal bone. (See fig. 101, where !, a, is such an ordinary tongue, and 2, a-f, is its whole skeleton.) Such horny tongues are commonly bifid at the extreme tip or there variously lacerate, or laciniate, or thready, — and even the fleshy tongue of some parrots, as the lories, is brushy at the end. The bony foundation of the tongue is the com- posite hyoid bone, already often mentioned (see p. 167); the free lingual part proper is based upon the glosso-hyal and its terminal cartilage ; the roots curve more or less extensively about the base or more of the skull. The tongue is moved by some intrinsic muscles, as well as by those extrinsic ones by which it is connected to the skull, jaw, and windpipe (fig. 101, 1 and 8). The Csophagus. — After comminution, if any, by the beak, and insalivation in the mouth, food passes directly through the pharynx into the esophagus or gullet, —a musculo- membranous tube connecting mouth with stomach (fig. 101, 1, g, 4,2). This is composed (besides its mucous membrane) of circularly disposed constrictor fibres, and longitudinal contractor fibres, of Myameba, of the pale, smooth species (Jf. levis). It has generally a pretty straight course, but may be diverted to one side or the other ; and, in particular, is subject to various dilatations and contractions, permanent or temporary, aside from the mere distension caused by the pas- sage of food. When the floor of the mouth is wide and loose, the gullet partakes of the same character above; the extreme case is afforded -by the pelicans, especially P. fuscus. But the 212 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. gullet of many small birds, as various genera of Fringillide and Corvide, is much more disten- sible than is commonly supposed, and may be found crammed with seeds which there find rest- ing-place for some time. The fish-eating birds, as herons, cormorants, loons, and others, have also capacious gullets. The Australian bustard, Hupodotis australis, has an esophagus capa- ble of such extraordinary distension that it hangs down in front of the breast when inflated with air, as it is in the amatory display in which that species is wont to indulge. Aside from mere distensibility of transient character, the esophagus of many birds becomes modified anatomically into a special pouch, — the crop or craw, ingluvies, where the food is detained to be macerated in a special secretion before passing on to the true stomach. Such definite crops occur in birds of prey, which gorge such masses of food in their irregular voracious banquets that it cannot all be received into the stomach at once; and likewise throughout the orders of Columbine and Gallinaceous birds, which habitually feed upon seeds and other fruits so hard that they are advantageously macerated as a preliminary to true digestion. The common fowl furnishes a good illustration of a large, definite, single and median crop; in pigeons it is a pair of lateral dilatations (see frontisp.). In these latter birds, when they are rearing their young, the secretion of the ingluvies, always copious, becoines still more so, and of a milky character in consequence of the activity of the altered mucous surface; it is regurgitated into the mouths of the young, along with the macerated grains. ‘This phenomenon is the nearest approach in the class of Birds to the characteristic mammary function of a higher class; and the analogy of the ‘pigeon’s milk’ to the lacteal secretion of the Mammalia has not escaped popular notice.” Various other birds also feed their young by regurgitation of elaborated food; and very many similarly reject indigestible portions of their ingesta. Such vomiting is best known to be the wont of birds of prey, which habitually throw up the hair, feathers and bones of their victims, made up into the boluses called “‘ castings”; but the practice is far from, being confined tu these flesh-eaters. The extreme case of emesis offered by birds is witnessed in the horn-bills (Bucerotide) which have been known to throw up the coat of their stomach without discom- fort, — what a blessing it would be to some old topers if they could do the same, and grow another with equal ease! In fact, in consequence of the capacity and directness of the gullet, vomiting is very easy to birds, and with some it is a means of self-defence, — very effectual for instance in the cases of our vultures (Cathartides). Fish-eating birds, as herons, gulls, | petrels, habitually vomit when wounded or otherwise molested. The Proventriculus. — The tube just considered ends below in a special tract, variously dilated or not, but always peculiar in the presence of certain gastric follicles which secrete the digestive fluid proper. The ‘stomach ” of a bird, in fact, is compound, consisting of a glandular or digestive portion, and a muscular or grinding part. The former is the proventriculus; whatever its size or shape, or whatever its magnitude in comparison with the grist-mill, it is reeognized by the presence in its inucous surface of these gastric follicles, secreting the peptic fluid which chymifies the food. The follicles are perhaps always large enough for this part of the tube to be recognized by the naked eye, —the mucous membrane having here a thickened, velvety, vascular appearance. The glands are of various sizes and shapes, — usually simply tubular, sometimes clubbed or conical, or variously racemose (like a bunch of grapes). They are disposed in a zone around the tube, or in patches upon part of its surface, —in the darter (Plotus), very singularly in a separate lateral compartment looking like a crop. Details of the grouping of these solvent glands are interminable. Whatever its anatomical variations, and however like the end of the cesophagus it may simply appear to be, this ventriculus glandulosus is the bird’s proper stomach (fig. 101, 1, J). The Gizzard.— Mixed with the salivary, ingluvial, proventricular and other secretions of the mucous surface, and already chymified, the food of birds next passes directly into the giz- THE ANATOMY OF BIRDS.— SPLANCHNOLOGY. 213 zard, gigerium, or muscular division of the stomach, sometimes called the ventriculus bulbosus. The two are sometimes separated by a tract, sometimes immediately consequent. In the mus- cular gizzard, the food-grist is ground fine. To this end, the walls of “he cavity become devel- oped into a more or less powerful muscular apparatus, and the mucous membrane changes to a tough, thick, horny, occasionally even bony, lining; this callous cuticular lining being often very loosely attached, and even deciduous in some cases. The muscular arrangement is chiefly in two great masses, called the lateral muscles, converging to a central tendon; between them intermediate fibres may form a more or less distinct muscular belly. In the most powerful gizzards, the muscular tissue is very dense and dark-colored; the tendons brilliantly glistening, and the contained ‘ millstones” extremely callous. Such a gizzard is well displayed by the common fowl or the goose. The opposite extreme is afforded by the carnivorous and espe- cially the piscivorous birds, whose soft food requires little trituration, —it is all a matter of degree. How readily this part of the canal responds to the regimen of the bird, is witnessed in our cock-of-the-plains (Centrocercus wrophasianus), —a bird whose gizzard is so slightly mus- cular as to appear like a membranous bag, though its gallinaceous relatives have extremely strong grinders. Its food is chiefly the buds and leaves of the wild sage (Artemisia), and grass- hoppers. Increased muscularity of the gizzard has even been artificially produced. Birds whose grist is heavy habitually swallow gravel, that these small stones may mechanically aid in the grinding process. The action is so energetic, that in ‘‘auscultating” a fowl when the mill is in full blast, the noise of the grinding can be distinctly heard. The pebbles, in fact, have a function which leaves ‘hens’ teeth” not entirely mythical. The kind of motion impressed upon the opposing pads of cuticle is alternating, —a rubbing back and forth to a slight extent. Peculiar dispositions of the callous surfaces are found in some pigeons, with corresponding peculiarity of the cross-section of the gizzard. In some of the cuckoos a matting of impacted hairs of lepidopterous insects has been mistaken for a coat of the gizzard itself. In the darter, which has a pyloric division or compartment of the gizzard, this is nearly filled with amass of matted hairs, a peculiar modification of the epithelial lining, serving to guard the pyloric orifice. Folds of the lining membrane form a pyloric valve in many birds. The pylo- rus, or the pyloric orifice, is that opening by which food leaves the gizzard for the intestines ; the orifice of entrance from the esophagus is the cardiac. The two are always near together, and sometimes adjoining. (In fig. 101, 1, & is on the central tendon of the moderately muscular gizzard; the cardiac orifice is between j and &, and pylorus between / and k.) The Intestine continues the alimentary canal to the cloaca. Any difference in the length of the whole tract, relatively to that of the bird, is chiefly produced by the foldings of the intestine, especially in the upper portion of its course. The extremes of proportionate length are perhaps not ascertained; but known to be from less than 2:1, to more than 8:1, In birds there is little or no distinction between ‘‘small” and “large” intestine, as to the calibre of the tube, nor is the latter succulated as in mammals. The former is considered to extend from the pylorus to the ceca (structures to be presently noticed). Above the ceca the intes- tine commonly receives its foldings and windings; below them it usually proceeds more directly, or quite straight, to the cloaca, forming literally a ‘‘rectum”; but in the ostrich this ultra-ceecal tract is longer than the rest, and convoluted. The cis-ceecal portion is convention- ally divided into duodenum, jejunum, and ileum; there is, however, no positive anatomical distinction of these parts in any animal with which I am acquainted. In birds, a “‘ duodenum” is perhaps as distinct as ever; it forms the most constant duplication of the intestine, the pan- creas being lodged in this duodenal fold (fig. 101, 1, 2, m,n). The course of the intestine is otherwise very various in different birds. The upper end, near the pylorus, receives the hepatic ducts; and food is chylified after impregnation with the biliary and pancreatic fluids ; a process furthered by the proper secretions of the intestinal follicles. The chyle is drawn off by the 214 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. lacteals already described (p. 199), and the unassimilable refuse of the food becomes excremen. titious. Czca (Lat. cecus, blind; in the nom. pl. ceca; sing. ceowm).— The “ blind guts,” so called because they end in culs-de-sac, are of two kinds.' One is the wmbilical cecum, or vitelline caecum, a rudimentary, or rather vestigial, structure, the remains of the open duct by which the cavity of the umbilical vesicle (an embryonic organ) communicated with that of the intestinal tract. It is ordinarily not to be noted at all; but it is said by Owen to have been found half an inch long in the gallinule, an inch in the bay ibis, and dilated ‘into a sac an inch in diameter in the Apteryx. The structures ordinarily called ceca, or ceca coli, for they are usually paired, are pouches or diverticula which set off from the intestine proper at the junc- tion of the ileum with colon; but there is nothing in the intestine itself to mark this point, so that when cxea are absent, as frequently happens, no distinction of ileum from colon or rectum is appreciable. No part of the intestinal tract is so variable as the czcal; so that presence or absence of these appendages furnishes zoélogical characters now-a-days taken very commonly into account in framing genera and families. There are no ceca, as in the turkey- buzzard and some pigeons; there is a single small cecum in herons. From a condition of extremely small size, like little buds upon the intestine, caeca are found to elongate to extraor- dinary dimensions; and the large specimens are frequently saccate or clubbed, with slender roots. In geese and swans the ceca are a foot long, more or less; in some grouse, they are said to be a yard long. In the ostrich, the mucous membrane is thrown into a spiral fold. However developed, the physiology of these intestinal appendages is, the detention of food until all its nutritive qualities are absorbed, and increase of the absorbent surface. The Clea/ca (fig. 101, 1%) or ‘‘ sewer,” very well named, is the termination of the bowel, —an oval or globular enlargement of the rectum, of sufficient capacity at least to contain the completely shelled egg. For, not as in placental mammals, the uro-genital and digestive or- gans are behind-hand in their evolution, and do not entirely lose connection with each other. Nor is there in birds any distinct bladder; but a cavity, originally that of the allantois of the. embryo, persists in common with that of the intestines, and is the cloaca. Such incomplete distinction between the two as there may be, by a folding of mucous membrane or partial com- partment of the whole, results in cloaca proper and wrogenital sinus, in which latter are the papillose orifices of the wreters, one on each side, from the kidneys; and of the single oviduct (@) or paired sperm-ducts (4), from ovary or testes. The urine of birds not being liquid requires no more of a bladder than the sinus furnishes. The same cavity contains the penis of those birds, as the ostrich and drake, which are provided with an organ of copulation. A peculiar anal gland, the bursa fabrici (see frontisp.), also opens into the cloaca. Refuse of digestion, the renal excretion, the spermatic secretion, and the product of conception, are dis- charged by a single anal orifice, the two former en masse. Being intimately related to dietetic regimen, and so to the habits of birds, the alimen- tary canal varies greatly, — even more than my slight sketch shows, —and consequently affords good zodélogical characters in the details of its construction. But of all the anatomical systems, this is the one most variable as a matter of physiological adaptation (see p. 67). Its char- acters, even when they seem weighty, are therefore peculiarly liable to be fallacious as indices of natural affinities, and must be applied with discreet caution to morphological classification. Such are commonly only of generic significance. Thus in pigeons the ceca and even the gall- bladder may be present or absent in neighboring genera. Alimentary Annexes. — Some of these, as the salivary glands, have been noticed already. The two most important bodies connected with the digestive tract, and properly considered THE ANATOMY OF BIRDS. — OOLOGY. 215 adjuncts, are the pancreas and the liver. The former is that kind of lobulated salivary gland which in mammals is called the ‘‘sweetbread.” It lies in the duodenal loop, along which its loosely aggregated lobes extend. Its ducts, formed by the successive union of smaller efferent tubes, are two or three in number; they pierce the intestine a little below its commencement at the pylorus, and pour into the canal the pancreatic juice, which has the property of emul- sionizing fat. The lwer is a well-known glandular organ of very special structure and func- tion, secreting the fluid called bile, also received into the intestine. It is of moderate size in birds, and deeply divided into two principal (right and left) lobes: in some birds there is also a smaller lobe; and one of the large lobes may also be divided. The lobes dispart above to receive between them the apex of the heart; they are held in place by pleuro-peritoneal folds contributing to form the thoracic-abdominal air-cells. The viscus receives venous blood from the extensive portal system of birds; two hepatic veins then conduct it to the post-caval. The emunctory ducts, carrying off the bile, are two or three in number. One at least goes directly to the intestine, and another to the gall-bladder, when that cyst exists; in which case there is a separate cystic duct from the bladder to the intestine, no ductus communis choledochus, or duct common to the hepatic substance and its cyst, being formed in birds. Two hepatic ducts may coexist with a cystic duct, making three to the intestine, all separate; two is the rule when there is no gall-bladder. These emunctories commonly enter the intestine some distance apart, and after the pancreatic ducts. The gall-bladder is generally present, frequently absent ; it may occur or not in closely related genera of birds. g. O6LoGY: THE Uro-GENITAL ORGANS. The Urinary and Generative Organs may be conveniently considered together, not only on account of their close anatomical relations, but because their physiological functions, totally diverse in adult life, are primitively related in the most intimate manner. For it is a singular fact that the mean office of straining urine out of the system is at first sustained by a structure (wolffian body), in closest connection with which, in the female, actually as a part of which, in the male, are later developed those organs (ovary and testis) whose exalted office is creative; for these permanent genital glands procreate the microscopic creatures called Dynamamebe, the marriage of which results in the reproduction of a complex organism like the male or female parent. (See figs. 103, 104, and following.) The Wolffian Bodies, or primordial kidneys, are a pair of tubular structures which appear very early in the progress of development of the embryo, beneath the spinal column, in front of the fore end of the future kidneys; with each of them is developed a duct, the wolffian duct, which carries their excretion into the cavity of the allantois (the future cloaca). Upon the appearance of the true kidneys, the transitory wolffian bodies and ducts lose their urinary function; they ultimately disappear from the female, for the most part, leaving only a trace of their former existence in certain vestigial structures (parovaria, etc.) ; in the male, likewise, they atrophy, but not to the same extent; for a portion of the bodies persists as an accessory (epididymal) portion of the testicle, and their ducts persist as the sperm-ducts, or vasa deferen- tia. Meanwhile, in closest connection with the wolffian bodies, appears a pair of organs, the genitul glands, fora while exactly alike. Ifthe new creature is to become female, the genttai gland develops to a certain complexity of tissue and becomes the ovary ; while a certain duct, the miillerian duct, developed coincidently to connect such ovary with the cloaca, becomes the oviduct. In birds usually only one ovary and oviduct (the left) becomes functional. If the new creature is to become male, the same genital gland develops to a higher degree of complexity, acquires a tubular structure, and becomes the testicle; it connects with remains of the wolffian body, and the wolffian duct becomes the permanent sperm-duct, conveying the 216 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. product of the male function to the cloaca, just as the oviduct conveys the product of the female function to the same sewerage. Thus the testicle of the male and the ovary of the female are homologous, in fact primitively identical organs, upon which sexual difference is impressed by the greater complexity of structure acquired if the sex is to be male; a female being, anatomi- cally aud physiologically, simply an imperfect male, arrested at one stage of her physical progress tu male perfection of structure; and the whole nature of the female bears out the same relation of inferiority. But the oviduct of the female, and the sperm-duct of the male, though physiologically identical, having the same function of conveying the products of generation from the genital gland to the light of day, are not anatomically the same; for in the case of the female, whose wolffian duct has disappeared, the miillerian is the oviduct; in the case of the male, in which no miillerian duct appears, the wolffian is the sperm-duct. The two are analo- gous, not homologous (a good illustration — see p. 68). But it must be further observed that while the sperm-duct conveys only the masculine essence from centre to periphery, the oviduct conveys the feminine material from centre to periphery, and also the male essence in the opposite ‘direction ; for, apon coitus, which is direct in all birds, the spermatozoa, deposited in the cloaca of the female, find their way up through her oviduct to the ovary, there to accomplish impreg- nation of the ovarian ova, the fecund product then passing down by the same avenue. All that relates to the mysteries of generation, —both the structure and function of the reproductive organs, and the maturation of the product of conception, is properly Odlogy (Gr. ddv, oon, an egg); though the term is vulgarly used to signify merely a description of the chalky substance in which the egg of a bird is finally invested. The anatomy of the egg is Hmbryology. An egg, or ovum, is simply the product of conception up to the time that product acquires an inde- pendent existence; while still connected with the female tissue of the ovary, and before or after it amalgamates with the male element, itis an ovarian ovum ; more or less incompletely matured, it is an embryo or fetus, — the former term being commonly applied to the unhatched young of birds. The only difference between the “egg” of a ‘‘ viviparous” mammal and that of an “‘oviparous” bird, is in the albuminous and cretaceous envelopes of the latter, and its speedy expulsion from the body of the female to be hatched outside, with- out anatomical connection with the moth- er after the hard shell is formed ; whereas, in most mammals, the ovum is retained in a dilated part of the miillerian duct (uterus or womb) until it ‘‘ hatches” ; but mammal and bird alike ‘‘lay eggs,” the Fre. 103.—Uro-genital essential germinative part of which is Fig. 104, — Uro-genital organs organs ofmaleembryobird; identical. Appreciation of these facts, offemaleembryo bird; from Owen, from Owen, after Miiller. dentic P P bi lati : f he after Miiller. a, kidneys; b, wolf- a, kidneys: 6, “ae ec, and a proper idea of the relations of the gan bodies; ce, genital gland, to wolffian bodies; d;\ their mature sexual organs to the wolffian become ovary; d,adronals; ¢, ure- ducts, to be sperm-ducts; e ; d di ters; 7, wolffian ducts, to disap- e, genital glands, to become bodies is necessary to any understanding jpoar; g, miillerian ducts, to become testicles; 7, adrenals. of the parts and processes concerned in oviducts. reproduction.t We have here to consider the permanent as distinguished from the transitory kidneys, and may then recur to the subject of generation. 1 The matter may be further illustrated by the two figures borrowed from Owen (after Miller). In both figs., ‘ the large dark masses, a, are the permanent kidneys, whose ducts, d in fig. 103, e in fig. 104, are the ureters, empty- ing into the cloaca. In fig. 103, male, c is the wolffian body, whose duct, d, persists as the sperm-duct, conveying x THE ANATOMY OF BIRDS.—OOLOGY. 217 The Kidneys (Lat. renes, Engl. reins, adj. renal ; figs. 103, 104, a; 105, x) differ'much from those of mammals in physical characters, though identical in function, —that of straining off from the blood certain deleterious substances in the form of urea; whence they are sometimes called emulgent organs. Their office of purification is analogous to that of the lungs, which decarbonize the blood, and to some extent vicarious, as is that of excretory orgaus in general. As the lungs are closely bound down to the thoracic region of the trunk, so are the kidneys impacted in the pelvic region, being moulded to the sacral inequalities of surface (p. 141). They are paired, but sometimes connected across the median line by renal tissue; they have no special renal artery, but derive their blood from various sources; and blood from them takes part in the hepatic portal system, no reniportal beg accomplished. They have little or noth- ing of the particular mammalian configuration which has made ‘ kidney-shaped” a common descriptive term; being elongated, somewhat parallel-sided and rectangular, flattened bodies, lobated into a few large compartments, and lobulated into many lesser divisions; their figure depends much upon that of the pelvis. They are very dark-colored, rather soft, easily lacerable, and appear to the naked eye to be of a granular substance, without dis- tinction of ‘‘ cortical” and ‘‘ medullary” portions. Nor is there any ‘‘ pelvis” of the kidneys in which the uriniferous tubules empty together by numerous ducts as into a common basin. Each ureter (figs. 103, 0; 104, €; 105, y), or exeretory duct, is formed by reiterated reunion of the tubuli wrinifert, after the manner of a pancreatic duct; each ureter passes down behind the rectum and opens into the lower back part of the cloaca, —imuch like a mammalian ureter into the base of the bladder. The original cavity of the allantois remains to furnish no more of a urinary bladder than some special dilatation of the cloaca represents; but this rudimentary bladder, as distinguished from the uro-genital sinus in which the ureters terminate alongside the sperm-ducts, is well marked in some birds ; being in the ostrich, for example, a considerable enlargement of the cloaca between the termination of the rectum proper and the uro- genital compartment of the sewer. The renal excretion is not watery as in mammals, but semi-solid, and voided with the faces, of which it forms part. The kidneys are capped by a pair of small yellowish bodies, the supra-renal capsules oy adrenals (figs. 103, f; 104, 105, d), the nature of which is undetermined. They are chiefly interesting to the practical ornithologist in their liability to be mistaken for testes in examining Fic. 105.— Uro-gen- . ital organs of the domes- specimens for sex (see p. 45). ee Whee Ou, a, testis; b, epididymis; Male Organs of Generation.— The testis (Lat. testis, pl. testes, Satan eeid a4 a witness; fig. 105, a) or testicle has been already sufficiently noticed as cloaca; x, kidney; y, to its general appearance and position (p. 46). As said above, it is the Ureter. ‘ essential male organ, consisting of the primitive indifferent genital gland (fig. 103, e) in its highest state of development as a tubular secretory organ, connected with the remains of the wolffian body as a part of its efferent structure (epididymis ; fig. 105, b) and with the original wolffian duct as its vas deferens (figs. 103, d; 105, ¢), or efferent duct, by which the semen is conveyed to the cloaca. The original glands normally remain paired, and both are usually functionally developed to corresponding size, shape, and activity; they remain in their embryonic situation in front of the upper part of the kidneys; and such difference semen from e, the testis. In fig. 104, 6 is the wolffian body, whose duct, /, disappears ; and g is the millerian duct, becoming the oviduct, to convey the egg from c, the ovary. Thus e, fig. 103, and c, fig. 104, are the homologous genital glands, becoming either testis or ovary: but the sperm-duct, d, fig. 103, is not the oviduct, g, fig. 104. 218 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. of appearance as they present under different circumstances is mainly seasonal. For birds, as a rule, procreate only at particular times of the year, rarely having more than one or two broods of young: the functional activity and quiescence of the testes correspond, as the enormous swelling of the gland during the breeding season is one of the peculiarities of the bird’s organ. This may be related to the absence, in birds, of specially formed vesicule semi- nales, or seminal.reservoirs; though certain contortions and dilatations of the sperm-ducts which are to be observed may imperfectly answer to detain the secretion until circumstances render it available. The passage of the sperm-duct is along the face of the kidneys, generally in company with the ureters; the opening is by a papilla upon the surface of the uro-genital sinus. These papillose terminations of the sperm-ducts are erectile to a degree, and answer the purpose of paired penes in those birds which are not provided with better-formed copulatory parts. In coitu, the cloacal chambers containing the orifices of the genital ducts are opened, and the more or less protruded papillae come in contact or close juxtaposition. In cases in which a penis or two penes are developed, the urethral passage is a groove, never a tube, though cavernous and even muscular tissue may be developed; and in any case of such an intromittent apparatus, it has cloacal invagination when not operative (see p. 680). These organs, in all their variety, are of the sauropsidan, not mammalian, type; though in some respects the structure approaches that seen in the non-placental mammals. No prostate or cowperian glands exist in birds. The sole office of the testis, or odphoron masculinum, is the secretion of semen, associate structures being simply accessory, for the conveyance of that vital substance and its transfer- ence to the opposite sex. The seminal fluid itself is merely the vehicle of transport of the spermatozoa, in which their activity may be freely exercised in their intuitive struggles to gain access to their mates in the ovary. It is literally a ‘sea of life” in which the minute creatures swim in shoals to their destiny, — and their fate in any case is death. If they successfully buffet the waves of fate they find a watery grave in the ovum at last; if that haven be not reached they simply perish in mid-ocean. The spermatozoa, or seminal animalcules, or male Dynamamebe (figs. 106, 107), are the exact counterparts of ovarian ova, in so far as they are single-celled animals of a very low grade of organi- zation; but their activity and intelligence is marvel- lous, and still more so is the mysterious attribute with which they are endowed of assimilating their protoplasmic substance with that of the ovum; with the result that the thus fecundated ovum is capable of procreating itself by fission for a period until a mass of similar creatures is engendered; from which Fig. 106.— Spermatozoa mags is then speedily evolved the complex body of Psi ihe of domestic cock, greatly ‘ a i magnified; from Owen, after the Bird. The corresponding female Dynamamebe oy eee ae Wagner and Leuckart. (ovarian ova) are simple spherical animaleules, phys- wagner and Leuck- ically indistinguishable from an ordinary encysted Ameba ; but the sperma- art. tozoa are remarkably distinguished in appearance, furnishing probably the best marked case of sexual characters to be found among the Protozoa, to which class of animals they belong. The spermatozoa resemble flagellate infusoria or ciliated endothelium cells, though they each have but a single whip. They are of extremely minute size, much smaller than their females, and filamentous; more or less thickened and sometimes wavy at their nucleated heads, whence pro- , trudes an excessively delicate thready tail, endowed with great vibratory energy. They may be likened to diminutive attenuated tadpoles, which swim by lashing the tail in the seminal fluid. Under the microscope shoals of these curious creatures may be seen swimming in the sea, nosing about in search of the ovum, butting their. heads in wrong places, backing out and trying again in another direction; with such success that out of myriads a score or so may gain their end. It THE ANATOMY OF BIRDS. — OOLOGY. 219 will be seen that they have a long journey to accomplish; for, libérated in the cloaca of the female, they have to swim through the whole length of the oviduct to the ovary. Besides such physical difference between the male and female Dynamamebe as I have indicated, they differ in their place and mode of birth; and in this difference lies the very gist of sex. The original indifferent genital gland above described, arrested, as said, at a certain stage of de- velopment and therefore female—the ovary— produces its eggs from its surface-cells, which subside into the ovarian tissue, and are quietly packed away there as ovarian ova, ready to ripen and awaken to impregnation in due course. The same gland, further developed into a testis, gives active birth to the spermatozoa in the tubules of its complicated interior tissue. In the former case, the superficial cells slowly ovulate ; in the latter, the cells lining the interior speedily spermate ; in a word, the testis is as literally viviparous as is the ovary oviparous, — and these conditions are certainly no insignificant indices of relative development in the scale of being. The spermatozoa appear in some animals to be set free in myriads from the walls of the seminal tubules whence they directly issue; in birds, they are described as appearing coiled or otherwise packed in delicate sperm-cells, which speedily rupture and discharge the creatures in the current of the seminal fluid, where they take up the course and display the energetic actions above noted. Either case has its parallel among ordinary Protozoans; the former correspond- ing to the process of budding or gemmation, the latter to that of interior fission and discharge of numerous progeny by rupture of the envelope. The final conjugation of spermatic filaments with ovarian ova is simple fusion, such as any ordinary sexless amceboid animal may practise to blend its protoplasmic substance with that of another. But there is this difference, that in the case of Dynamamebda it is a true sexual congress, usually polyandrous, and still more of a one-sided affair in that the female Dynamameba is at the time in a more or less quiescent, encysted state. Female Organs of Generation. — The connection between the male and female organs of generation is naturally so close that in what has preceded it has been scarcely possible to speak of the former without reference to the female counterparts. I have thus far endeavored to state clearly the nature of the originally sexless genital gland; the difference in the same gland when afterward sexed male or female; and the character of the spermatic offspring of the male gland. In reading: that lesson the novitiate in such Eleusinian mysteries must not mistake the language I have used to describe the male Dynamameba, or spermatozodn, as applicable to anything in the development of the female Dynamameba, or ovum, into the chick ; for all said thus far only relates to the bringing of the spermatozodn into contact with the ovum, preliminary to the initial step of the ovum in its course of development. It is this female Dynamameba — this primitive ovarian ovum, the germ of the chick, which corresponds to and is the counterpart of the male Dynamameba, on meeting and mingling with which fecundation is accomplished; the impregnated ovum being then empowered to take up its marvellous march. Conjugation of the opposite Dynamamebe occurs either in the ovary or upper part of the oviduct, — most probably the former. One or several spermatozoa — usually more than one-— accomplishing their journey up the oviduct, and finding their affinity, insinuate themselves into the substance of the ovum, and die there, dissolved in amorous pain; that is to say, they melt into the substance of the ovum. The now fertile result, consisting of the mingled protoplasm of the opposite amcebas, is to all appearance precisely the same as the original infecund ovum — yet there is all the difference in the world, as the result shows. The general character of the ovary of a bird has been already indicated (p. 46). The principal superficial difference in appearance when the ovary is in functional activity, from the corresponding organ of a mammal, is that the ova develop to such a size, in ripening in the ovary before leaving it for the oviduct, that the organ looks like a bunch of grapes, — very large and conspicuous. The oviduct is the musculo-membranous tube (modified miilerian ‘220 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. duct) which conveys the ripened ovum, and in its passage provides it with a quantity of white albumen, and finally a chalk shell. A bird’s oviduct is the strict morphological homologue (p. 68) of a mammal’s fallopian tube, uterus and vagina, ~~ more accurately, of one fallopian tube, one half of a uterus, and one half of a vagina; for the uterus and vagina of a mammal result from the union of both millerian ducts; whereas in a bird only one—the left usually=is normally developed. Functionally, the oviduct is also analogous (p. 68) to the mammalian uterus, inasmuch as it transmits the ‘product of conception, and detains it for a while, in the initial ‘stage of its germination, as we shall see in the sequel; though all but the very first steps in the development of the chick are taken during incubation, the egg having so hastily left its uterine matrix. These structures —- ovary and oviduct, fig. 108,— are most conveniently described as we trace the course of the ovum from its origination to its maturity. This record differs considerably from the corresponding course of events in a mammal, inasmuch as the ovum of a bird, though primitively identical with that of any other animal, acquires special albuminous and cretaceous envelopes which the mam- malian ovum, developed in the body of the parent, does not require. The process is termed ovulation. Ovulation, which is the formation of an egg in the bird, must not be confounded with germination, which is the formation of a bird in the egg. The former can be accomplished by the virgin bird, which may lay eggs scarcely differing in appearance from those which have been fecundated, but germination in which is of course impossible. The course of ovulation, and afterward of germi- nation, is now to be traced. Fie. 108. — Female otgans of do- mestic fowl, in activity ; from Owen, after Carus. a, 6, c,d, mass of ova- rian ova, in all stages of develop- ment; 5, a ripe one; ¢, its stigma, where the ovisac or calyx ruptures; d, a ruptured empty calyx, to be ab- sorbed; e, infundibulum, or funnel- shaped orifice of the oviduct; 7, next portion of oviduct; g, follicular part of oviduct ; m, mesomeiry, membrane steadying the oviduct; the reference- line, m, crosses the constricted part or isthmus of the oviduct; these parts secrete the white of the egg; %, shell- forming or uterine part of oviduct, in ‘which is a completed egg, i; 4, lowest or vaginal part of oviduct, opening into uro-genital sinus of the cloaca, 7 ; 0, anus. Ovulation. — The ovum begins as a microscopic point in the ovary, the stroma or tissue of which is packed with these “incipient eggs. It is primitively just like any other female Dynamameba, from that of a sponge up to that of a woman, —a naked simple cell, capable of exhibiting active ameboid movements. It consists of a finely granular protoplasm, the vitellus, or yelk, enclosed in a delicate structureless cell-wall, the vitelline membrane, called the zona pellucida from its appearance under the microscope. Imbedded in the vitellus is a nucleus, or kernel, the germinal vesicle; in this is a nucleolus, or inner kernel, the germinal spot. The ovum occupies a tiny space in the ovary, the cellular walls of which constitute an ovisac, or graafian follicle. Now if such an ovum as this were mammalian, it would, without material change, burst the ovisac, be received into the fallopian tube and conveyed to the uterus; where, supposing it already fertilized, the whole of its contents would develop into the body of the embryo. It would therefore be holoblastic (Gr. édos, holos, the whole; Sdaorikds, blastikos, germinative). It is different with a bird or other “ oviparous” animal, the egg of which has to hatch outside the body; for provision must be made for the nourishment of the developing chick, thus separated from the tissues of its mother. Such provision is made by the accumulation about the ovum of a great quantity of granular protoplasmic substance, which forms nearly all the large yellow ball called in ordinary language “the yelk” of an ege. None of this adventitious substance goes to form the embryo ; it is what the embryo feeds on during THE ANATOMY OF BIRDS.-- QOLOGY. 221 its formation. A bird’s egg is therefore meroblastic (Gr. pepos, meros, a part, and Bxaorixds), and we must carefully discriminate between the great mass of' yellow food-yelk, as it may be called, and a small quantity of “‘ white yelk,” the true germ-yelk, which alone is transformed. into the body of the chick, The latter forms the cicatricle, vulgarly called the “tread”; that small disc, visible in most birds’ eggs to the naked eye, which appears upon the surface of the great yellow ball, floating in a pale thin yelk which penetrates the denser and yellower food-yelk by a cord of its own substance leading to a central cavity, the false yelk-cavity, around which the food-yelk is deposited in a series of concentrie layers like a set of .onion-skins The whole mass is surrounded by a delicate structureless yelk-skin, called the otielline membrane (whether this be the original vitelline mem- brane of the Dynamameba or not; i. e., whether the food-yelk has accumulated inside or outside the original zona pellucida). All this enormous accumulation, effecting what is called a meto- ane er: Rene Fie. 109. —Meroblastic ovum vum or after-egg, to distinguish it from the protovum, or primitive (yelk) of domestic fowl, nat. size, ; ( OU tthé.o pf : . in section; after Haeckel. a, the state of the egg, goes the ovary, and in the ovisac of each thin velkseliin, encioeing the. yal: ovum ; with the ripening of the ovum, the ovisacs become dis- low food-yelk, which is deposited tended to a corresponding size, and the whole ovary acquires im concentric layers, c, d; }, the eee vers i cicatricle or tread with its nu- the familiar bunch-of-grapes appearance. With such maturation cleus, whence passes a cord of. of the fruit, the connection with the rest of the ovary lengthens White yelk (here represented in . 5 2 : 5 black) to the central cavity, d/. into a stalk, or pedicel, by which the ripe ovum hangs to its stock, like any fruit upon its stem, ready to burst its skin and fall into the open mouth of the oviduct. Such rupture of the graafian follicle (ovisac), in its now distended state known as the capsule or calyx, occurs along a line where the numerous blood-vessels which ramify upon its surface appear to be wanting, called the stigma: this is rent; the ovum slips out of its calyx, like the substance of a grape pinched out of its skin, and falls into the oviduct. After this discharge, the empty calyx collapses, shrivels, and ultimately disappears by ab- sorption. (See expl. of fig. 108). The ovum thus acquires the full size of its yelk in the ovary, — becoming, as in the case of the hen, a yellow sphere an inch in diameter.!_ Notwithstanding its enormous distension with food-yelk, it is still morphologically a simple cell, affording the maximum dimension of any known protozoan or single-celled animal. Entering the oviduct, the germ-yelk part of the whole mass is fertilized by spermatozoa, unless this process has before occurred in the ovary, and in its passage through that tube the yelk-ball becomes invested successively with the mass of transparent albumen known as the ‘‘ white” of the egg, and finally by the chalk shell -= both secreted by the mucous membrane lining the oviduct. During its functional activity, the left oviduct (there being usually only this one) becomes. highly developed, both as to its muscular walls, which. by their contractility embrace the ovum closely and squeeze it along, and as to its mucous secretory surface. It is supported by perito- neal folds forming a mesometry, like the mesentery of the intestines; its whole structure and office are quite like those of a length of intestine. The upper end of the singularly serpentine oviduct is dilated into an infundibulum, or funnel-like mouth, corresponding to the fimbriated extremity of the mammalian fallopian tube, and constituting a morsus diaboli, or ‘‘ devil’s grip,” 1 How great this is can only be appreciated by comparison. The human egg, on escaping from the graafian follicle, is said to be from x}, to x45 of an inch in diameter. Taking it-at 745, there-would be 40,000 in a square inch, and in a cubic inch 8,000,000. The largest bird’s egg known, that of the Z/pyornis, is said to have a content of about a gross.of hen’s eggs—144.. Supposing the yelk of the 2pyornis. egg to bear the usual proportion to the other contents of the shell, and allowing for the difference in bulk between a sphere and a cube of equal diameters, there would still be somewhere about a billion human eggs in one Zpyornis egg-yelk, — roundly, a mass of them equal to that of the germs of‘more than one-half of the present population of the globe. GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. which gets hold of the ovum to drag it down to the common lot of mortals from its high ovarian birth. The infundibulum receives from the mesentery a delicate tunic of unstriped muscular fibres, which are so disposed as to dilate that orifice for the reception of the ovum ; and during the venereal orgasm the mouth of the tube is supposed to seize upon the ripest egg. The actual anatomy of the arrangement, and the whole operation, is strangely suggestive of one of the oldest myths respecting the serpent which bore the egg of the world in its jaws. The mucous lining of the oviduct consists of a layer of ciliated epithelium; the membrane has a different character in successive portions of its extent. Above, when the tube is not distended with its burthén, the lining is thrown into lengthwise folds, which lower down become spirally disposed, and then longitudinal again before they cease. This rugous portion of the tube is beset with mucous follicles, which secrete ‘“‘the white.” The oviduct, after contracting at a point called the isthmus, enlarges to a calibre sufficient to accommodate the egg in its shell; for this is the shell-forming part, homologous with the mammalian uterus (a sinister semi-uterus at least), lined with large villi, and beset with the follicles whose secretions calcify the egg-shell, and decorate it with pigment. The rest of the tube is vaginal, being merely the passage-way by which the perfected ovum is discharged into the cloaca, to be expelled per anum. The muscular walls of the oviduct consist of both circular and longitudinal unstriped fibres, like those of intestine, — the latter especially in upper portions and at the infundibulum, the former more conspicuously below, where they form a sort of os tince at the bottom of the calcific portion, and a kind of sphincter vagine at the end of the tube. A recognizable clitoris is developed in many birds. ? The deposition of the white and of the shell remains to be noticed. The first deposit upon the yelk-ball consists of a layer of dense and somewhat tenacious albumen, called the chala- ziferous membrane (Gr. xdhafa, chalaza, a tu- bercle, and Lat. fero, I bear). As the egg is urged along by the peristaltic action of the tube, it acquires a rotation about the axis of the tube; the successive layers of soft albumen it receives are deposited somewhat spirally; and the chalaziferous membrane is drawn out into Fig. 110. —Hen’s egg, nat. size, in section; from Owen, after A. Thompson. 4, cicatricle or “tread,” with its nucleus, of white germ-yelk, floating on surface of pale thin nutritive yelk, leading to central yelk- cavity, x; a, the yellow yelk-ball, deposited in the suc- cessive layers, forming a set of halones, and enveloped in the chalaziferous membrane which is spun out at opposite poles into the twisted strings, chalaze, c, c; b, b/, successive investments of softer white albumen; d, membrana putaminis, the ‘soft shell” or egg-pod, between layers of which at the great end of the egg is threads at opposite poles of the egg. These threads, which become twisted in opposite direc- tions during the rotation of the egg, are called chalaze ; they are the “strings,” rather un- pleasantly evident in a soft boiled egg, but serve the important office of mooring and steadying the yelk in the sea of white by adhesions eventually contracted with the membrane which immedi- PIU Sheree etteanell ately lines the shell. They are also intrusted with the duty of ballasting, or keeping the yelk right side up. For there is a “right side” to the yelk-ball, being that on which floats the cicatricle, or ‘‘tread.” This side is also the lightest, the white yelk being less dense than the yellow; and the chalaze are attached a little below the central axis. The result is, that if a fresh egg be slowly rotated on its long axis, the tread will rise by turning of the yelk-ball in the opposite direction, till, held by the twisting of the chalaze, it can go no farther; when, the rotation being continued, the tread is carried under and up again on the other side, resuming its superior position as before. After all the spiral layers of soft white are laid on, a final covering of dense albumen is deposited at the isthmie part of the oviduct. This forms a tough tunic called the membrana putuminis (Lat. THE ANATOMY OF BIRDS. — OOLOGY. 223 putamen, a peel, rind), or “‘egg-pod”; it is the final euvelope of such a ‘soft-shelled egg” as a hen drops when deprived of the lime required to enable her to secrete a hard shell. In the uterine dilatation of the oviduct a thick white fluid charged with earthy matter is exuded ; this condenses upon the egg-pod and forms the shell. The composition of this earth is chiefly carbonate of lime (common chalk), with some carbonate of magnesia, and phosphates of both of these bases —thus like that of bone as to ingredients, but: in very different proportions. The shell does not simply overlie the pod in a distinct sheet, but is intimately coherent, the micro- scopic crystals or other particles of the earthy matter being deposited in the matted fibrous texture of the pod. The connection is most intimate in fresh eggs; after a while, layers of the pod separate at the butt of the egg, forming the large air-space which every one has noticed in that situation. The shell being very porous, readily admits air. The air space enlarges during incubation, and the pod becomes more and more distinct from the shell, which latter also increases in porosity and fragility towards “full term.” The rough or smooth appearance of an egg-shell, the pores which may be visible to the naked eye, and other physical characters, are due to the impression made upon it by the lining membrane of the ‘‘ uterus.” The superficial deposit of chalk is so heavy, in some cases, as those of cormorants, etc., that it may be scraped off without interfering with the texturally firm shell-substance underlying. All the coloration of egg-shells, which frequently makes them pretty objects, is simply the deposit of pigment granules in or upon the shell. Such deposit may be perfectly uniform, as it is in the bluish- green egg of a robin, for instance, but it is oftener spotty — either upon a white or a whole- colored ground. The browns and neutral tints are the usual colors, particularly a bright reddish-brown ; the same, lying in instead of upon the shell, gives the grays, ‘‘ lilacs,” and “‘lavenders” so well known. In ptarmigan, the pigment is so heavily deposited that the egg comes out pasty on the surface; a sign of “fresh paint!” one must not disregard if he would not spoil the decoration. Oviposition. — The energy and rapidity with which the processes involved in the manu- facture of so complex a product as a bird’s egg is now seen to be are extraordinary. A domestic fowl may lay an egg every day for an indefinite period. It is difficult to say how quickly an egg may ripen in the ovary; for, during the activity of that organ, several or many are to be found in all stages of immaturity, and the date of the initial impulse cannot well be determined. As there is probably but one egg at a time in the oviduct, the whole process of finishing off the yelk-ball with its chalaziform, soft albuminous, putaminous, and calcareous envelopes may go on in twenty-four hours, most of which time is consumed in the shell-formation. The number of eggs matured by the human female is or should be thirteen annually; thisis no large number for many of the gallinaceous and anatine birds to deposit in about as many days. But a probable average number is five or six. Defeat of the procreative instinct from any accident is commonly a stimulation to renewed endeavors to reproduce ; and very many birds rear two or three broods annually, though one clutch of eggs is the rule. Many, such as auks, petrels, and penguins, lay a single egg. Two eggs is the rule in humming-birds and pigeons. Three is normal to gulls and terns, though these often have but two. Four is the rule among the small waders of the limicoline groups. Some of the small Oscines lay over the average, having eight or ten; among these, the European sparrow, Passer domesticus, is probably the most prolific. The parasitic cuckoos are said to lay the relatively smallest eggs; that of the Apertyz is said to be the largest, weighing one fourth as much as the bird. The usual shape of an egg has given'us the common names oval, ovate, and ovoidal, for the well-known figure. Some, as those of owls, woodpeckers, kingfishers, and others, more or less nearly approach a spherical shape. Eggs of grebes, herons, Totipalmate birds and various others are rather elliptical, or equal-ended, and narrow in proportion to their length. Eggs of the: limicoline group are generally pyriform, — very broad at one end and narrow at the other. But 224 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. the eggs of all birds vary more in size and shape than some of the devotees of theoretical odlogy admit in their practice. The variation so well known in any breed of domestic fowl is scarcely above a normal rate. The short diameter, corresponding to the calibre of the oviduct, is less variable than the long axis; for when the quantity of food-yelk and white, upon which the difference in bulk depends, varies with the vigor of the individual, the scantiness or redundancy. is expressed by the shortening or lengthening of the whole mass. The egg traverses the passage small end foremost, like a round wedge, with obvious reference to ease of parturition by more gradual dilatation of the outlet. Germination. — Leaving now all the accessory parts of an egg, let us confine attention to the germ-yelk, or ‘* tread,” which is alone concerned in the germinative process. Recurring to the female Dynamameba, consisting of granular protoplasm (vitellus) included in its cell- wall (vitelline membrane) and including its nucleus and nucleolus (germinal vesicle and germi- nal spot), we will trace it up to the time it begins to take shape as an embryochick. At first, as I have observed before, it is like any other amcba; the first step of development is prob- ably a retrograde one; for if there ensues, when the spermatozoa melt into the ovum, the result affirmed for mammalian ova, the original germinal vesicle and germinal spot disappear, and the whole con- tent of the ovum proper is simply a homugeneous mass of granular proto- plasm. In this ret~ rograde step, the or- ganism, at the low- est possible round of the ladder of evolution, is called a monerula. The germinal _ vesicle and spot, however, are speedily recon- structed, and the ovum looks pre- cisely as it did be- Fic. 111. — Segmentation of the vitellus by disenidal cleavage, diagrammatic, x about fore. But observe 10 times, after Haeckel. Only the ‘‘tread,” cicatricle, or germ-yelk (figs. 109, 0, 110, 4)is that the actual dif- represented, as no other part of the whole yelk-ball undergoes the process. 4, separation . into 2; B, into 4; C, into 16, by 8 radial and 1 concentric furrow; D, into many parts, by ference is enormous; 16 radial and about 4 concentric furrows; £, 64 radial and about 6 concentric furrows; for it now consists F, the whole tread broken up into a mulberry-mass (morula) of cells. of the blended sub- stance of the original ovum and of the spermatozoa; and in this duplex or bisexed state, before any further step is taken, the creature is called a cytuwla,—the parent cell of the entire future organism. In the former state it could reproduce nothing, not even itself; for it is the strange physiological law of a Dynamameba that it cannot reproduce like an ordinary cell, but must evolve an entire organism, like both of those two whose vital forces it concentrates, summarizes, and embodies, — or nothing, The first change in the parent-cell is that by which it becomes broken up into a mass of cells, each of which is just like itself. This process is called segmentation of the vitellus; each one of the numerous resulting cells is called a cleavage-cell. The nucleus of the parent-cell divides into two; each attracts its half of the yelk; the halves furrow apart and there are now THE ANATOMY OF BIRDS.—OOLOGY. 225 two cleavage-cells in place of the one parent-cell. A furrow at right angles to the first, and redivision of the nuclei, results in fowr cleavage-cells, Radiating furrows intermediate to the first two bisect the four cells, and would render eight cells, were not these simultaneously doubled by a circular furrow which cleaves each, with the result of sixteen cleavage-cells. So the subdivision goes on until the parent-cell becomes a mass of cells. This particular kind of cleavage, by radiating and concentric furrowing, is called discoidal, and the resulting heap of little cells assumes the figure of a thin, flat, circular disc. Segmentation of the vitellus, in whatever manner it may go on, results in a mulberry-like mass of cleavage-cells; and the original cytula has become what is called a morula. This process and result are clearly shown in fig. 111, A-F. The morula or mnlberry-massed germ of which the ‘‘tread” of a bird’s egg at this mo- ment consists increases by multiplication of cells, and the disc is lifted a little away from the mass of yellow food-yelk upon which it rests, like a watch-crystal from the face of a watch. This disposition of the greatly multiplied cells in a layer and their coherence forms of course a membrane, —the blastodermic mem- brane, or blastoderm, fig. 112, B, b. 4 : TREE n The cavity between the blastoderm nn ) and the mass of food-yelk is called the H l cleavage cavity, s. At the stage when 6 noe um the blastodermic membrane and cleav- age-cavity are formed, the germ is called a blastula, or germ-vesicle,1 and the process by which the morula be- eomes a blastula is called blastulation. Next, from the thickened rim, w, of the watch-crystal-like blastula a layer of large entoderm cells, fig. 112, C, 4, separates, and grows tuward the centre: feats er. eicisee ll SEE més, KT when it gets there, of course the origi- nal cleavage-cavity, 8, is shut off from the surface of the food-yelk; a second crystal having grown under the first one. The second adheres to the first, obliterating the original cleavage-cav- ity; the germ is now obviously two- layered ; the rising of the inner layer to meet the outer results in a cavity between itself and the food-yelk, D, d. This cavity exactly resembles the mT Eee Fie. 112. — Further development of hen’s egg; after Haeckel: A, the mulberry mass of cleavage cells, b, same as seen on top in fig. 111, #, here viewed in profile in section, resting upon 7, the simply-shaded part of the figure, to represent conventionally the mass of fond-yelk. A, morula stage (as before); B, blastula stage, the mass of cells, b, forming the blastoderm, uplifted from the food-yelk, leaving the cleavage-cavity, s; w, the thickened rim of the germ-disc; C, the blastula in process of inversion, by which a layer of entoderm-cells, i, growing from periphery to centre, will apply itself to the layer of exoderm-cells, e, obliterat- ing the cleavage-cavity, s; D, the disc-gastrula completed, by union of entoderm, i, with exoderm, e, leaving the primitive intestinal cavity, d, which is quite similar in appearance to the cleavage cavity, s, but morphologically quite different. original cleavage-cavity, but it is a very different thing, being the primitive intestinal cavity. The blastula, or germ-vesicle, has become converted into a gastrula, by the invaginating process just described, known as gastrulation. The gastrula of a bird has the circular dis-’ coidal form which causes it to be termed a discogastrula. This process of forming a single blastodermie layer, with a cleavage-cavity (blastula, or true germ-vesicle), then two blasto- dermie layers, with obliteration of the cleavage-cavity and substitution of a primitive intestinal eavity (gastrula), is common to all.animals which consist of more than single cells, under vari- ous modifications and disguises; the process described is that occurring in meroblastic eggs which have a discoidal cleavage and form a discogastrula.? 1 Not to be confounded with the original ‘‘ germinal vesicle ’”’ of the parent-cell, which long since disappeared 2 The so-called “ germ-vesicle” of the holoblastic mammalian egg is subsequent to gastrulation, not prior and is therefore not 2 blastula proper. 15 226 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. What we have got now is a tread or germ consisting of a circular concavo-convex disc of two layers of blastoderm, resting by its rim upon the great yelldw ball of food-yelk, from which it is separated by a cavity, as a watch-crystal from itsface. All these changes, up to comple- tion of gastrulation, may go on before the egg ts laid, the tread of a perfectly fresh egg being already a multicellular discogastrula. Since the earlier stages of the embryo (cytula, morula, blastula, and gastrula) are actually accomplished while the egg is still in the body of the parent, the analogy of the oviduct to uterus, etc., as well as its strict homology to the parts of a milerian duct so named, is not so fanciful as some appear to think. The outer of the two blastodermic layers is the ectoderm or epiblast, C or D, e; the inner is the endoderm or hypo- blast, i. By multiplication of cells between the two arises the mesoblast. The mesoblastie layer of cells subsequently splits into two, of which the outer is the somatopleura, or body layer, the inner the splanchnopleura or visceral layer. The two-layered germ has then become four-layered. Up to the time of formation of four layers, the cells are all alike, or only differ slightly in size, color, or consistency. Now, however, ensues that marvellous process by which the indifferent cells of the blastodermic layers are to become differentiated in form and special- ized in function,—a sort of division-of-labor system in the infant colony of cells, by which some are to learn to move, others to digest, others to procreate, others to think and feel, with corre- sponding modifications of form by which are generated the Osteamebe, Myamebe, Neur- amebe,— the bone-cells, muscle-cells, nerve-cells, and all others of the complex organism which is in a few days to come into being from such simple beginnings. This of course opens up the whole field of embryology, which we cannot here enter upon. I will only add, that from the epiblast is derived the integument, and its inversions, as those of the eye and ear, and the brain and spinal chord. From the hypoblast is derived the lining of the alimentary canal and of its annexes and offsets, as liver, lungs, etc. The rest of the embryo comes from the mesoblast, and most of it from the somatopleural layer. The fissure between the two layers of the mesoblast becomes the great pleuro-peritoneal cavity. Tn explaining the early embryo, I have closely followed the great German morphologist, Haeckel; and the illustrations are from the same high source. Incubation. — To induce the wonderful metamorphoses just hinted at, it is only necessary to keep a bird’s egg at a pretty even temperature of about 100° F. Nearly all birds secure this result by the process of incubation. In many cases the sun’s rays relieve the parent of some part of the duty. In a few, the heat evolved from vegetable ferment or decomposition is utilized for the same purpose. This seems to be the case to some extent with grebes; but these incubate. ‘The exception to the rule of incubation is given by the Megapodial birds of the Australasian Islands. A huge mound of decaying vegetable matter is raised; the eggs are deposited vertically in a circle at a certain depth, near the summit, and the chick is devel- oped with the aid of the heat of fermentation. The large size of the egg relates to affording a supply of material sufficing for an unusually advanced state of development of the chick at exclusion ; whereby it has strength to force its way to the surface of the hatching-mound, with wings and feathers sufficiently developed to enable it to take a short flight to the nearest branch of an overshadowing tree” (Owen). The period of incubation has been ascertained with precision for few birds; it is known to range from ten days (perhaps less), as in case of the wren, to fifty or sixty for the ostrich. The female is usually the sitter. Frequently both sexes incubate in turn; such unnatural care for the young by the male is termed double monog- amy. In most or all Ratite, in the family Phalaropodide, and some other Limicoline genera, the male incubates. Most birds attend to their own eggs; many cuckoos (Cuculide) and the species of Molothrus, are parasitical, laying in the nests of other birds, which are thus forced to become foster-parents of alien offspring, generally to the destruction of their own. This seems to result from some peculiarity of the egg-laying process, which does not permit several eggs THE ANATOMY OF BIRDS.— OOLOGY. 227 to be incubated and hatched simultaneously. It is not so unusual among American cuckoos as generally supposed. The degree of development to which birds attain in the egg has been already discussed (p. 88). They break the shell by pecking at it, and struggling; for the former operation the bill is often tempered at the tip by a hard knob which is afterward ab- sorbed. The necessity of providing a receptacle for eggs, in which they may be incubated, results in nidification or nest-building ; and the extraordinary taste and ability many birds dis- play in this matter, as well as the wide range of their habitudes, furnishes one of the most delightful departments of ornithology, called caliology (Gr. xadid, kalia, a bird’s nest; see p- 54, note). Many birds burrow in the ground; others in trees; the most beautiful and elaborate nests are furnished by various members of the Oscines, the weaver-birds of Africa. (Ploceide) probably taking the lead. The male sometimes constructs his own ‘‘nest” apart from that in which the female incubates. ‘‘ Certain conirostral Cantores still practise in the undisturbed wilds of Australia the formation of marriage-bowers distinct from the later-formed nesting-place. The satin bower-bird (Ptilonorhynchus holosericeus), and the pink-necked bower-bird (Chlamydodera maculata), are remarkable for their construction on the ground of avenues, over-arched by long twigs or grass-stems, the entry and exit of which are adorned by pearly shells, bright-colored feathers, bleached bones, and other decorative materials, which are brought in profusion by the male, and variously arranged to attract, as it would seem, the female by the show of a handsome establishment” (Owen). The extraordinary nests of the Crotophaga, used in common by a colony of the birds, are noted at p. 471. “‘ Edible birds’- nests,” constructed by swifts of the genus Collocalia, consist chiefly of inspissated saliva. Perhaps the most remarkable of all the receptacles of eggs is that which the penguin makes of its own body, the egg being carried in a sort of pouch formed by the integument of the belly, ‘something like that of a’marsupial mammal. § 5. DIRECTIONS FOR USING THE ARTIFICIAL KEYS. These “Keys” differ from natural analyses in being wholly arbitrary and artificial. They are an attempt to take the student bya ‘‘ short cut” to the name and position in the orni- thological system of any specimen of a North American bird he may have in hand and desire to identify. The plan has been much used in Botany, though seldom if ever employed for a whole Fauna, before the original edition of this work. It will serve a good purpose, rightly used; but it must be remembered there is no ‘‘royal road to learning”; nobody can be smuggled into sound ‘erudition, either. Nor must too much be expected of me here; I can take the student nowhere until he has learned the difference between the head and the tail of a bird, at any rate. That is what the preceding pages undertake to teach; but, until such technicalities have been mastered, progress in ornithology is out of the question. The original ‘‘ Key to the Genera” proved scarcely so satisfactory as I hoped it would be. It undertook too much, to conduct the student at once down to the intricacies of the very many modern genera, not all of which cau by any possibility be characterized intelligibly in a line of type. I have probably simplified and expedited matters by preparing on the same plan Keys to the Orders and Sub-orders, and to the Families. Then in the body of the work, under each head, further analyses are given when such seems to be required, — of families under their orders or sub-orders, of genera under their families, and of species under their genera. These ulterior analyses are for the most part rather natural than artificial, though I never hesitate to seize upon any character that may furnish the desired clue to identi- fication. The artificial Keys immediately following will take the student to the families, with refer- ence to the page of the work where such groups come; on turning to which, further analyses 228 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY... will be found, generally down to species and even varieties. They are to be used as follows (after the preceding lessons have been learned) : — We have in hand a bird we do not know, and the name of which we wish to ascertain. Suppose it to be that common species which builds the nest of mud upon the bough of the apple-tree and lays greenish-blue eggs. To what family does it belong ? The Key opens with an arbitrary division of our birds according to the number and position of their toes. Our specimen, we see, has four toes, three in front, one behind. It therefore comes under IV. Going to IV., we read: Hind toe — inserted above the level of the rest, etc. —not inserted above the level of the rest. .. . (Go to B.) Our specimen has the hind toe not inserted above the level of the rest. Going to B, we find five alternatives. Our bird presents no one of the special characters of the first four alterna- tives, and this determined takes us tog. There we find: (g) Primaries —10 ; the 1st (never spurious), etc. —10; the 1st (spurious or), etc. . . . (Go to z) — 9; the lst (never spurious), etc. In this case the bird has obviously a spurious first primary, not nearly two-thirds as long as the longest. Going to 7;— (i) Tarsus — ‘‘ booted ” ; wings—shorter than, etc. — longer than tail; tail — double rounded. —not double rounded. . . . . TURDIDS, p. 240. Thus (provided we have taken the trouble to inform ourselves what ‘“ spurious first pri- mary” and ‘‘ booted tarsus” mean), the key conducts to a family, by presenting in suecession certain alternatives, on meeting with each of which, we have only to determine which one of the two or more sets of characters agrees with those afforded by our specimen. There will not, it is believed, be any trouble in determining whether a given character is so, or is not so, since only the most tangible, definite, and obvious features have been selected in framing the key. After each determination, either the name of a family is encountered, or else a reference- letter leads on to some new alternative, until by a’ gradual process of elimination the proper family is reached. After a few trials, with specimens representing different groups, the process will be shortened, for the main divisions will have heen learned; still the student must be careful how he strikes in anywhere except at the beginning, for a false start will soon set him hopelessly adrift. The key has been tested so thoroughly that there is little danger of his running off the track except through carelessness, or misconception of technical terms; but there is no excuse for the former, and the latter may be obviated by the Glossary at the end of the book, and cspecially the foregoing General Ornithology, § 3, which should be consulted when any doubt arises. Time spent upon the preliminary lessons will be time saved in the end. At page 240, as indicated, the family Turdid@ is fully characterized, and its sub-families and genera are analysed. The bird in hand should answer all the characters of the tamily and those of one of the sub-families, Turding, and one of the genera, Turdus. The analysis of the species of Twrdus should show the specimen to be Turdus migratorius, the Robin. Under the head of that species, No. 1 of the Juist, will be found a fair description and various other particulars. If there be any difficulty in going at once to the family, the student may try the key to the orders and sub-orders, and get on the track in that way. Directions for measurement have already been given (p. 24). In comparing measure- ments made with those given in the Synopsis, absolute agreement must not be expected; individual specimens vary too much for this. It will generally he satisfactory, if the discre- DIRECTIONS FOR USING THE KEYS. 229 paney is not beyond certain bounds. A variation of, say, five per cent. may be safely allowed on birds not larger than a robin: from this size up to that of a crow or hawk, ten per cent. ; for larger birds even more. Some birds vary up to twenty or twenty-five per cent., in their total length at least. So if I say of a sparrow for instance, ‘length six inches,” and the specimen is found to be anywhere between five and three-fourths and six and one-fourth, it will be quite near enough. But the relative proportions of the different parts of a bird are much niore constant, and here less discrepancy is allowable. Thus ‘tarsus longer than the middle toe,” or the reverse, is often a matter of much less than a quarter of an inch; and as it is upon just such nice points as this that a great many of the generic analyses rest, the neces- sity of the utmost accuracy in measuring, for the use of the keys, becomes obvious. When I find it necessary to use the qualification ‘ about” (as, ‘‘ bill about = tarsus”) I probably never mean to indicate a difference of more than five per cent. of the length of the part in’ question. It may be well to call attention to the fact, that most persons unaccustomed to handling birds are liable to be deceived in attempting to estimate a given dimension; they generally make it out less than measurement shows it to be. This seems to be an optical effect con- nected with the solidarity of the object, as is well illustrated in drawing plates of birds, which, when made exactly of life-size, always look larger than the original, on account of the flatness of the paper. The ruler or tape-line, therefore, should always be used, and particularly in those cases where analyses in the key rest upon dimensions. It is hardly necessary to add, that in taking, approximately, the total length from a prepared specimen, regard should be had for the ‘‘ make-up” of the skin. A little practice will enable one to determine pretty accurately how much a skin is stretched or shrunken, and to make the due allowance in either case. a The measurements used in this work are all in English inches and decimals. There are probably no signs or abbreviations not self-explanatory or not already explained in “ Field Ornithology.” ; Fia. 112-bis. — Diagram of corresponding segments of hind limbs of man, horse, and bird. The lines 1-11 are isotomes, cutting the limbs into morphologically equal parts, or isomeres. 230 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. ARTIFICIAL KEY TO THE ORDERS AND SUBORDERS. Page I. ToxEs 3; 2infront,ibehind .... oe 0 ee 0 ww tw « Piciformes of PIcARLE 444 Ii. Tors 3; 3in front. Toes — cleft or decilpalniate’ . ee ee ew we ww we he 6LEMICOLE 596 — palmate. Nostrils — tubular . se 6 6 «© © «© « 6 . . LONGIPENNES 732 —nottubular . ...... =... »PYGOPODES 787 1. Tors 4; 2in front, 2 behind. Bill — cered and hooked. . . oe ee 6 © ee ee ~. PSITTACI 494 — neither cered nor hooked. “Tail feathers — 8 or 10 Cuculiformes of PICARIE 444 —12 Piciformes of PicaRia 444 Iv. Toes 4; 3in front, 1 behind. Eoeai-eaynituctyle cesar eee ee ee ww we wo © Cuculiformes of PICARLA 444 — totipalmate (all four full-webbed) . see ee ew ww et ow ee + 6. STEGANOPODES 718 —palmate. Bill — curved up 4 eee tee we we we ww + 6 LIMICOLE 596 — not curved up — lamellate . + + + « «© «© + © » +» LAMELLIROSTRES 677 — not lamellate. Hallux—lobate . . . . . PYGOPODES 787 —notlobate. . LoNnGIPENNES 732 —lobate. Tail— rudimentary. . se 6 ee ee + + + + 6» P¥GOPODES 787 . — perfect. — A horny frontal ‘shield se 8» « © © + «© « » ALECTORIDES 665 —Nofrontalshield. . .. + oe + ee / . . LImtcona 596 — semipalmate; joined by evident movable basal web (go to A). — cleft to the base or there immovably coherent (go to B). A. Hind toe — elevated. Tibis — feathered below. Nostrils— perforate. . . Cathartides of RAPTORES 496 — imperforate. Gape — reaching below eye Cypseliformes of PICARIAE 444 — not reaching below eye GALLINZ 671 — naked below. Nostrils— perforate... .. . . . . ALECTORIDES 665 — imperforate. Tarsi — scutellate in front LIMICOLE 596 —reticulate. Head — bald HERODIONES 647 — feathered LIMICcOLa 596 — not elevated. Tibie — naked below . . + + @ + + « » « » HERODIONES 647 — feathered below. Bill —cered ‘and hooked . . . . . RAprorEs 496 —notcered. Nasal— membrane soft CoLUMBz 661 —sealehard . GALLINa 671 B. Hind toe — elevated. Gape— reaching beloweye. . . . » Cypseliformes of Pioartz 444 — not below eye. 1st primary _ petianginats orabout=2d . . LimicoLz 596 — not emarginate and shorter than 2d ALECTORIDES 665 — not elevated. Nostrils — opening beneath soft swollen membrane .... . COLUMB 561 — otherwise. Bill—ceredand hooked .. . . . « RAPTORES 496 — otherwise. Secondaries — only six Cypseliformes of PicaRLa 444 — more than six (go to a). a. Primaries — 10; 1st more than 3 as long asthe longest . . . .. =. =. . . Clamatores of — 10; 1st not $ as long as the longest 2 ang as Oscines PASSERES 238 agi ee eee 5 os o ARTIFICIAL KEY TO THE FAMILIES. 231 ARTIFICIAL KEY TO THE FAMILIES. Page TOES 3,—2.1N FRONT, 1 BEHIND...» 1 1 wu we ee wt we ot oh tw et ow « PWOWDE M7 TOES 3,—3 IN FRONT. (Goto II.) TOES 4,—2 IN FRONT, 2 BEHIND. (Go to ITT.) TOES 4, -—3 IN FRONT, 1 BEHIND. (Go to IV.) II. [Tors 3, — 3 1n Front.] Toes — completely webbed. Nostrils — tubular (Albatrosses) . . se 8 6 6 » « . » PROCELLARIIDZ 773 — not tubular (Auks, &c.) . . . P . . ALcrpz 797 — incompletely or not webbed. Legs — about as long as wings. Bil subulate (Stilt) REOURVIROSTRIDE 609 — much shorter than wings (go to a). (a) Tarsus — scutellate in front, about as long as bill (Sanderling) . . . . . .SCOLOPACIDA 614 — reticulate in front — shorter than red chisel-like bill (Oyster-catener). H2Z=MATOPODIDZ 606 — longer than bill(Plovers) . . . ee CHARADRIID 597 III. [Tors 4,— 2 i FRONT, 2 BEHIND.| Bill — cered and strongly hooked. Tarsus granulated (Parrot) . . So ay ids ee Ve PsiTTacipz 496 — not cered; inner hind toe — 3-jointed; Plumage iridescent (Trogon) . are 7 TROGONID2® 468 — 2-jointed ; — tail of — 8 or 10 soft feathers (Cuckoos, &e.) . . CUOCULIDE 470 — 12 (apparently only 10) rigid acuminate feathers (Woodpeckers). . . . PIcIDz& 477 [Tors 4,— 3 in Fronz, 1 BEHIND.] HIND TOE — INSERTED ABOVE THE LEVEL OF THE REST (AND ALWAYS SHORTER THAN THE SHORTEST FRONT TOE). (Go to A.) — NOT INSERTED ABOVE THE LEVEL OF THE REST (AND GENERALLY BUT NOT ALWAYS NOT SHORTER THAN THE SHORTEST FRONT TOE). (Go to B.) [The hind toe elevated.] Feet — TOTIPALMATE (all 4 toes webbed ; hind toe semi-lateral and barely elevated). (Go to A.) — PALMATE (3,front toes full-webbed, hind toe well up, simple or lobed or connected by slight webbing to base only of inner toe). (Go to B.) — LOBATE (3 front toes partly webbed or not, and conspicuously bordered with plain or scalloped mem- branes ; hind toe free, and simple or lobed). (Go to C.) — SEMIPALMATE (2, or 3, front toes webbed at base only by small yet evident membrane ; hind toe well up, simple). (Goto D.) — SIMPLE (front toes with no evident membranes ; hind toe well up, simple). (Go to E.) (A.) Tarsus — feathered, partly ; tail deeply forked; bill epignathous (Frigate-bird). . . . TACHYPETID 730 — naked; bill — > tail, hooked at tip, furnished with enormous pouch (Pelicans) PELECANIDZ 721 — < tail; throat — feathered; middle tail feathers filamentous (Tropic-birds) PHAETHONTIDZ 731 — naked; tail— pointed, soft; tomia subserrate(Gannets) SULIDZ 720 — rounded, stiff; bill — paragnathous (Anhinga) PLoTIpz 729 — epignathous (Cormorants) PHALACROCORACID: 723 232 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. Page (B.) Bill — curved up, extremely slender and acute (Avocet). . ... . . . . . » RECURVIROSTRIDZ 609 — bent abruptly down, very stout, lamellate (Flamingo) . . +. + « « « PHGNICOPTERIDE 678 —lamellate; mostly membranous, with nail at end (Swans, Geese, Ducks, &.) . . . . ANATID 679 — not lamellate; nostrils — tubular; hind toe very small (Petrels) . . . .:. . PROCELLARIID 773 — not tubular; hind toe — free, not lobed (Gulls and Terns). . Laripat 733 — not ink, lobed (Loons). . . . . COLYMBIDA 789 (C.) Tail — rudimentary; lores naked (Grebes). . . soe ee « « + « « PODICIPEDIDZE 792 — perfect; forehead — covered with a horny shield (Coots) oe ee ew ww ew we 6. RALLIDE 669 — feathered (Phalaropes). . . . . . » «PHALAROPODIDE 612 (D.) Mid-claw — pectinate; 4th toe 4-jointed ; plumage lax (Gostenekers) . - +e « «© «© CAPRMIULGIDE ‘447 — not pectinate; hind toe — versatile; plumage compact (Swifts) . . . . . . CYPSELIDE 455 — not versatile; head — naked (go to b). — feathered (go to c). (b.) Nostrils — imperforate; naked leg and foot shorter than tail (Turkey). . . . MELEAGRIDIDZ 5676 — perforate; naked leg and foot — shorter than tail (Turkey-buzzards) . CATHARTIDZ 657 — longer than tail (Cranes) . . . . . GRUIDE 666 (e.) Nostrils — feathered, or scaled, in deep fossa of stout hard bill. . . . . TETRAONIDE 576 — not feathered nor scaled, in groove of softish bill; tarsus — reticulate (Plover) CHARADRIIDE 597 — scutellate in front (Snipe, &c.) (E.) Wing—spurred. .. . . « » PARRIDZ 669 — not spurred ; forehead. - covered with a horny shield (Gallinules) . «i... . + . RALLIDE 669 — feathered; length —2feetor more . . . . . ARAMIDZ 667 — under 2 feet; 1st primary — attenuate ( Woodcock). . . SCOLOPACIDE 614 — not attenuate — much shorter than 2d (Rails) RALLIDZ 669 — about equal to 2d (Snipe, &c.) ScoLoPaAcIDz 614 or HAMATOPODIDE 606 B. [The hind toe not elevated.] \TOES SYNDACTYLOUS; tibiz~ naked below; bill straight, acute (Kingfishers) . . . . . . . ALCEDINIDZ 468 TIBLZ NAKED BELOW. (Go to d.) NOSTRILS OPENING BENEATH SOFT SWOLLEN MEMBRANE. (Go to e.) BILL HOOKED AND FURNISHED WITH A CERE. (Go to f.) BIRDS WITHOUT THE ABOVE CHARACTERS. (Go tog.) (d.) Middle claw — pectinate (Herons) . . . soe ee we we ew ww +). ARDEIDE 654 — simple; tarsus — scutellate in front (Tbises) . ao . . IBIDIDE 648 — reticulate; bill — flat, apoon-sliaped (Spoonbill) . PLATALEIDZ 651 — not flat, stout nee (Wood Ibis) Crconrmp= 652 (e.) Bird over 18 inches long, greenish (TexanGuan). .....4... +o. + « » CRACIDZ 572 Birds under 18 inches long (Pigeons) . . . . .COLUMBIDZ 562 (f.) Kyes — lateral, not surrounded by a disc; nostrils im ‘the ce cere 5 ( Hawks, Eagles, &c.) . FALCONID 519 or PANDIONID 556 — anterior; face more or less disc-like ; nostrils at edge of cere (Owls); middle claw — simple STRIGIDZ 502 — jagged ALUCONIDZ 500 (g-) PRIMARIES — 10; the 1st (never spurious) always more than § as long as longest (go to h). —10; the 1st (spurious or) at most not 3 as long as longest (go to i). — 9; the 1st (never spurious) of variable length (go to k). (h.) Tail — 12-feathered ; tarsal envelope irregular (Flycatchers) es » » . .TYRANNIDE 428 — 10-feathered; secondaries — only 6; bill subulate (Humming-birds) . . « TROOHILIDE 458 — more than 6; bill small, very short (Swifts) . . CYPSELIDA 455 (i.) Tarsus — “booted”; wings — shorter than tail, both much rounded; plumage very sick CHAMIDE 262 — longer than tail; tail—double-rounded. . . » + « AMPELIDZ 325 — not double-rounded (Thrushes, &c.) TURDIDE 240 —acutellate; nostrils — concealed ; bill — strongly epignathous, toothed and notched (Shrikes) LANIIDz 336 — paragnathous;— over 7 inches long (Crows and Jays) CoRvIDz 414 —not7 inches; bill — nearly = head (Nuthatches) Sirrmpz 269 — scarcely or not 4 = head (Tits) Parma 263 ARTIFICIAL KEY TO THE FAMILIES. 233 Page = exposed; length — over 9 inches; color brown or blue . CoRvip@ 414 — 7-8 inches; crested; 6 glossy black AMPELIDA 325 —4}-6} inches; bill distinctly hooked; tail soft, ; without black VIREONIDE 329 —4}-5} inches; bill slender, curved, tail stiff, acute ‘CERTHIDE 272 — Birds without these characters; rictus — bristled TURDIDZ 240 : — unbristled TROGLODYTIDE 278 (k.) Tarsus — scutelliplantar; hind claw straight (Larks). ...... . . . . . ALAUDIDE 280 —laminiplantar; bill — metagnathous, both mandibles falcate, their points crossed. : FRINGILLIDZ 339 — paragnathous, tomia of up. mand. toothed or lobed near middle - _ _ (Tanagers) TANAGRIDZ 317 —epignathous, notched and hooked at tip. Length 54-64 VIREONIDZ 329 —various. Quills — tipped with red horny appendages; head crested AMPELIDZ: 325 —not appendaged; bill — fissirostral (go to 1). —dentirostral or tenui- rostral (go to m). — conirostral (go to n). ‘ @.) Bill triangular-depressed, about as wide at base as long, gape twice as long as culmen, reaching about opposite eyes, tarsus not longer than outer toe and claw (Swallows) HIRUNDINID&E 319 (m.) Longest secondary nearly reaching end of primaries in closed wing; hind claw (usually) little curved, nearly twice as long as middle claw (Titlarks) . oe a a ee «© MOTAOCILLIDZE 283 Longest secondary not nearly reaching end of primaries in closed wing; hind claw well curved, not nearly twice as long as middle claw (Warblers, &c.) . Cai:REBID# 317, or SYLVICOLIDZ 287 (n.) Bill usually thick, stout, and with evident angulation of the commissure. . . . . IcTERIDH 399 or! FRINGILLID 339 1 Note. — These two families cannot be concisely distinguished. IcrERIDz contains the blackbirds, orioles, meadow starlings, bobolinks, and cowbirds. FRINGILLID#, our largest family, includes all kinds of grosbeaks, buntings, linnets, finches, and sparrows. oA a a nee a Fa a eg . f Man Bat Horse H wy Fia. 112 ter. Diagram of fore limbs of man, bat, horse, and bird. The lines 1-9 are isotomes, cutting the limbs © into morphologically equal parts, or isomeres. 234 ' GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY. TABULAR VIEW OF THE GROUPS HIGHER THAN GENERA ADOPTED IN THIS WORK FOR THE CLASSIFICATION OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. Subclass CARINATZ: Carinate Birds. ORDERS (18). SuBORDERS (20). FaMILizs (63). SuBFAMILIES (77). = . Turdine, . Miminze. . Cincline. I. PASSERES. 1 se . 2. eke ee APRS we wee De CS SO ee aw we =e & of e Samicolne, 6 6 OscLNES ee Ss 1. Turdide . . Regulinee. 6: aie dos eh Se Je. oes < Bic lires e teee . Polioptilinz, ee ae . . oe | 2. Chameide (?) . ‘ 5 Se eae aS ie eh Jah Foren ap 0? ke oe ee 3. Paride ..... | T. Paring. oe eee . oe . . 4. Sittide ..... oo. iin asl a Jo ag eee os Sw o. ae es 5. Certhiide. ... .- 8, Certhiin. ae ne Woe Bens 3 ie ae 6. Troglodytide . . . 9. Campylorhynching. Oooh, ees a ee ie fel ae oa: S80 Gee Dan oe Nae eee ee we ew es | 10. Troglodytins. ree ee) eee KOE SA Wah “GY et es Gs. 1. dlaudide. . . . . | 11. Calandriting. Pee ee ae a eee ee oe a ea oe ee ww ss | 12, Alauding. q agi ee ee AS AS - +e es + | 8. Motaciliide. . . . | 13, Motacillina, ; es Se, ede . . ee ee BY aE Nae aero eS ce we fie et we ce ce es i |, Aig ar ae wee ew ew we ew | 9 Sylvicolide. . . . | 15. Sylvicoline, . oi te . Sep sees, . ee Fae Ne ee Ghee 16. Icteriinz. a clas cat la ogg ste ys Il cot Naa tah wept es a be) AS ee ae. atti Gee 17. Setophaginz. oe Rw aw | ea ee es le a 0s Coprebidwis. ss a fee Sa ae om . oe eee oe ee we oe we | cL Tanagride.... a te Se ee ae ve Be ey os Set Se eee ee ee we «| «dD. Hirundinide ... . . ee Bw . eee ew fw ww ee ww oe we | 18. Ampelide (?) . . . | 18. Ampelina. eo 8 i Ra 2 ee eee wee ie 19. Ptilogonatine. Pa : eee we we we we + | 20. Myiadestine. @ ta Son Gee eh cee see ee ow ow oe ws | dA Vireonide . . fe Mae te 28 cae oe eo © © | WS Laniide. . . . . | 21. Laniine. . 2 ee . « | 16. Fringillide. . . . a Ba PES. isk oth gab Se oP ag eee « ss | 17, Icteride . . . . . | 22. Ageleine. ex fer Tia Sarge Sasa be See Hal Pe TR a eye aah i Ye SOE . . | 23. Sturnellins. ‘s eo fe © 6 ee © © ws | OF, Fetering. . ope oe ~ eee a ee ew we ee & | BR Qilecatind, we ee we he ee ew ee ew ew | 18 Corvide . . . . . | 26. Corvine. woe ee we ew we | 19 Sturnide. . . . . | 28. Sturnine. soe ee ew ee ew | 2 CLAMATORES . . 20. Tyramnide . . . . | 29. Tyranniney, Il. PICARLH(?) . . 3. CYPSELIFORMES. . | 21. Caprimulgide . . . | 30. Caprimulginag, EP dite, ee soe ee ew we es | 22, Cypselide ... . | 81 Cypselina. » » « | 32, Cheturina, . oa ae ie ee 28, Trochilide . . . . | 33. Trochilinz. . . - + « « | 4 CUCULIFORMES ?. 24. Trogonide.. . . . | 34. Trogonine. as ih Joh wee ew Lee ee ee we oe | 25, Alcedinide . . . . | 36, Alcedinineg. jag te Ge Ley ee Sy Yess tous it ae 7 26. Cuculide. . . . . | 36. Crotophagine. CeCe et ee ‘ o 6 © « + o «© » @ « | 37, Saurotherine. Ye ee 7 2 BSS eo » fee ee ew © e + « | 88. Coceygine. . » . » | & PICIFORMES » Oe Pade. 6 a we & atta CLASSIFICATION OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 235 Orpers (18). SuBORDERS (20). Famiuiss (63). SuBFaMILigs (77). Ill. PSITTACL . « + IV. RAPTORES. . V. COLUMBAS VI. GALLINE .. . VI. LIMICOLE . . . oe ee IX. ALECTORIDES XI STEGAN PODES XIL. LONGIPENNES . XII. PYGOPODES 6. STRIGES. ... 8. CATHARTIDES. . 9, PERISTERZE. 10. PERISTEROPODES 11, ALECTOROPODES. Carey ae ee . oe ee 42. Ipmes. . 2.1... 13, PELARGI . ee 8 .14, HERopM. ... 15. GRUIFORMES . 16. RALLIFORMES . o. 17. ODONTOGLOSSZ . . 18. ANSERES. . . 19. GAVIE ... 7. ACOIPITRES. . .. . Falconide . Psittacide . . Aluconide . . Strigide . . Pandionide. » Cathartide . Columbide . Cracide . . Ardeide . . Gruide .. . Aramide . . Parride . . Rallide . Sulide . eee . Pelecamide . . . Phalacrocoracide. . . Plotide . Tachypetide . Phatthontide . , Laride . Meleagridide . . Letraonide . . Charadriide . , Hematopodide . Recurvirostride . . Phalaropodide . Scolopacide . . Ibidide . Plataleide . . Ciconiide . Phenicopteride . . Anatide . ee . Colymbide . . Podicipedide . Aloide « . Procellariide . 76, Phaleridinz. 39. Aring. 40. Striginse? 41. Bubonins? 42. Circins. 43, Milvine. 44, Accipitrinse. 45. Falconinze. 46. Polyborinz. 47. Buteoninz. 48. Columbinz. 49, Zenaidinse, 50. Starnenadine. 51. Penelopina. 52, Tetraonine. 58, Odontophorina, 64. Charadriinz, 55. Aphrizinz ? 56. Hematopodinz. 57. Strepsilains. 58. Tantaline, 59. Ciconiinz. 60. Ardeinz, 61, Botauring. 62. Rallinee. 63. Gallinuline. 64. Fulicing. 65, Cygnine. 66. Anserinz. 67. Anatine. 68. Fuligulinz. 69. Merginz. 70. Lestridinz. 71, Larine. 72, Sterninz, 73. Rhynchoping. 74. Diomedeing. 75. Procellariins. 77. Alcina, 18 ORDERS. 20 SuBORDERs. 63 FamMIigs. 77 SUBFAMILIES. EXPLANATION OF COLORED FRONTISPIECE. ANATOMY OF PIGEON, 9, & Nat. Size. The breast-bone and entire front walls of body removed ; the viscera drawn to the right. A, A, skin of neck turned aside. —a, opening of bursa fabricii into cloaca. —B, brain removed from skull and turned hind part before (p. 176). — Bp, brachial plexus (p. 177). — b, opening of oviduct into cloaca (p. 219). —C, crop, with left C’, and right C”, lateral dila- tations (p. 212). —e, opening of left ureter into cloaca (p. 214). — ca, czca coli, point where small intestines pass into colon (p. 214).— D, D, duodenal loop of intestine, enfolding pan- creas (p. 218).— E, esophagus, gullet (p. 211). — Er, right ear-opening.—e, left cerebral hemisphere. — f, optic nerve (p. 176). — G, gizzard; letter on central tendon (p. 212). — g left optic lobe (p. 176). — H, heart (p. 196); the unlettered orange-red arteries from it are the short right and long left innominate, latter dividing into left carotid and left subclavian (both eut short), former dividing into right carotid (the long ascending vessel) and right subclavia just over the letters ‘‘Ty”; main aortic arch (right) not shown (pp. 197, 198); the unlet- tered bright-blue vessels are the pulmonary arteries. — Hy, hyoid arch (p. 167). --h, cerebel- lum (p. 176). —hd, hepatic ducts entering duodenum from liver (p. 215). — i, termination of rectum in cloaca (p. 214). — J, esophagus between crop and proventriculus. — Kn, knee (p. 120). — k, k, k, three lobes of kidney, lying in pelvis p, ureter w passing down upon them to ¢ (p. 217). — LL, liver, right and left lobes, receiving apex of heart between them (p. 215). — Lg, leg (p. 120). —Lau, left lung (see p. 200; compare fig. 101).—M, M’, M”, M', stumps of cut pectoral muscles (p. 193). —m, entrance into lung of left bronchial tube. N, N, skinned neck. —n, spigelian lobe of liver. —O, left ovary, inactive (p. 220, fig. 108) od, left oviduct, passing down with ureter to b.—P, pelvis partly exposed (p. 147).— Pe, pancreas, lying in duodenal fold of intestine (p. 215).— Pr, proventriculus or true stomach, between cesophagus and gizzard (p. 212).—p, medulla oblongata, connecting brain with spinal cord (p. 175). —Q, coils of intestine, coming down from D’, behind G, passing ca to i (p. 213). —R, cut ends of several ribs. —r, r’, two openings leading from lung’ to not shown air-sacs (p. 200, fig. 101, u, «).—S, spleen. —Sr is placed over the syrinx; the fleshy bands on each side of the letters are the intrinsic syringeal muscles; the narrower bands diverging from trachea between Sr and Tr are extrinsic muscles (p. 204, fig. 101, 16, a-e). — Th, thigh (p. 120). — Tr, trachea or wind-pipe (p. 201).— Ty, a gland. —t, intermediate mus- cle of the gizzard. —U or V, remains of skull broken open to remove brain. —v, v/, vw’, three pancreatic ducts entering intestine (p. 215). — w, ureter, see k, above.— Drawn and colored from nature by Dr. R. W. SHure tpt, U. 8. A. Part III. SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. CLASS AVES: BIRDS. HIS CLASS OF ANIMALS, while sharply distinguished from Mammals, is so closely related to Reptiles, that the presence of feathers in the former, and their absence from the latter, is the most obvious if not the only positive character by which the two classes are separable. Though the species of birds are numerous (some 10,000 are known), the structural diver- sity of the Class is comparatively so slight, that the characters upon which the primary divisions are based seem insignificant in view of those upon which the major groups of Mammals or Reptiles may be founded. ‘With strict regard for equivalency of taxonomic groups, based on morphological considerations, the conventional ‘‘ class” of Birds is searcely or not of higher value than an order of Reptiles, with which Birds are associated under the name SAvuROP- sipA. But it is not proven that a given structural character may not have classificatory value in one case, different from that which may properly be attributed to it in another; so that, though the most diverse birds may be more alike than are extremes among Lizards for example, we may still continue to speak of a class Aves, to be primarily divided into sub-classes or orders. All known Birds, living and extinct, are divisible into the following primary groups, which may be termed sub-classes : : ‘ I. Saurur#. — Birds with teeth. Vertebre biconcave (amphicelous). Sternum keeled. Wings small, with separate metacarpals. Tail longer than body, its vertebree not pygostyled, its feathers arranged in distichous series. (One species, Archaeopteryx lithographica, from the Jurassic of Europe. Fig. 14.) II. Ovponrorormaz.— Birds with teeth, implanted in sockets. Vertebree biconcave. Wings large, with anchylosed metacarpals. Sternum keeled. Tail short. (Typified by the genus Ichthyornis, from the Cretaceous of North America. Fig. 16.) 238 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. ~ CARINATZ — PASSERES. Il. Oponrorca. — Birds with teeth, implanted in grooves. Vertebre saddle-shaped (heterocelous). Wings rudimentary, wanting metacarpals. Sternum without keel. Tail short. (Typified by the genus Hesperornis, from the Cretaceous of North America. Fig. 15.) IV. Ratira.— Birds without teeth. Vertebre (some) saddle-shaped. Wings rudi- mentary, or at most unfit for flight, with anchylosed metacarpals. Sternum without keel (as in Odontolce, fig. 15). Tail short. (Embracing the extinct Moas, and the living Ostriches, Cassowaries, Emeus, and Kiwis.) V. Carinars.— Birds without teeth. Vertebrae (some) saddle-shaped. Wings devel- oped, with rare exceptions fit for flight, with anchylosed metacarpals. Sternum keeled. Tail short (as to its vertebree, which are pygostyled). (Embracing all living birds excepting the Ratite). V. AVES CARINATA: ORDINARY BIRDS. The essential characters of this group, which includes all living birds excepting the ostriches and their allies (ratite or struthious birds), are the absence of teeth, the saddle-shaped faces of the best-developed vertebree, and the keeled breast-bone (fig. 56), in combination with the perfection of wing-structure in adaptation to aerial (or aquatic) flight. The metacarpals and three metatarsals are anchylosed (figs. 27, 34); the scapula and coracoid meet at less than a right angle (very rarely more), and the furculuin is usually perfect (fig. 59). (In the flightless parrot of New Zealand (Stringops habroptilus), the sternal keel is rudimentary.) The caudal vertebrae are few, and the last few (pygostyle, fig. 56) are peculiarly modified to support the tail-feathers in fan-like array. There is normally extensive post-acetabular anchylosis of the pelvic bones, which are normally separate there in the other groups (compare figs. 56 and 15). The division of Carinate birds has always exercised the judgment and ingenuity of orni- thologists ; no system that has been proposed has been universally adopted, and few if any of the major groups can be considered established and perfectly defined. The orders of Carinate, therefore, are still provisional. But a great assemblage of birds have been ascertained to agree (with few exceptions) in possessing certain characters, upon the combination of which may be based an I.— Order PASSERES: Insessores, or Perchers Proper. The feet are perfectly adapted for grasping by the length and low insertion of the hind toe, great power of apposing which to the front toes, and great mobility of which, are secured by separation of its principal muscle (flexor longus hallucis) from that which bends the other toes collectively (Hexor profundus digitorum). The hind toe is always present, perfectly incumbent, and never turned forwards or even sideways; its claw is as long as, or longer than, the claw of the middle toe. The feet are never zygodactyle, nor syndactyle, nor semipalmate, nor palmate; the front toes are usually immovably joined to each other at base, for a part, or the whole, of the basal joints. No one of the front toes is ever versatile. The joints of the toes are always 2, 3, 4, 5, counting from the first (hinder one) to the fourth (outer front one). The toes are always four in number (excepting Cholornis). (Figs. 36, 37, 42, 43.) Various as are the shapes of the wings, these nembers agree in having the great row of coverts not more than half as long as the secondaries; the primaries either nine or ten in number, and the second~ aries more than six. (Fig. 30.) The tail, extremely variable in shape, has twelve rectrices (with certain anomalous exceptions). The bill is too variable in form to furnish characters of groups higher than families; but its covering is always hard and horny, in part or wholly, — never extensively membranous, as in many wading and swimming birds, nor softly tumid, as in CHARACTERS OF PASSERES. 239 pigeons, nor cered, as in parrots and birds of prey. The nostrils do not openly communicate with each other. The oil-gland (p. 86) is nude, and of a characteristic shape. Besides these external characters, which the student may readily examine without dissection, there are some more important anatomical ones. The sternum (with few exceptions) is cast in a particular mould, being manubriated, with prominent costal processes, and having each side of the poste- rior border single-notched (neither entire, nor deeply nor doubly notched, nor fenestrate; fig. - 58). The bony palate has a peculiar structure, called egithognathous (fig. 79). There is but one carotid artery, the left (fig. 91). The cceca coli are present, though small. There is a peculiarity in the method of insertion of the tensor patagii brevis. Besides possessing the pecul- iarity of the flexors of the toes, already mentioned, Passeres are anomalogonatous (p. 195); that is, the ambiens muscle is absent, as is the accessory femoro-caudal; the femoro-caudal and - semitendinosus are present, as is usually also the accessory semitendinosus. Physiologically, the nature of Passeres is altricial and psilopeedic (p. 88) ; that is, the young are hatched weak and naked, and require to be fed for some time in the nest by the parents. They represent the highest grade of physiological development, as well as the most perfect physical organization of the class of birds. Their nervous irritability is great, codrdinate with the rapidity of their respiration and circulation; they consume the most oxygen, and live the fastest, of all birds. They habitually reside above the earth, in the air that surrounds it, among the plants that with them adorn it; not on the ground, nor on “the waters under the earth.” Pas’seres were named by Cuvier in 1798 as an order of birds; the name is simply the plural of the Lat. passer, a sparrow. But the group as established by him included many forms which were first properly excluded by the celebrated Nitzsch, who in 1829 limited the group as now accepted. Besides being one of the best defined, it is by far the largest group of its grade iu ornithology. For example, of the 888 birds enumerated as North American in the Check List, no fewer than 394 are Passeres; as are more than half of all known birds. ‘Passeres are primarily divisible into two groups, commonly called sub-orders, mainly according to the structure of the vocal organ, — the lower larynx, or syrinx. In one of these groups, the musical apparatus is highly developed, with several distinct pairs of intrinsic mus- cles, inserted into the ends of the upper three half-rings of the bronchial tubes. In the other, the voice-organ is less complex, with less specialized muscles inserted into the middle portions of the upper bronchial half-rings. The former arrangement is termed acromyodian, the latter mesomyodian: and the birds which exhibit this difference of structure are respectively called Passeres acromyodi and Passeres mesomyodi, or Oscines and Clamatores. (See p. 205, fig. 101.) Associated with the acromyodian or oscine type of syrinx is a peculiar condition of the tarsal envelope. In nearly all Oscines, the tarsus is covered on each side with a horny plate, nearly or quite undivided, meeting its fellow in a sharp ridge behind. This condition of the tarsus is called bilaminate, and the birds showing it are laminiplantar (figs. 37, 42, 43). In some cases the fusion of the tarsal envelope proceeds so far that the front of the tarsus likewise presents a nearly or quite undivided surface, the whole tarsus being then encased in a ‘‘ boot,” as itis called. A ‘ booted” tarsus may be said to be trilaminate (fig. 36). The principal ex- ception to the association of a bilaminate or trilaminate tarsus with an acromyodian syrinx is afforded by the Alaudide, which have the tarsus scutellate and blunt behind; and, with very few exceptions, no bird which is not acromyodian has a bilaminate tarsus. A third important feature characterizes Oscines, as a rule. This is the reduction in length of the first primary, which never equals the longest primary in length, is rarely over two-thirds as long as the longest, is so short as to be called spurious, or is quite rudimentary and apparently wanting, leaving apparently only nine primaries (fig. 30). Associated with the mesomyodian or clamatorial type of syrinx is seen (with few excep- tions) the opposite condition of the tarsus, the sides and back of which, as well as the front, are covered with variously arranged scutella, so that there is no sharp undivided ridge behind. 240 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES — OSCINES. In such cases there are also ten fully developed primaries, the first of which, if not equalling o. being itself the longest, is at least two-thirds as long. (See p. 428, fig. 279.) These combinations of characters may be contrasted for the purpose of dividing the great group Passeres into two sections, conventionally denominated sub-orders. 1. SusorRDER PASSERES ACROMYODI, OR OSCINES: Srneina Brrps. Syrinx with four or five distinct pairs of intrineis muscles, inserted at the ends of the three upper bronchial half-rings, representing the acromyodian type of voice-organ, and constituting a highly complex and effective musical apparatus. Side of tarsus covered with a horny plate meeting its fellow in a sharp ridge behind ; front of tarsus also sometimes laminate. Prima- ries ten, with the first short or spurious, or apparently only nine. Here belong all the North American families of Passeres, with the single exception of the Tyrannide, or Flyeatchers, which are clamatorial (mesomyodian). The only North American exceptions to the diagnosis given are afforded by the Alaudide, or Larks, and certain Troglo- dytide, which, with an oscine syrinx and wing-structure, do not have a bilaminate tarsus. Of our 394 Passerine species, no fewer than 363 are Oscine. The name is the Lat. os/cen, in n. pl. os'cines, divining-birds — those whose notes were regarded as augural. It is a question, which one of the numerous Oscine families should be placed at the head of the series. Largely, perhaps, through the influence of those ornithologists who hold that fusion of the tarsal envelope into one continuous plate indicates the acme of bird-structure, the place of honor has of late been usually assigned to the thrushes. But only a part of the thrushes themselves show this character ; on which account, probably, the rest were associated by Cabanis with the wrens. It seems to me most probable that this character, though unques- tionably of high import, should be taken as of less value than the reduction of the number of primaries from ten to nine; and I am at present inclined to believe that eventually some Oscine family with only nine primaries — as the finches or tanagers— will take the leading position. Here, however, I follow usage in the sequence of the North American families of Oscines, as follows: — Turdide, Chameide, Parida, Sittide, Certhiide, Troglodytide, Alaudide, Mota- cillide, Sylwicolide, Tanagride, Hirundinide, Ampelide, Vireonide, Lamiide, Fringillide, Icteride, Corvide, Sturnide. 1. Family TURDID: Thrushes, etc. The essential character of this great group of Oscines is, booted tarsi and ten primaries, the 1st spurious. But such expression requires qualification, for the Turdide do not show this combination with- out exception, and birds of some other families do possess it. Though it be as natural as any other Oscine family of equal extent and variety, and equally close relationships with other groups, it is in the nature of the case insusceptible of perfect definition in concise terms. The North American representa- tives, however, may readily be circumscribed in a man- ner enabling the student to assure himself of the family } to which they belong. Besides the true Thrushes, the ee peg AN ei uzopean Redwing family as at present constituted includes the Mocking (Turdus iliacus) and Fieldfare (T. pilaris). Thrushes, Dippers, Blue-birds, Kinglets and Gnat- From Dixon. catchers, with stray representatives of certain Old World forms. the Chats and Sylvines, sometimes held to represent separate families (Sazxico- TURDIDZE — TURDINZ:: THRUSHES. 241 lide and Sylviide), between which and Turdide, however, no line whatever can be drawn. The vast assemblage of Old World Warblers are in fact much more thoroughly Thrush-like than are our Mimina, for example; and the Turdide would be much more homogeneous and easy to characterize ifthe Mock-birds and Gnat-catchers, with scutellate tarsi and not strict’- spurious lst primary, were to be excluded. The relationships of the Mimine with the Wrer: are really so close, that they have often been associated with the Troglodytide, to which the, would probably be best assigned after all. The position of Polioptila is dncertain 5 but it cannot well go with Paride, and does not seem to be very different from some of the Sylvine forms now brought under Turdide. The North American members of the Turdide offer collectively the following characters : — Wing of ten primaries, of which the lst is spurious or quite short— attaining functional size only in Mimine and Polioptiline. Wing more or less elongate and pointed, longer than the tail (shorter and more rounded in Polioptila and most Mimine). Inner secondaries never long and flowing as in Motacillide. Bill never stout and conical, nor with angulated commis- sure, nor flattened with gape reaching under the eyes; usually slender, straight or little curved, more or less compressed, subulate and acute, usually notched at end of upper mandible (but the nick frequently * obsolete, and whole bill attaining ex- traordinary charac- ters in Harporhyn- chus). Nostrils oval or roundish, rarely linear, exposed in conspicuous nasal fossee; nearly or quite reached or overreached by the . frontal feathers, but never concealed by A a dense ue AS iB FE: 4,—Skulls of Turdid d Syl lid fter Shufeldt. A, Or . a I@, 114.—Skulls of Turdide and Sylvicolide, nat. size; after Shufeldt. A, Oro- Paride and Sittide. scoptes montanus; B, Sialia mexicana, C, Cinclus mexicanus; D, Siurus nevius. Rictus bristled or Observe likeness between A and B, at points marked ¢, c/, J, //; and between C and D, with _bristle-tipped at points marked b, b,/ d, d/. feathers, except in Cinclus. Tarsus normally booted, the anterior scutella, excepting a few below, being fused in a continuous plate, — not so in Mimine and Polioptiline. On the sides and behind, tarsus strictly laminiplantar (compare Alaudide and some Troglodytide). Tarsus usually also long and slender; never decidedly shorter than the middle toe and claw, often decidedly longer. Anterior toes deeply cleft, the inner to its very base, the outer adherent to the middle for only the length of its basal joint (compare Troglodytide). Hind claw never lengthened and straightened as usual in Motacillide. Tail feathers twelve; tail normally inuch shorter than the wings, sometimes about equal, only decidedly longer in some Mimine; never cuneate, nor deeply forked, nor doubly rounded. Any North American bird showing booted tarsi, ten primaries, the Ist spurious, — and not double-rounded tail—is one of the Turdide. The group thus constituted is divisible into several sub-families, which may be analyzed as follows with reference to the North Amer- ican genera : — ANALYSIS OF SUBFAMILIES. Turpine: Typical Thrushes. Tarsi booted. Rictus bristly. Nostrils oval, exposed. Bill straight, shorter than head. First quill strictly spurious; 2d between 4th and 6th. Tail 16 242 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. —PASSERES — OSCINES. shorter than wings. Tarsus little if any longer than the middle toe and claw. Of medium size. Cosmopolitan. One genus — Turdus. Muwina:: Mocking Thrushes. Tarsal scutella usually distinct. Bill variable, sometimes attaining extraordinary length and curvature. Rictus bristly. Nostrils oval, exposed. Wings short and rounded; 1st quill not strictly spurious, at least one-half as long as 2d, which is shorter than 6th. Tail equalling or much longer than wings. Of medium and largest size. Peculiar to America. An aberrant group, related to the Troglodytide. Three genera, — Oroscoptes (fig. 114, A), Mimus, Harporhynchus. Cinctinz: Dippers. Tarsi booted. Bill shorter than head.. Nostrils linear, exposed, but overreached by feathers. No bristles whatever about rictus. Wings short, but still longer than the very short square tail, with strictly spurious Ist primary. Form stout. Plumage dense. Habits aquatic. Cosmopolitan. One genus— Cinclus (fig. 114, C). SaxicoLinz: Chats, etc. Tarsi booted. Bill small, much shorter than head. Rictus bristly. Nostrils oval. Wings pointed, exceeding the short, square or emarginate tail. Tar- sus usually much longer than the middie toe and claw (not in Sialia). Of small size and slender form, and for the most part terrestrial; but scarcely distinguished from Turdine proper. Chiefly Old World. Three genera, — Sasicola, Cyanecula, and Stalia (fig. 114, B). Recutinz: Kinglets. Tarsi booted (scutella rarely appreciable). Bill much as in Turding, but small and weak. Nostrils exposed, or overhung by tiny feathers. Wings pointed, with strictly spurious 1st primary, longer than the even or emarginate tail. Tarsi longer than middle toe and claw. Very small; under six inches. Greenish, often with flaming crest. Chiefly Old World. Two genera, — Phylloscopus and Regulus. PoLiopTininz: Gnat-catchers. Tarsi scutellate. Bill very slender, but widened and flattened at base, with acute notched and hooked tip. Rictus strongly bristled. Nostrils entirely exposed. First primary not strictly spurious, half as long as the 2d. Very small; under six inches. Coloration bluish, black and white. Peculiar to America. One genus— Polioptila. Artificial Key to the Genera. Tarsi distinctly scutellate (if not, crissum reddish). Wings not longer than tail. Length under 6 inches. Colors bluish, black and white @ soe ee ee e@ «© 6 Polioptila 11 Length over 6 inches. Bill about as long as head or much longer. Tail decidedly longer than wings. Harporhynchus 4 Bill shorter than head. Wings and tail of about equal lengths. Ashy, spotted below bess - . Oroscoptes 2 Wings rather shorter than tail. Ashy, adults plain below; orcap black . . . . Mimus 8 Tarsi booted (anterior scutella at most indistinct). Length 5 inches or less. Colors greenish and yellowish. A flame-colored crest . is lat Be . i Oe . - . . . Regulus 10 No colored crest . . . fe tat 8 +... . Phylloscopus 9 Length over 5 inches. No bristles about bill. Wholecolored. Aquatic 7 aes F . » Cinelus 7 Rictus bristled. Tarsus much longer than middle toe and claw. Blue on throat, reddish on tail si enh. See Og + . Cyanecula 8 No blue or reddish. Tail black and white... . oo % . « Sazicola 6 Tarsus little if any longer than middle toe and claw. Coloration chiefly blue; bill and teet black... . ay Bae . . . Sialia 6 No blue. Bill and feet not black. . . 7 - + +. Turdus 1 Oss. — In determining character of tarsus, whether booted or paritahiaté, it is acvematy to examine adult birds; for the fusion of the anterior scutella is progressive, and only accomplished perfectly at maturity. Andin general, in using artificial keys to genera and species, the student must agree with the author in understanding that speci- mens fairly illustrating normal adult characters are in hand. TURDID& — TURDINZ:: TYPICAL THRUSHES. 243 {. Subfamily TURDINA: Typical Thrushes. edo With the tarsus, in the adult, “‘ booted” or ! : enveloped in a continuous plate, formed by fusion of all the tarsal scutella excepting two or three just above the base of the toes (fig. 36). Toes deeply cleft,—the inner to the very base, the outer coherent with the middle only for the length of its basal joint. Wings more or less pointed, longer than the tail; lst primary spurious, and very short; 2d longer than 6th. Bill moderate, shorter than the head, straight, more or less sub- ulate, little depressed at base, with bristly rictus. Fic. 115.— A typical Thrush, the European Nostrils oval, nearly or quite reached by the Mlsckbird (ewiels mows): Brom Dixons frontal feathers. (Fig. 116.) Tail-feathers widening somewhat toward their ends; tail as a whole somewhat fan-shaped ; neither decidedly forked at the end, nor much graduated. Upwards of one hundred and fifty species are now usually assigned to the Turdine, most of them referable to the single genus Twrdus and its subdivisions. They are nearly cosmopolitan, and have a great development in the warmer parts of Aierica, where they are mainly represented by types closely allied to Turdus proper ; more aberrant forms, constituting very distinct genera, occur in the Old World. We have but one genus in North America, of which the robin is the most familiar, as it is a very characteristic, example; a species of Catharus, however, occurs very near if not actually over our Mexican border. The thrushes are diffused over all the woodland parts of cur country, and are all strictly migratory insectivorous birds, though feeding also upon berries and other soft fruits. Though not truly gregarious, some, as the robin for instance, often collect in troops at favorite feeding places, or migrate in companies. They build rather rude nests, often plastered with mud, never pensile, but saddled on a bough or fixed on a fork, or set on the ground; and lay from four to six green or blue eggs, sometimes plain, sometimes spotted. All are vocal; and some, like the wood thrush, are exquisitely melodious. These birds may be taken in illustration of a character which runs through other of the groups of Turdide besides the Turdine proper. The young, in their first feathering, which is worn but a short time, are curiously speckled and streaked, in a manner quite different from the adults. This feature is well shown by a young robin, or blue-bird, as described beyond. ° TUR/DUS. (Lat. twrdus, a thrush.) Turusues. The characters of the typical and single genus represented in North America are in effect the same as those of the subfamily already given. The several species fall in three subgenera, which may be thus analyzed : — Merula, — Sexes similar. Bill notched near end, little widened at base. Tarsi little longer than middle toe and claw. Beneath mostly unicolor, with streaked throat. Large; stout. (Type, Turdus merula ; includes our robins.) Hesperocichla. — Sexes dissimilar. Bill unnotched. Male with a black pectoral collar. Other- wise like Merula. (Type, and only species, Turdus naevius.) Turdus. — Sexes similar. Bill notched near end, much widened and depressed at base. Tarsi decidedly longer than middle toe and claw. Beneath spotted. Of small stature, and rather slender form. Analysis of Species and Varieties. Neither spotted nor banded below, but throat streaked, (Robins. ) Upper parts slate-colored ; breast chestnut. Outer tail-feather with white tipping. (Eastern) . . Bee Whores ne . migratorius 1 Outer tail-feather without decided white tipping. (Western. * ee ey een + « + propinguus 2 Upper parts grayish-ash ; breast yellowish-buff. (Cape St. Lucas.) nes & : see .conginis 3 1. 3. 244 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES — OSCINES. Streaked below on white ground, with reddish sides, (European.) ...... - Fae ee Oe iliacus 4 Banded crosswise, not spotted, below ; upper parts slate-colored. (Western.) . . se ew oo. neeviNs 5 Spotted below ‘on white or tawny ground, or on both. Upper parts not of uniform color. - Upper parts tawny, shading to olive onrump. (Wood Thrush, eastern). . . . . mustelinus 6 Upper parts olive, shading to rufous on rump. Of medium size. (Hermit Thrush, eastern.) - a) id. Oe ap ee eR a - + » nanus 10 Of largest size. (Hermit Thrush, Rocky Mts.) a3 se ee « © Guduboni 9 Of smallest size. (Hermit Thrush, Pacific coast.) . . . . ss ae we unalasce 8 Upper parts of uniform color throughout. Upper parts tawny : spots below few, pale, — confined to buff jugulum: no buff eye-ring. (Tawny Thrush, eastern.) . . ra ors Juscescens 7 Upper parts russet olive; under parts as before; no 6 buff eyeing: (Tawny Thrush, western.) . é . . « . Salicicola 7 Upper parts russet olive; spots below a invading wits bteasts a buff eye- ring. (Western Olive-backed Thrush.) . p 5 . ustulatus 11 Upper parts dark pure olive ; spots below as Stites a buff epee: (Eastern Olive- backed Thrush.) 5 Beh aay a6 « Swainsoni 13 Upper parts dark pure clive: spots below as atonal no hatievectnie: " astern.) . « alicia 12 T. migrato/rius. (Lat. migratorius, migratory; migrator, a wanderer. Figs. 36, 58, 116.) Rosin. 4, in summer: Upper parts slate-color, with a shade of olive. Head black, the eye- lids and a spot before the eye white, and the throat streaked with white. Quills of the wings dusky, edged with hoary ash, and with the color of the back. Tail blackish, the outer feather usually tipped with white. Under parts, to the vent, including the under wing-coverts, chestnut. Under tail-coverts and tibiz white, showing incre or less plumbeous. Bill yellow, often with a dusky tip. Mouth yellow. Eyes dark brown. Feet blackish, the soles yellow- ish. Length about 10.00; extent 16.00; wing 5.00-5.50; tail 4.00-4.50; bill 0.80; tarsus, or middle toe and claw, 1.25. 9, in summer: Similar, but the colors duller; upper parts rather olivaceous-gray ; chestnut of the under parts paler, the feathers skirted with gray or Fig. 116. — Robin, nat. size. (Ad. nat.del.E.C.) white; head and tail less blackish ; throat with more white. Bill much clouded with dusky. @¢, in winter, and young: Similar to the adult Q, but receding somewhat farther from the ¢ in summer by the duller colors, the paleness and restriction of the chestnut, with its extensive skirting with white, lack of distinction of the color of the head from that of the back, tendency of the white spot before the eye to run into a superciliary streak, and dark color of most of the bill. Very young birds have the back speckled, each feather being whitish centrally, with a dusky tip; and the cinnamon of the under parts is spotted with blackish. The greater coverts are tipped with white or rufous, frequently persistent, as are also some similar markings on the lesser coverts. N. Am. at large; an abundant and familiar bird, migratory, but breeding anywhere in its range. Nest in trees, usually saddled on a horizontal bough, composed largely of mud; eggs 4-6, about 1.18 x 0.80, uniform greenish-blue, normally unspotted. T. m. propin/quus? (Lat. propingwus, neighboring; as related to the last.) ALLIED Rosin. Quite like 7. migratorius; averaging slightly larger; wing up to 5.60; tail up to 4.70, not so blackish as that of 7. migratorius, the outer feather without white, or merely a narrow edging. A scarcely distinguished race, of the Rocky Mt. region and westward. T. confi‘nis. (Lat. confinis, allied or related; as to 7. migratorius.) St. Lucas Rosin. Upper parts, including sides of head and neck, uniform grayish-ash, with slight olive shade, searcely darker on the head; chin and throat white, streaked with ashy-brown ; breast, sides, 4. TURDIDZ-— TURDINZ: THRUSHES. 245 and lining of wings pale yellowish-buff, belly white, flanks ashy. A distinct white super- ciliary stripe; lower eyelid white. Feathers of jugulum and sides with ashy tips; greater wing-coverts tipped with whitish; bill yellowish, upper mandible and tip of lower tinged with dusky; feet pale brown. Wing 5.10; tail 4.10; tarsus 1.20; middle toe and claw 1.07. Lower California ; resembling a young robin, but quite distinct. T. ilvacus. (Lat. dliacus, relating to the flanks, which are red. Fig. 113.) Rep-wincEep Turusa. Upper parts hair-brown with an olive shade, darker on the head, paler on the rump. Wing-quills deep brown; coverts and inner secondaries tipped with whitish. Tail dark brown, the outer feather usually white-tipped. Lore blackish; eyelids and superciliary stripe whitish; auriculars streaked with light and dark brown. Throat yellowish-white, streaked with brownish-black; breast and belly grayish-white; lower tail-coverts whitish, streaked with brown. Sides and uuder wing-coverts light red. Bill brownish-black, basal half of lower mandible orange-yellow; iris brown; feet flesh-colored. Sexes alike. Length 8.50; extent 14.00; wing 4.50; tail 3.50; bill 0.75; tarsus, or middle toe and claw, 1.15. A European species, only N. American as occurring in Greenland. The upper parts are almost exactly like a robin’s; the lower whitish, streaked with dusky, the sides of the body and lining of the wings bright chestnut. T. ne/vius. (Lat. nevius, spotted, varied; nevus, a birth-mark. Fig. 117.) Variep TurusH. Orecon Rosin. ¢, in summer: Entire upper parts dark slate-color, varying in shade from a blackish to a plumbeous slate, in less perfect specimens with a slight olive tinge ; wings and tail blackish, with more or less of plumbeous or olive shade, according to the age of the quills; wing-coverts, greater and lesser, tipped with orange-brown form- ing two cross-bars, and quills edged in two or three places with the same; quills also white at base on the inner webs, this marking not visible from the outside; one or several of the lateral tail-feathers tipped with white. A broad black collar across the breast, mounting on the side of the neck and head. Stripe behind the eye, lower eyelid, and under parts orange-brown, gradually giving way to white on the lower belly; vent and crissum mixed white, orange-brown, and plumbeous. Bill black ; feet and claws dull yellow- ish. Length 9.50-10.00; extent about 16.00; wing 5.00; tail 3.75; bill 0.80; tarsus, or middle toe and claw, 1.25. Fie. 117. — Varied Thrush (Turdus nevius), nat. size. (Ad. Q, in summer: Upper parts olivaceous- ats Sele )) plumbeous (almost exactly the shade of the common robin in winter); wings and tail scarcely darker; the pectoral collar narrow, like the back in color; other under parts like those of the g, but duller, paler, and rather rusty than orange-brown, with more white on the lower belly. Markings of head, tail, and wings exactly as in the male. Young: Like the adult ?. Upper parts in many cases with a decided umber-brown wash. No speckled stage, like that of the very young robin, has been observed, though August specimens have been examined. In the young @, the black pectoral bar is at first indicated by interrupted blackish crescents on individual feathers. Young 9 9 sometimes show scarcely a trace of the collar. At all ages, the markings of the head and wings are much the same. Pacific coast region, Alaska %. Ta. 246 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES— OSCINES. to Mexico, abundant, migratory; accidental in Mass., N. J., and Long Island. A beautiful and very distinct species, representing the subgenus Hesperocichla (Gy. éomepos, hesperos, Lat. vesperus, western, and xixda, kichla, a thrush). Nest in bushes, of twigs, grasses, mosses, and lichens ; eggs 1.12 X 0.80, light greenish-blue, speckled with dark brown. T. musteli/nus. (Lat. mustelinus, weasel-like; i.e., tawny in color; mustela, a weasel. Fig. 118.) Woop Turusu. ¢ 9, adult: Upper parts, including the surface of the closed wings, tawny-brown, purest and deepest on the head, shading insensibly into olivaceous on the rump and tail. Below, pure white, faintly tinged on the breast with buff, and everywhere, except on the throat, middle of belly, and crissum, marked with numerous large, well-defined, rounded or subtriangular blackish spots. Inner webs and ends of quills fuscous, with a white or buffy edging toward the base. Greater under wing-coverts inostly white. Auriculars sharply streaked with dusky and white. Bill blackish-brown, with flesh- colored or yellowish base. Feet like this part of the bill. Length 7.50-8.00; extent about 13.00; wing 4.00-4.25 ; tail 3.00-3.25 ; bill 0.75; tarsus 1.25; middle toe and claw less. Young: Speckled or streaked above with pale yellowish or whitish, espe- Fic. 118. — Wood Thrush (7. mustelinus), cially noticeable as triangular spots on the wing- nat. size. (Ad. nat. del. E. C.) coverts. But these speedily disappear, when a plumage scarcely different from that of the adult is assumed. The most strongly marked species of the subgenus. In TJ. unalasce, the only other one showing both tawny and olive on the upper parts, the position of the two colors is reversed, the tawny occupying the rump, the olive the head. In no other species are the spots below so large, sharp, numerous, and generally dispersed. Eastern U. 8., N. to New England only; a famous vocalist, common in low damp_woods and thickets; migratory; breeds throughout its range; nest in bushes and low trees, of leaves, grasses, etc., and mud; eggs usually 4-5, plain greenish-blue like those of the robin, but smaller: 1.08 0.70. T. fusces‘cens, (Lat. fuscescens, less than fuscus, dark.) Wutson’s THRUSH. VEERY. &¢@ : Upper parts reddish-brown, with slight olive shade; no contrast of color between back and tail; quills and tail-feathers darker and purer brown, the former with white or buff spaces at the concealed bases of the inner webs (as usual in this subgenus). No orbi- tal light ring around the eye; auriculars only obsoletely streaky. Below, white; the sides shaded with hoary-gray or pale grayish-olive; the jugulum buff-colored, contrasting strongly with the white of the breast, and marked with a few small brown arrow-heads, the chin and middle line of throat, however, nearly white and immaculate. A few obsolete grayish-olive spots in the white of the breast; but otherwise the markings confined to the buff area. Bill dark above, mostly pale below, like the feet. @, Length 7.25-7.50; extent about 12.00; wing 4.00-4.25; tail 3.00-3.25 ; bill 0.60; tarsus 1.20. 9, smaller; average of both sexes: length 7.35; extent 11.75; wing 3.90; tail 2.85; tarsus 1.12. Chiefly eastern U.S., but N. to Canada; common, migratory, nesting in northerly parts of its range. Nest on ground or near it, of leaves, grasses, ete, but no mud; eggs 4-5, greenish-blue like those of the wood thrush, normally unspotted, 0.90 x 0.60. A delightful songster, like others of the genus, found in thick woods and swamps; of shy and retiring habits. . £. salici/cola. (Lat. saliz, a willow; colo, I cultivate.) Wi1tLtow Tawny Turusa. Like T. fuscescens, but averaging larger, the upper parts less decidedly tawny, the jugulum less distinctly buff. Wing 3.80-4.25, av. 4.02; tail 2.95-3.40, av. 3.20; Dill 0.55-0.60; tarsus, av. 1.17; middle toe without claw, av. 0.69. A slight form recently described by Mr. Ridgway, inhabiting the lower willowy portions of the Rocky Mt. region, U. 8. This variety is clearly 8. 9. 10. TURDIDZA —TURDINZ: THRUSHES. 247 referable to 7. fuscescens; but it bears an extraordinary resemblance to T. ustulatus, in: the Tusset-olive color of the upper parts, and only slightly buff tinge of the jugulum. It is dis- tinguished from ustulatus by lack of the buff orbital ring so characteristic of ustulatus and swainsont, and other characters by which fuscescens differs, notably the few if any spots in the white breast back of the buff area, and pale hoary gray instead of sordid olive-gray shading of the sides. The nest and eggs are presumably like those of fuscescens, not like those of ustu- latus or swainsont. (Not in Check List, 1882.) T. unalas'ce. (Named from the island of Unalaska.) Waxstern Hermir Toruse. In color absolutely like No. 10; in size slightly less on an average; length scarcely 7.00; wing 3.30: tail 2.50; tarsus 1.15. Pacific coast region of N. A. T. u. au'duboni. (To J. J. Audubon.) Aupuson’s Hermit Turuss. In color absolutely like No. 10; in size larger on an average; length about 7.75; wing 4.20; tail 3.30; tarsus 1.30. Southern Rocky Mt. region. A better marked variety than the last. T.u.na/‘nus. (Gr. vdvos, Lat. nanus, a dwarf.) EasteRN Hermit Tarusu. ¢ 9, in summer: Upper parts olivaceous, with a brownish cast, and therefore not so pure as in swaimsont; this color changing on the rump and upper tail-coverts into the rufous of the tail, in decided contrast with the back. Under parts white, shaded with grayish-olive on the sides ; the breast, jugulum, and sides of the neck more or less strongly tinged with yellowish, and marked with numerous large, angular, dusky spots, which extend back of the yellowish-tinted parts. Throat immaculate. A yellowish orbital ring, Bill brownish-black, most of the under mandible livid whitish; mouth yellow, eyes brown; legs pale brownish. , length 7.00- 7.25; extent 11.00-12.00; wing 3.50-3.75 ; tail 2.75-3.00. 9, smaller; length 6.75-7.00; extent 10.75-11.25; wing 3.25-3.50. Averages of both sexes are: length 7.00; extent 11.25 ; wing 3.50; tail 2.75; farsus 1.15. The dimensions thus overlap those of both unalasce anA audubom, and no positive discrimination is possible; the differences, when any, being u averages, not of extremes either way. g 9, in winter: The olivaceous of the upper parts assumes a more rufous cast, much like that of ustulatus, and the yellowish wash of the under parts and sides of the head and neck is more strongly pronounced. But the most rufous speci- mens are readily distinguished from fuscescens by the strong contrast between the color of the tail and other upper parts. Very young: Most of the upper parts marked with pale yellowish longitudinal streaks, with clubbed extremities, and dusky specks at the end; while the feathers of the belly and flanks are often skirted with dusky in addition te the numerous blackish spots of the rest of the under parts. N. Am. at large, but chiefly the Eastern Province; abundant; migratory, and found in all woodland, but breeds only northerly, from Massachusetts and cor- responding latitudes to the Arctic regions ; winters in the Southern States. Nest and eggs not distinguishable from those of the Veery (No. 7). T. ustula‘tus. (Lat. wstwlatus, scorched, singed; referring to the warm russet coloration.) OREGON OLIVE-BACKED THRUSH. RUSSET-BACKED THRUSH. Quite like 7. swainsont proper, No. 18, in uniformity of the color of the whole upper parts, presence of a buff orbital ring, and general character of the shading and spotting of the under parts; but olive of the upper parts not pure, having a decided rufous tinge, resulting in a russet-olive of exactly the shade of that of the upper parts of the Western variety of fuscescens (salicicola) ; from which it is distinguished by the buff orbital ring, and very different shading and marking of the under parts (compare No. 7a); there being, as in swainsont proper, much olive-gray spotting of the white breast back of the buff area, and much shading of the same olive-gray on the sides. Size of swainsont. Nest in bushes, and eggs spotted, as in the latter. Pacific coast region of the U. S., abundant. T. u. alicia. (To Miss Alice Kennicott, sister of Robert Kennicott.) GRAY-CHEEKED TurusH. Similar to swainsoni in uniformity and purity of the olive of the upper parts, whick is as dark and pure (no tendency to the rufous of ustulatus) ; but the sides of the head lack- 13. 248 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES— OSCINES. ing the yellowish or buffy suffusion seen in swainsoni, being thus like the back, or merely grayer; no buff ring around eye; breast slightly if at all tinged with yellowish. Rather larger than swainsoni, about equalling mustelinus: length 7.50-8.00; extent 12.50-13.50; wing 4.00-4.25 ; tail 3.00-3.25; bill over 0.50; average dimensions about the maxima of swainsont. Distribution and nesting the same, but breeding range more northerly(?). A well-marked variety, perhaps a distinct species. (A local race has been described as smaller, with the bill usually slenderer; Catskill and White Mts.; T. alicia bicknelli Ridgw.) T. u. swain/soni. (To Win. Swainson, an English naturalist.) OLIVE-BACKED THRUSH. & @: Above, clear olivaceous, of exactly the same shade over all the upper parts; below, white, strongly shaded with olive-gray on the sides and flanks, the throat, breast, and sides of the neck and head strongly tinged with yellowish, the fore parts, excepting the throat, marked with numerous large, broad, dusky spots, which extend backward on the breast and belly, there rather paler, and more like the olivaceous of the upper parts. Edges of eyelids yellowish, forming a strong buff orbital ring; lores the same. Mouth yellow; bill blackish, the basal half of lower mandible pale; iris dark brown; feet pale ashy-brown. Length of 6, 7.00-7.50; extent 12.00-12.50; wing 3.75-4.00; tail 2.75-3.00; bill 0.50; tarsus 1.10. Q averaging smaller; length 6.75; extent 11.50-12.00, ete. North America, N. to high latitudes, W. to the Rocky Mts., common; migratory ; breeds from New England northward. Nest in bushes and low trees, thus in situation like that of the wood thrush, but no mud in its composition ; eggs unlike those of mustelinus, fuscescens, and the varieties of wnalasce, in being freely speckled with different shades of brown on a greenish-blue ground; size 0.90 x 0.66; number 4-5. 2. Subfamily MIMINAZE: Mocking Thrushes. Aberrant Turdide, departing from the prime characteristic ‘of the family in having the tarsi scu- tellate in front (the scutella soime- times fusing, however, as in the eatbird), and the lst primary, though. short, hardly to be called spurious. Wings short and round- ed (for this family), about equal to the tail only in Oroscoptes ; 2d primary shorter than the 6th. Tail large and rounded or much graduated, usually decidedly longer than the wings. Tarsus about equal to the middle toe and ciaw ; feet stout, in adaptation to soine- what terrestrial life. Bill various @ in form, usually longer or at least more curved than in the true thrushes;.in Harporhynchus at- taining extraordinary length and curvature. Birds much like overgrown wrens (with which they have been associated by some) ; distinguished chiefly by greater size, different nostrils and rictal bristles, and more deeply-cleft toes. As a group they are rather southern, hardly passing beyond the United States; few species reaching even the Middle States, and the max- imum development being in Central and South America. They are peculiar to America, where they are represented by Oroscoptes, Mimus, Harporhynchus, and five or six related Fig. 119. — Mocking-bird, about 4 nat. size. (After Wilson.) 14. TURDIDA — MIMINA: MOCKING THRUSHES. 249 genera, with upward of forty recorded species, two-thirds of which are certainly genuine. About one-half of these fall in Mimus alone; of Harporhynchus, nearly all the species occur in the United States. In their general habits they resemble wrens as much as thrushes, habitually residing in shrubbery near the ground, relying for concealment as much upon the nature of their,resorts as upon their own activity and vigilance. They are all melodious, and some, like the immortal mocking-bird, are as famous for their powers of mimicry as for the brilliant execution of their proper songs. In compensation for this great gift of music, perhaps that they may not grow too proud, they are plainly clad, grays and browns being the prevail- ing colors. The nest is generally built with little art, in a bush, and the eggs, two to six in number, are blue or green, plain or speckled. Analysis of Genera. Smallest: bill shortest ; wings about equal to tail. Adults speckled below .. .... +. Oroscoptes 2 Medium : bill moderate; wings a little shorter than tail. Adults plain below. ... . . -Mimus 3 Largest : bill immoderate ; wings much shorter than tail. Plain or spotted below . . . Harporhynchus 4 OROSCOP'TES. (Gr. épos, ores, a mountain, and oxamrys, scoptes, a mimic). MOUNTAIN Mockers. Wings and tail of equal lengths, the former more pointed than in other genera of Mimme, with the 1st quill not half as long as the 2d, which is between the 6th and 7th; the 3d, 4th, and 5th about equal to one another, and forming the point of the wing. Tail nearly even, its feathers but slightly graduated. Tarsus longer than middle toe and claw, anteriorly distinctly scutellate. Bill much shorter than head, not curved, with obsolete notch near the end. Rictal bristles well developed, the longest reachiug beyond the nostrils. O. montanus is the only known species. O. monta‘nus. (Lat. montanus, of a mountain.) Mountain MOocxkInG-Birp. Sac THRASHER. ¢ Q, in summer: Above, grayish or brownish-ash, the feathers with ob- soletely darker centres. Below, whitish, more or less tinged with pale buffy-brown, every- where marked with triangular dusky spots, largest and most crowded across the breast, small and sparse, sometimes wanting, on the throat, lower belly, and crissum. Wings fuscous, with much whitish edging on all the quills, and two white bands formed by the tips of the greater and median coverts. Tail like the wings ;, the outer feather edged and broadly tipped, and all the rest, excepting usually the middle pair, tipped with white in decreasing amount. Bill and feet black or blackish, the former often with pale base. Length about 8.00; wing and tail, each, about 4.00; tarsus 1.12; bill 0.75. Young: Dull brownish above, conspic- uously streaked with dusky; the markings below streaky and diffuse. Plains to the Pacific, U.8.; also Texas and Lower California; an interesting species, resembling an undersized young mocking-bird, abundant in the sage-brush of the W. Nest on ground or in low bushes ; eggs usually 4, 1.00 X 0.72, light greenish-blue, heavily marked with brown and neutral tint. . MIMUS. (Lat. mimus, a mimic.) Mockine-pirps. Bill much shorter than head, scarcely curved as a whole, but with gently-curved commissure, notched near the end. Rictal vibrisse well developed. Tail rather longer than wings, rounded, the lateral feathers being considerably graduated. Wings rounded. (Tarsal scutella sometimes obsolete.) Tarsi longer than the mid- dle toe and claw. Of this genus there are two well marked sections (represented by the mock- ing-bird and cat-bird respectively), which may be distinguished by color: — Mimus. — Above ashy-brown, below white; lateral tail-feathers and bases of primaries white. (Tarsal scutella always distinct.) Fia. 120. —Catbird, nat. size. (Ad. nat. del. E. C.) Galeoscoptes. — Blackish-ash, scarcely paler below; crown and tail black, unvaried; erissum rufous. (Tarsal scutella sometimes obsolete.) 15. 16 250 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES — OSCINES. M. polyglotitus. (Lat. polyglottus, many-tongued; from Gr. modvs, polus, many, and yAérra, glotta, tongue. Fig. 119.) Mocxine-sirp. ¢, adult: Upper parts ashy-gray; lower parts soiled white. Wings blackish-brown, the primaries, with the exception of the first, marked with a large white space at the base, restricted on the outer quills usually to half or less of these feathers, but occupying nearly all of the inner quills. The shorter white spaces show as a conspicuous spot when the wing is closed, the longer inner ones being hidden by the second- aries. The coverts are also tipped and sometimes edged with white; and there may be much edging or tipping, or both, of the quills themselves. Outer tail-feathers white; next two pair white, except on the outer web; uext pair usually white toward the end, and the rest sometimes tipped with white. Bill and feet black, the former often pale at the base below ; soles dull yellowish. Length about 10.00, but ranging from 9.50 to 11.00; extent about 14.00 (13.00 to 15.00); wing 4.00-4.50; tail 4.50-5.00; bill 0.75; tarsus 1.25. 9, adult: Similar, but the colors less clear and pure; above rather brownish than grayish-ash, below sometimes quite brownish-white, at least on the breast. Tail and wings with less white than as above described. But the gradation in these features is by imperceptible degrees, so that there is no infallible color-mark of sex. In general, the clearer and purer are the colors, and the more white there is on the wings and tail, the more likely is the bird to be a ¢ and prove a good singer. The @ is also smaller than the ¢ on an average, being generally under and rarely over 10 inches in length, with extent of wings usually less than 14.00; the wing little if any over 4.00, the tail about 4.50. Young: Above decidedly brown, and below speckled with dusky. U.S. from Atlantic to Pacific, southerly; rarely N. to New England, and not common N. of 38°, though known to reach 42°; thronging the groves of the South Atlantic and Gulf States. Nest in bushes and low trees, bulky and inartistic, of twigs, grasses, leaves, etc.; eggs 4-6, measuring on an average 1.00 x 0.75, bluish-green, heavily speckled and freckled with several brownish shades. Two or three broods are generally reared each season, which in the South extends from March to August. When taken from the nest, the ‘ prince of musicians” becomes a contented captive, and has been known to live many years in con- finement. Naturally an accomplished songster, he proves an apt scholar, susceptible of improve- ment by education to an astonishing degree; but there is a great difference with individual birds in this respect. , M. carolinensis. (Of Carolina: Carolus, Charles IX., of France.) (Figs. 37,120.) Catr- BIRD. ¢ 9: Slate-gray, paler and more grayish-plumbeous below; crown of head, tail, bill, and feet black. Quills of the wing blackish, edged with the body-color. Under tail-coverts rich dark chestnut or mahogany-color. Length 8.50-9.00; extent 11.00 or more; wing 3.50- 3.75; tail 4.00; bill 0.66; tarsus 1.00-1.10. Young: Of a more sooty color above, with little or no distinction of a black cap, and comparatively paler below, where the color has a soiled brownish cast. Crissum dull rufous. U.S. and adjoining British Provinces. West to the Rocky Mts., and even Washington Terr., but chiefly Eastern; migratory, but resident in the Southern States, and breeds throughout its range ;. nest of sticks, leaves, bark, etc., in bushes ; eggs 4-6, deep greenish-blue, not spotted. An abundant and familiar inhabitant of our groves and briery tracts, remarkable for its harsh cry, like the mewing of a cat (whence its name), but also possessed, like all its tribe, of eminent vocal ability. HARPORHYN'CHUS. (Gr. dpm, harpe, a sickle; pvyxos, rhygchos, beak; i. e., bow- billed.) TurasHers. Bill of indeterminate size and shape, ranging from one extreme, in which it is straight and shorter than the head, to the other, in which it exceeds the head in length and is bent like a bow (see figs. 121-125). Feet large and strong, indicating terres- trial habits; tarsus strongly scutellate anteriorly, about equalling or slightly exceeding in length the middle toe with its claw. Wings and tail rounded, the latter decidedly longer than the former. Rictus with well developed bristles. Viewing only the extreme shapes of the bill, as in H. rufus and H. crissalis, it would not seem consistent with the minute subdivis- TURDIDA — MIMINZ: MOCKING THRUSHES. 251 ions which now obtain in ornithology to place all the species in one genus; but the gradation of form is so gentle that it seems impossible to dismember the group without violence. The areuation of the bill proceeds pari passw with its elongation; the shortest bills being the straightest, and conversely. There is also a curious correlation of color with shape of bill; the short-billed species being the most richly colored and heavily spotted, while the bow- billed ones are very plain, sometimes with no spots whatever on the under parts. Our nine forms of the genus are with one exception South- -western, focusing in Arizona, where occur four species, two of them not known elsewhere; two others are confined to California; two to the Mexican border, leaving only one generally distributed. They furnish the following Analysis af Species and Varieties. Bill not longer than head (0.87-1.12), little or not curved. Breast spotted. Bill 1.00, quite straight. Above rich rusty-red ; below whitish, heavily spotted and streaked with dark brown, Eastern... » . rufus 17 Bill 1.12, slightly curved. Above dark reddish-brown, below whitish, heavily spotted and streaked with blackish. Texas .. . . « longirostris 18 Bill 1.12, curved. Above ashy- ray, below whitish, ‘preast with rout spots of the color of the back. Mexican border and Arizona. . . ; curvirostris or palmeri 19, 20 Bill 0.87, scarcely curved. Above eraviehe enews below ‘brownish-white, breast alone with arrow- heads of the color of the back. Arizona. : . bendirii 12 ’ Bill 1.12, curved. Above sibs below whitish, with profuse distinct “ blackish-brown spots. Lower California . . . . ce : : ‘ - cinereus 22 Bill longer than head (1.50), avennte: Breast not spotted, c Dark oily olive-brown, below paler, belly and crissum rufescent. Coast of California . redivivus 23 Pale ash, paler still below, lower belly and crissum brownish-yellow. Arizona ~ + . « becontii 24 Brownish-ash, paler below, crissum chestnut in marked contrast. aa New Mexico, and California. ..... ote . . « . . erissalis 25 1%. H. ru/fus. (Lat. rufus, rufous, reddish. ». Fig. 191.9 Paeasame 1 Brown Turusu. & 9: Upper 18. parts uniform rich rust-red, with a bronzy lustre. Concealed portions of quills fuscous. Greater and median wing-coverts blackish near the end, then conspicuously tipped with white. Bastard quills like the coverts. Tail : like the back, the lateral feathers with paler ends. Under parts white, more or less strongly tinged, especially on the breast, flanks, and crissum, with tawny or pale cinnamon-brown, the breast and sides marked with a profu- ¢ sion of well-defined spots of dark brown, oval in front, becoming more linear posteriorly. Throat immaculate, bordered with a necklace of spots; ” middle of the belly and under tail- coverts likewise unspotted. Bill quite straight, black, with yellow base of the l lower mandible ; feet pale; iris yellow Fic. 121.— Thrasher, nat. size. (Ad. nat. del. E. C.) or orange. Length about 1] inches; extent 12.50-14.00; wing 3.75-4.25 ; tail 5.00 or more; bill 1.00; tarsus 1.25. Eastern U. S. chiefly, but N. to adjoining British Provinces and W. to the Rocky Mts.; migratory, but breeds throughout its range, and winters in the Southern States. A delightful songster, abundant in thickets and shrubbery. Nest in bushes (some- times on ground), bulky and rude, of sticks, leaves, bark, roots, etc.; eggs 4-5, sometimes 6, 1.05 < 0.80, whitish or greenish, profusely speckled with brown. H, r. longiros'tris. (Lat. longus, long, and rostris, from rostrum, beak; i. e., long-billed.) Taxas THRASHER. Similar to H. rufus; upper parts dark reddish-brown, instead of rich foxy-red; under parts white, with little if any tawny tinge, the spots large, very numerous, 19. 20. 21. 252 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES — OSCINES. and blackish instead of brown; ends of the rectrices scarcely or not lighter than the rest of these feathers ; bill almost entirely dark-colored. Besides these points of coloration, there is a decided. difference in the shape of the bill. In A. rufus, the bill is quite straight, and only just about. an inch long; the gonys is straight, and makes an angle with the slightly concave lower. outline of the mandibular rami. In H. longirostris, the bill is rather over an inch long, and somewhat curved; the outline of the gonys is a little concave, making with the ramus one con-, tinuous curve from base to tip of the bill. Size of H. rufus. Texas and Mexico. H. curviros'tris. (Lat. curvus, curved, and rostris; bow-billed.) CURVE-BILLED THRASHER.* & 9: Above, uniform ashy-gray (exactly the color of a mocking-bird), the wings and tail darker and purer brown. Below, dull whitish, tinged with ochraceous, especially on the flanks and crissum, and marked with rounded spots of the color of the back, most numerous and blend- ed on the breast. Throat quite’ white, immaculate, without maxil- lary stripes; lower belly and cris- sum mostly free from spots. No decided markings on the side of the head. Ends of greater and median Fie. 122. —Bow-billed Thrasher, nat. size; bill a little too Wing-coverts white, forming two de- thick. (Ad. nat. del. E. C.) cided cross-bars; tail-feathers dis- tinetly tipped with white. Bill black, over an inch long, curved, stout; feet dark brown. Length of $ about 11.00; wing 4.25-4.50 ; tail 4.50-5.00; bill 1.12; tarsus 1.25; middle toe and claw 1.383. 9 averaging rather smaller. Mexico, reaching the U. 8. border of Texas. H. c. pal/meri, (To Edw. Palmer. Fig. 122.) Bow-sintep THRASHER. Above, grayish- brown, nearly uniform; wing-coverts and quills with slight whitish edging, the edge of the wing itself white; tail-feathers with slight whitish tips; below, a paler shade of the color of the upper parts, the throat quite whitish, the crissum slightly rufescent, the breast and belly with obscure dark gray spots on the grayish-white ground; no obvious maxillary streaks, but vague speckling on the cheeks; bill black; feet blackish-brown. Length 10.75; bill 1.12; wing 4.25; tail 5.00; tarsus 1.25; middle toe and claw 1.30. 9 smaller; wing 3.75; tail 4.50; tarsus 1.20; middle toe and claw 1.12; bill barely 1.00. Although the differences from the typical form are not easy to express, they are readily appreciable on comparison of specimens. The upper parts are quite similar; but the under parts, instead of being whitish, with decided spotting of the color of the back, are grayish, tinged with rusty, especially behind, and the spotting is nebulous. The white on the ends of the wing-coverts and tail- feathers is reduced to a minimum or en- tirely suppressed. The bill is slenderer and apparently more curved. Arizona, common, in desert regions. Nest in cac- tus, mezquite and other bushes; eggs usually 3, 1.10 0.80, pale greenish-blue profusely dotted with reddish-brown. H. bendi'rii. (To Capt. Chas. Bendire, U.S.A. Fig. 123.) Arizona THRASHER. a 9: Bill shorter than head, compara- Fie. 123.— Arizona Thrasher, nat. size, (Ad. nat, del. E. C.) tively stout at base, very acute at tip, the culmen quite convex, the gonys just appreciably concave. Tarsus a little longer than the middle toe and claw. 8d and 4th primaries about equal and longest, 5th and 6th successively slightly shorter, 2d equal to 7th, 1st equal to penul- timate secondary in the closed wing. Entire upper parts, including upper surfaces of wings 22. 23. TURDIDA — MIMINZA: MOCKING THRUSHES. 258 and tail, uniform dull pale grayish-brown, with narrow, faintly-rusty edges of the wing- coverts and inner quills, and equally obscure whitish tipping of the tail-feathers. No max- illary nor auricular streaks; no markings about the head ‘except slight speckling on the cheeks. Under parts brownish-white, palest (nearly white) on the belly and throat, more decidedly rusty-brownish on the sides, flanks, and crissum, the breast alone marked with numerous small arrow-head spots of the color of the back. Bill light-colored at base below. g@: Length about 9.25; wing 4.00; tail 4.25; bill 0.87; along gape 1.12; tarsus. 1.25; middle toe and claw 1.12. 9 rather smaller; wing, 3.75, ete. Arizona, less common than palmeri, with which it is associated. Nest in bushes; eggs 2-3, about 1.00 x 0.73, elliptical rather than oval, whitish, spotted and blotched with reddish-brown. H. cinereus. (Lat. cinereus, ashy; cinis, cimeris, ashes. Fig. 124.) St. Lucas: THRASHER. ¢ Q: Upper parts uniform ashy-brown; wings and tail similar, but rather purer and darker brown, the furmer crossed with two white bars formed by the tips of the coverts, the latter tipped with white. Below, dull white, often tinged with rusty, especially behind, and thickly marked with small, sharp, tri- angular spots of dark brown or blackish. These spots are all perfectly distinct, cover- ing the lower parts excepting the throat, lower belly, and erissum; becoming smaller anteriorly, they run up each side of the throat in a maxillary series bounding the immacu- late area. Sides of head finely speckled, and auriculars streaked; bill black, lighten- x ing at base below, little longer than that of Fig. 124. — St, Lucas Thrasher, nat, size. (Ad nat. H. rufus, though decidedly curved. Length el. E.C.) of # about 10.00; wing 4.00; tail 4.50; bill 1.12; tarsus 1.25; middle toe and claw 1.25. Q averaging rather smaller. Young: Upper parts strongly tinged with rusty-brown, this color also edging the wings and tipping the tail. The resemblance of this species to the mountain mocking-bird (Oroscoptes montanus) is striking. It is distinguished from any others. of the U. 8. by the sharpness of the spotting underneath, which equals that of H. rufus itself, the small and strictly triangular character of the spots, together with the grayish-brown of the upper parts, and inferior dimensions. Lower California, common. Nest a slight shallow structure of twigs in cactus and other bushes; eggs 1.12 X 0.77, greenish-white, profusely speckled. H. redivi'vus. (Lat. redivivus, re- vived; the long-lost species having been rediscovered and so named. Fig. 125.) CALIFORNIA THRASHER. &: No spots anywhere; wings and tail without decided barring or tip- ping. Bill as long as the head or longer, bow-shaped, black. Wings very much shorter than the tail. ” Above, dark oily olive-brown, the Fie. 125. — California Thrasher, nat. size. (Ad, nat, del. E. C.) wings and tail similar, but rather purer brown. Below, a paler shade of the color of the upper parts, the belly and crissum strongly rusty- brown, the throat definitely whitish in marked contrast, and not bordered by decided maxillary streaks. Cheeks and auriculars blackish- brown, with sharp whitish shaft streaks. Length 11.50; wing 4.00 or rather less; tail 5.00 or more; bill (chord of culmen) nearly or quite 1.50; tarsus 1.35; middle toe and claw about 254 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES — OSCINES. the same. similar, rather smaller. Coast region of California, abundant in dense chaparral; nest a rude platform of twigs, roots, grasses, leaves, etc., in bushes; eggs 2-3, 1.15 x 0.85, bluish-green, with olive and russet-brown spots. 24. H.r. lecon’tii. (To Dr. John L. Le Conte, the entomologist.) Yuma THRASHER. This form, with size and proportions the same as those of redivivus proper, differs very notably in the pallor of all the coloration, being in fact a bleached desert race. Excepting the slight snaxillary streaks, there are no decided markings anywhere; and the change from the pale ash of the general under parts to the brownish-yellow of the lower belly and crissum is very gradual. Valley of the Gila and Lower Colorado; very rare. deep; eggs 2, 1.15 X0.77, pale greenish, dotted with reddish. Nest in bush, bulky, loose, 25. H. crissa/lis. (Lat. crissalis, relating to the crissum, or under tail-coverts. Fig. 126.) CRIssaL Fie. 126.—Crissal Thrasher, nat. size. (Ad nat. del. E. C.) in marked contrast with the surrounding parts. THRASHER. (@: Brownish-ash, with a faint olive shade, the wings and tail purer and darker fuscous, without white edging or tipping. Below, a paler shade of the color of the upper parts. Throat and side of the lower jaw white, with sharp black maxil- lary streaks. Cheeks and au- riculars speckled with whitish. Under tail-coverts rich chestnut, Bill black, at the maximum of length, slen- derness, and curvature; feet blackish. Length about 12.00; wing 4.00-4.25; tail 5.50-6.00; its lateral feathers 1.50 shorter than the central ones; bill 1.50; tarsus 1.33; middle toe and claw 1.25. This fine species is distinguished by the strongly chestnut under tail-coverts, the contrast being as great as that seen in the cat-bird. The sharp black maxillary streaks are also a strong character. The bill is extremely slender, the tail at a maximum of length, and the feet are notably smaller than those of H. redivivus. Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and California in the Colorado Valley, common in chaparral; nest in bushes near the ground, of twigs lined with vegetable fibres; eggs usually 2, emerald green, unspotted. 3. Subfamily CINCLINA:: Dippers. Fic. 127. —European Dipper, C. aguaticus, (From Dixon.) Wing of 10 primaries, the 1st of which is spurious, and, like the others, falcate; 2d primary entering into the point of wing ; wing short, stiff, rounded, and concavo- convex. Tail still shorter .than the wing, soft, square, of 12 broad, rounded feathers, almost hidden by the coverts, which reach nearly or quite to the end, the under being especially long and full. Tarsi booted, about as long as the middle toe and claw. Lateral toes equal in length. Claws all strongly curved. Bill 30. TURDIDZ — CINCLINZ: DIPPERS. 255 shorter than head, slender and compressed throughout, higher than broad at the nostrils, about straight, but seeming to be slightly recurved, owing to a sort of upward tilting of the superior mandible; culmen at first slightly concave, then convex; commissure slightly sinuous, to cor- respond with the culmen, notched near the end; gonys convex. Nostrils linear, opening beneath a large scale partly covered with feathers. No rictal vibrissee, nor any trace of bristles or bristle-tipped feathers about the nostrils. Plumage soft, lustreless, remarkably full and compact, water-proof. Body stout, thick-set. Habits aquatic. A small but remarkable group, in which the characters shared by the Turdine, Saxicoline, and Sylviine are modified in adaptation to the singular aquatic life the species lead. There is only one genus, with about 12 species, inhabiting clear mountain streams of most parts of the world, chiefly the Northern Hemisphere; easily flying wnder water, and spending much of their time in that element, where their food, of various aquatic animal substances, is gleaned. CIN'CLUS. (Gr. kiykAos, kigklos, Lat. cinclus, a kind of bird. Figs. 114, 127, 128.) Dip- PERS. Characters those of the subfamily, as above given. Fia. 128. — American Dipper, nat. size. (Ad nat. del. E, C.) C. mexica/nus. (Lat. mexicanus, Mexican. Fig. 128.) AmERICAN DIPPER, or WATER OuzEL. 9, adult, in summer: Slaty-plumbeous, paler below, inclining on the head to sooty-brown. Quills and tail-feathers fuscous. Eyelids usually white. Bill black; feet yellowish. Length 6.00-7.00; extent 10.00-11.00; wing 3.50-4.00; tail about 2.25 ; bill 0.60; tarsus 1.12; middle toe and claw rather less. Individuals vary much in size. $9, in winter, and most immature specimens, are still paler below, all the feathers of the under parts being skirted with whitish. The quills of the wing are also tipped with white. The Dill is yellowish at the base. Young: Below, whitish, more or less so according to age, frequently tinged with pale cinnamon-brown ; whole under parts sometimes overlaid with the whitish ends of the feathers, shaded with rufous posteriorly; throat usually nearly white ; bill mostly yellow ; white tipping of the wing-feathers at a maximum; in some cases the tail-feathers similarly marked. Mountains of Western N. A., from Alaska to Mexico; a sprightly and engaging resi- dent of clear mountain streams, usually observed flitting among the rocks; has a fine song. Nest a pretty ball of green moss lined with grasses, with a hole at the side, hidden in the rift of a rock, or other nook close to the water: eggs about 5, 1.04 « 0.70, pure white, unmarked. 256 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES — OSCINES. 4. Subfamily SAXICOLINZ: Stone.chats and Blue-birds. Chiefly Old World; repre- sented in North America by two European species and the familiar Blue-birds; author, assign different limits to the group, and frequently trans- pose the genera. As usually constituted, it contains up- wards of 100 species, com- monly referred to about 12 genera. Like many othe groups of Passeres, it ha never been defined with pre- cision, being known conven- tionally by the birds orni- thologists put in it. The following birds have booted tarsi; oval nostrils; bristled rictus; rather short, square or emarginate tail ; long, pointed wings, with very short spuri- ous lst quill; tarsns not shorter (except in Sialia much longer) than iniddle toe and claw; pill much shorter than head, straight and acute. Fig. 129, — Wheat-ear. (From Dixon.) Analysis of Genera. Bill slender. Tarsus much longer than middle toe and claw. Point of wing formed by 2d-4th quills. Lateral toes of equal lengths. Form slender. Noblue. Terrestrial. . . . Sasicola 6 Bill very slender. Tarsus much longer than middle toe and claw. Point of wing ‘formed by 3d-5th quills. Lateral toes of unequal lengths. Form slender. Throat intense blue and chestnut; tail with chestnut Cyanecula 8 Bill stouter. Tarsus not longer than middle toe and claw. Point of wing formed by 2d-4th quills. Lateral toes of unequal lengths. Blue the chief color. Form stouter. Arboricole . ..... . . Sialia 7 6. SAXICOLA. (Lat. saxum, a rock; colo, I inhabit. Fig. 130.) Sronz-cuars. Bill shorter than head, slender, straight, depressed at base, com pressed at end, notched. Wings long, pointed, the tij formed by the 2d-4th quills, the 1st spurious, scarcely or not one-fourth as long as the 2d. Tail much shorter than wing, square. Tarsi booted, but with 4 scutella below in front; long and slender, much ex- ceeding the middle toe and claw; lateral toes of about equal lengths, very short, the tips of their claws not reaching the base of the middle claw; claws little curved ; feet thus adapted to terrestrial habits. A large Fie. 130.— Generic details of Saxicola. and widely distributed Old World genus, of some 30 species, inhabiting Europe, Asia, and especially Africa. 26. S. enan’the. (Gr. olvav6y, oinanthe, name of a bird, from oivn, oine, the grape, and dvOos, anthos, a flower. Fig. 129.) Srong-cHat. WHEAT-EAR. Adult ¢: Ashy-gray; forehead, superciliary line and under parts white, latter often brownish-tinted ; upper tail-coverts white ; wings and tail black, latter with most of the feathers white for half or more of their length ; line from nostril to eye, and broad band on side of head, black; bill and feet black. @ more brownish-gray, the black cheek-stripe replaced by brown. Young without the stripe, above TURDIDA — SAXICOLINA: BLUE-BIRDS. 257 olive-brown, superciliary line, edges uf wings and tail, and all under parts, cinnamon-brown ; tail black and white as in the adult. Length of ¢ 6.75; extent 12.50; wing 3.75; tail 2.50; tarsus 1.00; middle toe and claw 0.75. 9 smaller: length 6.50; extent 11.50, ete. Atlantic coast, from Europe via Greenland; also North Pacific and Arctic coast, from Asia. Common in Greenland, and probably also breeds in Labrador. Nest in holes in the ground or rocks, crevices of stone walls, etc.; eggs 4-7, 0.87-0.60, greenish-blue, without spots. 7. SIA/LIA. (Gr. ouadis, sialis, a kind of bird.) Biun-Birps. Primaries 10, the 1st spurious and very short. Wings pointed, the tip formed by the 2d, 3d, and 4th quills. Tail much shorter than wings, emarginate. Bill about half as long as head or less, straight, stout, wider than deep at base, compressed beyond nostrils, notched near tip, the culmen at first straight, then gently, convex to the end, gonys slightly convex and ascending, commissure slightly curved throughout. Nostrils overhung and nearly concealed by projecting bristly feathers ; lores and chin likewise bristly. Gape ample, the rictus cleft to below the eyes, furnished with a moderately developed set of bristles reaching about opposite the nostrils. Feet short, though rather stout, adapted exclusively for perching (in Saxicola the structure of the feet indicates terrestrial habits). Tarsus not longer than the middle toe; lateral toes of unequal lengths ; claws all strongly curved. Blue is the principal color of this beautiful genus, which contains three species. They are strictly arboricole; frequent the skirts of woods, coppices, “ waysides, and weedy fields; nest in holes, and lay whole-colored eggs; readily become semi- domesticated, like the swallow, house wren, and house sparrow ; feed upon insects and berries; and have a melodious warbling song. Polygamy is sometimes practised by them, contrary to the rule among Oscines. Blue-birds are peculiar to America, and appear to have no exact representatives in the other hemisphere. Analysis of Species. é Rich sky-blue, uniform on back ; throat and breast chestnut, belly white . . » «es Stalig 27 é Rich sky-blue, including throat ; middle of back and breast chestnut, ae whitish . + + + mexicana 28 é Light blue, paler below, fading to white on belly; nochestnut. . i . » « « aretica 29+ 27. S.si/alis. (Gr. ctadis, sialis,a kind of bird. Fig. 131.) Eastern BLUE-BIRD. WILSoN’s Buus-Birp. 4, in full plumage: Rich azure-blue, the ends of the wing-quills blackish ; throat, breast, and sides of the body chestnut; belly and crissum white or bluish-white. The blue sometimes ex- tends around the head on the sides and often fore part of the chin, so that the chestnut is cut off from the bill. Length 6.50-7.00; extent 12.00-13.00; wing 3.75-4.00; tail 2.75-8.00; bill 0.45; tarsus 0.70. @, in winter, or when not full-plumaged: Blue of the upper parts inter- rupted by reddish-brown edging of the feathers, or obscured by a general brownish wash. White of belly more ex- tended; tone of the other “under parts paler. In many Eastern specimens, the reddish-brown skirting of the feathers blends into a dorsal patch; when this is accom- ‘ig panied by more than ordinary extension of blue on the Fi. 131.—Blue-bird, nat. size. (Ad throat they closely resemble S. mewicana. 9, in full nat. del. B.C.) plumage: Blue mixed and obscured with dull reddish-brown; becoming bright and pure on the rump, tail, and wings. Under parts paler and more rusty-brown, with more abdominal white than in the male. Little smaller thar g. Young, newly fledged: Brown, becoming blue on the wings and tail, the back sharply marked with shaft-lines of whitisl Nearly all the under parts closely and uniformly freckled with white and brownish. A white ring round the eye; inner secondaries edged with brown. From this stage, in which the sexes are indistinguishable, to the perfectly adult condition, the bird changes by insensible degrees. 17 28. 29. 31. 258 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES — OSCINES. Eastern U. S. and Canada, abundant and familiar, almost domestic; W. often to the Rocky Mts. Migratory, but breeds throughout its range; winters in the Southern States and beyond, whence it comes as one of the early harbingers of spring, or during mild winter weather, bringing its bit of blue sky with cheery, voluble song. Nest in natural or artificial hollows of trees, posts, or bird-boxes, loosely constructed of the most miscellaneous materials; eggs 4-6, pale bluish, occasionally whitish, unmarked, 0.80 x0.60; two or three broods in one season. S. mexica/na. (Lat. mexicana, of Mexico.) WESTERN BLUE-BIRD. MbrxicaN BLUE-BIRD. @, adult: Rich azure-blue, including the head and neck all around. A patch of purplish- chestnut on the middle of the back; breast and sides rich chestnut; belly and vent dull blue or bluish-gray. Bill and feet black. Size of the last species. 9, and young: Changes of plumage coincident with those of the Eastern blue-bird. Immature birds may usually be recognized by some difference in color between the middle of the back and the other upper parts, and between the color of the throat and of the breast; but birds in the streaky stage could not be determined if the locality were unknown. In some adult males, the dorsal patch is restricted, or broken into two scapular patches with continuous blue between; the chestnut of the breast sometimes divides, permitting connection of the blue of the throat and belly. Specimens with little trace of the dorsal patch are scarcely distinguished from those of S. sialis in which there is much blue on the throat, — the grayish-blue of the belly, instead of white, being a principal character. U. 8. and Mexico, from Eastern foot-hills of the Rocky Mts. to the Pacific; N. to Vancouver; E. occasionally to the Mississippi. Abundant in the West; habits, nest, and eggs identical with those of S. sialis. S. arc/tica. (Lat. arctica, arctic; arctos, a bear; i. e., near the constellation so-named.) Arctic BLUEBIRD. Rocky Mountain BLvue-pirp. 4, in perfect plumage: Above azure-blue, lighter than in the two foregoing, and with a faint greenish hue; below, paler and more decidedly greenish-blue, fading insensibly into white on the belly and under tail-voverts. Ends of wing-quills dusky; bill and feet black. Larger; length 7.00 or more; extent 13.00 or more; wing 4.50; tail 3.00. 9: Nearly uniform rufous-gray, lighter and more decidedly tufous below, brightening into blue on rump, tail, and wings, fading into white on belly and crissum; a whitish eye-ring. Young: Changes parallel with those of the other species. Birds in the streaky stage may be known by superior size, and greenish shade on the wings and tail. N. America from the Rocky Mts. to the Pacific, chiefly in high open regions, abun- dant; resident southerly, migratory further North. Habits those of the others; nesting the same, but eggs larger, about 0.92 x 0.70. . CYANE/CULA. ( A diminutive form of Gr. kvaveos, Lat. cyaneus, blue; as we should say, “ bluet.”) BuvueE-THROATS. Bill much shorter than head, slender, compressed throughout, acute at tip, with obsolete notch (quite as in Saxicola, but more compressed and slenderer). Feet, as in Saxicola, long and slender; tarsus much longer than the middle toe and claw; ‘lateral toes of unequal lengths, the outer longer, but the tip of its claw still falling short of the base of the middle claw ; claws little curved, the hinder fully as long as its digit. Wings long and pointed (less so than in Saxicola), the point formed by the 3d, 4th, and 5th quills; 2d about equal to the 6th; 1st spurious, abaut one-third as long as the longest. Tail of mod- erate length, slightly rounded. Tail particolored with chestnut; throat and breast with azure- blue and chestnut. The species were formerly included in Ruticilla, an Old World genus very closely related to Sawicola; they form the connecting link between Sazicoline proper and Sylowne, placed by some authors in one, by others in the other group. The relationships with Saxicola are certainly very close. C. sue/cica, (Lat. suecica, Swedish.) BLUE-THROATED RepsTarT. REb-sPOTTED BLUE- THROAT. Entire upper parts dark brown with a shade of olive (about the color of a tit- lark, Anthus ludovicianus), the feathers of the crown with darker centres; rump and upper 32. 10. 33. LURDIDZ — REGULINZ!: KINGLETS. 259 tail-coverts rather lighter, and mixed with bright chestnut-red. Wings like the back, with slightly paler edgings of the feathers. Middle tail-feathers like back, or rather darker, the rest blackish, with the basal half or more of their length bright chestnut-red, or orange-brown. Lores dusky; a whitish superciliary line. Chin, throat, and forebreast rich ultramarine blue, enclosing a bright chestnut throat-patch; the blue bordered behind by black, this again by chestnut mixed with white. Rest of under parts white, washed on the sides, lining of wings and under tail-coverts with pale fulvous. Bill and feet black. 9 and young similar, the throat-markings imperfect. Length 5.75-6.00; wing 3.00; tail 2.25-2.50; bill 0.50; tarsus 1.00; middle toe and claw 0.75. Alaska; a beautiful and interesting bird, widely distributed in the Old World. 5. Subfamily REGULINA:: Kinglets and Wood-Wrens. The two genera to be here noticed are most readily distinguished by the simple colors of Phylloscopus, contrasted with the elegant colored crest of Regulus ; both genera include very diminutive birds not over five inches long. - PHYLLO'SCOPUS. (Gr. @vAAov, phullon, a leaf; oxomds, skopos, a watchman; as these birds peer about in the foliage.) Woop-Wrens, Bill shorter than head, slender, straight, depressed at base, compressed and notched at tip; nostrils exposed, though reached by the frontal feathers. Tarsus longer than middle toe and claw, booted or sometimes indistinctly scutellate; wings pointed, longer than tail; point formed by 3d and 4th quills; 5th much shorter, and 6th shorter still, 2d between 5th and 6th; spurious 1st primary very short, exposed less than 0.50. Tail about even. Size diminutive and coloration simple. Includes numerous (about 25) Old World species, one of them occurring in Alaska. P. borea/lis. (Lat. borealis, northern; boreas, the north-wind.) KrnnicoTt’s WARBLER. Above, olive-green, clear, continuous, and nearly uniform, but rather brighter on the rump; quills and tail-feathers fuscous, edged externally with yellowish-green; a long yellowish super- ciliary stripe ; under parts yellowish-white, the lining of wings and the flanks yellow; wings crossed with two yellowish bars, that across ends of greater coverts conspicuets, the other indistinct; bill dark brown, pale below; feet and eyes brown. Length 4.75; extent 6.00; wing 2.25-2.50; tail 1.75-2.00; tarsus 0.70; middle toe and claw 0.55. Europe, Asia, and, in America, Alaska. REGULUS. (Lat. regulus, diminutive of rex, a king; kinglet.) Kincuets. Tarsus booted, very slender, longer than the middle toe and claw. Lateral toes nearly equal to each other. First quill of the wing spurious, its exposed portion less than half as long as the second. Wings pointed, longer than the tail, which is emarginate, with acuminate feathers. Bill shorter than the head, straight, slender, and typically Sylviine, not hooked at the end, well bristled at rictus, with the nostrils overshadowed by tiny feathers. Coloration vlivaceous, paler or whitish below, with red, black, or yellow, or all three of these colors, on the head of the adult. There are about ten species, of Europe, Asia, and America. They are elegant and dainty little creatures, among the very smallest of our birds excepting the Hummers. They inhabit woodland, are very agile and sprightly, insectivorous, migratory, and highly musical. R. calen/dula. (Lat. calendula, a glowing little thing.) RuBy-crownep Kineter. ¢ 9, adult: Upper parts greenish-olive, becoming more yellowish on the rump; wings and tail dusky, strongly edged with yellowish ; whole under parts dull yellowish-white, or yellowish- or greenish-gray (very variable in tone); wings crossed with two whitish bars, and inner sec- ondaries edged with the same. Edges of eyelids, lores, and extreme forehead, hoary whitish. A rich scarlet patch, partially concealed, on the crown. This beautiful ornament is apparently not gained until the second year, and there is a question whether it is ever present in the female. Bill and feet black. Length 4.10-4.50; extent 6.66-7.33; wing 2.00-2.33; tail 1.75 ; bill 0.25; tarsus 0.75. Young for the first year (and 9 ?): Quite like the adult, but 34. 350 260 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. —PASSERES — OSCINES. wanting the scarlet patch. In a newly fledged specimen the wings and tail are as strongly edged with yellowish as in the adult; but the general plumage of the upper parts is rather olive-gray than olive-green, and the under parts are sordid whitish. The bill is light colored at the base, and the toes appear to have been yellowish. N. America at large, breeding far north and in mountains of the West, wintering in the Southern States and beyond. An exqui- site little creature, famous for vocal power, abundant in wooded regions. Nest a large mass of matted hair, feathers, moss, straws, etc., placed on the bough of a tree; eggs unknown. R. satra’pa. (Gr. carpdmns, Lat. satrapes, a ruler; alluding to the bird’s golden crown. Fig. 132.) GOLDEN-CRESTED KiInGLET. , adult: Upper parts olive-green, more or less bright, sometimes rather olive-ashy, always brightest on the rump; under parts dull ashy-white, or yel- lowish-white. Wings and tail dusky, strongly edged with yellowish, the inner wing-quills with whitish. On the secondaries, this yellowish edg- ing stops abruptly in advance of the ends of the coverts, leaving a pure blackish interval in ad- vance of the white tips of the greater coverts: this, and the similar tips of the. median coverts, form two white bars across the wings; inner webs of the quills and tail-feathers edged with white. Superciliary line and extreme forehead hoary-whitish. Crown black, enclosing a large space, the middle of which is flame-colored, bor- dered with pure yellow. The black reaches across the forehead; but behind, the yellow and Fig. 132.—Golden-crested Kinglet. (After Audubon.) fame-eolor reach the general olive of the upper parts. Or, the top of the head may be described as a central bed of fiame-color, bounded in front and on the sides with clear yellow, this similarly bounded by black, this again in the same manner by hoary-whitish. Smaller than R. calendula ; overlying nasal plumes larger. Length 4.00; extent 6.50-7.00; wing 2.00-2.12; tail 1.67. 9, adult; and young: Similar to the adult g, but the central field of the crown entirely yellow, enclosed in black (no flame- color). N. America, at large; another exquisite, abundant in woodland aud shrubbery, breed- ing from N. New England northward, wintering in most of the U.S. Nest a ball of moss, hair, feathers, ete., about 4.50 inches in diameter, on low bough of a tree, preferably evergreen ; eggs 6-10, white, fully speckled ; size 0.50 x 0.40. R, s. oliva/ceus? (Lat. olivaceus, olivaceous; oliva, an olive.) WHESTERN GOLDEN-CRESTED Kinexet. A slight variety, said to be of livelier color- ation. Pacific coast region. 6. Subfam. POLIOPTILINA: Gnat-catchers. A small group of one genus and about a dozen, chiefly Central and South American, species ; peculiar to America. Polioptila has been sometimes associated with the Paride, but differs decidedly and is apparently : me Sylviine. Characters those fig. 133.—Blue-gray Gnat-catcher, nat. size. (Ad nat. del. B.C.) of the single genus. 11. 36. 37. 38. TURDIDZ —POLIOPTILINZE: GNAT-CATCHERS. 261 POLIOP'TILA. (Gr. rodtés, polios, hoary ; mridov, ptilon, a feather; the primaries being edged with whitish.) Gnat-catcumrs. Tarsi scutellate. Toes very short, the lateral only about half as long as the tarsus; outer a little longer than the inner. First quill spuri- ous, about half as long as the second. Wings rounded, not longer than the graduated tail, the feathers of which widen toward their rounded ends. Bill shorter than head, straight, broad and depressed at base, rapidly narrowing to the very slender terminal portion, distinctly notched and hooked at the end—thus Muscicapine in character. ictus with well-developed bristles. Nostrils entirely exposed. Coloration without bright tints; bluish-ash, paler or white below; tail black and white. Delicate little woodland birds, peculiar to America, not over 5 inches long; migratory, insectivorous, very active and sprightly, with sharp squeaking notes. Analysis of Species. ; ¢@ Forehead and line over eye black ; outer tail-feather white oosa os - + + caerulea 36 df Whole crown black ; outer web of outer tail-feather only edged with white 3 . « . melanura 37 ¢ Line over eye black ; outer web of outer tail-feather white . é ‘ . plumbea 38 P. coerulea. (Lat. coerulea, cerulean, blue. Figs. 133, 134, b.) BLUE-GRAY GNAT- CATCHER. , adult: Grayish-blue, bluer on the crown, hoary on the rump, the forehead black, continuous with a black superciliary line. Edges of eyelids white, and above these a slight whitish stripe bordering the black exteriorly. Below white, with a faint plumbeous shade on the breast. Wings dark brown, the outer webs, especially of the inner quills, edged with hoary, and the inner webs of most bor- dered with white. Tail jet-black, the outer feather entirely or mostly white, the next one about half white, the third one tipped with white. Bill and feet black. Length 4.50- 5.00; extent 6.25-7.00 ; wing 2.00-2.20; tail about the same. @: Likethe ¢, but duller and more grayish-blue above; the head like the back, and without any black. Bill usually in part light-colored. U.S. from Atlantic to Pacific, N. to Massachusetts ; breeds through- out its range, and winters on the southern , border and southward; abundant in woodland. TS, tae Sc, tind oe Ponta melee BEE: Nest a model of bird-architecture, compact- caerulea ; ce, tail of P. melanura; d, of P. plumbea; all walled and contracted at the brim, elegantly ™* *° stuccoed with lichens, fixed to slender twigs at a varying height from 10 to 50 or 60 feet; eggs 4-5, about 0.60 X 0.45, whitish, fully speckled with reddish and umber-brown and lilac. P. melanwra. (Gr. péAas, melas, black; ovpa, owra, tail. Fig. 134, a,¢.) BLACK-CAPPED GwaT-CATCHER. @: Like P. coerulea, but whole top of head black. White of tail reduced to a minimum ; outer web of the outer feather only edged with white, instead of wholly white; tip of the inner web, with tip of the next feather, white for a very slight space ; no white on the third feather. Size of the foregoing; tarsi rather longer, — about 0.70. 9 : No black on the head; distinguished from 9 caerulea only by less white on the tail. Texas to South and Lower California. P. plum/bea. (Lat. plumbeus, plumbeous, lead-colored. Fig. 134, d.) PLUMBEOUS GNAT- CATCHER. 4, adult: Upper parts like those of P. cerulea, but duller and more grayish ; no black on forehead; a short black stripe over eye, and below this a white one. Outer tail- feather with the whole outer web and tip white (like the second feather of P. cerulea) ; next two feathers tipped with white. Size of P. cerulea. 9: Like the @; the upper parts still duller, and frequently with a decided brownish shade; no black over eye; thus only distin- guished from 9 cerulea by less white on the tail. Valley of the Gila and Colorado. 12. 39. 39a. 262 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES— OSCINES. Obs. According to Brewster, Bull. Nutt. Club, vi, 1881, p. 101, the two foregoing are adult (No. 37) and young (No. 38) of the same species, which is plwmbea, Bd., Pr. Phila. Acad., 1854, p. 118; B. N. A., 1858, p. 382, and authors; melanura, Lawr., Ann. Lyc. N. Y., vi, 1856, p. 168, but not of authors referring to the Californian bird ; also, atri- capilla, Lawr., Ann. Lyc. N. Y., v, 1851, p. 124; Cass., Ill., 1854, pl. 27, but not of Swainson. Brewster describes the Californian bird as a new species, as follows:—P. caLirorNIcA. California Black-capped Gnat-catcher. ¢: Ascompared with P. plumbea, upper parts decidedly plumbeous instead of bluish ; throat, breast, and sides dull ashy instead of ashy-white; lower belly and crissum fulvous or even pale chestnut ; light edging of the tail-feathers confined to outer pair, with sometimes slight tipping of next pair (as in my fig. 134, c.); lining of wings pearly-ash, not white; secondaries and tertials edged with light brown. No pure white anywhere; general aspect of under parts nearly as dark as those of a cat-bird. Whole crown glossy black. Length 4.50; extent 6.10; wing 1.84; tail 1.80; tarsus 0.73; bill 0.50. 9: Similar, but no black on crown; belly and crissum pale chestnut; outer webs of second pair of rectrices edged with white. California; being the melanura of authors referring to California birds, but not of Lawr., 1856. 2. Family CHAMACSIDA: Wren-tits. Recently framed for a single species, much like a titmouse in general appearance, but with the tarsus not evidently seutellate in front ; rounded wings much shorter than the gradu- ated tail; lores bristly, and plumage extraordinarily soft and lax. With the general habits of wrens, with which the species was formerly associated. The position and valuation of the group are still uncertain; probably to be determined upon anatomical characters. I have little doubt that Chamea will yet be found referable to some other recognized family of birds, and suspect that it might be assigned to the Old World Timeliide, with at least as much propriety as some other American groups, which have lately been relegated to that ill-assorted assemblage. : CHAMAIA. (Gr. xapnai, chamai, on the ground.) WREN-TITS. Form and general aspect combining features of wrens and titmice. Plumage extraordinarily lax, soft, and full. Color- ation simple. Tarsal scutella obsolete, or faintly indicated, at least outside. Toes coherent at base for about half the length of the proximal joint of the middle one. Soles widened and padded, much as in Paride. Primaries 10, the 6th longest, the 3d equal to the longest sec- ondaries, the 1st about three-fifths as long as the longest; wing thus extremely rounded, and much shorter than the tail (about two-thirds as long). Tail very long, constituting more than half the entire length of the bird, extremely graduated, with soft, narrow feathers, widen- ing somewhat toward their tips, rounded at the end, the lateral pair not two-thirds as long as the middle. Bill much shorter than head, very deep at the base, straight, stout, compressed- conical, not notched, with ridged and very convex culmen, but nearly straight commissure and gonys; naked, sealed, linear nostrils, and strongly bristled gape. Frontal feathers reaching nasal fossze, but no ruff concealing the nostrils as in Paride. C. fascia/ta. (Lat. fasciata, striped; fascis, a bundle of faggots.) Wren-tir. Adult: Dark brown with an olive shade, the top of the head clearer and somewhat streaky, the wings and tail purer brown, obscurely fasciated with numerous cross-bars; below, dull cinnamon- brown, paler on belly, shaded with olive-brown on the sides and crissum, the throat and breast obscurely streaked with dusky; bill and feet brown; iris white. Length about 6.00; wing 2.25-2.50; tail 3.25-3.50, much graduated, the lateral feathers being an inch or more shorter than the middle ones; bill 0.40; tarsus 0.90-1.00; middle toe and claw 0.75. First primary nearly an-inch shorter than the longest one. California coast region. A remarkable bird, resembling no other, common in shrubbery; nest in bushes; eggs plain greenish-blue, . 0.70 X 0.52. C. f. hen/shawi. (To H. W. Henshaw.) Hexsnaw’s WREN-TIT. Much lighter and duller colored; above, grayish-ash with slight olive shade (about the color of a Lophophanes); below, searcely rufescent upon a soiled whitish ground, shaded on the sides with the color of the back; bill and feet smaller. Interior of California, and probably adjoining regions; seems to be a well-marked form. (Not in the Check List, 1882; see Ridgway, Pr. U. S. Nat. Mus. v., 1882, p. 13.) PARIDA)— PARINZ: TITMICE. 263 3. Family PARIDA: Titmice, or Chickadees. Ours are all small (under 7 inches long) birds, at once distinguished by having ten primaries, the 1st much shorter than the 2d; wings barely or not longer than the tail ; tail-feathers not stiff nor acuminate ; tarsi scutellate, longer than the mid- dle toe; anterior toes much soldered at base; nostrils concealed by dense tufts, and bill compressed, stout, straight, unnotched, and much shorter than the head ; — characters that readily marked them off from all their allies, as wrens, creepers, etc. Really, they are hard to dis- tinguish, technically, from jays; but all our jays are much over 7 inches long. They are distributed over North America, but the crested species are rather southern, and all but one of ' them western. Most of them are hardy birds, enduring the rigors of Fig. 135.— European Greater Titmouse, Parus major. (From Dixon.) winter without inconvenience, and, as a consequence, none of them are properly migratory. They are musical, after a fashion of their own, chirping a quaint ditty; are active, restless, and very heedless of man’s presence ; and eat everything. Some of the western species build astonishingly large and curiously shaped nests, pensile, like a bottle or purse with a hole in one side, as represented in fig. 140 ; others live in knot-holes, and similar snuggeries that they usually dig out for themselves. They are very prolific, laying numerous eggs, and raising more than one brood a season; the young closely resemble the parents, and there are no obvious seasonal or sexual changes of plumage. All but one of our species are plainly clad; still they have a ‘pleasing look, with their trim form and the tasteful colors of the head. 7. Subfamily PARINAE: True Titmice. Exclusive of certain aberrant forms, usually allowed to constitute a separate subfamily, and sometimes altogether removed from Paride, the titmice compose a natural and pretty well defined group, to which the foregoing diagnosis and remarks are particularly applicable, and agree in the following characters: — Bill very short and stout, straight, compressed-conoid in shape, not notched nor with decurved tip, its under as well as upper outline convex. Rictus without true bristles, but base of the bill covered with tufts of bristly feathers directed forward, entirely concealing the nostrils. Feet stout; tarsi distinctly scutellate, longer than the middle toe ; toes rather short, the anterior soldered together at the base for most of the length of the basal joint of the middle one. Hind toe with an enlarged pad beneath, forming, .with the con- solidated bases of the anterior toes, a broad firm sole. Wing with ten primaries, of which the first is very short or spurious, scarcely or not half as long as the second; wing as a whole rounded, scarcely or not longer than the tail, which latter is rounded or graduated, and com- posed of twelve narrow soft feathers, with rounded or somewhat truncated tips. Plumage 13. 40. 41. 264 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. —PASSERES — OSCINES. long, soft, and loose, without bright colors or well-marked changes according to sex, age, or season (excepting Auriparus). There may be about seventy-five good species of the Parine, thus restricted, most of them falling in the genus Parus, or in its immediate neighborhood. With few exceptions they are birds of the northern hemisphere, abounding in Europe, Asia, and North America. The larger proportion of the genera and species inhabit the Old World. All those of the New World oecur within our limits. Analysis of Genera. Crested. Wings and tail rounded, of about equal lengths. Noredoryellow. ........ Lophophanes 13 Not crested. Wings and tail rounded, of about equal lengths. Noredoryellow ..... » . . . Parus 14 Wings rounded, shorter than the graduated tail Noredoryellow ..... Psaltriparus 15 Wings pointed, longer than the even tail. Head yellow ; bend of wingred . . . + Auriparus 16 LOPHO/PHANES. (Gr. Acdos, lophos, a crest; paive, phaino, I appear.) CRESTED TrT- mice. Head crested. Wings and tail rounded, of about equal lengths, and about as long as the body. Bill conoid-compressed, with upper and under outlines both convex. No yellow on head nor red on wing. Plumage lax, much the same in both sexes at all ages and seasons. Average size of the species at a maximum for Paring. Nests excavated in trees; eggs spotted. Analysis of Spevies. Frontlet black ; sides washed with rusty. Eastern . . . ‘ F Sei ee a . bicolor 40 Crest like rest of upper parts ; norusty on sides. Southwestern . if. ei i . inornatus 41 Crest entirely black; rusty on sides. Texan. . . . . ‘ «oe ee + a . atrocristatus 42 Head with several black stripes ; no rusty on sides. Southwestern .........- wollweberi 43 L. bicolor. (Lat. bis, twice; color, color. Fig. 136.) Turrep Tirmousn. @ 9, adult: Entire upper parts ashy, the’ back usually with a slight olivaceous shade, the wings and tail rather purer and darker plumbeous, the latter sometimes showing obsolete transverse bars. Sides of the head and entire under parts dull whitish, washed with chestnut-brown on the sides. A black frontlet at the base of.the crest. Bill plumbeous-blackish ; feet plum- beous. Length 6.00-6.50 inches; extent 9.75-10.75; wing and tail 3.00-3.25; bill 0.40; tarsus 0.80; middle toe and claw 0.75. Q smaller than g. Young: The crest less devel- oped; little if any trace of the black frontlet; sides scarcely washed with rusty. Eastern U.S&., rather southerly; scarcely N. to New England; resident, abundant in woodland and i ae re ee shrubbery. Nest in holes; eggs 6 or 8, 0.75 x 0.56, white, nat. size. (Ad nat. del. B.C.) | dotted with reddish-brown and lilac. L. inorna/tus. (Lat. in, as signifying negation, and ornatus, adorned ; orno, I ornament.) Puan Trrmouse. @ 9, adult: Entire upper parts dull leaden-gray, with a slight olive shade; the wings and tail rather purer and darker. Below, dull ashy-whitish, without any rusty wash on the sides. No black on the head. Extreme forehead and sides of the head obscurely speckled with whitish. No decided markings anywhere. In size rather less than L. bicolor; length usually under 6.00 ; wing and tail under 3.00. Young quite like the adults, which closely resemble the young of L. bicolor; but in the latter there are traces at least of the reddish of the sides or black of the frontlet, or both; the general coloration is purer, with more distinction between the upper and under parts, and the size is rather greater. The speckled appearance of the sides of the head and lores of L. inornatus is peculiar. Southwestern United States, abundant, resident. The typical form Californian; a rather larger, stouter-billed form, lighter leaden-gray with scarcely any olive shade, from Utah, Arizona, etc., is L. ¢. griseus, Ridgw., Pr. U. 8. Nat. Mus., v., 1882, p. 344. 42. 43. 14. 44, PARIDHA —PARINZA: TITMICE. 265 L. atrocrista'tus. (Lat. atro, with black, ecristatus, crested; crista, a crest.) BLACK-CRESTED Titmouse. ¢ @, adult: Plumbeous, with a shade of olive, the wings and tail rather darker and purer, edged with the color of the back, or a more hoary shade of thesame. Beneath, dull ashy-whitish, especially on the breast, the abdomen whiter, the sides chestnut-brown as in L. bicolor, Extreme forehead and lores whitish; entire crest glossy black. Bill blackish-plum- beous; feet plumbeous.. Small: length about 5.00; wing and tail 2.75. Valley of the Rio Grande. Nest in natural cavities of trees, usually including cast snake-skins among its materi- als; eggs 0.75 x 0.58, white, spotted with reddish-brown in fine dots over the general surface, boldly blotched at large end, but not distinguishable from those of L. bicolor. L. wollweb’eri. (To one Wollweber. Fig. 137.) Briptep Tirmouse. ¢ 9, adult: Upper parts olivaceous-ash, wings and tail darker, edged with the color of the back, or even a brighter tint, sometimes nearly as yellowish as in Regulus. Under parts sordid ashy-white. Crest black, with a central field like the back. Whole throat black, as in species of Parus. A black line runs behind the eye and curves down over the auriculars, distin- guished from the black of the crest and throat by the white of the side of the head and white superciliary stripe; a half-collar of black on the nape, descending on the sides of the neck, there separated from the black crescent of the auriculars by a white cres- cent, which latter is continuous with the white of the superciliary line ; considerable whitish speckling in the black of the forehead ric. ior = Baalea and lores. Bill blackish-plumbeous; feet plumbeous. Smallest: mouse, nat. size. (Mex. B. length 5.00 or less; wing or tail 2.40-2.65; bill 0.33; tarsus 0.60- Survey.) 0.70. Young: Chin narrowly or imperfectly black, and some of the above described head- markings obscure or incomplete. The singularly variegated markings of the head of this species at once distinguish it. Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California, abundant, going in troops, in woods and shrubbery. PA/RUS. (Lat. parus, a titmouse.) TypicaL Tirmicz. CHICKADEES. Head not crested. Wings and tail rounded, of approximately equal lengths, and about as long as the body. Bill typically parine (see foregoing characters). No bright colors (in any North American species). Head in most species with black. Plumage lax and dull, without decided changes with age, sex, or season. Size medium in the family. Nest excavated. Eggs spotted. Analysis of Species. Species definitely black-capped and black-throated. A white superciliary stripe . mE a. G Bh Vie pak? Ao cian ates fen eo ee, We maa .montanus 48 No white superciliary stripe. Tail not shorter than wing ; feathers of both with much hoary-whitish edging. Larger ; tail at maximum length, coloration most hoary. Missouri Region and Rocky Mts. ict le ae ~ . . . 8eptentrionalis 45 Smaller ; tail moderate ; coloration less hoary. astern soe ee ws . Gtricapillus 44 Size of No. 44; coloration darker. Pacific Region +. « « « . occidentalis 46 Tail shorter than wings ; whitish edgings of wings and tail obsolete. Rather smaller than No. 44. South Atlantic States. . Fe . carolinensis 47 Rather smaller than No. 44 ; coloration very dark. Mexican border + + « meridionalis 879 Species brown-capped, or crown quite like back, and blackish throat. Cap hair-brown; back little different. White confined to side of head. Eastern and Arctic. . . ..... =... « hudsonicus 49 White spreading over sides of neck. Arctic is Sab NS oa Jan, eh AY SE eo Fe .cinctus 52 Cap dark wood-brown ; back chestnut. Back and sides rich chestnut alike. Pacific, northerly. . .....4.4.. . Tufescens 50 Back chestnut, but sides only washed with rusty. Pacific, southerly. . ... . . neglectus 61 P. atricapil/lus. (Lat. ater, black; capillus, hair. Fig. 138.) Buack-cappED TITMOUSE. CHICKADEE. Crown and nape, with chin and throat, black, separated by white sides of the head. Upper parts brownish-ash, with slight olive tinge, and a rusty wash on rump. Under 45. 46. 4%. 879. 48. 266 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES — OSCINES. ; parts more or less purely white or whitish, shaded on the sides with a brownish or rusty wash. Wings aud tail like upper parts, the feathers moderately edged with hoary-white. Average dimensions: length 5.25; extent 8.00; wing and tail, each, 2.50; tarsus 0.70. Extremes: length 4.75-5.50; extent 7.50-8.50; wing and tail 2.35-2.65; tarsus 0.65- 0.75. Eastern N. Am., from the Middle States northward, very abundant, well-known by its familiar habits and pecu- liar notes. Nest in holes of trees, stumps, or fences, natural or excavated by the bird, made of grasses, mosses, hair, fur, feathers, ete. ; eggs 6-8, 0.58 X 0.47, white, fully sprinkled with reddish-brown dots and spots. P. a. septentriona'lis. (Lat. septentrionalis, northern ; septentriones, the constellation of seven stars, the dipper.) LonG-TAILED CHICKADEE. Similar to P. atricapillus; averaging larger, and especially longer-tailed, the tail rather exceeding the wing in length. Coloration clear and pure; wings and tail very strongly edged, especially on the secondaries and outer tail-feathers, with hoary-white, which usually passes entirely around their tips. Cap pure black and very extensive on the nape; black of throat reaching Breast; sides of head and neck snowy-white. Bill and feet dark plumbeous. Average dimensions about Fic. 138. — Black-capped Chickadee, the maxima of P. atricapillus: length 5.25-5.50; extent teduced. (Adnat. del. E. C.) 8.50; wing 2.50-2.75 ; tail 2.60-2.80, sometimes 3.00. This style reaches its extreme devel- opment in the region of the Upper Missouri and Rocky Mts., there apparently to the exclusion of P. atricapillus proper. : P. a, occidenta/lis. (Lat. occidentalis, western; occido, I fall; i. e., where the sun sets.) WESTERN CHICKADEE. Similar to P. atricapillus; of the same average size; presenting the opposite extreme from P. septentrionals in minimum edging of wing- and tail-feathers with hoary, heavy brownish wash of sides, and general dark sordid coloration. U.S., Pacific coast region. P. carolinensis. (Lat. of Carolina.) Carox~ina CHICKADEE. Averaging smaller than P. atricapillus, with relatively as well as absolutely shorter tail, which is rather shorter than the wings ; wings and tail very little edged with whitish. Average dimensions about at the minima of P. atricapillus. Length about 4.50; wing 2.50; tail 2.25. South Atlantic and Gulf States; N. to Washington and Southern Illinois. Nesting like P. atricapillus; eggs similar, rather smaller. P. meridiona/lis. (Lat. meridionalis, southern.) MExIcAN CHICKADEE. Differs decidedly from P. atricapillus in having the under parts merely a paler shade of the ashy of the upper, instead of white, without any brownish wash on sides; wing-coverts and tail lacking any hoary edging, though the wing-quills have a slight grayish- white edging. Thus quite like P. montanus in color, but no white superciliary stripe. Length 4.80-5.20; extent 8.00- 8.70; wing 2.67-2.90; tail 2.40-2.67. Mexico, recently ascer- tained to occur in Arizona. (Numbered among addenda in the Check List, 1882.) P. monta/nus. (Lat. montanus, of mountains. Fig. 139.) MounTaIN CHICKADEE. Upper parts ashy-gray, with scarcely a shade, and only on the rump, of the ochraceous seen in most nat. size. (Ad nat. del. E. C.) other species; under parts similarly grayish-white, without a rusty tinge, the middle of the 50. 51. 49. 49a. 52 15. PARIDHA —PARINA: TITMICE. 267 belly nearly white, the rest more heavily shaded. Wings and tail with comparatively little whitish edging —the tail at least with no more than that of P. carolinensis. Sides of the head and neck white; top of the head, and the throat, black. A conspicuous white super-- ciliary stripe in the black cap, usually meeting its fellow across the forehead. Length about 5.00; extent 8.30; wing 2.50-2.75; tail rather less; bill 0.38; tarsus 0.66. U.S., from Eastern foot-hills of the Rocky Mts. to the Pacific, chiefly in alpine regions. P. rufes'cens, (Lat. rufescens, rufous, reddish.) CHESTNUT-BACKED TiTMoUSE. Crown and nape dark wood-brown, becoming sooty along the sides, separated from the sooty-black of the throat by a large white area extending back on the sides of the neck. Entire back and sides of body rich dark chestnut, contrasting strongly with the brown of the head. Breast and central line of under parts, with lining of the wings, whitish. Wing- and tail-coverts more or less washed with rusty-brown. Quills and tail-feathers scarcely or slightly edged with whitish. Bill black; feet dark; iris brown. Young with throat brown, like crown, instead of sooty. Length 4.75; extent 7.50; wing 2.30; tail about 2.00. A strongly marked species, with. chestnut back and sides contrasting with dark brown cap and sooty throat. Pacific coast region of the U. 8., northerly, and corresponding portions of British America. P. r. neglec'tus? (Lat. neglectus, neglected, i. e., not chosen; nec, not, and lego, I gather, choose.) Quite similar: crown, throat, and back the same, but sides not extensively chestnut, being simply washed with rusty-brown. Coast region of California. P. hudson‘icus. (Lat. hudsonicus, of Hudson’s Bay; after Henry Hudson, the navigator.) Hupsonian Tirmouse. Crown, nape, and upper parts generally clear hair-brown, or ashy- brown with a slight olive shade, the coloration quite the same on back and crown, and contin- uous, being not separated by any whitish nuchal interval. Throat quite black, in restricted area, not extending backward on sides of neck ; separated from the brown crown by silky white on the side of the head, this white not reaching back of the auriculars to the sides of the nape. Sides, flanks, and under tail-coverts washed with dull chestnut or rusty-brown ; other under parts whitish. Quills and tail-feathers lead-color, as in other titmice, scarcely or slightly edged with whitish. Little or no concealed white on rump. Bill black; feet dark. Size of P. atricapillus, or ratherless. Wing 2.50; tail rather less. New England and British America generally ; Nevada to Alaska. Common in coniferous woods. P. h. evu'ra, nobis. Alaskan specimens are larger, the tail nearly 3.00; thus corresponding with P. atricapillus septentrionalis, and being quite the size of P. cinctus, from which dis- tinguished by retaining precisely the coloration of P. hudsonicus. Alaska. P. cinc/tus. (Lat. cinctus, girdled; cingo, I bind about.) Srper1an Trrmouse. In general, sinilar to P. hudsonicus, but quite distinct. Throat sooty-blackish ; crown and nape dark hair-brown, bordered laterally with dusky, quite appreciably different in tone from the brighter brownish of the back, from which also separated to some extent by whitish of the cervix. Sides of head and neck pure white, in a large area widening behind, this white of opposite sides nearly meeting across the cervix. Back ashy overlaid with flaxen-brown, the rump light brown with much concealed white. Under parts whitish centrally from the black throat, but heavily washed on the sides, flanks, and crissum, sometimes quite across the belly, with light brownish. Wings and tail slate-color, as usual in the genus, with much whitish edging, especially on the secondaries. Bill plumbeous-blackish; feet plumbeous. Wing 2.60; tail rather more. A large stylish chickadee, lately ascertained to inhabit Arctic America, especially Alaska, as well as boreal regions of Asia and Europe. PSALTRI'PARUS. (Gr. Wadrpia, Lat. psaltria, a lutist; and parus, a tit.) BusH-TITSs. Dwarfs among pygmies! 3.75-4.25 long; wing 2.00 or less, tail 2.00 or more. Ashy or olive-gray, paler or whitish below ; neither crown nor throat black; no bright colors. Head not crested; wings rounded, shorter than the long narrow graduated tail, which exceeds the length of the body. Nest large, woven, pensile, with lateral entrance (fig. 140). Eggs 6-9, 53. 54. 55. 268 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. —PASSERES— OSCINES. white, unmarked. The three species are western; they are notable for their diminutive size, scarcely equalling a Polioptila in bulk. Analysis of Species. Crown brown, unlike back; no black on sideofhead. .. . soe eee ew ee wo minimus 53 Crown like back ; no black on sideofhead. . . . ae a ee ee ee ae Crown ash, unlike back ; a black stripe on side of head ie hap ike he te eR AG! e. 8 . .melanotis 55 P. min/imus. (Lat. minimus, least, smallest.) Least BusH-TIr. P @ : Dull lead-color, frequently with a brown- ish or olivaceous shade, the top of the head ab- ruptly darker — clove- brown or hair-brown. Below sordid whitish, or brownish-white. Wings and tail dusky, with slight hoary edgings. Bill and feet black. Length 4.00 or less; wing scarcely or not 2.00; tail 2.00 or more; bill 0.25; tarsus 0.60. Young birds do not dif- fer materially. There is considerable variation in the precise shade of the body, but the brown cap always differs in color from the rest of the up- per parts. Pacific coast region of the U. 8. P. plum’beus. (Lat. plumbeus, lead-colored.) PiumsBsous Busu-tir. 692: Clear plumbeous, with little or no olive or brownish shade; top of head not different from the back; sides of head pale brownish. Under parts as in P. mmimus, but clearer. Tail longer than wings. Eyes yellow or dark brown. Length about 4.25; wing 1.88-2.12; tail 2.25-2.50; bill 0.25; tarsus 0.60. Very closely related to P. minimus ; but specimens are readily distin- guishable. Total length greater, owing to elongation of the tail, which sometimes exceeds the wings by 0.50. General coloration clearer and purer; crown not different in color from the back, but cheeks brownish in obvious contrast. Southern Rocky Mt. region, from Wyoming and Nevada southward; common in Arizona. P. melano'tis. (Gr. pédas, melas, gen. yédavos, melanos, black; ods, ous, gen. drds, otos, ear.) BLACK-EARED BUSH-TIT. &, adult: Sides of head broadly black with greenish lustre, the Fic. 140, — Least: Bush-tit and nest, about 3 nat. size. (Ad nat. del. H. W. Elliott.) 16. 56. SITTIDA : NUTHATCHES. 269 bands meeting narrowly across the chin, and nearly meeting on the nape. Crown and nape clear ash. Back hair-brown. Wings and tail fuscous, with narrow pale ashy edgings of the feathers ; outer webs and tips of outer tail-feathers, and inner webs of many wing-feathers, whitish. Below, white, pure on throat and sides of neck, thence passing through lavender- gray to rusty-brownish on flanks and crissum. Bill and feet black; iris brown. Q unknown: probably not different. Young quite similar, having glossy black on the head before they are fully feathered, but the black does not at first meet on the chin. Length about 4.00; wing 1.90; tail 2.25; bill 0.25, compressed, with very convex culmen and nearly straight under out- line; tarsus 0.60; middle toe and claw 0.45. A neat little tom-thumb, native of Mexico, N. to Arizona and probably farther, rare; I have seen but three specimens. AURI/PARUS. (Lat. auri, of gold, and parus, a tit; from the yellowhead.) Gotp-tTrrs. Head not crested. Wings pointed, the 2d quill being little shorter than the 3d; the 1st spurious. Tail little rounded, decidedly shorter than the wings. Bill not typically parine — extremely acute, with straight or slightly concave under outline, and barely convex culmen, thus resem- bling that of a Helminthophaga ; longer and slenderer than usual in Parine ; nostrils scarcely coucealed by the imperfect ruff. Tarsi relatively shorter than in the preceding genera. Bright colors on head (yellow) and wing (red). Plumage comparatively compact; sexes alike, but young very different from the adult. Size very small. General form sylvicoline. Nest globular, woven. Eggs spotted. One species. A. fla'viceps. (Lat. flaviceps, yellow-head.) Goup-Tit. & 9: Upper parts ashy; under parts whitish ; wings and tail dusky, with hoary edging. Whole head rich yellow. Lesser wing-coverts chestnut-red. Bill dark plumbeous; feet plumbeous. Length 4.00-4.25; wing 1.80-2:00; tail 1.75-2.25. Young without red on wing or yellow on head; thus obscure objects, known, however, by their generic characters. Adults vary in having the yellow heightened to orange, or dull and greenish; the red sometimes hematitic; and the shade of the ashy clear and pure, or dull and brownish. Valley of the Rio Grande and Colorado, and Lower California ; abundant in chaparral, building in bushes a great globular nest of twigs, lined with down and feathers; eggs 4-6, pale bluish speckled with brown, 0.60 X 0.45. 4. Family SITTIDZ: Nuthatches. Bill subeylindrical, tapering, compressed, slender, acute, nearly or about as long as the head, culmen and commissure about straight, gonys long, convex, ascending (giving a sort of recurved look to a really straight bill). Nostrils rounded, concealed by bristly tufts. Wings long, pointed, with 10 primaries, the Ist very short or spurious; tail much shorter than wings, broad, soft, nearly even; tarsus shorter than the middle toe and claw, scutellate in front; toes all long, with large, much curved, compressed claws ; 1st tue and claw about equal to the 3d ; 2d and 4th toes very unequal in length. Plumage compact; body flattened ; tongue horny, acute, barbed. Nuthatches are amongst the most nimble and adroit of creepers ; they scramble about and hang in every conceivable attitude, head downwards as often as otherwise. This is done, too, without any help from the tail, — the whole tarsus being often applied to the sup- port. They are chiefly insectivorous, but feed also on hard fruits; and get their English name from their habit of sticking nuts and seeds in cracks in bark, and hammering away with the bill till they break the shell. They are very active and restless little birds, quite sociable, often going in troops, which keep up a continual noise ; lay 4-6 white, spotted eggs, in hollows of trees. The family, as conventionally framed, is a small one, of less than thirty species, among them a single remarkable Madagascar form (Hypositta), a genus peculiar to Australia (Sitiella), and another confined to New Zealand (Acanthisitta) : but some of these (especially Acanthisitta) may not be Sitt#de at all, and in any event the family is chiefly represented by the genus Sitta, with some fifteen species of Europe, Asia, and North America. 270 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES— OSCINES. 17. SITTA. (Lat. sitta, Gr. cirra, name of a bird. Fig. 141.) Typrcan NurHatTcuEs. Characters practically those given under head of the family. Analysis of Species and Varieties. White below, the crissum washed with rusty-brown ; cap glossy black, without stripes. Bill stouter, 0.18-0.20 deep at base Inner secondaries boldly variegated with black. Eastern i carolinensis BT Bill slenderer, 0.12-0.16 deep at base. Inner secondaries scarcely variegated with blackish. Western aculeata 58 Rusty-brown. below ; cap glossy black with white stripes, or color of the back i Fe canadensis 59 Rusty-brown or brownish-white below ; cap brown, unlike back, without stripes. Crown clear hair-brown ; a white spot on nape ; middle tail-feathers plain, Southeastern . pusilla 60 Crown dull brownish, with darker border ; little or no white on nape ; middle tail-feathers with black. Southwestern ‘ % 3 Ope p's -pygmea 6 Fic. 141.* European Nuthatch, Sitta cesia (resembling S. pusilla), nearly nat. size. (From Brehm.) 57. S. carolinen’sis, (Lat. of Carolina. Fig. 142.) Carotina NUTHATCH. WHITE-BELLIED NutuatcH. ¢@, adult: Upper parts, central tail- feathers, and much edging of the wings, clear ashy- blue; whole crown, nape, and back of the neck, glossy black. Under parts, including sides of neck and head to above eyes, dull white, more or less marked on the flanks and crissum with rusty-brown. Wings and their coverts blackish, much edged as already said, and with an oblique bar of white on the outer webs of the pri- maries towards their ends; concealed bases of primaries white; under wing-coverts mostly blackish; bold bluish Fig. 142, —Carolina Nuthatch, nat. size. i 2 : . : (Ad nat. del. E, C.) : and black variegation of the inner secondaries. Tail, 58. 59. 60 61. SITTIDA: NUTHATCHES. 271 excepting the two middle feathers, black, each feather marked with white in increasing amount, the outer web of the lateral feather being mostly white. Bill blackish-plumbeous, pale at the base below. Feet dark brown. Iris brown. Length 5.50-6.00; extent 10.50-11.00; wing 3.50; tail 1.75; bill about 0.66 long, 0.18-0.20 deep at base. 9: Similar; black of head imperfect, mixed or overlaid with the color of the back, or altogether restricted to the nape. Eastern U. §. and British Provinces, resident, abundant in woodland, where its curious quank, quank, quank may often be heard as the nimble bird hops up and down the tree-trunks. Nest in holes, often excavated by the birds with infinite labor, lined with fur, feathers, grasses, ete.; eggs numerous, 0.80 X 0.60, white, profusely speckled with reddish and lilac. S.c. aculea/ta. (Lat. aculeata, sharpened ; referring to the slender bill.) SLENDER-BILLED Nuruatcn. Like the last; bill slenderer, 0.12-0.16 deep at base. Inner secondaries svarcely : or not variegated with blackish, and general tone of coloration duller. Woodland of Middle and Western provinces of the U. 8., common, replacing No. 57. S. canaden’sis. (Lat. of Canada, an Iroquois word. Fig. 143.) REp-BELLIED NUTHATCH. CanapA Nuruatou. 4, adult: Upper parts leaden-blue (brighter than in S. carolinensis), the central tail-feathers the same; wings fuscous, with slight ashy edgings and concealed white bases of the primaries. Entire under parts rusty-brown, very variable in shade, from tich fulvous to brownish-white, usually palest on the throat, deepest on the sides and crissum; tail-feathers, except the middle pair, black, the lateral marked with white. Whole top : and side of head and neck glossy black, that of the side appear- Fic. 143.—Canada Nuthatch, ing as a broad bar through the eye from bill to side of neck, nat. size. (Ad nat. del. E. C.) cut off from that of the crown by a long white superciliary stripe, which meets its fellow across the forehead. Bill dark plumbeous, paler below ; feet plumbeous-brown. Length 4.50-4.75; extent 8.00-8.50; wing 2.60; tail 1.50; bill0.50. 9: Crown like the back; lateral stripe on the head merely blackish. The under parts average paler than those of the g, but there is no constancy about this. Young birds resemble the 9. Temperate N. Am., common, in woodland; habits like those of No. 57; eggs similar, smaller, 0.65 X 0.54. S. pusilla. (Lat. pusilla, puerile, petty. Fig. 144.) BRowN-HEADED Nutuaton. ¢ 9: No black cap or white stripe on head. Upper parts dull ashy-blue; under parts sordid or muddy whitish. Cap clear hair-brown. A decided spot of _ white on the middle of the nape, in the brown cap, which on the sides of the head includes the eyes, and is bordered with dusky. Middle tail-feathers like back, without black, and with little or no white. Small: length scarcely 4.00; extent about 8.00; wing 2.50; tail 1.25; tarsus 0.60; bill about 0.50. South Atlantic and Gulf States; N. to Virginia and Ohio. Habits of the other species: eggs 0.60 x 0.50, very heavily speckled with dark reddish-brown. Fig. 144, — Brown-headed Nut- S. pygmz/a. (Gr. TUyEn, pugme, the fist ; Lat. pygmaeus, a hatch, nat. size, (Ad nat. del. E. C.) pygmy, fistling, or tom-thumb.) Pyemy Nuruatcu. ¢ 9: Upper parts ashy-blue, and wings with slight if any markings (as in canadensis), though some outer primaries may be narrowly edged with white. Whole top of head, nape, and sides of head to below eyes, olive- brown, the lateral borders of this patch blackish; an obsolete whitish patch on the nape. Central tail-feathers like the back, but with a long white spot, and their outer webs black at base; other tail-feathers blackish, with white marks, and often also tipped with the color of the back. Entire under parts ranging from muddy-white to smoky-brown or rich rusty, nearly or quite as intense as in S. canadensis; flanks and crissum shaded with a dull wash of the color of the back. Bill and feet dark plumbeous, the former paler at base below. Iris black. 272 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES — OSCINES. Size of the last. Young: Differs much as the ? of canadensis does from the ¢, in having the top of the head like the back. U.S. from the Rocky Mts. to the Pacific, abundant, chiefly in pine woods; N. to Vancouver. Eggs 6-7, white, profusely speckled with reddish, 0.62 x 0.50. 5. Family CERTHIIDA: Creepers. A very small, well-marked group, of about a dozen species, and four or five genera, which fall in two sections, commonly called subfamilies; one of these, Zichodromine, is represented by the well-known European Wall Creeper, Tichodroma muraria, and several (chiefly Aus- tralian) species of the genus Climacteris; while the genus Certhia, with five or six species or varieties, and certain allied genera (all but one Old World) constitute the A ~ on FIG. 145.— Common Brown Creeper, Certhia familiaris, nearly nat. size. (From Brehm.) 8. Subfamily CERTHIINA:: Typical Creepers. Our species may be known on sight, among North American Oscines, by its rigid, acums- nate tail-feathers, like a woodpecker’s. Besides: — bill about equal in length to head, ex- tremely slender, sharp, and decurved; nostrils exposed; no rictal bristles; tarsus scutellate, shorter than 3d toe and claw, which is connate for the whole of the 1st joint with both 2d and 4th toe; lateral toes of unequal lengths, Ist toe shorter than its claw; claws all much curved and very sharp; wing 10-primaried, the 1st primary very short, not one-half the 2d, which is less than the 3d; point of wing formed by 3d, 4th, and 5th quills; tail rounded, equal to or longer than wing, of 12 stout, elastic, curved, acuminate feathers. Restless, active, little forest birds that make a living by picking bugs out of cracks in bark. In scrambling about they use the tail as woodpeckers do, and never hang head downwards, like the nuthatches. Lay numer- ous white, speckled eggs in knotholes; are not regularly migratory; have slight seasonal or sexual changes of plumage ; are chiefly insectivorous, and not noted for musical ability. 18. 62. 62a. TROGLODYTIDZA: WRENS. 273 CER'THIA. (Lat. certhius, a creeper. Fig. 146.) Characters as above. The stock-form of this genus varies according to locality. European varieties sometimes recognized are C. coste and C. britannica, The N. Am. bird, which is in- separable from the European, has been called C. rufa, fusca, and americana, for Eastern specimens, C. montana for those from the Rocky Mt. region, and C. occidentalis for those from the Pacific coast region. The Mexican form, C. mexicana, differs more appreciably, as below given. C. familia'ris. (Lat. familiaris, from familia, family; domestic, home-like. Fig. 145.) Brown CreePer. ¢ 9: Upper parts dark brown, chang- _—‘Fic. 146. —Head, foot, and tail-feather of Cer- ing to rusty-brown on the rump, everywhere ‘4 nat. size. (Ad nat, del. E. C.) streaked with ashy-white. An obscure whitish superciliary stripe. Under parts dull whitish, sometimes tinged with rusty on the flanks and crissum. Wing-coverts and quills tipped with white, the inner secondaries also with white shaft-lines, which, with the tips, contrast with the blackish of their outer webs. Wings also twice crossed with white or tawny-white, the ante- rior bar broad aud occupying both webs of the feathers, the other only on the outer webs near their ends. Tail grayish-brown, darker along the shaft and at the ends of the feathers, some- times showing shsolete transverse bars. Bill blackish above, mostly flesh-colored or yellowish below; feet brown; iris dark brown. Length of # 5.25-5.75; extent 7.50-8.00; wing 2.50 ; more or less; tail usually a little longer than the wing, sometimes not so, 2.50 to nearly 3.00; tarsus about 0.60; bill 0.65-0.75 ; 9 averaging smaller than g. Temperate N. Am., in wood- land, abundant, generally seen winding spirally up the trunks and larger branches of trees. C.£. mexica‘na. (Lat. of Mexico.) Mexican Crerper. Differs in lacking light tips of the primary coverts, and general richer coloration, the brown more rusty; rump bright chestnut ; under parts grayish. Mexico, to S. W. border of the U.S. (Not in Check List, 1882; since ascertained to inhabit Arizona.) 6. Family TROGLODYTID: Wrens. Embracing a number of forms assembled in considerable variety, and difficult to detine with precision. Closely related to the last three fami- lies ; known from these by non-acuminate tail- feathers and exposed nostrils. Very intimately resembling, in particular, the mocking group of thrushes— those with scutellate tarsi and not. strictly spurious lst primary; but all our wrens are smaller than any of the Mimine, and other- wise distinguished by less deeply cleft toes — as stated on p. 248; ‘‘the inner toe is united by half = its basal joint to the middle toe, sometimes by Fig. 147. —European Wren. (From Dixon.) the whole of this joint; and the second joint of the outer toe enters wholly or partially into this union, instead of the basal only.” Nostrils narrowly or broadly oval, exposed, overhung by a scale; bill moderately or very slender, straight or slightly decurved, from half as long to about as long as the head, unnotched in all our genera; no evident rictal bristles; wings short, more or less rounded, with 10 primaries, the 1st short, but not strictly spurious; tail of variable length, much or little rounded, of broad or narrow feathers, often held over the back. ‘Tarsi scutellate, sometimes behind as well as in front. 18 274 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES — OSCINES. Excepting some Old World forms of doubtful affinity, and the species of Anorthwra proper, the Troglodytide are confined to America; and if thus restricted are susceptible of better definition. About one hundred species or varieties are recognized, usually referred to about sixteen genera, most of which belong to tropical America, where the group reaches its maxi- mum development, — over twenty species of Campylorhynchus being described, for instance. Of North American genera, Campylorhynchus, Catherpes and Salpinctes are confined to the West, and represent a section distinguished by the breadth of the tail-feathers, which widen toward the end. Species of all our other genera are common and familiar eastern birds, much alike in disposition, manners, and habits; the house wren typifies these. They are sprightly, fearless, and impudent little creatures, apt to show bad temper when they fancy themselves aggrieved by cats or people, or anything else that is big and unpleasant to them; they quarrel a good deal, and are particularly spiteful towards martins and swallows, whose homes they often invade and occupy. Their song is bright and hearty, and they are fond of their own music; when disturbed at it they make a great ado with noisy scolding. Part of them live in reedy swamps and marshes, where they hang astonishingly big globular nests, with a little hole in one side, on tufts of rushes, and lay six or eight dark colored eggs; the others nest any- where, in shrubbery, knotholes, hollow stumps, and other odd nooks. Nearly all are migratory; one is stationary ; one comes to us in the fall from the north, the rest in spring from the south. Insectivorous, and very prolific, laying several sets of eggs each season. Plainly colored, the browns being the usual colors; no red, blue, yellow, or green in any of our species. Analysis of Subfamilies, Genera, and Species. CAMPYLORHYNCHINSE. Feet not strictly laminiplantar, the lateral plates divided, or not perfectly fused in one. Tail broad, fan-shaped, the individual feathers widening toward the end. Very large; length about 8 inches. Tarsus decidedly scutellate behind. Lateral toes of equal lengths. Above streaked with white, below spotted with black. .. . Cee . » Campylorhynchus Black and white bars of tail chiefly on outer webs of the feathers . . .C, brunneicapillus 63 Black and white bars of tail chiefly on both webs of the feathers . . . 3” @ C. affinis 64 Smaller, about 6.00long. Tarsus scutellate behind. Lateral toes of unequal lengths | ‘ Salpinctes (S. obsoletus) 65 Smaller, about 5.50 long. Tarsus scarcely scutellate behind. Lateral toes of unequal lengths Catherpes (C. mexicanus) 66, 67 TROGLODYTIN#&. Feet strictly laminiplantar, as usual in Oscines. Tail thin, with narrow parallel-edged feathers. Wings and tail more or less completely barred cross-wise. Large. Upper parts uniform in color, without streaks or bars; rump with concealed white spots. Belly unmarked ; aconspicuous superciliary stripe. Tail shorter or not longer than the wing, all the feathers brown, distinctly barred Thryothorus (T. ludovicianus) 68, 69, 70 Tail decidedly longer than the wing, blackish, not fully barred on all the feathers Thryothorus (T. bewicki) 71, 72, °% Small. Upper parts not uniform, the back being more or less distinctly Larred cross-wise; wings, tail, and flanks fully barred. Tail about equal to the wing, the outstretched feet reaching scarcely or not beyond its end Troglodytes (T'. domesticus) 174, 76 Tail decidedly shorter than the wing, the outstretched feet reaching far beyond its end Anorthura (A. troglodytes) 76, 77, 7 Small. Upper parts not uniform, the back being streaked length-wise ; flanks scarcely or not barred. Bill about 3 as long as head; crown plain; streaks of back confined to interscapular region Telmatodytes (T. palustris) 79, ga Bill scarcely or not 4 as long as head; crown streaked, like the whole back Cistothorus (C. stellaris) 84 9. Subfamily CAMPYLORHYNCHINZ:: Fan.tailed Wrens. For characters of this group and analysis of its genera, see above. 19, CAMPYLORHYN'CHUS. (Gr. caymidos, kampulos, bent; piyyos, rhugchos, beak.) Cac- Tus Wrens. Of largest size in this family; length about 8.00 inches. Tarsus scutellate behind. Lateral toes of equal lengths. Wings and tail of about equal lengths. Tail broad, 63. 64. 20. 65. TROGLODYTIDA — CAMPYLORHYNCHINZ!: FAN-TAILED WRENS. 2715 with wide feathers. Tarsus a little longer than the middle toe and claw. Upper parts with sharp white streaks on a brown ground; under parts boldly spotted with black on a white ground; tail-feathers barred with black and white. C. brunneicapil/lus. (Lat. brunneus, brown; capillus, hair.) BrowN-HEADED CACTUS Wren. 4g, adult: Back grayish-brown, marked with black and white, each feather having a central white field several times indented with black. Whole crown of head and nape rich dark wood-brown, immaculate. A long white superciliary stripe from nostril to nape. Beneath, nearly pure white anteriorly, gradually shading’ behind into decided cinnamon-brown — the throat and fore part of the breast marked with large, crowded, rounded black spots, the rest of the under parts with small, sparse, oval or linear black spots, again enlarging on the crissum. Wings darker and more fuscous-brown than the back; all the quills with a series of numerous white or whitish indentations along the edge of both webs. Central tail-feathers like the wings, with numerous more or less incomplete blackish bars; other tail-feathers blackish, the outer with several broad white bars on both webs; the rest with usually only a single com- plete white bar near the end. Bill dark plumbeous, paler below; iris orange. Length near 8.00; wing 3.50; tail rather longer; bill 0.80; tarsus 1.00; middle toe and claw 0.90. 9, adult: Quite like the g, but the spots on the throat and breast rather smaller, therefore less crowded, and less strongly contrasting with the sparse speckling of the rest of the under parts. Young: Similar to the adult on the upper parts, but the throat whitish with little speckling; scarcely any spots on the rest of the under parts, which are, however, as decidedly cinnamon as those of the adults. Southwestern U. S.,—’Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, southern Utah and Nevada, and portions of California; common in eactus and chaparral, building a large purse-shaped nest in bushes; eggs about 6, 1.00 x 0.68, white, uniformly and minutely dotted with salmon-color. (If not C. brunneicapiilus Lafr., this will stand as C, couesi Sharpe, Cat. Br. Mus., vi, 1882, p. 196.) C. affiinis. (Lat. affinis, affined, allied; ad, and finis.) St. Lucas Cactus Wren. Sim- ilar to the last. Cap reddish-brown, lighter instead of darker than the back. Markings of back very conspicuous, in strong streaks of black and white, these two colors bordering each other with little or no indentation. Under parts nearly white, the black spots, though con- spicuous, not enlarged and crowded on the breast, but more regularly distributed. All the lateral tail-feathers, instead of only the outer ones, crossed on both webs with numerous com- plete white bars. The variations with sex and age correspond with those of C. brunneicapillus. Lower California. Nest and eggs as before. (According to Sharpe, 1. ¢., this is C. brun- neicapillus Lafr.) SALPINC'TES. (Gr. cadnvykris, salpightes, a trumpeter.) Rock Wrens. Bill about as long as head, slender, compressed, straight at base, then slightly decurved, acute at tip, faintly notched. Nostrils conspicuous, scaled, in a large fossa. Wing longer than tail; exposed portion of lst primary about half as long as 2d, which is decidedly shorter than 3d. Tail rounded, of 12 broad plane feathers, with rounded or subtruncate ends. Feet small and weak; tarsus longer than middle toe, scutellate pos- teriorly. Hind toe and claw shorter than middle one; lateral toes of unequal lengths, the outer longest, both very short, the tips of their claws del. E.C.) falling short-of base of middle claw. Only one species known. S. obsole’tus. (Lat. obsoletus, unaccustomed; ob, and soleo, Iam wont; hence obsolete, effaced, the coloration being dull and diffuse. Fig. 148.) Rock Wren. ¢ Q, adult: Upper parts pale brownish-gray, minutely dotted with blackish and whitish points together, and usually 21. 66. 67. 276 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES — OSCINES. showing obsolete wavy bars of dusky. Rump cinnamon-brown; a whitish superciliary line. Beneath, soiled white, shading behind into pale cinnamon, the throat and breast obsoletely streaked, and the under tail-coverts barred, with dusky. Quills of the wings rather darker than the back, with similar markings on the outer webs. Middle tail-feathers like the back, with many dark bars of equal width with the lighter ones; lateral tail-feathers similarly marked on the outer webs, plain on the inner webs, with a broad subterminal black bar on both webs, and cinnamon-brown tips, the latter usually marbled with dusky ; outer feathers with several black- ish and cinnamon bars ou both webs. Bill and feet dark horn color, the former paler at base below. Length 5.50-6.00; wing 2.60-2.80; tail 2.20-2.40 ; bill 0.66-0.75 ; tarsus 0.75-0.80. Most of the markings blended and diffuse. Shade of upper parts variable, from dull grayish to amore plumbeous shade, often with a faint pinkish tinge. Specimens in worn and faded plu- mage may fail to show the peculiar dotting with black and whitish ; but in these the cross- wise dusky undulation, as well as the streaks on the breast, are commonly more distinct than in fresher-feathered examples. The rufous tinge of the under parts is very variable in shade ; that of the ramp, however, being always well marked. Western U. 8., E. to lowa; common, haunting rocky places, where it is conspicuous by its restlessness and loud notes; nest of any rubbish in a rocky nook ; eggs numerous, 5-8, of crystalline whiteness, sparsely sprinkled with reddish-brown dots, 0.75 X 0.62. CATHERPES. (Gr. xadepmijs, katherpes, a creeper; xard, kata, down, éprw, herpo, I creep.) CaNon Wrens. Bill singularly attenuate, about as long as head, nearly straight in all its outlines, with such direction of its axis that the bill as a whole appears continuous with the line of the forehead. Tarsus not longer than middle toe and claw, with tendency to subdivision of the lateral tarsal plate. Lateral toes of unequal lengths, the outer longest. Wings and tail as in Salpinctes, and general features, even to system of coloration, inuch the same as in that genus. One known species, with several varieties. : C. mexica/nus. MEXICAN CaXNon Wren. Similar to the form next described; much darker colored both above and below, with sharper contrast of the white throat; the white speckling mostly restricted to the back and wings; the black tail-bars broader and more regular, and the light markings of the wings mere indentations instead of complete bars. Bill straight, more abruptly decurved at extreme tip. Feet stouter, dark brown. Size greater; length about 6.00; wing 2.80; tail 2.40; bill nearly 1.00 long, only about 0.12 deep at base. Specimens vary much in sharpness and extensiveness of the speckling of the upper parts. In best-marked cases, the spots quite white, almost lengthened into streaks, each one completely set in black ; other examples, small, sparse and restricted, these specimens also showing wavy transverse in bars of blackish. Mexico, to Texan border. C. m. consper’sus. (Lat. conspersus, speckled.) SpEcKLED CaNon Wren. ¢ Q, adult: Upper parts brown, paler and grayer anteriorly, behind shading insensibly into rich rufous, everywhere dotted with small dusky and whitish spots. Tail clear cinnamon-brown, crossed with numerous very narrow and mostly zigzag black bars. Wing-quills dark brown, the outer webs of the primaries and both webs of the inner secondaries barred with the color of the back. Chin, throat, and fore breast, with lower half of the side of the head and neck, pure white, shading behind through ochraceous-brown into rich deep ferruginous, and posteriorly obsoletely waved with dusky and whitish. Bill slate-colored, paler and more livid below; feet black ; iris brown. Length about 5.50; extent 7.50; wing 2.30; tail 2.12; tarsus 0.60; bill 0.80. Throughout New Mexico and Arizona, and portions of Texas, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and California; N. to at least 40°. A remarkable bird, famous for its ringing notes, inhabiting cafions and other rocky places. Nesting and eggs like those of the rock wren; eggs 5 or more, 0.75 X 0.55, crystal white, fairly sprinkled and blotched with reddish-brown. . C. m. punctula/tus. (Lat. punctulatus, dotted.) Dorrep CANoN Wren. Smaller than either of the foregoing : length about 5.00; wing 2.10; tail 1.90; bill 0.75. Coloration inter- 22. 68. 69. 70. 71. TROGLODYTIDA — TROGLODYTINZ: TRUE WRENS. 277° mediate ; upper parts most like those of C. conspersus, and wings completely barred as in that species ; but under parts posteriorly dusky ferruginous (dark mahogany color), and tail-bars broad, firm, and regular, as in mexicanus proper. Coast region of California. The type speci- men, the only one I have seen, for some years in my cabinet and now No. 82,715, Mus. S. L, seems to be recognizably distinct ; but all the forms of the genus intergrade. (Not in Check List, 1882 ; since described by Ridgway, Pr. Nat. Mus., v., 1882, p. 343.) 10. Subfamily TROGLODYTINA: True Wrens. See characters and analysis of this group un p. 274. THRYOTHO/RUS. (Gr. Optov, thruon, a reed, and Oodpos, thouros, leaping.) Reep WRENS. Of largest size in this subfamily; length 5.50-6.00. Back uniform in color, without streaks or bars; wings and tail more or less barred crosswise; belly unmarked; a long superciliary stripe ; rump with concealed white spots. Eggs colored. Tail not longer than wings, like back in color, and barred, in Thryothorus proper. . . . . Nos, 68, 69, 70 Tail longer than wings, blackish, not fully barred, in Thryomanes.. . .. . 1... wus 71, 72, 78 T. ludovicia‘nus. (Lat. Ludovicianus, Louisiana; of Ludovicus, Louis XIV., of France. Fig. 149.) Great CaRoLiInA WREN. Upper parts uniform reddish-brown, brightest on the rump, where are concealed whitish spots; a long whitish superciliary line, usually bordered with dusky streaks ; upper surfaces of wings and tail like back, barred with dusky, the outer edges of the primaries and lateral tail-feathers showing whitish spots. Below, rusty or muddy whitish, clearest anteriorly, deepening behind, the under tail-coverts reddish-brown barred with blackish. Wing-coverts usually with dusky and whitish tips. Feet livid flesh-colored. Length 6.00; extent nearly 7.50; wing 2.40; tail 2.25; bill 0.65; tarsus 0.75. Eastern UJ. §., southerly; N. regularly to the Middle States, rarely to Massachusetts; resident as far north at least as Washington. A common and well-known inhabitant of shrubbery, with a loud ringing song; shy and secretive. Nest in any nook about out-buildings, or in shrubbery, when in the latter usually roofed over, of the most miscellaneous materials; eggs 6-7, white, profusely speckled and blotched with shades of Fic. 149. —Great Carolina Wren, reduced. (From reddish, brown, and purplish; 0.72 x 0.60. Nuttall, after Audubon.) T.1. miamien’sis. (Of the Miami River, Florida.) Fuorrpan Wren. Similar: larger, stouter, and more deeply-colored, especially below, where nearly uniform rusty-brown. Wing 2.75; tail 2.60; bill 0.90; tarsus 0.95. Florida; a local race. T.1. berlan/dieri. (To Dr. Louis Berlandier.) TExan Wren. Similar: smaller; length 5.25 ; wing 2.25; tail 2.12. Coloration darker than in typical ludovicianus, especially below; flanks as well as crissum barred with dusky; tail-bars broken up into irregular nebulation. Valley of the Rio Grande; a local race. T. be'wicki. (To Thomas Bewick.) Brwicx’s WrReEN. Above, dark grayish-brown; below, ashy-white, with a brownish wash on the flanks. Rump with concealed whitish spots. A long whitish superciliary stripe from nostrils to nape. Under tail-coverts dark-barred; two middle tail-feathers like back, with numerous fine black bars; others black with whitish 12. 73. 23. 74. 15. 24. 76. 278 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES— OSCINES. markings on the outer webs and tips. Length about 5.50; extent 6.75; wing 2.00-2.12; tail 2.35; bill 0.50; tarsus 0.75. Eastern U.S8., southerly, N. to the Middle States and Minnesota. Not very common in the Atlantic States, but so abundant as to replace the house wren in some parts of the interior. Nest in holes in trees, stumps, fences, etc.; eggs white, finely dotted and spotted, resembling those of Catherpes or Salpinctes. T. b. leucogas/ter. (Gr. Aeveds, leukos, white; yaornp, gaster, belly.) WHITE-BELLIED Wren. Above, uniform clear ashy-brown; below, clear ashy-white; pure white on the middle parts. A long, strong, white superciliary stripe; auriculars speckled with white. Con- cealed white spots on the rump. Quills of the wings fuscous, the inner feathers very obsoletely waved with the color of the back. Two middle tail-feathers closely barred with pure dark ash and black; others black, with irregular white or ashy-white tips, the outer web of the exterior feather barred with white. Length 5.50-5.75 inches; extent 6.75; wing 2.00-2.33; tail 2.25-2.50 ; bill 0.50; tarsus 0.75. Southwestern U. 8.; a well-marked geographical race. T. b. spilu'rus? (Gr. omidos, spilos, spotted; odpa, owra, tail.) SPECKLED-TAILED WREN. Similar to No. 71, and scarcely distinguishable ; bill said to be longer, 0.60. Pacific Coast. TROGLODYTES. (Gr. tpwyAodurns, troglodutes, a cave-dweller.) Housz— WRENS. Of small size; no decided superciliary line. Upper parts not uniform in color, the back more or less distinctly barred crosswise ; wings, tail, and flanks fully barred crosswise; tail about equal to wing in length, the outstretched feet scarcely or not reaching beyond its end. Eggs colored. T. domes'ticus. (Lat. domesticus, domestic; domus, a house.) Eastern Housr WREN. Brown, brighter behind; below rusty-brown, or grayish-brown, or even grayish-white ; every- where waved with darker shade, very plainly on wings, tail, flanks, and under tail-coverts; breast apt to be darker than either throat or belly; bill shorter than head, about 0.50; wings and tail nearly equal, about 2.00, but ranging from 1.90 to 2.10; total length 4.50-5.25, averaging about 4.90; extent about 6.75. Exposed portion of 1st primary about one-half as long as longest primary. Eastern U.S., N. to Canada, W. to Dakota; very abundant anywhere in shrubbery, gardens, and about dwellings, where its active, sprightly, and fearless demeanor, together with its hearty trilling song, bring it into friendly notoriety. Nest of any trash in a hole of a build- ing, fence, tree, or stump; eggs 6-9, 0.65 X 0.55, profusely and uniformly studded with minute points of brown, often rendering an almost uniform color; two or three broods each season. Resident in the South, migratory farther north. T. d. park/mani. (To Dr. Geo. Parkman, of Boston.) Wrstern HouszE Wren. Brown above, little brighter on rump, nearly everywhere waved with dusky, strongest on wings and tail, but usually appreciable on the whole back. Below brownish-white, nearly white on belly, obscurely variegated with darker markings, which, on the flanks and crissum, become stronger bars, alternating with brown and whitish ones. Bill blackish above, pale below ; feet brown. Length 5.00-5.25 ; extent 6.75; wing and tail about 2.10. Exposed portion of 1st primary about one-half as long as 2d primary. Western U. §., from the Plains to the Pacific, abun- dant, there replacing T. domesticus, to which it is so similar; but on an average paler and grayer, with rather longer wings and tail. ANORTHU/RA. (Gr. dv, an, signifying negation; d6p6és, orthos, straight; odpa, oura, tail. Fig. 147.) Winter Wrens. Like Troglodytes proper, but tail decidedly shorter than wings, the outstretched feet reaching far beyond its end. Eggs colored. A. troglo/dytes hiema/lis. (Lat. hiemalis, wintry; hiems, winter. Fig. 150.) WINTER WREN. Above brown, darker before, brighter behind, most of back, together with tail and inner wing- quills, banded with dusky, the markings obsolete on the back, where usually accompanied by whitish specks, strongest on the wings and tail. Outer webs of several primaries regularly barred with brownish-white, in marked contrast with the other bars of the wings. An incon- spicuous whitish superciliary line. Below brownish, paler or whitish anteriorly, the belly, flanks, and crissum heavily waved with dusky and whitish bars. Bill slender, straight, decidedly 1%. 78. 25. 79. 80. TROGLODYTIDZA— TROGLODYTINZ: TRUE WRENS. 279 shorter than the head. Tail much shorter than the wings. Length 3.90-4.10; extent 6.00- 6.50; wing 1.75; tail 1.25; bill 0.40; tarsus, middle toe, and claw together, about 1.12. N. Am. at large, common, migratory, breed- ing from New England and corresponding latitudes northward, wintering in the U. S., the strict representative of the European wren. Nest of twigs, moss, lichens, hair, feathers, ete., usually in a stump or log close to the ground; eggs 5-8, 0.65 x 0.48, pure white, minutely dotted with reddish- brown and purplish. A sly, secretive little bird, less often seen than other wrens no less comimon; voice strong and highly musical. A. t. paci/ficus? (Lat. pacificus, pacific, Fre. 150.— Winter Wren, little reduced. (Baird’s peace-making; pax and facio; alluding to “sure of 4. alascensis.) “the stilly sea.”) WESTERN WINTER WreEN. Like the last; darker, in lack of the whitish specks of the upper parts, and whitish bars on outer webs of the primaries; but very slightly distinguished. Pacific Coast region. A. t. alascen’sis. (Of Alaska.). ALASKAN WINTER WReEN. Like the common species in form and coloration; larger; size of a house wren; wing 2.00-2.20; tail 1.50; tarsus 0.75; tarsus, middle toe, and claw together 1.40; bill 0.65. Culmen, gape, and gonys almost per- fectly straight, latter slightly ascending. Aleutian and Pribylov Islands, Alaska. Well dis- tinguished from the common form, and nearer the Japanese A. fumigatus. TELMATODYTES. (Gr. rédpa, telma, a swamp; durys, dutes, an inhabitant.) MARsH Wrens. Small. Upper parts not uniform; back streaked lengthwise with white in a black patch ; flanks scarcely or not barred; crown plain; bill about two-thirds as long as head. Eggs dark. T. palus'tris. (Lat. palustris, marshy ; palus, a marsh. Fig. 151.) Lone-BittED Marsu Wren. Above clear brown, unbarred, the middle of the back with a large black patch sharply streaked with white (these white stripes sometimes de- ficient). Crown of head usually darker than the back, often quite blackish, and continuoug with the black inter- scapular patch. A dull white superciliary line. Wings fuscous, the inner secondaries blackish on the outer webs, often barred or indented with light brown. Tail evenly barred with fuscous and the color of the back. Under parts white, usually quite pure onthe belly and middle line of the breast and throat, but much shaded with Fig. 151. —Long-billed Marsh Wren, brown on the sides, flanks, and crissum. Bill blackish Mats size,. (dinate dels BiG)” above, pale below; feet brown. Length about 5.00; extent 6.50; wing 1.75-2.00; tail about the same; Dill 0.50 or more; tarsus 0.66-0.75. Temperate N. Am.; Greenland. Breeds throughout its range, and winters in the Southern States; an abundant bird, colonizing reedy swamps and marshes in large numbers, its great globular nests of plaited rushes, with a hole in the side, being affixed to the swaying herbage ; eggs 6-10, 0.58 x 0.45, very dark-colored, being so thickly dotted with chocolate-brown as to appear almost uniformly of this color. T. p. paludi/cola? (Lat. paludicola, a marsh-inhabiter; palus and colo, I cultivate.) TuLE Marsa Wren. Scarcely recognizable as distinct; bill said to be shorter, and tail and its coverts more distinctly barred. Pacific Coast. ze. 81. 280 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES — OSCINES. CISTOTHO’RUS. (Gr. kicros, kistos, a shrub; Oovpos, thowros, leaping.) MarsH WRENS. Like Telmatodytes; whole back and crown streaked with white. Bill scarcely or not one-half as long as head. Eggs white. C. stella/ris. (Lat. stellaris, starry; i.e., speckled. Fig. 152.) SHoRT-BILLED Marse WREN. Upper parts brown, the crown and most of the back blackish, streaked with white. Below, whitish, shaded with clear brown across the breast and along: the sides, and especially on the flanks and crissum, the latter more or less indistinctly barred with dusky (often inappreci- able). A whitish line over the eye. Wings and tail marked as in the last species. Upper tail-coverts decidedly barred. Bill blackish above, whitish below, extremely sinall, scarcely half as long as the head; feet brown. Length 4.50; extent y 5.75-6.00; wing and tail each about 1.75; bill 0.35-0.40; Fic. 152.— Short-billed Marsh tarsus, middle toe, and claw together, about 1.12. The streak- Wren, nat. size. (Ad nat.del.E.C.) ing of the head and that of the back are usually separated by a plain nuchal interval; but these are as often run together, the whole bird above being streaked with whitish and blackish upon a brown ground. The wings, tail, and entire under parts are much like those of T. palustris, from which the species is distinguished by the mark- ings of the upper parts and extremely short bill. Chiefly Eastern U. 8. and adjoining British Provinces; W. to Utah. Migratory; winters in the Southern States. Frequents marshy places like T. palustris, but is not common. Nesting different, and eggs white. 7. Family ALAUDID: Larks. A rather small group, well defined by the character of the feet, in adaptation to terrestrial life. The subcylindrical tarsi are seutellate and blunt behind as in front, with.a deep groove along the inner side, and a slight one, or none, on the outer face. That is to say, there is an anomalous structure of the tarsal envelope; the tarsus being covered with two series of scu- tella, one lapping around in front, the other around behind, the two meeting along a groove on the inner face of the tarsus, which is consequently blunt behind as well as in front. There is a simple suture of the two series of plates on the outer face of the tarsus ; the individual plates of each series alternate. Other characters (shared by some Motacillide) are the very long, straight, hind claw, which equals or exceeds its digit in length ; the long, pointed wings, with the 1st primary spurious or apparently wanting, and the inner secondaries (‘ tertiaries”) lengthened and flowing. The nostrils are usually concealed by dense tufts of antrorse feathers. The shape of the bill is not diagnostic, being sometimes short, stout and conic, much as in some Fringillide, while in other cases it is slenderer, and more like that of insectivorous Passeres. The family is composed, nominally, of a hundred species; with the exception of one genus and two or three species or varieties, it is confined to the Old World. Its systematic position is open to question; some place it at the end of the Oscine series, or remove it from Oscines altogether, on account of the peculiarities of the podotheca; authors generally place it near the Fringillide, from the resemblance of the bill of some species to that of some finches; but it has many relationships with Motacillide, and, in the arrangement of this work, I find no better place for it than here, though it has no special affinity with the preceding families. Moreover, the fact that it appears to have indifferently 9 or 10 primaries may indicate a natural position between the sets of families in which number of primaries is among the diagnostic features. The musical apparatus is certainly well developed, as testified by the eminent vocal powers of the celebrated sky-lark of Europe. The unpractised reader must be careful not to confound the larks proper with certain birds loosely called ‘‘larks”; thus the titlarks, or pipits, though sharing the lengthened, straightened hind claw and elongated inner wing-quills of ALAUDIDZA — CALANDRITINZ: SHORE LARKS. 281 Alaudide, belong to an entirely different family, the Motacillide ; while the American field- lark is one of the Icteride, much further removed. According to shape of bill, structure of nostrils, and apparent number of primaries, the family may be divided into two subfamilies, thé Alaudine, typified by the celebrated sky-lark of Europe, and the Calandritine, of which the well-known horned lark is a typical representa- : tive. Both of these occur in North America ; the Alauda, however, only as a straggler from Europe. CALANDRITIN&, without evident spurious lst primary, the primaries apparently only 9. ALAUDINZ, with spurious 1st primary, the primaries therefore evidently 10. 11. Subfamily CALANDRITINA : Shore Larks. Represented in America by the single genus ae Eremophila, of which there are nominally ten, Fic. 153. — Shore Lark, much reduced. (From Ten- Teally four or five species, one of which occurs ney, after Baird.) in North America. 27. EREMO'PHILA. (Gr. épjpos, eremos, a desert; psdéo, phileo, I love.) Hornep Larxs. Primaries apparently only 9 (no obvious spurious Ist primary). Point of the wing formed by the first 3 developed primaries. Inner secondaries elongated. Tail of medium length, nearly even, the middle pair of feathers different in shape and color from the rest. Bill com- pressed-conoid, acute, shorter than head. Nostrils completely concealed by dense tufts of antrorse feathers. Head not crested, but a peculiar tuft of feathers over each ear, somewhat like the so-called “‘ horns” of some owls. Feet of ordinary alaudine characters, as already given. Coloration peculiar in the presence of yellowish tints and strong black bars on the head and breast. The birds of this genus frequent open places, are strictly terrestrial in habits, and never hop when on the ground, like most Passeres ; they are migratory in most localities, and gregarious, except when breeding; nest on the ground, and lay 4-5 speckled eggs; sing sweetly in the spring time. 82. E. alpes/tris. (Lat. alpestris, alpine. Figs. 153, 154.) Horwep or SHore Larn. ¢ 9, adult, in breeding plumage: Upper parts in general pinkish-brown, this pinkish or vinaceous or liliaceous tint brightest onthe nape, lesser wing- coverts, and tail-coverts, the rest of the upper parts being duller and more grayish-brown, boldly variegated with dark brown streaks; middle pair of tail-feathers and several of the inner secondaries rufous-brown, with darker centres. Under parts, from the breast backward, white; the sides strongly washed with the color of the upper parts, and mottling of same across the lower part of the breast. A large, distinct, shield-shaped black area on the breast. Tail-feathers, except the middle pair, black, the outermost edged with whitish. Wing- quills, except the innermost, plain fuscous, the outer web of the lst primary whitish. Lesser wing-coverts Fig. 154. — Shore Lark, nat. size, (Ad usually tipped with grayish-white. Top of head like Hah deh Be) nape; bar across front of vertex, thence extended along sides of crown, and produced into a tuft or ‘‘ horn, ” black ; front and line over eye, also somewhat produced to form part of the tuft, white or yellowish ; a broad bar from nostrils along the lores, thence curving below the eye and widening as it descends in front of the auriculars, black ; rest of the sides of the head 282 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. —PASSERES — OSCINES. and whole throat white or sulphury-yellow. Bill plumbeous-blackish, bluish-plumbeous at base below (sometimes there yellowish) ; feet and claws black; iris brown. Length of @, 7.00-7.50 ; extent. 13.00-14.00; wing 4.25-4.50; tail 2.75-3.00; bill, from extreme base of culmen, 0.40-0.50; tarsus 0.88-0.90; middle toe and claw rather less; hind claw about 0.50, usually longer than its digit, but very variable. 9 commonly smaller than the ¢;. length 6.75-7.25 ; extent 12.75-13.25; wing about 4.00, ete. g 9, adult, in winter: As usually seen in most of the United States in the fall, winter, and early spring, differ from the above in more sordid coloration of the upper parts, which may be simply grayish-brown, heavily streaked with dusky, even on the crown, with little or none of the ‘‘ pinkish” tints ; and in lack or re- striction of the black markings of the head and breast, or their being veiled with whitish tips of the individual feathers ; nevertheless, the sulphury tinge of the white parts about the head is usually very conspicuous. Fledglings have the upper parts dusky, mixed with some yellowish- brown, and sprinkled all over with whitish or light tawny dots, each feather having a terminal speck. Most of the wing- and tail-feathers have rusty, tawny, or whitish edging and tipping. The under parts are white, mottled with the colors of the upper parts along the sides and across the back ; no traces of definite black markings about the head and breast, nor any yellow tinge. Bill and feet pale or yellowish. This peculiar speckled stage is of brief duration; with an early autumnal change, a dress, little if at ail different from that of the adults in winter, is acquired. Nesting begins very early in April, or ever in March, sometimes before the snow is gone, and frequently other broods are reared through: the summer; nest of grasses, etc., sunken in the ground; eggs very variable in tone, but always profusely and heavily marked with brownish-gray or dark stone-gray upon a grayish or greenish-white ground; in some cases the whole surface nearly uniform. Northern hemisphere at large; in America, chiefly north- ern and eastern parts, breeding from the Northern States northward, common in flocks in the U.S. in winter; chiefly replaced in the West by the following varieties. 83. E. a. leucole/ma. (Gr. Aevxds, lewkos, white; Acids, latmos, throat.) WESTERN SHORE Lark. Size of the foregoing. General coloration extremely pale — brownish-gray, the peculiar pinkish tint of certain parts sharing the geueral pallor. Black markings on head and breast much restricted in extent, and white surroundings correspondingly increased — thus, the plack post-frontal bar scarcely or not broader than the white of the forehead. No yellow about head, excepting usually a slight tinge on the chin. Changes of plumage parallel with those already given; even the nestlings show the same decided pallor. Prairies of Western U. &., breeding everywhere north of about 40°; very abundant. 84, E.a. chrysola/ma. (Gr. xpiceos, chruseos, golden; Aarpds, laimos, throat.) SouTH-weEst- ERN SHoRE Lark. Smaller than the foregoing: g@ with the wing scarcely or not 4.00, and other dimensions tv correspond; a very small specimen, probably 9, has the wing only 3.50; in another, marked @, it is 3.75. The ‘ pink- ish” tinge intensified into cimnamon-brown, and pervading nearly all the upper parts; yellow of head intensified ; black markings very heavy, — the black on the crown widened to oceupy more than half the cap, reducing the white frontlet to a mere trace. Southwestern U. S. and Mexico, breeding mostly south of 40°; abundant. 12. Subfamily ALAUDINA: Sky-Larks. ARN Represented in America by one species, a Fig. 155.-- Sky-Lark, reduced. (From Dixon.) gtraggler from the Old World. Fig. 155. 28, ALAU/DA. (Lat. alauda, a lark; supposed Celtic al, high, and aud, song.) Sxy-LaRKs. 85. MOTACILLIDZ: WAGTAILS AND PIPITS. 283 Primaries 10, the spurious 1st primary minnte but evident. Head suberested, but without lateral ear-tufts. Wings long, pointed, the tip formed by the first 3 developed primaries ; inner secondaries long and flowing. Tail emarginate, little more than half as long as wing. ‘Tarsus equal to middle toe and claw. Lateral toes of unequal lengths. Sexes alike. Nest on the ground. Eggs 4-5, thickly speckled. A. arven’sis. (Lat. arvensis, relating to arable land; arvum, a ploughed field.) Sxy Lark. Upper parts grayish-brown, the feathers with darker centres; under parts whitish, tinged with buff across breast and along sides, and there streaked with dusky; a pale superciliary line ; wings with much whitish edging; outer tail-feather mostly white, the next one or two with white borders. Length of @ 7.50; extent 14.75; wing about 4.00; tail 2.50; bill 0.50; tarsus or middle toe and claw 1.00; hind toe 0.45, its claw up to nearly 1.00. 9 smaller. This celebrated bird, whose music so often inspires the poet, occurs asa straggler from Europe in Greenland, and also, it is said, in Bermuda and Alaska. It has also been im- ported and turned out in this country, where it may perhaps become naturalized. 8. Family MOTACILLIDA:: Wagtails and Pipits. ss Bill shorter than the head, very : : slender, straight, acute, notched at tip. Nostrils not concealed by feathers, which however reach into the nasal fosse. ictus not nota bly bristled. Primaries 9, of which the lst is about as long as the 2d, and the first 3, 4, or 5, form the point; inner secondaries enlarged, the longest one nearly or quite equalling the primaries in the closed wing. Tail lengthened, averaging about equal to the wing. Feet long and slender ; tarsus scutellate, usually longer than the middle toe and claw; inner toe cleft to the very base, but basal joint of outer toe soldered with the middle one; hind toe bearing a long and little curved claw (except in Motacilla proper). A pretty well-defined = group of one hundred, chiefly Old = === World, species, which may be Fic. 156. — Upper, White Wagtail; lower, Yellow Wagtail. termed terrestrial Sylvias, all liv- (From Dixop.) ing mostly on the ground, where they run with facility, never -hopping like most Oscines. They are usually gregarious; are insectivorous and migratory. They have gained their name from the characteristic habit of moving the tail with a peculiar see-saw motion, as if they were using it to balance themselves upon unsteady footing. They may be distinguished from all the foregoing birds, except Alaudide, by having only 9 primaries; from all the following Oscines, by having long flowing jumer secondaries; and from Alaudide, with which they agree in this respect, as well as in usually. having a lengthened, straightish hind claw, by having the tarsal envelope as in Oscines generally, slender bill, and exposed nostrils. Two subfamilies are generally recog-. nized, though the distinctions are searcely more than generic. 284 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES — OSCINES. Analysis af Subfamilies and Genera. MOTACILLINE. Point of wing formed by first 3 primaries. Tail longer or not obviously shorter than wings, with narrow tapering feathers. Hind claw variable in length and curvature. Coloration black and white, or Bone 86S yellow and greenish. Tail decidedly longer than wings, doubly Snr Hind claw of ordinary length and curvature. Colors black, ashy, and white, in masses . . . . Motacilla 29 Tail, if anything, shorter than wings, sis even. "Hind wae lenethaned and straightened. Colors yellow and green, in masses . . . « » Budytes 30 ANTHINZE. Point of wing formed by first 4 or 5 primaries. ” Tail decidedly shorter than wings, its feathers not tapering. Hind claw lengthened and straightened. Coloration brownish, the under parts streaked, upper usually also variegated. Tarsus not shorter (rather longer) than hind toe and claw. Tail moderately shorter than wing, the outstretched feet not reaching beyonditsend .... 5 . .Anthus 31 Tarsus shorter than hind toe and claw. Tail only about two-thirds as long as wing, the outstretched feet reaching beyonditsend. .......+..4 is BAS Capo . . Neocorys 32 13. Subfamily MOTACILLINA: Wagtails. Represented in America by two species; in the Old World by nearly fifty species or vari- eties, chiefly belonging to the genus Motacilla and its subdivisions or immediate allies, of which Budytes is one, furming a perfect connecting link between Motacilla proper and the Anthine. 29, MOTACIL/LA. (Lat. mota-cilla, wag-tail; name of some small bird.) WHITE WaGTaILs. Tail much longer than wings, of 12 narrow, weak, tapering or almost linear feathers. First 3 primaries about equal and longest; longest secondary (when full grown) about reaching their ends when the wing is closed; these flowing secondaries narrow and tapering. Tarsi long and slender; lateral toes of about equal lengths; hind claw not particularly lengthened or straightened ; with its,digit much shorter than the tarsus. Form remarkably lithe and slender; coloration black, ashy, and white, in large masses. 86. M. al/ba. (Lat. alba, white. Fig. 156.) Wirt Waerar. , in summer: Head black, with a broad mask of white across forehead and along sides; the black extending on the fore- breast ; wings blackish, with much white edging and tipping of the quills and greater coverts ; tail black, the two lateral feathers on each side mostly white; back and sides ashy; lower parts mostly white; bill and feet black. In winter the black more restricted, that on the fore breast forming a crescent spot. Q similar, the black still more restricted, in part replaced by gray. Young, gray above, grayish-white below, with a gray or blackish crescent on the fore neck. Length about 7.25; wing 3.25; tail 3.75; tarsus 0.90; hind toe and claw 0. 60; pill 0.50. A species of wide distribution in Hareps and Asia, occasional in Greenland. 86a. M. ocula/ris. (Lat. ocularis, ocular.) Sipertan WacrTaiu. Larger, and with a black eye- stripe in the white mask. Occurs at Plover Bay, East Siberia, and may be expected across Behring’s Straits. (Not in the Check List, 1882; since found in California.) 30. BUDYTES. (Gr. Bovdurns, boudutes, some small bird.) Ye~Low WactTam. Characters of Motacilla ; tail shorter, not exceeding the wing in length ; hind claw lengthened and straightish; hind toe and claw nearly as long as the tarsus. Coloration chiefly yellow and greenish. 87. B. fla/vus? (Lat. flavus, yellow. Figs. 157,156.) Yentow WacGtain. BLUE-HEADED Quaxke-TaIL. Adult: Above, yellowish-green; below, rich yellow, shaded with greenish on the sides, and bleaching on the chin. Top and sides of head bluish-gray, enclosing a long white superciliary stripe; a dusky stripe from corner of mouth through eye to ear-coverts. Quills of the wing dusky, the lesser coverts edged with the color of the back; median and greater coverts showing whitish wing-bars, and inner second- aries edged with the same. Tail dusky, the middle feathers Fic. 157. — Yellow Wagtail ; nearly nat. size. (After Baird.) edged with the color of the back; the outer two on each side 31. 8s. MOTACILLIDA — ANTHINZ: PIPITS, OR TITLARKS. 285 mostly white. Bill and feet black. Length about 6.50; wing 3.00; tail about 2.75; bill 0.50; tarsus 0.90; hind toe and claw 0.65. A protean species of extensive dispersion in Europe and Asia, occurring abundantly in Alaska; there 1s some uncertainty to what form the American bird strictly belongs.. It is that with the whole side of the head, below the white stripe, slaty- blackish, and some dusky markings un breast; doubtless some Asiatic sub-species (taivanus Swinh. ?) 14. Subfamily ANTHINA: Pipits, or Titlarks. In these, the tail is shorter than the wings, and composed of broader feathers retaining their width to near the end; 4 or 5 primaries usually form the point of the wing; the tarsi are rela- tively shorter, usually about equal to the middle toe; the lateral toes are longer, the points of their claws reaching beyond the base of the mid- dle claw; the hind claw is always lengthened : and straightened (as in the figure beyond given pres aa of Anthus ludovicianus) ; and the coloration is eS “niggled,” that is to say, broken up in streaks Fie. 158. — Meadow Pipit. (From Dixon.) and spots. The species of Anthine make up nearly or about half the family; they are chiefly referable to the genus Anthus, of which, however, there are several subdivisions. In typical Anthus, the wing is longer than the tail, and its point is formed by the outer 4 primaries, the 5th being abruptly shorter; the hind claw is nearly straight, and nearly or quite equals its digit in length. Neocorys only differs in having the feet larger and tail shorter. In certain 8. Am. forms, Pediocorys and Notiocorys, the wing is more rounded, and 4 or even 5 primaries enter into the tip of the wing; in several European subgenera only 3 primaries are abruptly longer than the succeeding ones. Our Anthus is strictly congeneric with the European A. spinoletta, type of the genus. About fifty species (among them six or eight Central and South American ones) are ascribed to Anthine. They are terrestrial and more or less gregarious birds, migratory and insectivorous. AN’THUS. (Gr. dv6os, anthos, Lat. anthus, a kind of bird.) Puiprrs. Bill shorter than head, about as wide as high at base, compressed in most of its extent, acute at tip, where distinctly notched; culmen slightly concave between base and terminal convexity ; rictus slightly bristled. Wings longer than tail, tipped by the first 4 primaries, 5th abruptly shorter. Tarsi not shorter or rather longer than the hind toe and claw; inner lateral toe rather longer than the outer, or the two about equal. Tail extending beyond the end of the outstretched feet. Markings of upper parts distinct, and shade of under parts greenishin. . .....4... pratensis 88 Markings of upper parts obscure, and shade of under partsbuffyin . ..... . » ludovicianus 89 A. praten’sis. (Lat. pratensis, relating to pratum, a neadow. Fig. 158.) Mrapow Pirit. Upper parts pale greenish-brown, distinctly marked with blackish-brown centres of the feath- ers; wing-quills and coverts clove-brown, edged with greenish-gray. Tail-feathers dark brown, edged with the greenish shade of the back, the outer one obliquely white for nearly half its length, and others with white at the end. Cheeks olivaceous, speckled with dusky. Under parts brownish-white with a tinge of green, marked on the breast and sides with brownish- black streaks running forward as a maxillary chain; chin, belly, and under tail-coverts un- marked. Bill dusky above and at end, the rest livid fests color; feet obscure flesh-color ; iris blackish. Length about 6.00; extent 9.50; wing 3.00; tail 2.50; Dill 0.50; tarsus 0.75. Europe; North American as occurring in Gresaland, and also, it is tai, in Kiciea. I have seen Alaskan Pipits, certainly not ludovicianus, and apparently pratensis; but too young and in too bad condition to furnish decisive characters. NOS NW Sie Nolo 89. 32. 90. 286 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. —PASSERES — OSCINES. A. ludovicia‘nus. (Lat. of Louisiana; Ludovieus, Louis. Fig. 159.) Louistana Pipi. AMERICAN TITLARK. Brown Lark. Waaeraiu. Upper parts dark brown with an olive shade, most of the feathers with dusky centres, giving an obscure streaky or nebulous appearance; eyelids, superciliary line, and all \ © under parts brownish-white, or pale buffy or ochrey brown, very variable in shade from muddy white to rich buff, the breast and sides of the body and neck thickly streaked with dusky; wings and tail blackish, the inner secondaries pale-edged, and 1-3 outer tail-feathers white wholly or in part. Bill blackish; pale at base below; feet brown. Length 6.25-6.75, sometimes 7.00; extent 10.25-11.00; wing 3.25- 3.50; tail 2.75-3.00; bill 0.50; tarsus 0.90. N. Am., everywhere ; an abundant and well-known bird of fields and plains ; migratory; in Fig. 159.—Titlark, nat. the U.S. seen chiefly in flocks in fall, winter, and early spring; size. (Ad nat.del.E.C.) reeds in high latitudes, and in the Rocky Mts. above timber line as far south as Colorado; lays 4-6 very dark-colored eggs, 0.80 x 0.60, in a mossy or grassy nest on the ground; voice querulous, gait tremulous, flight vacillating. NEO/CORYS. (Gr. véos, neos, new; képus, korus, a helmet, and hence applied to a kind of crested lark.) Sky Pipirs. Characters of Anthus, from which little distinguished by the shorter and more nearly even tail and larger feet, which when outstretched reach beyond the end of the tail; tarsus shorter than hind toe and claw. Colors clearer and markings more dis- tinct than in Anthus ludovicianus ; more as in some European species of Anthus. N. spra/guii. (To Isaac Sprague, of Mass.) SpraGun’s Pipir. Muissourt TIruarK. Above, variegated with numerous streaks of dark brown and gray, in largest pattern on the back, smallest on the nape, the gray constituting the edging of the feathers. Below, dull whit- ish, more or less brownish-shaded across the breast and along the sides; the breast sharply streaked, the sides less distinctly so, with dusky; a more or less evident series of maxillary spots. Quills dark grayish-brown; the inner ones, and the wing-coverts, edged with grayish- white, corresponding to the pattern of the back. Middle tail-feathers like the back; next ones blackish-brown, the two outer pair wholly or mostly pure white, the 3d pair from the outside usually touched with white near the end. With reduction of the gray edgings of the feathers of the upper parts by wearing away in summer, the bird becomes darker above, with narrower and sharper variegation, and the pectoral streaks are fainter. Bill blackish above; below, like the feet, pale flesh-color; iris black. After the fall moult the colors again become pure; the streaking of the upper parts is strong and sharp, and the under parts acquire a ruddy-brown shade. Young: Edgings of the feathers of the upper parts buffy, giving a rich complexion to the plumage; feathers of back with pure white edging, forming conspicuous semicircular mark- ings; greater wing-coverts and long inner secondaries broadly tipped with white, and prima- ries broadly edged and tipped with white or buff. Ear-coverts buffy-brown, forming a more couspicuous patch than in the adult. Under parts strongly tinged, except on throat and middle of belly, with buffy-brown, the pectoral and lateral streaks large and diffused. Sexes indistin- guishable; 9 rather smaller than g. Length 6.25-6.75, rarely 7.00; extent 10.00-11.00, generally about 10.50, rarely 11.50; wing 3.00-3.30; tail 2.25-2.40; bill 0.50; tarsus 0.80- 0.90; middle toe and claw 0.90; hind toe and claw nearly 1.00, the claw alone about 0.50. Central portions of the U. 8., and adjoining British Provinces, from the eastern edge of the high central plains to the Rocky Mts., from the valleys of the Red River of the North and of the Saskatchewan to Texas; breeding in profusion in Dakota and Montana; nest on the ground, of fine dried grasses, sometimes arched over; eggs 4-5, 0.90 X 0.60, grayish-white minutely flecked with darker, giving a purplish cast. General habits and manners of titlarks; but soaring flight when singing, and the song itself, having all the qualities which have made the European skylark famous, and being no less worthy of celebration in poetry. SYLVICOLIDZ): AMERICAN WARBLERS. 287 9. Family SYLVICOLIDA:: American Warblers. Primaries, nine; rec- trices, twelve; tarsi scu- tellate ; inner secondaries not enlarged, nor hind toe lengthened and _straight- ened, as in the two pre- ceding families; bill with- out a lobe or tooth near the middle of the com- missure, as in Pyranga ; not strongly toothed and hooked at end, as in La- nius and Vireo (which may have ten primaries), nor greatly flattened with gape reaching to eyes, as in : My Hirundinide, nor strictly Fic. 160. — Black-throated Green Warbler, nat. size. (Ad nat. del. E. C.) conical with angulated commissure, as in Fringillide. The family presents such a number of minor modifications of form, that it seems impossible to characterize it, except negatively ; in fact, it has never been satisfactorily defined. But doubtless the student will be able to assure himself that his speci- men is a sylvicoline, by its not showing the peculiarities of our other nine-primaried Oscines. All the sylvicolas are small birds; excepting Icteria, and perhaps a species of Siurus, not one is over six inches long, and they hardly average over five. With few exceptions they are beautifully clothed in variegated colors; but the sexes are generally unlike, and the changes of plumage, with age and season of the year, are usually strongly marked, so that different specimens of the same species may bear to each other but little resemblance ; this of course renders careful discrimination necessary. The usual shape of the bill may be called conoid- elongate (something like a slender minié bullet in miniature), but the variations in precise shape are endless. The rictus is usually bristled; the bristles sometimes have an extraordi- nary development, and are sometimes wanting. The wings are longer than the tail, except in Geothlypis, Icteria, and one or two exotic genera; neither the wing nor tail ever presents striking forms; the head is never crested. The feet have no special peculiarities, though they show some slight modifications corresponding to somewhat terrestrial, or more strictly arboricole, habits. The nidification is endlessly varied, more or less artistic or artless nests being built in trees, bushes, holes, or on the ground. Musical proficiency might be expected from the agreeably suggestive name of the family, but as a rule the “warbler’s” singing is rather “‘ quaint and curious” than very skilfully modulated or highly melodious, —to which statement, however, there is signal exception to be taken, as in the case of the Stwri. Some of the warblers have the habits of titmice or wrens; others of creepers or nuthatches; the Siurt closely resemble the titlarks in some respects, and have even been placed in the Motacillide ; while the Setophagine simulate the Tyrannide (of a different suborder) so perfectly that they used to be classed with these clamatorial flycatchers. The warblers grade so perfectly toward the tanagers that they have all been made a subfamily of Tanagride (where possibly they belong). The affinity of some of them with the Cerebidw, or honey-creepers of the tropics, is so close that the dividing line has not beer drawn. The position of Icteria and its two asso- ciate exotic genera, Granatellus and Teretristis, is open to question; perhaps they come nearer Vireonide. It is probable that final critical study will result in a remapping of the whole 288 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES — OSCINES. group; meanwhile, the very diversity of forms included in it enables us to mark off sections with ease. This is the second largest family of North American birds, the Fringilhde alone surpass- ing it in number of species. If not exactly ‘‘ representative,” in a technical sense, of the Old World Sylviine, it may be considered to replace that family in America, having much the same 76le in bird-economy ; both families abound in species and individuals; they are small, migratory, insectivorous, and everywhere take prominent part in the make-up of the bird-fauna. There are upward of a hundred species of Sylvicolide, distributed over the whole of North and Middle America, and much of South America. The centre of abundance of the Setophagine, or flyeatching warblers, is in the warmer parts of America; comparatively few species reach the United States, and only two or three are extensively dispersed in this country. On the other hand, the Sylvicoline are more particularly birds of North America; very few of the species are confined to Middle or South America; and Dendreca, the leading type of this group, is the largest, most beautiful, and most attractive genus of North American birds, preéminentiy characteristic of this country. The warblers have we always with us, all in their own good time; they come out of the South, pass on, return, and are away again, their appearance and withdrawal scarcely less than a inystery; many stay with us all summer long, and some brave the winters in our midst. Some of these slight creatures, guided by unerring instinct, travel true to the meridian in the hours of darkness, slipping past ‘like a thief in the night,” stoop- ing at day-break from their lofty flights to rest and recruit for the next stage of the journey. Others pass inore leisurely from tree to tree, in a ceaseless tide of migration, gleaning as they go; the hardier males, in full song and plumage, lead the way for the weaker females and the yearlings. ‘With tireless industry do the warblers befriend the human race; their unconscious zeal plays due part in the nice adjustment of Nature’s forces, helping to bring about that bal- ance of vegetable and insect life without which agriculture would be in vain. They visit the orchard when the apple and pear, the peach, plum, and cherry are in bloom, seeming to revel carelessly amid the sweet-scented and delicately-tinted blossoms, but never faltering in their good work. They peer into the crevices of the bark, scrutinize each leaf, and explore the very heart of the buds, to detect, drag forth, and destroy those tiny creatures, singly insignificant, collectively a scourge, which prey upon the hopes of the fruit-grower, and which, if undisturbed, would bring his eare to nought. Some warblers flit incessantly in the terminal foliage of the tallest trees; others hug close to the scored trunks and gnarled boughs of the forest kings; some peep from the thicket, the coppice, the impenetrable mantle of shrubbery that decks tiny water-courses, playing at hide-and-seek with all comers; others more humble still descend to the ground, where they glide with pretty mincing steps and affected turning of the head this way and that, their delicate flesh-tinted feet just stirring the layer of withered leaves with which a past season carpeted the ground. We may seek warblers everywhere in their season ; we shall find them a continual surprise; all mood and circumstance is theirs. As at present constituted, the Sylvicolide, comprising upwards of a hundred good species, may be divided into three subfamilies, the characters of which, given more at length beyond, may here be shortly contrasted : — Analysis of Subfamilies. Sylvicoline. -- Wings longer than tail (except in Geothlypis) ; bill conical, slender; commissure slightly curved, with short bristles or none. Size moderate. Icteriine. — Wings shorter than tail ; bill compressed, high, very stout ; commissure much curved, with- out any bristles ; size very large. Setophagine. — Wings longer than tail; bill broad, flattened ; commissure slightly curved, with bristles reaching far beyond the nostrils. Artificial Key to the Genera of Sylvicolida. Length 7.00 inches or more. . dle th ie Be Se oe 2 ¢ Jee eR Oe Be e y Teter as Length 5.50 inches or more and tail-feathers plain . . 6. 6 6 6 ee ee et o + « ww ew ss Siurus 40 Length under 5.50 or tail-feathers not plain, SYLVICOLIDZA!— SYLVICOLINZ:: TRUE WARBLERS. 289 Wing shorter than tail, or equal and head ashy . . eee ee we ew tw + Geothlypis 42 Wing longer than tail, or equal and head not ashy Tarsus shorter than middle toe and claw . bah had ee ier ae Be Se Mh is Giga Se » . Mniotilta 33 Tarsus not shorter than middle toe and claw. Rictal bristles evidently reaching far beyond nostrils. Tail black and orange, or black and white, ordarkand yellow .... . .. . Selophaga 46 Tail ashy edged with white, and head with red aw RRR RR Se Ne 4 Tail greenish, unmarked, or with white blotches . . Myiodioctes 44 Rictal bristles evidently not reaching far beyond nostrils, or not evident at all. Tail-feathers all unmarked. Bill at least 0.50 inches long, very acute ; 4 black stripes on head, ornone . Helmintherus 36 Bill not 0.50 inches long. Wing over 2.50 inches ; bill not acute; bright yellow below, or head ashy . Oporornis 41 Wing not over 2.50 inches ; bill very acute ; no bristles . . . . Helminthophila 37 Tail-feathers blotched with white, or yellow on inner webs. Rictal bristles not evident. Bill not 0.50 inch long; whole fore parts not yellow ... . Helminthophila 37 Bill at least 0.50 inch lung ; whole fore parts yellow ..... . Protonotaria 35 Rictal bristles very evident. Back blue with gold spot, throat and legs yellow woe ee wee. Parula 34 Head orange-brown with black bar through eye. . i 1G . Peucedramus 38 Coloration otherwise . ae ee ren fate Sg piitl ss . Dendreca 39 Diagnostics or Characteristics of some of the Genera of Sylvicolidx. Genera Mniotilta, Parula, and Peucedramus are creeping warblers, with certain slight modifications of the feet, enabling them to scramble about the trees much like creepers or nuthatches. Genera Geothlypis and Oporornis are ground warblers, with the feet modified in adaptation to terrestrial life. Genus Siwrus is similar in this respect; the species wadk on the ground, and act in some respects like Mota- cillines. ; Genera Protonotaria, Helmintherus, and Helminthophila are ‘‘ worm-eating” warblers (the old genus Ver- mivora), with slight rictal bristles or none. Genera Setophaga, Cardellina, and Myiodioctes are fly-catching warblers, with strongly bristled bill and muscicapine habits, in some respects like species of Tyrannide. Genus Icteria is isolated by its peculiarities of form and habits, and great size for this family. Genus Dendreca comprehends the wood warblers par excellence, —the largest genus, with over twenty species. ‘Bm :— Peculiarly stout, high, and compressed in Jcteria ;— Sattish, and strongly bristled in Setophaga, Cardellina and Myiodioctes ;— large, with straightish outlines, scarcely or not bristled, and very acute in Pro- tonotaria and Helmintherus ;— small, unbristled, and very acute in Helminthophila. FEET : — Tarsus longest, slenderest, and usually pale-tinted in the ground warblers ; — shortest in the creep- ing warblers, with relatively longest toes. Wines :— Shorter than the tail in Icteria and species of Geothlypis ; — about equal to the tail in species of Geothlypis, Siurus, Setophaga, and Cardellina ;— usually decidedly longer than the tail, TaIL:— The feathers (some or all) blotched with white in the following: Mniotilta. Parula, Protonotaria, species of Helminthophila, all Dendrece excepting D. estiva, Peucedramus, one Myiodioctes, one Setophaga. The feathers plain olivaceous, or otherwise like the back, unmarked, in species of Helminthophila, in Helmintherus, Oporornis, Geothlypis, Siurus, Icteria, species of Myiodioctes, Cardellina; yellow and dark in one Setophaga and one Dendreca. 15. Subfamily SYLVICOLINAE: True Warblers. Bill conoid-elongate, shorter than head, about as high as, or rather higher than wide oppo- site the nostrils, not hooked, and with but a slight notch, if any, at tip: commissure straight or slightly curved; a few rictal bristles, reaching little, if any, beyond the nostrils, or none. Wings pointed, usually longer than the narrow, nearly even tail. This beautiful group, which comprehends the great majority of the Warblers, is specially characteristic of North America, and reaches its highest development in the eastern portions of the continent, mainly through the preponderance of species of the largest genus, Dendreca. All the genera and most of the species of Sylvicoling are found in this country, mainly as mi- grants, which appear in the spring, pass the suinmer, and retire for the winter to Mexico, the West Indies, and Central or even South America; though some pass the inclement season within our limits, and one at Jeast is found in winter in Northern States. 19 33. 91. 92. 34, 93. 290 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES— OSCINES. Here belong the genera Mniotilta, Parula, Protonotaria, Helmintherus, Helminthophila, Peucedramus, Dendraca, Siurus, Oporornis, and Geothlypis. MNIOTIL/TA. (Gr. pviov, mnion, moss, and ridAe, tillo, I pluck, or riArés, tiltos, plucked ; conjectural application to the nest-building.) CREEPING WaRBLERS. Coloration entirely black-and-white ; tail-feathers white-blotched. Tarsus not longer than middle toe and claw; hind toe long, with large claw. Wings long, pointed, lst primary about as long as 2d; tail nearly even, much shorter than wing. Bill nearly as long as head, slender, much compressed, with concave lateral outlines, and curved culmen and gonys, slightly notched and bristled. Only one good species. M. varia. (Lat. varia, variegated. Fig. 161.) BLACK-AND-WHITE CREEPER. 4, adult: Black; edges of feathers of upper parts, coronal, superciliary, and maxillary stripes, tips of greater and median wing-coverts, outer edges of inner second- aries and inner edges of quills and tail-feathers, and spots on inner webs of lateral tail-feathers, white; under parts mostly Fi e white, with black streaks on sides and crissum; bill and feet black. @ similar: less black in proportion to the white, being mostly white below. Length 5.00-5.25; extent 8.25-8.75; wing 2.35-2.75 5 tail 2.25; bill nearly 0.50. Eastern N. Am.; N. to the Fur Countries; W. to Dakota; migratory; breeds throughout its range; winters from the southern border southward. A Fig. 161. — Black-and-white 2 4 Creeper, nat. size. (Ad nat, del. common bird of woodland, thicket, and swamp, generally seen E.C.) scrambling actively about the trunks and larger branches of the trees, rather like a nuthatch than like a creeper, the tail not being used asa prop. Nest on the ground, or in a stump, of bark-strips, mosses, grasses, leaves, hair, etc.; eggs 4-5, 0.70 X 0.52, white, profusely marked with reddish and other dots. M. v. borea/lis? (Lat. borealis, northern ; boreas, the north wind.) SMALL-BILLED CREEP- ER. Northerly specimens said to have the bill shorter and straighter. PA'RULA. (Lat. parula, diminutive of parus, a tit.) BuLuE YELLOW-BACKED WARBLERS. Coloration highly variegated; tail-feathers white-blotehed; back bluish, with yellowish spot; throat yellow, with dark spot; feet pale. Size very small—under 5.00 inches. Bill short, stoutish; the notch obsolete, the bristles slight though evident. Two very distinet species in N. Am. P. america/na. (Lat. of America; said to be named not for the Italian navigator, but from a mountain in Central America?) @, in spring: Upper parts clear ashy-blue; middle of back with a patch of greenish-yellow or brownish-golden. Lores dusky. A white spot on each eyelid. Wings blackish, crossed on the ends of the greater and middle coverts with two broad white bars; primaries narrowly, secondaries more broadly, edged externally with the color of the back, internally with white. Tail like wings, with much edging of outer webs like the back, the middle feathers mostly bluish; at least two outer feathers on each side with large, white, squarish patches on the inner web near the end, usually third feather blotched with white, and a white touch on fourth or even fifth feather. Chin and throat yellow, rather nar- rowly confined, this yellow spreading over the whole breast, but much of breast spotted or tinged with orange-brown, and jugulum showing even a decided blackish collar; coloration of this part very variable; sometimes reddish-brown markings along the sides, much as in the chestnut-sided warbler. Rest of under parts white. Bill above black; below whitish or flesh- colored, drying yellowish. Legs pale. Length 4.50-4.75 ; extent 7.00-7.50; wing 2.10-2.30; tail 1.75. 9, in spring: Like the ¢; upper parts less brightly bluish, or with slight greenish gloss; back-patch not so well defined ; less white on tail; white wing-bands narrower; dark or reddish tinting of the fore breast less decided or scarcely indicated ; the yellow itself more restricted. Young: Bluish of upper parts glossed over with greenish, sometimes to such extent 94. 35. 95. 36. 96. SYLVICOLIDA — SYLVICOLINZ: TRUE WARBLERS. 291 as to obscure the dorsal patch, which is then not very different from the rest of the upper parts. White tail-spots smaller, generally confined to two outer feathers on each side. White wing- bands narrower. Edging of tail and wings tinged with ‘greenish, like the back. Eyelids not spotted with white. Yellow of fore under parts pale, with little or no indication of the dusky across the jugulum. White of the under parts tinged with yellowish posteriorly, and fre- quently showing brownish touches along the sides. Eastern U. 8. and British Provinces; W. sometimes to the Rocky Mts.; migratory ; breeds in the greater part of its N. American range, but chiefly northerly ; winters from Florida southward. An elegant, diminutive species, abun- dant in high open woods, where it is generally observed fluttering among the smallest twigs and terminal foliage. Nest in trees, an elaborate woven structure of mosses and lichens; eggs 4-5, 0.62 x 0.48, white with the usual sprinkling of reddish and other dots. P. nigrilo’ra. (Lat. niger, black ; lorum, a bridle; applied to the space between eye and bill of a bird.) Sennert’s Warsier. , adult: Upper parts of the same ashy-blue color as in P. americana, with a dorsal patch of greenish-yellow exactly as in that species. Wings also as in americana, dusky, with grayish-blue outer, and whitish inner, edgings, and crossed by two conspicuous white bars across tips of greater and middle coverts. Tail as in ameri- cana, but the white spots smaller and almost restricted to two outer feathers on each side. Eyelids black, without white marks. Lores broadly and intensely black, this color extending as a narrow frontal line to meet its fellow across base of culmen, and also reaching back to invade the auriculars, on which it shades through dusky to the general bluish. Under parts yellow as far as the middle of the belly, and a little farther on the flanks, and also spreading up the sides of the jaw to involve part of the mandibular and malar region; on the fore breast deepening into rich orange, but showing nothing of the orange-chestnut and blackish of P. americana. Lower belly, flanks and crissum white. Bill black above, yellow below. Legs undefinable light horn-color. Length about 4.50; wing 2.00-2.20; tail 1.80-1.90; bill from nostril 0.38-0.40; tarsus 0.62-0.65; middle toe alone 0.40. Texas. Another little exquisite, recently added to our fauna; quite distinct from, though resembling, P. americana; coming nearer P. pitiayumi, a Mexican species. ; PROTONOTA’RIA. (Low Lat. protonotarius, first notary, or scribe; why?) GoLpEN Swamp WarBLERS. Bill of great size, nearly as long as head, compressed, conic, acute, with slightly notched tip and scarcely bristled rictus. Wings pointed, unmarked, much longer than the short, nearly even, spotted tail. Tarsus equal to middle toe and claw. One species. P. cit/rea. (Lat. citrea, pertaining to the citron; i.e., yellow.) PRroTHoNoTARY WARBLER. Golden-yellow, paler on the belly, changing to olivaceous on the back, thence to bluish-ashy on the rump, wings, and tail; most of the tail-feathers largely white on the inner webs; no other special markings; bill entirely black, very large, at least 0.50 long. Length about 5.50; extent 9.25; wing 2.75-3.00; tail 2.25; tarsus 0.75. Sexes similar. In highest feather the yellow of the head sometimes becomes orange-red. Eastern United States, south- erly; north casually to Maine, New Brunswick, and Ohio; regularly to’ Illinois and Kansas; west to Indian Territory and Texas; winters extra-limital. A beautiful species, of striking form and colors, and sedate manners, inhabiting swamps and thickets; nest in holes, or other sheltered cavities in trees, stumps, and logs, of the most miscellaneous materials; eggs 4-5, 0.68 X 0.54, creamy white, profusely speckled. HELMINTHE/RUS. (Gr. Apis, gen. eApvdos, helmis, helminthos, a bug; @np, an animal; i. e., EApswOoOnpas, helminthotheras, a bug-hunter; like vermivora, worm-eating.) Worm- EATING Swamp WaRBLERS. Bill large, conic-acute, especially high and stout at the base, nearly or quite as long as head, unnotched and scarcely or not bristled. Wings rather pointed, much longer than the little rounded tail. Tarsus about equal to middle toe and claw. Sexes similar; tail-feathers unmarked; legs pale. Two very distinct species. H. vermi'vorus, (Lat. vermivorus, worm-eating ; vermis, a worm, voro, I devour. Fig. 162.) 97. 37. 292 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES — OSCINES. WorM-EATING WARBLER. Olive, below buffy, paler or whitish on the belly; head buff, with four black stripes, two along sides of crown from bill to nape, one along each side of head through the eye; wings and tail olivaceous, unmarked ; ‘bill and feet pale; bill acute, unbristled, unnotched, at least 0.50. Length 5.50; extent 8.75; wing 2.75-8.00; tail 2.00-2.25. The distinctive head-stripes appear before the bird is fully fledged. Eastern U. 8., rather southerly, but . north regularly to the Middle States, casually to Maine; west to Kansas, Missouri, and the Indian Territory; breeds Fic. 162.— Worm-eating Warbler, throughout its U.S. range; winters from Florida south- nats isize: (Ad natidel.'B.C:) ward; common in woods, shrubbery, and swamps; a bird of rather slow and sedate movements; nest on the ground, of leaves, grasses, rootlets; eggs 4-5, crystal-white, minutely dotted with reddish-brown, 0.70 x 0.50. H. swain/soni. (To Win. Swainson.) Swarnson’s WARBLER. Somewhat similar to the last; no black head stripes ; no decided markings anywhere. Upper parts dark olive-brown, nearly uniform, but browner on exposed surfaces of wings and tail, and quite clear brown on the crown. A long light superciliary stripe. Under parts dull sordid whitish, shaded on the sides with the color of the back. Middle tail-feathers with obsolete wavy cross-bars. Bill brown above, pale below; feet pale. Large: length nearly 6.00; wing 2.75, pointed, tip formed by lst -8d quills; tail 2.00, emarginate; bill of great size, 0.65 along culmen, about equalling tarsus in length, deep at base, with straight upper mandible rising high on forehead; thus shaped something like a meadow-lark’s. A rare and curious species, confined to the South Atlantic States. I have seen but three specimens; the description is from Audubon’s type. HELMINTHO'PHILA. (Gr. cApis, Apidos, helmis, helminthos, a bug; giréw, phileo, I love.) WorM-EATING WaRBLERS. Bill slender and exceedingly acute, unnotched, unbristled (fig. 163). Wings pointed, longer than the nearly even tail, — in one species nearly half as long again. Tarsi longer than middle toe and claw. Tail-feathers in some species white-blotched, in others plain, — the furmer being otherwise of bright and variegated colors, the latter more simply clad. Nest on the ground or quite near it (excepting in the case of H. lucie); eggs white, spotted. To the eight established species of the genus have lately been added three others; but one of them is almost certainly a hybrid Hye. 163, — A, chrysoptera, between H. pinus and Oporornis formosa, while the other two are Dat. size. (Ad nat. del. E. C.) probably hybrids between H. pinus and H. chrysoptera. There has also been added a variety of H. celata. These are enumerated beyond, but only the eight established species are con- sidered in the analysis of the genus. Even with this reduction, Helminthophila is still the second largest genus of the subfamily. It is peculiarly North Auerican, all the known species occurring in this country, some of them not being known to occur elsewhere. The genus may be divided according to coloration into two groups, which correspond in a general way with geographical distribution. Three species (H H. pinus, chrysoptera, and bachmani), exclusively eastern, are of variegated colors, the tail-feathers white-blotched as in Dendraca. In the other five the coloration is simpler; the tail-feathers are not, or not conspicuously, blotehed with white, and all but one of these species have a crown-patch; one of them is East- ern, two are Western, and two of general dispersion. The natural analysis of the species, and a shorter key to them, are subjoined; these tables should suffice to identify any adult male specimens, but females and young, particularly of Nos. 5, 6, 7, require detailed descriptions for their recognition. (In H. peregrina, with tail normally plain, the outer feather is sometimes distinctly white-blotched.) SYLVICOLIDZA — SYLVICOLIN:: TRUE WARBLEBRS. 293 Natural Analysis of Species. I. Tail-feathers conspicuously white-blotched. Wings with white or yellow on coverts. Head or breast with black, All exclusively Eastern. 1, Bluish-ash, below white ; crown and wing-bars yellow ; throat and stripe on side of head black chrysoptera 10% 2. Olive-green ; wings and tail bluish- ash, former with white or yellow bars ; crown and under parts yellow; loresblack . . . . » . . pinus 98 8. Olive-green, below yellow ; throat, breast, and. crown-patch black ; forehead yellow . bachmani 103 1. Tail-feathers inconspicuously or not blotched with white. No decided wing-markings. No black anywhere. w. Crown without colored patch. Wings about half as long again as tail.” 4, Tail with obscure whitish spot on outer feather; under parts white or whitish; upper parts olive-green, brighter behind, quite ashy in front. Chiefly Eastern. . ... . . peregrina 109 6. Crown with colored patch. Wings shorter. 5. Crown-patch orange-brown ; tail unmarked; upper parts olive-green, under parts greenish- yellow, both nearly uniform. Western and incompletely Eastern . yes . eelata 107, 108 6. Crown-patch chestnut ; tail unmarked ; upper parts olive-green, growing ashy on head ; under parts uniformly sallow: Eastern and incompletely Western . . . BAe ae rmifloapille 106 7. Crown-patch chestnut; tail unmarked; above olivaceous-ash, below whitish ; rump and under tail-coverts bright yellow ; breast yellowish. Western. . . . virginie 105 8. Crown-patch and upper tail-coverts chestnut ; outer tail- feather with “aul white patch ; above pale cinereous, below white. Southwestern . Sa ee ee a w ducte 104 Pass-key to the Species. Tail-feathers white-blotched — bluish, crown yellow, throat black . . oe ee we sw Chrysoptera 102 — greenish, crown and all under parts yellow. . ..... . . . pinus 98 — greenish, crown (partly) and throat black . . . » + 4 + bachmani 103 —upper tail-coverts chestnut, crown-patch chestnut . se ee bucice 104 Tail-feathers all unmarked — upper tail-coverts — yellow; crown-patch chestnut ee OSEAN 105 —not yellow ; crown-patch—chestnut. . . 106 —orange-brown . alate. 107, 108 We —wanting. . . peregrina 109 98. H. pimus. (Lat. pimus, a pine-tree.) BLUE-WINGED YELLOW WARBLER. , adult: Fore part of crown and entire under parts rich yellow; upper parts yellow-olive, becoming slaty-blue on the wings and tail (system of coloration thus like that of Protonotaria). Wings with two white or yellowish bars; tail with several large white blotches; under tail-coverts white; eyelids bright yellow; small stripe through eye black ; bill blue-black. Female and young not very dissimilar; duller and more olivaceous. Length about 4.75; extent 7.50; wing 9.40-2.50; tail 2.00-2.10; tarsus 0.65; bill 0.45. Eastern United States, north to Massachusetts and Minnesota, west to Kansas, Indian Territory, and Texas; common, migra- tory, breeding in its United States range, wintering extralimital. Nest on the ground, eggs 4-5, 0.67 X 0.48, white, sprinkled with reddish-brown dots. 99. H. lawren’cii? (To Geo. N. Lawrence, of N. Y.) Lawrencr’s Warsier. Like H. pinus ; but a large black patch on the throat and breast, and broad black eye-stripe, reaching over auriculars, as in H. chrysoptera ; thus pinus X chrysoptera, and doubtless a hybrid between the two. New Jersey; two specimens noted to date. 100. H. leucobronchia'lis? (Gr. Aevkds, leucos, white, Bpéyxos, brogchos, becoming bronchus, throat.) WHITE-THROATED WARBLER. Like H. chrysoptera; but a black bar through the eye as in pinus, and lacking the black breast-patch of chrysoptera, the entire under parts being white; thus chrysoptera X pinus, and doubtless a hybrid between the two, though up to date a dozen or more specimens have been described, from New England, New York, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. 101. H. cincinnatien’sis? (Of Cincinnati, Ohio, where discovered.) CINCINNATI WARBLER. Like H. pinus in color; bill with evident rictal bristles; no white wing-bars or tail-blotches ; no ashy-blue on wings or tail; concealed black on crown and sides of head like the incom- pleted black mask of Oporornis formosa, with which the bird otherwise closely agrees in color ; thus curiously being H. pinus x O. formosa. Length 4.75; wing 2.50; tail 1.85; bill 0.44. One specimen known, Ohio. 102. 103. 104. 105. 106. 294 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES— OSCINES. H. chrysop'tera. (Gr. xpuads, chrusos, golden, and mrepév, pteron, wing.) BLUE GOLDEN- WINGED WARBLER. 4, adult: Upper parts slaty-blue, or fine bluish-gray; crown, and large wing-patch formed by confluent wing-bars, rich yellow; a broad stripe on side of head and patch on chin, throat and fore-breast, black, the eye-stripe bordered above and below with white; under parts generally, excepting the black breast-plate, white, often tinted with yellow- ish, and shaded on the sides with ashy. Exposed surfaces of wings and tail like upper parts; great white blotches on three lateral tail-feathers; bill black; feet dark. 9 and immature specimens have the back more or less glossed with yellowish-olive; the yellow of the crown obscured with greenish; the black eye-stripe and breast-plate veiled with gray tips of the feathers, or not at all evident. Size of H. pinus. A beautiful species, common in Eastern United States and Canada; migratory, breeding anywhere in its United States range; nest and eggs like those of H. pinus. H. bach’mani. (To Rev. John Bachman, of 8. C.) Bacuman’s WARBLER. ¢: Upper parts yellowish-olive, including sides of head and neck, tinged with ashy on the hind head; forehead and under parts bright yellow; a band on the vertex separating yellow front from ashy occiput, and the throat and fore breast, black, this breast-plate isolated in yellow sur- roundings. Wings dusky, glossed with the color of the back on all the exposed surface. Two or three outer tail-feathers white-blotched. Small; length 4.50; wing 2.35; tail 2.00. South Atlantic States, extremely rare, only kuown to occur in South Carolina, Georgia, and Cuba. . H. lucie. (To Miss Lucy Baird, daughter of Prof. 8. F. Baird.) Lucy’s WaRBLER. & 9, adult: Clear ashy-gray. Beneath white, with a faint tinge of buff on the breast. A rich chestnut patch on the crown, and upper tail-coverts of the same color. A white eye-ring. Quills and tail-feathers edged with the color of the back or whitish. Lateral tail-feather with an obscure whitish patch. Lining of wing white. Feet dull leaden-olive. Iris dark brown or black. Length 4.33-4.66; extent 7.00-7.50; wing 2.25-2.50; tail 1.75-2.00; tarsus 0.66 ; bill 0.25-0.33. Young: Lack the chestnut of the crown, though that of the rump is present. The throat and breast are milk-white, without the ochrey tinge of the adults; the wing-coverts are edged with pale rufous. The chestnut upper tail-coverts, and absence of any trace of olivaceous or yellowish coloration, distinguish this interesting species, the general superficial aspect of which is quite like that of a Polioptila. Valley of the Colorado and Gila; not yet known except from Arizona. The exceptional nidification of this species of the genus (Am. Nat., vi, 1872, p. 493) has been confirmed: nest in crevice behind bark of a tree or bush, such as a wren might select; eggs 4, not peculiar, being white dotted with reddish. H. virgin/iz. (To Mrs. Virginia Anderson, wife of the discoverer.) ViRGINIA’s WARBLER. &, in summer: Ashy-plumbeous, alike on the back, and top and sides of head. Below dull whitish, the sides shaded with ashy. Lining and edge of wings white. Upper and under tail-coverts, and isolated spot on the breast, yellow, in strong contrast with all surroundings. A white ring round eye. Wings and tail without yellowish edgings. Crown with a chestnut patch, asin H. ruficapilla. Length 4.75; extent 7.50; wing 2.25-2.50; tail 2.25. 9, in summer: The yellow duller and slightly tinged with greenish; that of the breast, and the chestnut of the crown, more restricted. Autumnal specimens resemble the ? ; but in both sexes the plumbeous of the upper parts has a slight olive shade, and in birds of the year the crown-patch may be wanting. Southern Rocky Mt. Region; north to Colorado, Nevada, and Utah at least. Nests on the ground, like others of the genus; eggs indistinguishable from those of allied species. H. ruficapil'la. (Lat. rufus, rufous; capillus, hair.) NASHVILLE WARBLER. 4, in sum- mer: Upper parts olive-green or yellowish-olive, clearer and brighter on the rump and upper tail-coverts. Top and sides of the head and neck ashy, with a veiled chestnut patch on the crown, and a white ring round the eye. No superciliary stripe. Lores pale. Wings and tail 107, 108. 109. SYLVICOLIDA — SYLVICOLINZA:: TRUE WARBLERS. 295 fuscous, edged with the color of the back. Entire under parts yellow, including under wing- coverts and edge of the wing, the sides shaded with olive. Length 4.50-4.75 ; extent 7.50; wing 2.33-2.50; tail 1.75-2.00. 9, in summer: Similar. Head less purely ashy. Crown- patch smaller and more hidden, if not wanting. Yellow of under parts paler, whitening on the belly. Autumnal specimens, of both sexes, though quite as yellow below as in summer, have the ash of the head glossed over with olivaceous, and in birds of the year the crown-patch may be entirely wanting. This species is distinguished by the rich clear yellow of the under parts at all seasons. In H. celata, which is next most yellow below, the color has a greenish cast ; the head is little, if any, different from the rest of the upper parts, and the crown-patch is orange-brown. Temperate North America, but especially the Eastern Province; west only rarely to Utah, Nevada, and even California. A common bird, migratory in most of its U. S. range, but breeding in New England (and farther south in alpine regions) and thence north- ward. Nest on the ground, like the others, and eggs not peculiar. H. cela/ta. (Lat. celata, concealed, as is the orange on the crown.) ORANGE-CROWNED WaRBLER. ¢ 9, in summer: Upper parts olive, duller and washed with grayish toward and on the head, brighter and more yellowish on the rump and upper tail-coverts. Beneath greenish-white, palest on the belly and throat, more olive-shaded on the sides; the color‘not pure, but rather streaky, and having in places a grayish cast. Wings and tail edged with the color of the back ; lining of the wings like the belly, and inner edges of tail-feathers whitish. Orbital ring and lores yellowish. An orange-brown patch on the crown, partially concealed, smaller and more hidden in the ? than in the . Length 4.80-5.20; extent 7.40-7.75 ; wing 2.30-2.50. Resembling the last, and often difficult to distinguish in immature plumage; but a general oliveness and yellowness, compared with the ashy of some parts of ruficapilla, and the different color of the crown-patch in the two species, will usually be diagnostic. The sexes of this species scarcely differ, and young or autumnal birds are very similar to the adults, except the frequent or usual absence of the orange-brown crown-spot in birds of the year. The species is well distinguished from all its allies by the color of the crown-patch. North America at large, but especially the Western and Middle regions; rare or occasional in the Eastern Province ; north to high latitudes in British America and Alaska; migratory; breeds in Arctic regions and in alpine localities further south ; nest and eggs not peculiar. H. c. lutes/cens. (Lat. lutescens, growing yellowish.) PaciFIC ORANGE-CROWNED WaAR- BLER. Differs in being much more richly colored. It may be described simply as olive-green above, and greenish-yellow, shaded with olive on the sides, below, without any of the qualify- ing-terms required for precision in the case of typical celata. Pacific Coast region, Alaska to Lower California. H. peregrina. (Lat. peregrina, wandering, alien, foreign; i. e., migratory.) TENNESSEE Wareiter. 4, adult: Upper parts yellowish-olive, brightest posteriorly ; on the fore parts and head changing to pure ash, without any greenish tint whatever. No crown-patch of any different color. Lores, eye-ring, or frequently a decided superciliary stripe, whitish. Entire under parts dull white, scarcely or not tinged with yellowish. Wings and tail dusky, strongly edged with the color of the back, the outer tail-feathers frequently with an obscure whitish spot. Bill and feet dark. Length 4.50-4.75, rarely to 5.00; extent 7.50-8.00; wing about 2.75, thus long for the size of the bird, and especially in comparison with the short tail, pointed, with little difference in length between the first three or four quills; tail only 2.00 or less, thus remarkably short; the comparative length of wings and tail, with other characters, probably always distinguishes the species from the foregoing. 9, adult: Quite like the g, but ashy of the head less pure and clear, and under parts more or less tinged with greenish-yellow. Young: Entire upper parts strongly and uniformly yellowish-olive, like the rump of the adult &, or even brighter, this color also tinging the eye-ring and superciliary stripe. Under parts as in the adult9, or more decidedly greenish-yellow, leaving only the belly and crissuin whit- 38. no. 39. 296 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES — OSCINES. ish. In this condition specimens more closely resemble some other species than when adult ; but the short tail, long wings, and no crown-patch, should be distinctive. Chiefly Eastern North America, but west to the Upper Missouri region and in Colorado to the Rocky Mts. ; common, especially in the Mississippi Valley, but less so in the Atlantic States; migratory ; breeds in New England and the northern tier of States, and thence to high latitudes in British America; nest and eggs as in other species of the genus. PEUCE’DRAMUS. (Gr. reven, peuke, a pine, and Spapeiy, to run.) OLIVE WARBLERS. General aspect of Dendreca. Tongue much as in that genus, but larger, with revolute edges, cleft tip, and laciniate fur some distance from the end. Wings elongated, half as long again as the tail (in Dendreca but little longer than the tail), reaching, when folded, nearly to the end of the tail. Tail emarginate. Tarsus no longer than the middle toe and claw. Hallux little if any longer than its claw. Bill little shorter than tarsus (averaging little over half the tarsus in Dendreca), attenuate, notably depressed, yet very little widened at base. Culmen rather concave than convex in most of its length, the under outline almost perfectly straight from extreme base to tip. Nasal fossee very large, with a highly developed nasal scale. Rie- tal vibrisse few and short. Plumage without streaks. One species known. P. oliva/ceus. (Lat. olivaceus, olivaceous in color; oliva, an olive.) OLIVE WARBLER. &: Upper parts ashy, more or less olivaceous, changing to greenish on the nape. Head and neck all around orange-brown or intense saffron-yellow, with a broad black bar on the side of the head through the eye. Wings blackish, the inner webs of all the quills edged with white, the outer webs of most of the primaries with whitish, and the outer webs of the secondaries with greenish; most of the primaries also marked with white on the outer webs at base, form- ing a conspicuous spot (only seen elsewhere in D. cwrulescens, which is altogether different in other characters). Tail like the wings, with greenish edging of most of the feathers, the two outer ones on each side mostly or wholly white. Belly and sides whitish, tinged with olive or brownish. Basal half of under mandible light brown. Length 4.75-5.25; extent 8.25-9.00; wing 2.75-3.10; tail 2.25-2.55; bill 0.55; tarsus 0.75. The female is described as having the saffron color much clearer yellowish, and shaded with olive-green on the crown; the black bar replaced by whitish, excepting a dusky patch on the auriculars. A remarkable Mexican warbler, lately ascertained to inhabit Arizona, especially in mountainous localities; probably also Texas and New Mexico. It has much the habits of the pine-creeper; the nest and eggs are still unknown. é DENDRG'CA. (Gr. devdpov, dendron, a tree, and olkéw, otkeo, I inhabit.) Woop WaRBLERS. Bill variable in shape, usually conico-attenuate, more or less depressed at base, compressed from the middle, notched near the tip, not showing the extreme acuteness of that of Helmin- therus, Helminthophila, and Protonotaria. Rictus with obvious bristles, which are not evi- dent in the true ‘‘ worm-eating” warblers. Tarsus longer than the middle toe and claw (it is shorter, or not longer, in Mniotilia). Hind toe little if any longer than its claw (decidedly longer in Mniotilta and Parula). Wings much longer than tail, pointed, 1st and 2d primaries longest. Tail moderate, with rather broad feathers, nearly even, but varying to slightly rounded, or with slight central emargination. Pattern of coloration indeterminate. Tail always with white blotches (except in e@stiva and its immediate allies, where the inner webs are yellow), never plain olivaceous. Crown never with lateral black stripes, nor under parts uniformly streaked with blackish on a pale ground, nor back with a yellow patch, nor whole head yellow. Length usually five or six inches; rarely under and perhaps never over these dimensions. Nest in bushes or trees, with rare exceptions. Eggs white, spotted. It is not easy to frame a definition of this genus covering all its modifications, yet introducing no term inapplicable to any species; but the foregoing expressions considered collectively, however arbitrary or trivial some of them may seem to be, will serve to distinguish any Dendraca from its allies of other genera; and, if so, the diagnosis is exclusively pertinent to the group as con- SYLVICOLIDA — SYLVICOLINZ:: TRUE WARBLERS. 297 veutionally accepted. The coloration of the rectrices is a good clue to this genus; for all the species (excepting D. estiva and its exotic conspecies) have the tail-feathers always blotched with white, —a feature only shown, among North American allies, in Mniotilta, Parula, Pro- tonotaria, Peucedramus, and some species of Helminthophila, Myiodioctes. There is as much uniformity in the nest and eggs of Dendreca as in those of Helminthophila. Whereas all these nest on the ground, as far as known all the Dendrece nest in trees and bushes, with the single exception of D. palmarum. Excepting D. castanea, the eggs are essentially similar ; all being white, variously speckled, dotted, or blotched with shades of reddish and darker brown, and lilac or purplish shell-spots. About thirty-five species are current, but not all of them are well established; they all occur within our limits excepting these: pityophila (Cuba), adelaide (Porto Rico), pharetra (Jamaica), eoa (Jamaica), aureola (Galapagoes), capitalis (Barbadoes), and petechia (West Indies) with its several tropical forms, all like our estiva. Of the twenty-six species which have been ascribed to North America, one, olivacea, has since been made type of the genus Peucedramus; while of “ montana” and “‘ carbonata” nothing is now known: leaving twenty-three species to be treated, nearly as in the original edition of the Key, there having been but one North American accession to the genus since 1872, though two varieties (respectively of dominica and of palmarum) have meanwhile been described. D. tigrina has been made type of a genus Perissoglossa ; but it remains to be seen whether other warblers do not possess the same peculiarities of the tongue. The following artificial analysis will facilitate the determination of our twenty-three established species; I believe it to be an infallible key to the perfect male plumages, and that it will probably hold good for spring specimens of both sexes of many species; but it will fail for nearly all autumnal and most female specimens of (b). It is difficult if not impossible to meet the varied require- ments of these by rigid analysis; and recourse must be had to the detailed descriptions of the species arranged in what seems to be their natural sequence. The supplementary table of cer- tain diagnostic marks may prove of much assistance, though it is not a complete analysis. Analysis of perfect Spring Males. Tail-feathers edged with yellow; head — yellow . 2 ys ee . oe. . estiva Wt —chestnut ... ie Seats, een . . vieillots lila Tail-feathers blotched with white ; a white spot at the base of ecnGS . . cerulescens 117 —no white spot at base of primaries. (a) (a) Wing-bars not white. Below, white, sides chestnut-streaked, crown yellow. . . . . . pennsylvanica 124 — yellow; sides reddish-streaked, crown reddish a - . palmarum 132, 133 — black-streaked ; above, ashy. . . . . « kirtlandi 131 — olive, sedldlsligigeeliced . discolor 127 (a) Wing-bars white (sometimes fused into one large white patch). (b) (b) Crown blue, like the back ; below white, sides and breast streaked. . . a ahs A cerulea 118 — chestnut, like the throat ; below, and sides of neck, buffy-tinged - soe ee 6 Castanea 123 —clear ash ; rump and ee parts yellow, breast and sides black-streaked a » « maculosa 125 — blackish, seit median line orange-brown, like the auriculars ; rump yellow . 2. . . . tigrina 126 — perfectly black ; throat black ; a small yellow ioral spot we ee we ew ws. Rigrescens 116 —not black; no yellow ; feet flesh-color 5 aah ee Pea Gs striata 122 —with yellow spot ; throat flame-color ; rump not yellow . ‘ soe ew ee s) Olackburne 121 —white ; rump and sides of breast yellow ...... =. . coronata 119 — yellow ; rump and sides of breast yellow . eee oe ww Gudubdoni 120 (b) Crown otherwise ; throat black; back ashy, streaked, rump ash, crown yellow . . . . occidentalis 113 — blackish, rump black, crown blackish . . .. . + chrysoparia 115 —olive; crown like back . eee SR ee we ee CORR TL —notlikeback. ...... . . + townsendi 114 —yellow; back olive ; no black or ashy on head . oe , pinus 134 —ashy-blue; cheeks the same ; eyelidsyellow ... . . gracia 128 — black ; eyelids white » + . .dominica 129, 130 Diagnostic marks of certain Warblers in any plumage. Wing-bars and belly yellow . : ce gk eae Se Ree Be eee Ae ee ee ‘Wings and tail dusky, edged with vollow kee ee See A we we MOMworvielll iiorilia Wing-bars yellow, and belly pure white... 1 6 ee eo ee ee ee pennsylvanica 124 (11. Illa. 112. 298 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS.— PASSERES— OSCINES. A yellow spot in front of the eye and nowhere else & x oS % . » nigrescens 116 A white spot at base of primaries (almost never wanting) . . Me tes . . . cerulescens 117 Throat definitely yellow, belly white, back with nogreenish .... . ‘aia or gracice 129, 130, or 128 Rump, sides of breast, crown and throat, more orlessyellow ...... oe ee ew ee uduboni 120 Bill extremely acute, perceptibly curved ; rump (generally) yellow. . ... ns gaat . tigrina 126 Rump, sides of breast, and crown more or less yellow ; throat white ..... +. + + coronata 119 Wing-bars white, tail-spots oblique, at end of two outer feathgrs G1) en ee ee ae ee ae pinus 134 Tail-spots at middle of nearly all the feathers, rump and belly yellow. .. ..... .. « maculosa 125 Wing-bars brownish, tail-spots square, at end of two outer feathersonly. . . . . palmarum 132, 133 Wing-bars not very conspicuous, whole under parts yellow, back with no greenish » ee es Kirtlamdi 181 Tail-spots at end of nearly all the feathers, and no definite yellow anywhere. . . . « cerulea 118 Throat, breast, and sides black or with black traces, sides of head with diffuse yellow, outeE tail-feather white-edged externally . F . . vérens and its western allies 112, 113, 114, 115 Throat yellow or orange, crown with at least a trace of | a central yellow or orange spot, and outer tail- feather white-edged externally . . ie ae a a ee rab te blackburne 121 Bill ordinary ; and with none of the foregoing special marks FE Scottie cate es striata or castanea 122 or 123 D. esti/va. (Lat. estiva, summery; estas, summer.) SUMMER WARBLER. SUMMER YEL- LOW-BIRD. BLUE-EYED YELLOW WARBLER. GOLDEN WARBLER. 4, adult: Golden- yellow; the back with a greenish tinge resulting in rich yellow-olive, the ramp more yellow- ish; the middle of the back sometimes obsoletely streaked with darker. Crown like the under parts, in high plumage often tinged with orange-brown. Breast and sides, and sometimes most of the under parts, streaked with orange-brown. Quills and tail-feathers dusky, edged on both webs with yellow, the yellow occupying most of the inner webs of the tail-feathers. Bill plumbeous. Feet pale brown. Length 4.75-5.00; extent 7.50-7.75 ; wing 2.50; tail 2.00. 9, adult: Yellow-olive of upper parts extending on the crown; streaks below obsolete or entirely wanting. General coloration paler. Young: Like the 9, but still duller colored. Upper parts, including crown, pale olive, with an ochrey instead of clear yellow shade; below ochrey-white or dull pale yellowish. Edgings of wings and tail dull yellowish. North America, everywhere in woodland, gardens, orchards, parks, and even city streets, a beautiful, abundant, and familiar little bird. Nests throughout its range, in fruit or shade trees, shrub- bery and brushwood, building a neat, compact, and durable nest of soft vegetable and animal substances felted together; eggs commonly 4-5, from 0.64 to 0.69 x 0.48 to.0.53, grayish- or greenish-white, variously dotted and blotched with reddish-brown and lilac shades. The color of this precious gem makes a pretty spot as it flits through the verdure of the forest or plays amidst the rose-tinted blossoms of the fruit-orchard; and its sprightly song is one of the most familiar sounds of bird-life during the season when the year renews its youth. D. vieilloti bry/anti. (To L. P. Vieillot. To Dr. Henry Bryant.) CHEsTNuT-HEADED GOLDEN WARBLER. Belonging to the ‘‘ golden warbler” group of the genus, and resembling D. estiva in general characters. Dusky predominating over yellow on the tail-feathers ; tarsus about 0.72. @, adult: Whole head chestnut, well defined all around against the yellow ; edging of wing-coverts slight; rufous streaks of breast and sides few and narrow. The continental D. vieilloti, as described by Cassin in 1860, would appear to be well dis- tinguished among its immediate insular allies by the rufous hood which envelopes the head, but to be very questionably divisible into the several forms noted by Ridgway in 1874. That here given is described as the Mexican race, lately ascertained to occur at La Paz, Lower California. The 9 is said to be indistinguishable from that of others of the golden warbler group. The extra-limital forms are all said to differ from the N. Am. D. estiva in having longer tarsi and less yellow on the tail-feathers. (Not in the Check List, 1882. See Hist. N. A. Birds, i, 1874, p. 217, and Pr. U. 8. Nat. Mus., iv, 1882, p. 414.) D. vir'ens. (Lat. virens, growing green. Fig. 160.) BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER. &, in spring: Back and crown clear yellow-olive; forehead, superciliary line, and whole sides of head rich yellow (in very high plumage, middle of back with dusky marks, and dusky or dark olive lines through eyes and auriculars, and even bordering the crown); chin, throat, and 113. 114. SLYVICOLIDZA — SYLVICOLINZ): TRUE WARBLERS. 299 breast jet black, prolonged behind as streaks on the sides; other under parts white, usually yellow-tinged; wings and tail dusky, former with two white bars and much whitish edging, latter with outer feathers nearly all white ; bill and feet blackish. ¢ in the fall, and ? in the spring: Similar, but the black restricted, interrupted, or veiled with yellow ; young similar to the 9, but the black still more restricted or wanting altogether, except a few streaks along sides. Small: Length 4.80-5.10; extent 7.60-8.00; wing 2.30-2.55; tail 2.00. Eastern U. S. and British Provinces, west only to the edge of the Plains; migratory, abundant; breeds from higher portions of the Middle States, and plentifully from New England northward ; winters extralimital. This jaunty bird is one of the commonest warblers of summer in New England, breeding in the pineries, in June. Nest in fork of a bough, usually at some elevation, of the most miscellaneous materials; eggs 4-5, 0.67 x 0.54, white, with the usual sprinkling or wreathing of brown and purplish markings. The nuptial song is very peculiar. D. occidenta'lis. (Lat. occidentalis, western; where the sun sets.) WESTERN WARBLER. Hermir WARBLER. 4, adult: Above, ashy-gray, tinged with olive, especially on the rump, and closely streaked with black; below, white. Top and sides of head rich yellow, the former with transverse black markings. Central line of chin, throat, and jugulum black, ending on the breast with a sharp convex outline, contrasted with the adjoining white. Wings and tail as in virens. Bill black. Length 4.75-5.00; extent 7.75; wing 2.50-2.75; tail 2.12-2.25 ; tarsus 0.66-0.75 ; bill 0.40. 9, adult: Described as similar to the male, but darker gray above, with the yellow of the head less extended, and the throat whitish, spotted with dusky. Young: Upper parts olivaceous-ash, and the yellow of the top of the head overlaid with olive. Sides of the head pretty clear yellow, fading gradually into the white of the throat. No black on the throat. White of the under parts faintly brownish-tinged, and sides with obsolete streaks. In a September specimen the dusky olive extends over all the upper parts, tinging the ashy of the lower back, and reaching on the crown nearly to the bill, where it gradually lightens by admixture of yellow; the sides of the head are clear yellow, soiled with- some olivaceous; chin and throat the same, fading on the breast into the dull white of the other under parts; sides with obsolete streaks, and a slight grayish-olive wash. There is no black whatever about the head or throat, and the blackish streaks of the back are obsolete. The wings are twice-barred with the conspicuous white tips of the greater and median wing- coverts. Rocky Mts. to the Pacific, U. S. and southward; one of the several western relatives of D. virens. D. town/sendi. (To J. K. Townsend.) Townsenpn’s Warsier. 4d, adult: Entire upper parts yellowish-olive, rather darker than in virens, everywhere streaked with black, especially on the crown, where the black usually predominates; no hidden yellow on™ the crown. Side of the head bright yellow, enclosing a large black patch, constituted by the loral and orbital and auricular regions, in which the yellow eyelids appear. Chin, throat, breast, and sides part way, yellow, the jugulum black ; the sides of the breast and of the body streaked with black. Under wing-coverts, belly, flanks, and crissum white, the two latter slightly shaded and streaked with dusky. Wings crossed with two white bands, that of the median coverts broadest. Wings and tail fuseous, the former with pale edgings, the latter having two or three outer feathers largely blotched with white. Bill and feet blackish horn- color. Length about 5.00; extent 7.50-8.00; wing 2.25-2.50; tail 2.00. 9: Like the ¢, but the black of the jugulum mixed with yellow (and that on the sides of the head mixed with or re- placed by olive?) Young: Shade of the upper parts slightly brownish, and the black streaks slight, obsolete, or wanting. The dark patch on the side of the head olivaceous, like the back. No continuous black on the jugulum. Autumnal adults show various gradations between the characters of the old and young. Very closely related to D. virens, of which it is the western representative. Adult males readily distinguished by the darker greenish upper parts, con- spicuously streaked, especially on the head, with black; the black cheeks and auriculars; 115. 116. LL. 800 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES — OSCINES. black of jugulum not reaching anteriorly to the bill, and the surrounding yellow spreading on the breast back of the black. Young birds not so easily discriminated; but there are usually traces at least of the black streaks on the upper parts; there is no concealed yellow on the crown; the yellow of the under parts, quite as bright as in the adult, extends far along the breast, behind that part where it veils the black. Rocky Mts. to the Pacific, Alaska to Guat- emala; common. A straggler taken at Philadelphia. D. chrysopari/a. (Gr. xpuods, chrusos, golden, and raped, pareia, cheek.) GOLDEN-CHEEK- ED WARBLER. Prevailing color of upper parts black, usually mixed with olive-green ; sides of head yellow, with narrow black stripe through eye; below, with the wings and tail, as in virens; size of this species, and changes of plumage doubtless parallel; very closely related. @, in full dress: Above, jet-black from bill to tail, anteriorly narrowing to a point on the fore-: head, with scarcely a trace of olivaceous toward and on the rump. Entire side of head and neck golden-yellow, reaching the bill, elsewhere enclosed in black, and enclosing a long black stripe through eye to side of nape, nearly cutting off a superciliary stripe from the general yel- low area, which, however, is continuous on lore and side of nape. Chin, throat, and breast jet black, this color extending backward along the sides as heavy streaking ; narrowing ante- riorly where sharply defined against the yellow; other under parts, including lining of wings, white, squarely defined against the black of breast (the whole under parts thus as in virens). Wings blackish, with two broad white cross-bars, and whitish edging of the quills, especially the inner secondaries. Tail blackish, the outermost feather white with only a black shaft-line clubbed at end; the next three pairs with decreasing white areas. Bill and feet black. Texas and southward ; rare, at least in collections. Nest in upright fork, preferably of a cedar, large for the bird, compactly felted of hark strips, fine grasses, rootlets, and slender vegetable fibres and cobwebs, lined copiously with hair and feathers; eggs 0.75 x 0.55, white, dotted with reddish-brown and lavender, and blotched with darker brown, laid in May. D. nigres‘cens. (Lat. nigrescens, growing black. Fig. 164.) BLACK-THROATED GRAY WaR- BLER. f, adult: Above, bluish-ash, the interscapular region, and usually also the upper-tail: coverts, streaked with black. Below, from the breast, pure white, the sides streaked with black. Entire head, with chin and throat, black ; a sharply-defined yellow spot before the eye, a broad white stripe behind the eye, and a long white maxillary stripe widening behind from the corner of the bill to the side of the neck. Wings fuscous, with much whitish edging, and crossed with two broad white bars on the ends of the greater and median coverts. Tail like the wings, the three lateral feathers mostly white, except on the outer webs, Fic. 164, — Black-throated ; : : : Gray Warbler, nat. size. (Ad the fourth with a white blotch. Bill and feet black. Size of D. mat dels Es.) townsendi. Q: Like the male, but the black of the crown mixed with the ashy of the back, and that of the throat veiled with white tips of the feathers. Young: Like the 2, but the crown almost entirely like the back, and the black of the throat still more hidden. Back not streaked. Less white on the tail. Bill not entirely black. Rocky Mts. to the Pacific, U. S. and southward, common in woodland. Quite unlike any other species ; one of the five Dendrece which are normally confined to the West. D. cerules'cens. (Lat. caerulescens, growing blue; caruleus, blue.) BLACK-THROATED BLur WaRBLER. 4, in spring: Above, uniform slaty-blue, the perfect continuity of which is only interrupted in very high plumages, by a few black dorsal streaks ; below, pure white ; the sides of the head to above the eyes, the chin, throat, and whole sides of the body continu- ously jet black ; wing-bars wanting (the coverts being black, edged with blue), but a large white spot at base of primaries: quill-feathers blackish, outwardly edged with bluish, the inner ones mostly white on their inner webs; tail with the ordinary white blotches, the central feath- ers edged with bluish; bill black; feet dark. Young g: Similar, but the blue glossed with 118. 119. SYLVICOLIDZ — SYLVICOLINZA): TRUE WARBLERS. 301 olivaceous, and the black interrupted and restricted. 9 entirely different: Dull olive-greenish, ‘with faint bluish shade, below pale soiled yellowish ; but recognizable by the white spot at base of primaries, which, though it may be reduced to a mere speck, is nearly always evident, at least on pushing.aside the primary coverts; no other wing-markings; tail-blotches small or obscure; feet rather pale. Size of virens. Eastern U. 8., abundant, in woodland, its range closely coincident with that of virens. It is, however, rather a bird of brake and burn than of high woods, at least in summer ; and nests in bushes, close to the ground. Eggs not peculiar. A beautiful bird, the g with black, white and blue in masses, thus resembling no other, and the olive-colored 9 as different as possible from her mate. D. cerwlea. (Lat. ceruleus, cerulean, sky-blue.) CERULEAN WARBLER. AZURE WaR- BLER. ¢, adult: Entire upper parts sky-blue, the middle of the back streaked with black ; the crown usually richer and also with dark markings. Below, pure white, streaked across the -breast and along the sides with dusky-blue — the breast-streaks inclining to form a short bar, sometimes interrupted in the middle. Auriculars dusky; edges of eyelids and superciliary line white. Wings blackish, much edged externally with the color of the back, the inner webs of all the quills, the outer webs of the inner secondaries, and two broad bars across the tips of the greater and median coverts, white. Tail black, with much exterior edging of the color of the back, all the feathers, except the middle pair, with small, white, subterminal spots on the inner webs. Length 4.00-4.50; wing 2.66; tail 2.00 or less. 9, adult: Quite different. Upper parts dull greenish, with more or less grayish-blue shade, the greenish brightest and purest on the crown. Eyelids, line over eye, and entire under parts, whitish, more or less strongly over- east with dull greenish-yellow. Wings and tail dusky, the exterior edgings of the color of the back ; the bars, spots, and interior edgings white, asin the g. The female is curiously sim- ilar to the saine sex of D. cerulescens, but in the latter the tail-spots are different ; there are no white wing-bars, but instead there is a small whitish spot at the base of the outer primaries. The autumnal plumage of the adults is said to differ in no wise from that of the spring. Young males are much like the adult females, but less uniformly greenish-blue above and purer white below, with evident blackish stripes on the interscapulars and sides of the head. The young female resembles the adult of that sex, but is still greener above, with little-or no blue, and quite buffy-yellowish below. When in full dress this is a perfect little beauty, there being something peculiarly tasteful and artistic in the simple contrast of the snowy-white with the delicate azure- blue, without any “warm” color. Eastern U. S., rarely north to New England; west some- times to the Rocky Mts. in the latitude of Colorado. One of the rarer species. Nest small and neat, in fork of a bough 20-50 feet from the ground; eggs 4, creamy-white, heavily blotched with reddish-brown, 0.60 x 0.47. D. corona’ta. (Lat. coronata, crowned; corona, a crown. Fig. 165.) YELLOW-RUMPED WarBLER. YELLOW-CROWNED WARBLER. Myrrie Birp. @, in spring: Slaty-blue, streaked with black; below, white, breast and sides mostly black, belly, and especially throat, pure white, immaculate ; rump, central crown-patch, and sides of breast, sharply yellow, there being thus four definite yellow places; sides of head black; eyelids and superciliary line white; ordinary white wing-bars and tail-blotches; bill and feet black. @ in winter, and ? in summer, similar, but slate-color less pure, or quite brownish; young birds are quite brown above, with a few obscure streaks in the whitish of the under parts. It is im- possible to specify the endless intermediate styles; but I never | F1G. 165.—Yellow-rumped War- F a bler, nat. size. (Ad nat. del. E. C.) saw a specimen without the yellow rump, and at least a trace of the other yellow marks; these points therefore are diagnostic. (The only other obscure- looking brownish warblers with yellow rump are maculosa and tigrina, when young. Resem- 120. 121. 302 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. —PASSERES — OSCINES. bles auduboni, excepting in the following points:— Throat white. Breast black, mixed with white. Sides of the head definitely pure black; edges of eyelids, and long narrow superciliary line, white. Wings crossed with two broad white bars, which do not fuse into one white patch, owing to narrowness or deficiency of white edging along the outer webs of the great coverts.) One of the larger species. Length 5.30-5.75 ; extent 8.80-9.40; wing 2.75-3.00; tail about 2.50. North America, but chiefly eastern; Alaska; Washington Territory; Cali- fornia; Arizona; U.S. rarely in summer, but during the migrations the most abundant of all the warblers; winters as far north as New England; seen everywhere, but is particularly numerous in shrubbery, along hedge-rows, in flocks, with troops of sparrows, titmice, ete. Breeds from northern New England northward; nest generally low in evergreens; eggs 4, about 0.75 < 0.55, with the usual markings. Moult double, there being a vernal as well as an autumnal change, the former usually effected during the spring migrations. D. aud/uboni. (To J.J. Audubon.) AtpuBon’s WARBLER. WESTERN YELLOW-RUMP. &, adult, in summer: Upper parts clear bluish-ash, streaked with black. A central longitudi- nal spot on the crown, the rump, throat, and a patch on each side of the breast, rich yellow. Sides of the head little darker than the upper parts; eyelids narrowly white, but no decided superciliary white stripe. The ash of the upper parts extending far around the sides of the neck. Jugulum and breast in high plumage pure black, though usually mixed with some grayish skirting of the feathers, or invaded by white from behind, or even touched with yellow here and there. Belly and under tail-coverts white, the sides streaked with black. Wings blackish, with gray or white edging, especially on the inner quills; the median wing-coverts tipped, the greater ones edged and tipped, with-white, forming a great white blotch. Tail like the wings, the outer webs narrowly edged with gray or white, the inner webs of all the lateral feathers with large white blotches. Bill and feet black. One of the largest species. Length, 5.50-5.75 ; extent, 8.75-9.33 ; wing, 2.75-3.00; tail, 2.25. 9, in summer: Generally similar to the ¢. Upper parts duller and browner slate-color, with less heavy dorsal streaks; crown- spot and other yellow parts paler; breast not continuously black, but variegated with black, white, and the color of the back. Sides only obsvletely streaked. Eyelids scarcely white, and cheeks hardly different from the back. White of wing-coverts mostly restricted to two bars; white tail-spots smaller. Both sexes in autumn and winter, and young: Upper parts quite brown, with obscure black marking. Yellow crown-spot concealed or wanting; yellow of throat, rump, and sides of breast paler and restricted. Under parts whitish, shaded on the sides, and usually across the breast, with a dilute tint of the color of the back, the breast and sides obsoletely streaked with darker. White of wing-coverts obscured with brownish. North America, from easternmost woodland of the Rocky Mts. to the Pacific; north probably to Alaska; accidental in New England; migratory, breeding northward and in Alpine regions; extremely abundant ; nesting in no wise peculiar. D. black/burne. (To Mrs. Blackburn, an English lady.) BLAackBURN’s WARBLER. PrometHEus. 4, adult, in spring: Entire upper parts, including the wings and tail, black, the back varied with whitish, the wings with a large white speculum on the coverts and much white edging of the coverts, the lateral tail-feathers largely white, only a shaft-line, with clubbed extremity, being left blackish on the outer two or three pairs. Spot on fore part of crown, eyelids, line over eye spreading into a large spot behind the auriculars, with chin, throat, and fore breast, intense orange or flame-color. There is nothing to compare with the exquisite hue of this Promethean torch. Sides of head black in an irregular patch, usually confluent with the black streaks on the side of the breast, isolating the orange of the sides of the head from that of the throat, and circumscribing the orange patch below the eye. Under parts from the breast white, more or less tinged with orange or yellow, and whole sides streaked with black. Bill and feet dark. Length about 5.50; extent 8.50; wing 2.75; tail 2.00. 9, adult, in spring: Similar to the male in the pattern and distribution of the colors; upper 122, SYLVICOLIDA — SYLVICOLINA): TRUE WARBLERS. 5038 parts brownish-olive, streaked with black; the fiery orange of the male not so intense, or merely yellow, that on the crown obscure or obsolete. White speculum of the wing resolved into two white bars. Sides of the head like the back, instead of black as in the male, and the lateral streaks duller and more blended. ¢ and Q, adult, in autumn, are sufficiently similar to the respective sexes in spring, but the coloration is toned down, the fiery colors of the male being less intense, and the black of the back being much mixed with olivaceous, bringing about a close resemblance to the spring female; while the female is duller still, and more im- purely colored. Young: Early autumnal birds of the year of this species are very obscure- looking, showing no sign of the rich coloration of the adults. Above, like the adult 9, but still browner, with more obsolete dusky streaking. Usually an indication of the crown-spot in a lightening of the part. Sides of the head like the crown, cutting off a superciliary stripe and the eyelids, which are ochrey-white. Whole under parts white, tinged, especially on the throat” and breast, with yellowish, the sides with obsolete streaking. Indication of the peculiar pat- tern of the adults, though without their actual coloration, together with the extent of white on the tail-feathers, will usually suffice for the determination of the species, before any orange appears on the throat, after which there can be no difficulty. Chiefly Eastern N. Am.; W., however, to Utah. Abundant in mixed woodland; breeds in northerly parts of its U. 8. range and northward; winters extralimital. .One of the later migrants in spring. Nests in bushes and low trees; eggs not peculiar. D. stria/ta. (Lat. striata, striped. Fig. 166.) Buack-poLrt WARBLER. 4, adult: Back, rump, and upper tail-coverts grayish-olive, heavily streaked with black; whole crown pure glossy black. Below, pure white; a double series of black streaks starts from the extreme chin, and diverges to pass one on each side to the tail, the streaks being confluent anteriorly, discrete posteriorly. Side of head above the chain of streaks pure white, including lower eyelid. Wings dusky, the primaries with much greenish edging, the inner secondaries with whitish edging, the greater and median coverts tipped with white, forming two cross- bars. Tail like the wings, with rather small white sputs at the ends of the inner webs of two or three outer feathers. Upper Fig. 166. — Black-poll War- mandible brownish-black; lower mandible with the feet flesh- Dbler, nat. size. (Ad nat. del. E.C.) colored or yellowish. Length 5.25-5.75; extent 8.75-9.30; wing 2.70-2.90; tail 2.25. 9: Entire upper parts, including the crown, greenish-olive, with dusky streaks; below, white, much tinged with greenish-yellow, especially anteriorly, the streaks dusky and not so sharp as those of the male, but still very evident. Bars and edgings of the wings greenish-white. Tail as in the male. Rather smaller than the male on an average. Young: Similar to the adult ‘, but brighter and more greenish-olive above, the streakings few and chiefly confined to the middle of the back; below, more or less completely tinged with greenish-yellow, the streakings . obsolete, or entirely wanting. Under tail-coverts usually pure white. These attumnal birds bear an extraordinary resemblance to those of D. castanea (though the adults are so very differ- ent), the upper parts being, in fact, the same in both. But young castanea generally shows traces of the chestnut, or at least a buffy shade, quite different from the clear greenish-olive of striata, this tint being strongest on the flanks and under tail-coverts, just where striata is the most purely white. Moreover, castanea shows no streaks below, traces at least of which are usually observable in striata. N. Am., excepting the Western and most of the Middle Province; N. to the Arctic ocean, Greenland, Alaska; west to Nebraska and Colorado. Winters extra- limital. Breeds from northern New England northward. Migrates late in the spring, bringing up the rear-guard of the Warbler hosts; when the Black-polls appear in force the collecting season is about over! Nests low in spruce-trees and other evergreens; eggs 5, 0.72 X 0.50, not peculiar. 123. 124. 125. 304 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. —PASSERES — OSCINES. D. casta‘nea. (Lat. castanea, a chestuut, in allusion to the color.) Bay-BREASTED WaR- BLER. , in spring: Back thickly streaked with black and grayish-olive; forehead and sides of head black, enclosing a large deep chestnut patch ; a duller chestnut (exactly like a blue-bird’s breast) occupies the whole chin and throat and thence extends, more or less interrupted, along the entire sides of the body; rest of under parts ochrey or buffy whitish ; a similar buffy area behind the ears; wing-bars and tail-spots ordinary; bill and feet blackish. @, in spring: More olivaceous than the male, with the markings less pronounced; but always shows evident chestnut coloration : and probably traces of it persist in all adult birds in the fall. The young, however, so closely resemble young striata, that it is sometimes impossible to distinguish thein with certainty. The upper parts, in fact, are of precisely the same greenish-olive, with black streaks ; but there is generally a difference below —castanea being there tinged with ‘buffy or ochrey, instead of the clearer pale yellowish of striata ; this shade is particularly observable on belly, flanks, and under tail-coverts, just where striata is whitest; and moreover, castanea is usually not streaked on the sides at all. Mature spring birds vary interminably in the extent and intensity of the chestnut. Size of striata. Eastern N. Am., north to Hudson’s Bay, W.- to the edge of the Plains. Winters extralimital. Migratory in most of the U.S. Breeds from northern New England northward. Nests moderately high in conifers, building a large nest of twigs, tree-moss, rootlets, fur, etc.; eggs 3-6, 0.70 x 0.52, blwish-green, profusely spotted with browns and lilac. D. pennsylva/nica. (Of ‘‘Penn’s woods”; sylva, a forest; sylvanus, sylvan. Fig. 167.) CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER. 4, inspring: Back streaked with black and pale yellow (some- times ashy or whitish); whole crown pure yellow, immediately bordered with white, then enclosed with black; sides of head and neck and whole under parts pure white, former with an irregular black crescent before the eye, one horn extending backward over the eye to border the yellow crown and be dissipated on the sides of the nape, the other reaching downward and backward to connect with a chain of pure chestnut streaks that run the whole length of the body, the under eyelid and auriculars being left white; wing-bands gen- erally fused into one large patch, and, like the edging of the inner RE a a secondaries, much tinged with yellow; tail-spots white, as usual ; Warbler, nat, size. (Ad nat. del, bill blackish, feet brown. 9, in spring: Quite similar; colors E.C.) less pure; black loral crescent obseure or wanting ; chestnut streaks thinner. Young: Above, including the crown, clear yellowish-green, perfectly uniform, or back with slight dusky touches; no distinct head-markings; below, entirely white from bill to tail, unmarked, or else showing a trace of chestnut streaks on the sides; wing-bands clear yellow as in the adult; this is a diagnostic feature, shared by no other species, taken in con- nection with the continuously white under parts; bill light-colored below. Small: Length 4.80-5.10 ; extent 7.75-8.10; wing 2.30-2.50; tail 2.00. Eastern U. 8. and adjoining British Provinces ; west only to the edge of the Plains; winters extralimital; breeds abundantly in Middle and Northern States; nests in forks of low saplings, shrubs, and bushes; eggs 4-5, 0.68 x 0.50, with the usual markings. A pretty species chained with chestnut on snowy ground. D. maculo'sa. (Lat. maculosa, full of spots; macula, a spot. Fig. 168.) Buack-anp- YELLOW WARBLER. MAGNoLia. ¢@@,in spring: Back black, usually quite pure and unin- terrupted in the $, more or less mixed with olive in the 9 ; rump yellow; upper tail-coverts black, often skirted with olive or ashy. Whole crown of head clear ash ; sides of head black, including a very narrow frontlet ; the eyelids and a stripe behind the eye, between the ash and black, white. Entire under parts rich yellow, excepting the white crissum, heavily streaked with black across the breast and along the sides, the streaks on the breast so thick as to forma nearly continuous black border to the immaculate yellow throat. Wings fuscous, with white 126. 127, ‘ serve yellow rump, small square tail-spots on middle of feathers, SYLVICOLIDA —SYLVICOLINZ: TRUE WARBLEBRS. 305 lining, white edging of the inner webs of all the quills, of the outer webs of the inner second- aries, and with a large white patch formed by the tips of the median coverts and tips and outer edges of the greater coverts. Tail blackish, with square white spots on the middle of the inner webs of all the feathers excepting the middle pair. Bill blackish; feet dark. Length 4.75- 5.00; extent 7.00-7.50; wing 2.25-2.50; tail 2.00-2.25. Young: Upper parts ashy-clive, grayer on head; rump as yellow as in the adult; no decided head-markings; a whitish ring around eye. Below, yellow, generally pure and continuous, sometimes partially replaced by gray; black streaks wanting, or few and confined to the sides. Wings with two bars; tail- spots as in the adult. While the sexes of this dainty little species are quite similar, the young require looking after ; ob- and extensively or completely yellow under parts. Eastern N. Am., N. to Hudson’s Bay and Great Slave Lake, W. to en ee ee the Rocky Mts. of Colorado; abundant, chiefly migratory in warbler, nat. size. (Ad nat. del. the U.S.; winters extralimital; breeds from New England E-°-) northward. Builds a small neat nest in low conifers; eggs 4-5, 0.64 « 0.48, not peculiar. D. tigrina. (Lat. tigrina, striped like a tiger, tigris.) Caps May WARBLER. Adult @, in spring: Back yellowish-olive, spotted with black; crown in high plumage perfectly black, usually interrupted with olive. Rump, sides of the neck nearly meeting across the nape, sides of head and entire under parts bright yellow; ear-patch orange-brown ; a black transocular stripe, cutting off a yellow superciliary stripe; lower throat and whole breast and sides thickly streaked with black; yellow of throat sometimes tinged with orange-brown ; that of belly and under tail-coverts pale or whitish. Wing-bars fused in a large whité patch. formed by middle coverts and outer webs of most of the greater coverts. Quills and tail-feathers blackish, edged on outer webs with olive; tail-spots on three outer feathers near their ends, oblique, large on outer feather, diminishing on the next successively; bill and feet blackish. The yellow patch on the rump is conspicuous, and in high plumage that on the side of the neck is immaculate and very bright. 9, in spring; Similar; lacking the distinctive head-markings ; under parts paler and less streaked, tail-spots small or obscure; less white on the wing. Young: An in- significant-looking ‘bird, resembling an overgrown ruby-crowned kinglet, without its crest ; obscure greenish-olive above; rump yellowish; under parts yellowish-white; breast and sides with the streaks obscure or obsolete; little or no white on wings, which are edged with yel- lowish. Length 5.00-5.25; wing 2.75; tail 2.25. Eastern N. Am. to Hudson’s Bay, only known W. to the Mississippi. Another exquisite, resembling the Magnolia in its yellow rump and yellow black-striped under parts, but easily recognized at maturity by the orange-brown ear-coveris; possessing also the charm of rarity in most parts. It is also remarkable for the curved and very acute bill, and some anatomical peculiarities of the tongue, which have caused it to be made type of a genus Perissoglossa. Breeds in portions of New England and north- ward; nest low in trees; eggs not peculiar. , D. discolor. (Lat. discolor, parti-colored; opposed to concolor, whole-colored.) PRAIRIE WarBLER. Yellow-olive; back with a patch of brick-red spots ; forehead, superciliary line, two wing-bars, and entire under parts, rich yellow; a V-shaped black mark on side of head, its upper arm running through eye, its lower arm connecting with a series of black streaks along the whole sides of the neck and body; tail-blotches very large, occupying most of the inner web of the outer feathers. The sexes are almost exactly alike, and the young only differ in not being so bright and in having the dorsal patch and head-markings obscure. Small: Length 4.75; extent 7.00-7.40; wing 2.15-2.25; tail 2.00. Eastern U.S. to Massachu- setts; W. to Kansas; an abundant bird of the Middle and Southern States, in sparse low woodland, cedar thickets and old fields grown up to scrub-pines; remarkable for its quaint 20 128. 129. 130. 131. 306 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES — OSCINES. and curious song; an expert fly-catcher, constantly darting into the air in pursuit of winged insects, like the Redstart and the species of Myiodioctes. Breeds throughout its U. 8. range; winters in Florida and the West Indies. Nest on a bush or sapling near the ground; a small, neat, compact structure; eggs 3-6, not peculiar. . D. gra/ciz. (To Miss Grace D. Coues, the author’s sister.) Gracz’s WARBLER. Entire upper parts ashy-gray, with a slaty-blue tinge; the middle of the back streaked with black, the upper tail-coverts less conspicuously so marked; the crown with crowded black arrow- heads, especially anteriorly and laterally, the tendency of these markings being to form a line along the side of the crown, meeting its fellow on the forehead. A broad superciliary line of yellow, confluent with its fellow on the extreme front, changing to white behind the eye. Lores blackish; sides of head otherwise like the back, enclosing a crescentic yellow spot below the eye; edges of eyelids yellow. Chin, throat, and fore breast bright yellow, bordered with blackish streaks; the yellow of the throat separate from that under the eye or on the lores. Under parts from the breast white, the sides shaded with the color of the back, and streaked with black in continuation of the chain of shorter streaks along the side of the neck. Wings dusky, with very narrow whitish edging, and crossed with two white bars along the ends of the greater and median coverts. Tail like the wings; the lateral feather mostly white, excepting the outer web; the next two or three with white blotches, decreasing in size. Eyes, bill, and feet black; soles dirty yellowish. Length 4.90-5.25; extent about 8.00; wing 2.60; tail 2.25; bill under 0.50. @, in autumn: Color of the upper parts obscured with a shade of brownish-olive, the dorsal streaks obscure. The head-markings as in summer, and the yellow parts quite as bright. 9: Quite similar to the male, and in fact scarcely. distinguishable from the male in autumn, though the yellow is not quite so strong. Young: The slate-gray of the upper parts much shaded with brownish-olive, the black streaks wanting on the back, those on the crown obsolete. Yellow much as in the adult but paler, and not bordered along the sides of the neck with black streaks. The black lores are poorly defined. The wing-bars are gray- ish or obsolete. The white of the under parts has an ochrey tinge, and the lateral streaks are not so heavy in color nor so well defined. Southern Rocky Mt. Region of the U.S. and south- ward; a beautiful species, related to dominica and adelaide ; it is abundant in the pine woods of Arizona and New Mexico. Nesting still unknown. D. domin‘ica. (Lat. dominicus, of St. Domingo.) YELLOW-THROATED .WARBLER. Much like the last species, with which its changes of plumage correspond; back without black streaks ; no yellow in the black under the eye. A white patch separating the black of the cheeks from the bluish-ash of the neck; a long superciliary stripe, usually yellow from bill to eye, thence white to the nape. Forehead and sides of crown usually quite black, chin and throat rich yellow, bordered on each side by black. Rest of under parts white, the sides boldly streaked with black. Bill black, extremely compressed, almost a little decurved, very long (at least 0.50). Length 5.00 or more; extent 8.00; wing 2.70; tail 2.25. tail; crown ashy, chin and supere. line white . . . belli 183 — olive, chin wht., superc. line yell. . movebor. 181 —and under parts yell’sh . . huttoni 182 V. oliva/ceus. (Lat. olivaceus, olive-colored. Fig. 189.) RED-EYED GREENLET. Above, olive-green ; crown ash, edged on each side with a blackish line, below this a white super- ciliary line, below this again a dusky stripe through eye; under parts white, faintly shaded with greenish - yellow along sides, and tinged with the same on under wing- and tail-coverts ; wings and tail dusky, : the feathers edged with Fic. 189.— V. olivaceus, nat. size. (From Baird.) 171. 172. 173. 274. 332 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES— OSCINES. olive outside, with whitish inside; bill dusky above, pale below; feet leaden-blue; eyes red: no dusky maxillary streaks; no apparent spurious quill. Little different with age, sex, or season; young and fall birds the brightest colored, especially on the sides, crissum, and lining of wings. Large; length 5.75-6.25 ; extent 9.75-10.75; wing 3.00-3.33 ; tail 2.33-2.50 ; bill about 0.66; tarsus 0.75. E.N.Am.; N. to Hudson’s Bay and even Greenland; W. some- times to Utah and Washington Territory; breeds throughout its U. S. range, and winters from the Gulf States southward. In most places the most abundant species of the genus, in wood- land; a voluble, tireless songster. V. flavivi'ridis. (Lat. flavus, yellow; viridis, green. Fig. 190.) YELLOW-GREEN GREEN- LET. Very similar to the last; more yellowish below ; under wing- and tail-coverts decidedly yellow; sides of body decidedly greenish-yellow. Texas and southward. Fig. 190. — V. flaviviridis, nat. size. (From Baird.) Fie. 191.— V. a. barbatulus, nat. size. (From Baird.) V. altiloquus barba/tulus. (Lat. altus, high, loquus, speaking; barbatulus, having a little beard. Fig. 191.) BLACK-WHISKERED GREENLET. WHIP-TOM-KELLY. Similar to oliva- ceus ; distinguished by a narrow dusky maxillary line, or line of spots, on each side of the chin; bill longer, 0.75-0.80; proportion of quills slightly different (see the figs.). Cuba, Bahamas, and casually in Florida. [V. altiloquus is the West Indian stock-form. ] V. philadel/phicus. (Gr. Piiéo, phileo, I love; ddeApds, brother. Fig. 192.) Broru- ERLY-LOVE GREENLET. Above, dull olive-green, brightening on the rump, fading insensibly into ashy on the crown, which is not bordered with blackish ; a dull white superciliary line ; below, palest possible yellowish, whitening on throat and belly, slightly olive-shaded on sides; sometimes a slight creamy or buffy shade throughout the under parts; no obvious wing- bars; no apparent spurious quill. Length 4.80-5.10; extent 8.00-8.50; wing 2.66; tail 2.25; bill hardly or about 0.50; tarsus 0.66. Eastern N. Am., strictly; N. to Hudson’s Bay ; a small, plainly-colored species, almost indistinguishable from giluus except by apparent absence of a spurious quill; not very common in the Atlantic States, more so in the Mississippi Valley. ms WE Fra. 192. —V. philadelphicus, nat. size. (From Baird.) Fie. 193. — V. gilvus, nat. size. (From Baird.) V. gil'vus. (Lat. gilvus, yellowish. Figs. 188, 193.) WaRBLinc GREENLET. Colors pre- cisely as in the last species; spurious quill present and evident, + to $ as long as the 2d primary. Length 5.50-6.00 ; extent 8.50-9.25 ; wing 2.80; tail 2.25; bill 0.40; tarsus 0.65. Eastern N. Am. to the high central plains, breeding throughout its range; wintering extralimital; an abundant little bird and an exquisite songster. Its voice is not strong, and many birds excel it in brilliancy of execution ; but not one of them all can rival the tenderness and softness of 175. 176. 177. 178. VIREONIDA); VIREOS, OR GREENLETS. 833 the liquid strains of this modest vocalist. Not born to ‘waste its sweetness on the desert | air,” the warbling vireo forsakes the depths of the woodland for the park and orchard and shady street, where it glides through the foliage of the tallest trees, the unseen messenger of rest and peace to the busy, dusty, haunts of men. V. g. swain'soni? (To Wm. Swainson. Fig. 194.) WESTERN WARBLING VIREO. “ Similar to V. gilvus, but smaller; colors paler; bill more depressed; upper mandible almost black ; 2d quill much shorter than 6th.” Rocky Mts. to the Pacific, U.S. This Western form has been described as distinct, but the characters assigned will not be found constant. It is simply a dull-colored race, like many other birds of this region. As eis Fie. 194.— V. g. swainsoni, nat, size. (From Baird.) Fia. 195. — V. flavifrons, nat. size. (From Baird.) V. fla'vifrons. (Lat. flavus, yellow ; frons, front.) YELLOW-THROATED GREENLET. Above, rich olive-green, crown the same or even brighter, rump insensibly shading into bluish-ash; below, bright yellow, belly and crissum abruptly white, sides anteriorly shaded with olive, posteriorly with plumbeous ; extreme forehead, superciliary line and ring round eye, yellow; lores dusky; wings dusky, with the inner secondaries broadly white-edged, and two broad white bars across tips of greater and median coverts; tail dusky, nearly all the feathers com- pletely encircled with white edging; bill and feet dark leaden-blue; no apparent spurious quill. Length 5.75-6.00; extent about 10.00; wing about 3.00; tail only about 2.25. A large, stout, highly-colored species, curiously resembling Icteria virens, common in the woods of the Eastern U. 8., and adjoining British Provinces; W. only to the edge of the plains ; winters in Florida and southward; breeds in all its U. 8. range. Its proper name may be V. ochroleucus. V. solita/rius. (Lat. solitarius, solitary; solus, alone. Fig. 196.) BLUE-HEADED GREEN- Ler. SoLiTaRy GREENLET. Above, olive-green; crown and sides of head bluish-ash in marked contrast, with a broad white line from ; nostrils to and around (not beyond) eye, and a dusky loral line; below, pure white, flanks washed with olivaceous, and axillars and cris- A sum pale yellow; wings and tail dusky, most of the feathers edged with white or whitish, ‘th and two conspicuous bars of the same across tips of middle and greater coverts; bill and feet. blackish-plumbeous; iris brown. Length 5.25-5.75; extent 8.50; wing 2.75-8.00; tail 2.25-2.33; Dill about 0.40, stout, nearly 0.20 deep at base; spurious quill 0.50-0.66 long, about + as long as 2d primary. Young and fall specimens more brightly colored. A stoutly-built species, known at a glance by the bluish cap. Eastern U. S. and Canada; not rare, but not so common as olivaceus, flavifrons, or novebo- racensis ; inhabits woodland. V. s. cas/sini. ‘(To John Cassin.) CassIn’s GREENLET. Scarcely different; said to be duller and more brownish-olivaceous ; under parts tinged with buff or ochrey where solitarius is pure white ; loral line and eye-ring impurely whitish. Arizona and California. (Not at all like V. plwmbeus, with which it is geographically associated.) Fig. 196. — V. solitarius, nat. size. (From Baird.) 4179. 180. 181. 182. 334 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. —PASSERES— OSCINES. V. s. plum/beus. (Lat. plwmbeus, lead-colored. Fig. 197.) PLuMBEOUS GREENLET. Leaden-gray, rather brighter and more ashy on the crown, but without marked contrast, faintly glossed with olive on ramp; a conspicuous white line from nostril to and around eye, and below this a dusky loral stripe ; below, pure white, sides of neck and breast shaded with the color of the back, flanks, axillars and crissum with a mere trace of olivaceous, or none; wings and tail dusky, with con- spicuous pure white edgings and cross-bars, Size of solitarius or larger. Length 5.75- : 6.10; extent 9.75-10.25; wing 2.90-3.10; Fie. 197.—V. s. plumbeus, nat. size. (From Baird.) tail 2.50; bill 0.50; tarsus 0.66; middle toe the same; spurious quill exposed about 0.75, 4 as long as the 2d quill. Central Plains to the Pacific, U. S., and especially Southern Rocky Mts., where it is abundant. A large stout species, a near ally of solitarius, but nearly all the olivaceous of that species replaced by plumbeous, and the yellowish by white, so that it is a very different-looking bird. Fall specimens, however, are more olivaceous, and the bird evidently grades closely up to solitarius. V. vici/nior. (Lat. vicinus, neighboring.) GRAY GREENLET. With the general appearance of a small faded specimen of plumbeus: leaden-gray, faintly olivaceous on the rump, below white, with hardly a trace of yellowish on the sides; wings and tail hardly edged with white ; no markings about head except a whitish eye-ring. Length 5.75; extent 8.66; wing and tail each 2.50; tarsus nearly 0.75 ; middle toe and claw hardly over 0.50; tip of inner claw falling short of base of middle claw ; tail decidedly rounded; spurious quill exposed 0.75, 4 as long as the 2d primary, which latter is not longer than the 8th. These peculiar proportions of the original type specimen are constant, and the species is distinct from any other. It is our plainest-colored species, resembling pluwmbeus, but more closely allied to the smaller rounder- winged species like noveboracensis and especially pusillus ; the toes are almost abnormally short, and the tail is as long as the wing. Arizona and New Mexico. The type-specimen long remained unique, but others have since been found. V. noveboracen/sis. (Lat. novus, new, Eboracum, York. Fig. 198.) WuHrIrr-rYEpD GREENLET. Above, bright olive-green, including crown; a slight ashy gloss on the cervix, and the rump showing yellowish when the feathers are disturbed ; below, white, the sides of the breast and belly, with axillars and cris- sum, bright yellow; a bright yellow line from nostrils to and around eye; lores dusky; two broad yellowish wing- bars; inner secondaries widely edged with the Fie. 198. — V. noveboracensis, nat. size. (From Baird.) same ; pill and feet blackish-plumbeous ; eyes white. About 5 inches long; extent 8.00; wing 2.33-2.50; tail 9.25 ; spurious quill exposed 0.75, + as long as the 2d, which about equals the 8th; tarsus about 0.75; middle toe and claw 0.50; bill nearly 0.50. A small, compact, brightly-colored species, abundant in shrubbery and tangle of the Eastern U.8.; W. rarely to the Rocky Mts.; rather southerly, N. only to the Connecticut Valley; noted for its sprightly manners and emphatic voice. V. hut/toni. (To Wm. Hutton, of Cala. Fig. 199.) Hurron’s GREENLET. Similar to the last, but differing much as flaviviridis does from olivaceus, in having the under parts almost 182a. 183. 184. VIREONIDZ: VIREOS, OR GREENLETS. 335 entirely yellowish. California. First quill rather less than half the 2d, which about equals the 10th; 3d a little longer than 7th; 4th and 5th nearly equal and longest. Tail slightly rounded, shorter than the wings. Bill very small. Above olive-green; brightest behind, especially on rump and edging of tail; duller and more ashy toward and on top and sides of head and neck. cal . 2 Wings with two bands on coverts, and outer edges of EY > sees innermost secondaries rather broadly olivaceous-white; other quills edged externally with olive-green, paler Aa toward outer primary, internally with whitish. Lat- eral tail-feathers edged externally with yellowish- white. Feathers of rump with much concealed yel- lowish-gray. Under parts pale olivaceous-yellowish, purest behind, lightest on throat and abdomen; the breast more olivaceous, the sides still deeper olive-green, the breast soiled with a slight buffy tinge. Axillars and crissum yellowish, the inside of wings whitish. Loral region and narrow space around eye dull yellowish, in faint contrast to the olive of head. Bill horn-color above, paler below; legs dusky. Length 4.70; wing 2.40; tail 2.05. (Description from Baird.) V. h. ste/vensi. (To F. Stephens.) StTEpHENS’ GREENLET. Like V. huttoni. Bill stout; wings from 0.30-0.40 longer than tail. Above, grayish-ash ; the crown, vertex and sides of head and neck nearly pure ash; the back faintly tinged with olive; the ramp and an edging on the tail-feathers dull olive-green. Wings with two nearly confluent bands on the coverts, and the outer edges of the inner secondaries broadly white; outer quills edged more narrowly with the same color. Beneath brownish or smoky-white, with a mere wash of yellowish on the sides and crissum. Upper eyelid dusky-brown; remainder of the orbital region, with the lores, ashy-white in decided contrast with the nearly clear cinereous of the head generally. Lining of wings white. Length 5.20; extent 8.50; wing 2.55-2.90; tail 2.25; tarsus 0.73; culmen 0.50. Arizona and New Mexico, especially in mountain ranges. Related to huttont, which has bill less stout, wing 2.40 or less, and is olive-green above and olivaceous-yellow below, without clear white anywhere. The differences are nearly parallel with those between belli and Fie. 199. —V. huttoni, nat. size. (From Baird.) . pusillus, — stevensi being grayish-ash above with no decided olive-green excepting on the rump and tail, brownish-white below, untinged with yellowish excepting on sides and crissum, the wing-bands pure white and nearly confluent. (Not in Check List, 1880. Description from Brewster, Bull. Nutt. Club, vii, 1882, p. —.) ‘ V. belli. (To J. G. Bell, of New York. Fig. 200.) BrEui’s GREENLET. Olive-green, brighter on rump, ashier on head, but without decided contrasts; head-markings almost exactly as in gilvus; below, sulphury-yellowish, only whitish on chin and middle of belly; inner quills edged with whitish; two whitish wing-bands, but one more con- ~~ ; spicuous than the other. Hardly or not a 5.00 long; wing scarcely over 2.00; tail x i under 2.00; spurious quill about 2 the 2d, , 2 which equals or exceeds the 7th. A pretty fr = little species, like a miniature of gilvus, but readily distinguished from that species by Fie. 200. — V. belli, nat, size. (From Baird.) its small size, presence of decided wing-bars, more yellowish under-parts, and different wing- formula. Middle region of the U. S., W. to the Rocky Mts., E. to the valley of the Ohio; an abundant species, inhabiting copses and shrubbery in open country, with much the same sprightly ways and loud song as those of noveboracensis. V. pusil/lus. (Lat. pusillus, puerile, petty. Fig. 201.) Least GREENLET. Olivaceous- gray, below white, merely tinged with yellowish on the sides; head-markings obscure ; wing- 185. 336 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES — OSCINES. bands and edgings, though evident, ;.,arrow and whitish; no decided olive or yellow anywhere. Size of belli ; wing and tail of equal lengths, little over 2.00; bill 0.33; tarsus 0.66; middle toe and claw 0.50; spurious quill about 4 as long as the 2d, which is intermediate between the 7th and 8th. A small, obseure-looking species, resembling bel, but much grayer, tail relatively longer, spurious quill longer, and 2d primary shorter. Arizona and Southern California, common. V. atricapil/lus. (Lat. ater, black ; capil- lus, hair.) BLACK-CAPPED GREENLET. &@: Top and side of the head black, ex- Fic. 201.— V. pusilius, nat. size. (From Baird.) cepting a white eye-ring and white loral stripe. Upper parts olivaceous ; lewer parts white, tinged with pale greenish on the sides and flanks. Wings and tail blackish, edged with olivaceous, the former with two dingy whitish bars across the ends of the greater and median coverts; lining of wings yellowish. Bill black; feet dark; iris red. Length 4.75; extent 7.25; wing 2.25; tail nearly 2.00; bill 0.50; tarsus 0.75; middle toe and claw 0.50; Ist primary exposed 0.66. A specimen from Mazatlan, supposed to be a 9, is described by Baird and Ridgway as having the black of the head replaced by dark slate color, the upper parts duller olive, the lower somewhat buffy. The black cap of the g renders the species con- spicuous among all its congeners. Texas and Mexico, rare; few specimens known. Nest in trees, pensile from a forked twig as usual in the genus, but eggs white, unmarked (as far as known ; 15 examples examined) ; size 0.65-0.75 X 0.50-0.55. 15. Family LANIIDZ: Shrikes. Essentially characterized by the combination of comparatively weak, strictly passerine feet with a notched, toothed and hooked bill, the size, shape, and strength of which recalls that of a bird of prey (fig. 202.). The family comprises about 200 recorded species, referable to numerous genera and divisible into three groups, not very well defined, however, of Sy which the following typical subfamily is the only ——a one occurring in America: — Fia. 202.— Shrikes’ Bills, nat.size. (From Baird.) 21. Subfamily LANIINAE: True Shrikes. In this group the wing has 10 primaries and the tail 12 rectrices ; both are much rounded and of nearly equal lengths. The rictus is furnished with strong bristles. The circular nostrils are more or less perfectly covered and con- cealed by dense tufts of antrorse bristly feathers. The tarsi are scutellate in front and on the outside—in the latter respect deviating from a usual Oscine character. Our shrikes wili thus be easily distinguished ; additional features are given under head of the genus Lanius, the only representative of this group in America. Fra. 203. — Butcher-bird, reduced. (From Tenney, These shrikes are bold and spirited after Wilson.) birds, quarrelsome among themselves, and tyrannical toward weaker species; in fact, their nature seems as highly rapacious as that of the true birds of prey. They are carnivorous, 60. 186. LANIIDAj—LANIINA: SHRIKES. 337 feeding on insects and such small birds and quadrupeds as they can capture and overpower ; many instances have been noted uf their dashing attacks upon cage-birds, and their reckless pursuit of other species under circumstances that cost them their own lives. But the most remarkable fact in the natural history of the shrikes is their singular and inexplicable habit of impaling their prey on thorns or sharp twigs, and leaving it sticking there. This has occa- sioned many ingenious surmises, none of which, however, are entirely satisfactory. They build a rather rude and bulky nest of twigs, and lay 4-6 speckled eggs. They are not strictly migratory, although our northernmost species usually retires southward in the fall. The sexes are alike, and the young differ but little. There are only two well determined American species, of nine that compose the genus. LA/NIUS. (Lat. lanius, a butcher.) Gray SHrRikEs. Wing of 10 primaries, and tail of 12 rectrices, both rounded in shape, and of nearly equal lengths. Point of the wing formed by the 3d, 4th, and 5th quills, the second not longer than the 6th, and the lst about half as long as the 3d. Tarsus equalling or slightly exceeding in length the middle toe and claw, strongly seutellate in front, and with the outer lateral plate usually more or less subdivided, as is unusual among Oscines. Lateral toes of about equal lengths, their claws reaching to the base of the middle claw ; inner toe cleft nearly to the base, the outer more extensively coherent with the basal joint of the middle toe. Feet large and strong, but without specially ‘ raptorial” development either of the digits or of their claws. Bill large and powerful, compressed, deep, completely notched and toothed, and strongly hooked, presenting the full accomplishment of a raptorial character. ictus ample and deeply cleft, and strongly bristled ; gonys short, only about half the length of the lower mandible. Nostrils circular or nearly so, placed well forward in the nasal fossze, more or less perfectly overhung and concealed by tufts of antrorse bristly feathers. Body stout; neck short; head relatively large. Coloration simple, the black, white, and bluish or grayish tints being unrelieved by red or other bright color. In the amount of the dusky vermiculation of the under parts the species are graded from borealis (most) to excu- bitorides (least or none), and each one is graded from young to old. In all, the general resem- blance to a mocking-bird is striking. Analysis of Species. Large: length 9.00 or over. Black head-stripe broken on under eyelid and across forehead. Always waved below with dusky 3.0 @ 6 4 aw A we a a borealis 186 Small: length under 9.00. Black head-stripe catibaaken across forehead: no white on under eyelid. Adults unwaved below. Lighter: much white on rump and scapulars; long white patch ou primaries . . . excubitorides 188 Darker: little white on rump and scapulars; short white patch on primaries . . . ludovicianus 187 L. borea/lis. (Lat. borealis, northern. Figs. 203, 204.) -GreatT NorTHERN SHRIKE. BUTCHER-BIRD. ¢ 9, adult: Above, clear bluish-ash, blanching on rump and scapulars; below, white, always vermiculated trans- versely with fine wavy blackish lines; a broad black bar along side of head, not meeting its fellow across forehead, inter- rupted by a white crescent on under eyelid, and bordered above by hoary white that also occupies the extreme forehead ; wings and tail black, the former with a large white spot near base of the primaries, and white tips of most of the quills, the latter with the outer web of the outer : feather edged, and all the feathers except- Fic. 204. —Butcher-bird (Z. borealis), nat. size. (Ad ing the middle pair broadly tipped, with 4t del. B.C.) white, and with concealed white bases; bill and feet bluish-black ; eyes blackish. Length 22 187. 188. 338 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. —PASSERES — OSCLNES. 9.00-10.00 ; extent 13.50-14.50; wing 5.00-5.50; tail rather more; bill 0.75; tarsus 0.90; middle toe and claw 0.75. Young: The colors much less pure and clear. Above, grayish- brown, seareely or not whitening on the scapulars, tail-coverts, and forehead. The younger the browner, sometimes almost with a rusty tinge; grayer according to age. Below brownish- white (the younger the browner), the wavy dark markings stronger than in the adult. The bar along the head poorly defined, merely dusky, or quite obsolete. Wings and tail brownish- black, with less white than in the adult. Bill plumbeous-brown, flesh-colored at base below. At a very early age, the upper parts are probably vermiculated somewhat like the lower, as in the same stage of L. ludovicianus ; but this state I have not observed. In old age, the dusky vermiculation of the under parts is much diminished, but I have never seen it: absent altogether. This feature, coupled with the particular character of the head-markings and the large size and comparatively short tarsi, will always distinguish the species from L. ludo- vicianus or excubitorides. N. Am., northerly; breeds, however, on mountains of the Middle States and in New England; in winter, usually extends S. to about 35°. The castle of this “feudal baron and brigand bold” is built in a bush or low tree with a basement of sticks, upon which is matted and felted a thick warm superstructure of bark-strips, grasses, and soft vegetable substances: eggs 4-6, about 1.10 x 0.80, rather elliptical in shape, so profusely speckled, scratched, and marbled with reddish, brownish, and purplish shades that the greenish- gray ground color is scarcely perceptible. L. ludovicianus. (Lat. ludovicianus, of Louisiana.) LoGGERHEAD SHRIKE. ¢ 9, adult: Above, slate-colored, slightly whitish on upper tail-coverts and euds of scapulars; below, white, sometimes a little ashy-shaded, but no wavy black lines, or gnly a few slight ones ; white on wings and tail less extensive than in borealis or excubitorides; black bridle meeting its fellow across forehead, not interrupted by white on lower eyelid, scarcely or not bordered above by hoary white. Smaller: length 8.00-8.50; wing and tail each 4.00 or little more; tarsus at least 1.00, thus relatively longer than in borealis ; bill about 0.50. Young: differing from the adult much as young borealis does, and decidedly waved below, as in that species: but the size and other characters are distinctive. Eastern and Southern U. &S., resident, abundant; in it typical manifestation it is characteristic of the S. Atlantic States; but specimens more like ludovicianus than excubitorides occur N. to New England and W. to Ohio. C.1. excubitori‘des. (Lat. excubitor, a sentinel; Gr. eiSos, eidos, resemblance; i. e., like the European L. excubitor.) WHITE-RUMPED SHRIKE. CoMMON AMERICAN SHRIKE. ¢ 9, adult: Leaden-gray or light slate-color, whitening on the scapulars and upper tail-coverts. Beneath, white, slightly shaded with the French gray on the sides, but without dusky vermicu- lation. A narrow stripe across the forehead, continuous with a broad bar along the side of the head, embracing the eye, black, slightly, if at all, bordered with whitish. Lower eyelid not white. Wings and tail black, with white markings, much as in the last species. Bill and feet plumbeous-black. Length under 9.00; extent 12.00-13.00; wing and tail, each, about 4.00; bill 0.66; tarsus 1.00 or more. Young: Vermiculated below with dusky, upon a brownish ground, about to the same extent as is seen in very old examples of L. borealis. General tone of the upper parts less pure than in the adult; scapulars and tail-coverts not purely white; black bar of head less firm, but as far as it goes maintaining the characters of the species. Ata very early age, the upper parts, including the whitish of the scapulars and tail-coverts, are finely vermiculated with dusky waves. The ends of the quills, wing-coverts, and tail-feathers often have rusty or rufous markings. Extreme examples of excubitorides look very different from ludovicianus proper, but the two are observed to melt into each other when many specimens are compared, so that no specific character can be assigned. Middle and Western N. Am. and Mexico; N. to the region of the Saskatchewan, E. to Ohio, New York, Canada and even New England. FRINGILLIDZ: FINCHES, BUNTINGS, SPARROWS, ETC. 339 16. Family FRINGILLIDZ: Finches, etc. Conirostral Oscines with 9 primaries. — The largest North American family, comprising about one- seventh (123: 888) of all our birds, and the most extensive group of its grade in ornithology. As ordinarily constituted, it represents, in round num- bers 500 current species and 100 genera, of nearly all parts of the world, ex- cept Australia, but more particularly of the northern hemisphere and through- out America, where the group attains its maximum developinent. Any one United States locality of average attractiveness to birds has a bird-fauna of over 200 species; and if it be away from the sea-coast, and conse- quently uninhabited by marine birds, about one-fourth of its species are Sylvicolide and Fringillide together — the latter somewhat in excess of the former. It is not easy, therefore, to give undue prominence to these two faiilies. The Fringillide are more particularly what used to be called ‘“‘ conirostral” birds, in dis- tinction from “ fissirostres,” as the swallows, swifts, and goatsuckers, ‘‘ tenuirostres,” as hum- ming-birds and creepers, and ‘ dentirostres,” as warblers, vireos, and most of the preceding families. The bill approaches nearest the ideal cone, combining strength to crush seeds, with delicacy of touch to secure minute objects. The cone is sometimes nearly expressed, but is more frequently turgid or conoidal, convex in most directions or, again, so contracted that some of its outlines are concave. The nostrils are always situated high wp — nearer the culmen than the cutting edge of the bill; they are usually exposed, but in many, chiefly boreal, genera, the base of the bill is furnished with a ruff or two tufts of antrorse feathers more or less completely covering the openings. The cutting edges of the bill may be slightly notched, but are usually plain. There are usually a few inconspicuous bristles about the rictus, sometimes wanting, sometimes highly developed, as in our grosbeaks. The wings are endlessly varied in shape, but agree in possessing only nine developed primaries; the tail is equally variable in form, but always has twelve rectrices. The feet show a strictly Oscine or laminiplantar podotheca, scutellate in front, covered on each side with an undivided plate, producing a sharp ridge behind. None of these members offer extreme phases of development in any of our species. But the most tangible characteristic of the family is angulation of the commissure. The commissure runs in a straight line, or with a slight curve, to or near to the base of the bill, and is then more or less abruptly bent down at a varying angle—the cutting edge of the upper mandible forming a reéntrance, that of the lower mandible a corresponding salience. In familiar terms, we might say that the corners of the mouth are drawn down — that the Finches, though very merry little birds, are literally ‘‘down in the mouth.” In the great majority of cases this feature is unmistakable, and in the grosbeaks, for example, it is very strongly marked j Ad.) kath Fie. 205, — European Chaffinch Uringitta celebs). (After Dixon.) 340 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES — OSCINES. indeed ; but in some of the smaller-billed forms, and especially those with slender bill, it is hardly perceptible. On the whole, however, it is a good character, and at any rate it is the most reliable external feature that can be found. It separates our fringilline birds pretty trenchantly from other 9-primaried Oscines, except Icteride, and most of these may be dis- tinguished by the characters given beyond. Taking their characters all together, Fringillide may be defined as 9-primaried conirostral laminiplantar oscine Passeres with axis of bill at an angle with that of skull, and nostrils nearer culnen than cutting edge of bill. When we come, however, to consider this great group of conirostral Oscines in its entirety, as compared with bordering families like the Old World Ploceide, or the Icteride, and espe- cially the Tanagride, of the New, the difficulty if not the impossibility of framing a perfect diagnosis becomes apparent, and I am not aware that any attempts at rigid definition have proven successful. Ornithologists are nearly agreed what birds to call fringillime, without being so well prepared to say what “ fringilline” means. The subdivisions of the family, as might be expected, are still conventional, and varying with every leading writer. Our species might be thrown into several groups, but the distinctions would be more or less arbitrary and not readily perceived. It is therefore best to waive the question, and simply collocate the genera in orderly sequence. The Fringillide are popularly known by several different names. Here belong all the sparrows, with the allied birds called finches, buntings, linnets, grosbeaks and crossbills. In the following pages I describe 123 species and subspecies, mostly well determined, and ascer- tained to occur within our limits, referring them to 37 genera, as the custom is, although I think this number of genera altogether too large. Two of them, Passer domesticus and P. mon- tanus, are imported and naturalized. Species occur throughout our country, in every situation, and many of them are among our most abundant and familiar birds. They are all granivorous —seed-eaters, but many feed extensively on buds, fruits, and other soft vegetable substances, as well as on insects. They are not so perfectly migratory as the exclusively insectivorous birds, the nature of whose food requires prompt removal at the approach of cold weather ; but, with some exceptions, they withdraw from their breeding places in the fall to spend the winter farther south, and to return in the spring. With a few signal exceptions they are not truly gregarious birds, though they often associate in large companies, assembled in community of interest. The modes of nesting are too various to be here summarized. Nearly all the finches sing, with varying ability and effect; some of them are among our most delightful vocalists. As arule, they are plainly clad—even meanly, in comparison with some of our sylvan beauties ; but among them are birds of elegant and striking colors. Among the highly-colored ones, the sexes are more or less unlike, and other changes, with age and season, are strongly marked; the reverse is the case with the rest. The unpractised student will have more trouble in this family than elsewhere in identifying his specimens. In the first place, the genera and species are very numerous, and so variously interrelated that no satisfactory subfamilies have been established; they are therefore not parcelled out in sets. Secondly, all the genera cannot be discriminated in a line of type. To meet the difficulty, I have caused the family to be profusely illustrated with cuts of more than average excellence, and attempted a tabular analysis of the genera, which, though necessarily defective, will doubtless help to some extent. Speaking roundly, there are three lots of genera: (a) Loxiine, mostly boreal birds, sexed unlike, g often red, 9 dull, no blue, colors massed or streaky, bill usually ruffed at base, wings pointed, tail forked, feet weak; (0) Spizelline, everywhere, mostly small streaked and spotted species, sexed alike, may be yellowed but are never red or blue, wings, tail, and feet various; (¢) Spizinme, mostly south- erly, sexed unlike, ¢ often red or blue, bill unruffed, wings, tail, and feet various; — but nothing will serve to distinguish these groups unexceptionally. FRINGILLIDZ: FINCHES, BUNTINGS, SPARROWS, ETC. 341 Analysis (partial) of Genera. Bill metagnathous, both mandibles falcate, their points crossed. gi red, 9 dark and yellowish . Lozia Bill enormous, nearly = tarsus, greenish-yellow. Wings black and white; tail and tibize black. (Western.) Hesperophona Bill parrot-like, whitish. Head conspicuously crested. gf 9 gray and sii face not black. Length 7.650 or more. (S.W.U.S.) . . . ‘ a i 4 . . . Pyrrhuloxia Bill reddish. Head conspicuously crested. ¢ vermilion, face black. Q ae ae reddish. Length 7.50 or more. (E.andS.U.S.).... . Cardinalis Bill with a rz, or pair of nasal tufts, of secu ssactigles: at hate of upper mandible, Length 8.00 or more. ¢ red and gray, 9 gray and yellowish, uncrested. Bill turgid, hooked. (Boreal.) Pinicola —under 8.00. — Bluish-gray, below reddish-gray, crown, wings, and tail black. (Alaska.) Pyrrhula — White, with black on back, wings, and tail ; or washed with clear brown. (Boreal.) $ Plectrophames — Chocolate-brown, unstreaked, with rosy edgings ; black or clear ash on head. (Western.) : Leucosticte — Streaky ; no yellow; jiextensively red; 9 dark and white. Bill turgid. (E. and W.U.S.) . . % . . Carpodacus — Streaky, with dusky or flaxen-brown and ‘haben crown crimson. Bill acute. (Boreal.) . . . » Lgiothus — Streaky everywhere, no red or pure black, some yellowish. Bill acute. (N. Am.) Chrysomitris —Rieeniey « or not ; much yellow, wings and tail black,no red. Bill moderate. (U.S.) Astragalinus {Intermediate between Nos. 68 and 70] . Linota Bill without ruff; nostrils exposed. Hind claw lengthened, straightened. — Bill moderate; g with a colored cervical collar ; oblique white on tail. (N.and W.N, A.) are . Centrophanes _ Bil fii no raiean ootlaa-* ‘wransverse white on tail. (West- ern.) . . . + « . Rhynchophanes Hind and fore claws lengthened; all much curved ; ; inner reacting ae least 4 way to end of middle aes — Spotted and streaked foxy or slaty sparrows, about 7.00 long. (N. Am.) Passerella — Black, white and chestnut, in masses. (A Western speciesof) . . . . Pipilo Hind and fore claws not peculiar. Length 4.50 or less. — g Black and white, 9 olivaceous and yellowish. (Texas.). . Spermophila o Greenish blackening on head, @ greenish. (Florida.). . . Phonipara Length 7.50 or more. — Tail longer than wings. Plain brown, etc., or black, white, and chestnut. (U.S.) . BT AS Te Gospel wets c Pipilo —Tail shorter than wings. ¢ breast - rose or ‘orange ; ; 9 sulphur or saftron under wings (U.S.) ; P : . . Zamelodia Length over 4.50, under 7.50. Colors greenish —with yellow —on edge of wing, and —2 rufous crown-stripes. (Texas.) Eimbernagra — Crown chestnut, breast ashy. (West- ern species of) . .:. . . Pipilo —on all under parts—no head markings. (? of asouthern spe- ciesof) . . A . Passerina Colors not greenish, and not extensively and decidedly spotted or streaked. Black, with great white wing-patch ; longest Pree about = longest primary. (Western.) . . . Calamospiza Blue, with chestnut o on ela di plain brown, 9; 3 over 6. 00 long. (U.S.) Guiraca Blue, with red, purple, gold, white, or not, g ; brown, with white or not, 9 ; under 6.00 long. (U.S.).. . . . Passerina Slate or ashy, red-backed or Hoty belly and 13 tail-feathers sabia. (N. Am.) Junco Gray, throat and tail black, head with 2 white stripes, belly white. (Western.) Amphispiza Colors not greenish, but somewhere or everywhere spotted or streaked. Inner secondaries lengthened, about equalling primaries in the closed wing. A large white wing-patch. Upper parts much streaked. ( 9 of) . Calamospiza Bend of wing chestnut ; outer tail-feather white ; no yellow anywhere. (N. Am.) Powcetes No white or chestnut area on wing, its edge (usually) yellowish. (N. Am.) Tames 66 76 15 61. 189. 342 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES — OSCINES. Inner secondaries not enlarged ; wing decidedly longer than tail. Edge of wing and loral spot yed/ow ; breast buff; wing under 2.50. (Eastern.) Coturniculus TT With yellow on breast, edge of wing, over eye; black throat-patch or stripes. (Eastern.) . . . Spiza 88 No yellow ; head striped with black, white, and chestnut ; tail black, white-tipped. (Western.). . . . . Chondestes 85 No yellow ; ee ee throat black, 3. neeas ON . Passer 64 Inner secondaries not enlarged ; wing not, or not decidedly, longer than tail. Tail-feathers — very acute; bill—very slender. (Eastern, chiefly maritime.) Ammodramus 78 —very stout. (Eastern, interior.) . .Coturniculus 77 —not acute ; tail—/forked. ae 6.00 or less; no yellow on wing. (N. Am.) . 5 Ak Spizella 83 enuntied- _ “bine: edge of wing yellowish. (West- ern.) . . . . . . Amphispiza 81 —not black, =Sireaied below, or crown chestnut. (N.Am.). . Melospiza 179 —not streaked below. (S. and W. U.8.). Peucea 80 or (N. Am.) Zonotrichia 84 *,* The commonest ‘‘ sparrows” of Eastern U. S., which the student will be most likely to find first, belong to the genera Passer, Spizella, Melospiza, Zonotrichia, Passerella, Passerculus, Poceecetes, Coturniculus (these anywhere); Ammodramus (marshes only); common but more distinguished fringillines are Carpodacus, Astra- galinus, Chrysomitris, Passerina, Spiza, Pipilo, and Cardinalis. Winter visitors, in flocks, are Loxia, Pinicola, Plectrophanes, Centrophanes, Zigiothus, and Junco. HESPEROPHO'NA. (Gr. éomépa, Hesperus, place of sunset; vy, voice.) AMERICAN HawFIncuHeEs. Bill enormously large, vaulted, nearly as wide as high at base ; culmen nearly straight to the decurved end; commissure curved without obvious angulation ; gonys very long, and mandibular rami short, not reaching back of base of upper mandible; mandibles of equal thick- ness, lower not so deep as upper; lateral outlines of bill converging straight to tip. Nasal fosse ex- tremely short and broad; nostrils slightly overhung by antrorse plumule. Wings long, pointed, folding beyond middle of tail, pointed by first two primaries, the rest rapidly graduated; no peculiar shape of inner primaries or outer secondaries. Tail rather short, emarginate, with long -coverts, the under reaching nearly to the forking. Feet small and weak; tarsus shorter than middle toe without claw; lateral toes of about equal lengths, their claws reaching only to base of middle claw. Coloration Fic. 206, — Evening Grosbeak, reduced. black, white, and yellow. Sexes dissimilar. Little (Sheppard del. Nichols sc.) different from Old World Coccothraustes, excepting coloration and simplicity of wing-quills. H. vespertina. (Lat. vespertina, of Hesperus. Fic. 206.) Eventnc Grospeak. Adult & : General color sordid yellow, oyerlaid with a sooty-olive shade, deepest on fore parts, quite black on crown, clearest below behind. Forehead and line over eye, scapulars, and rump, yellow. Wings and tail black; several inner secondaries and inner half of the greater coverts white ; lining of wings black and yellow. A narrow black line around base of upper man- dible; tibia black. Bill greenish-yellow; feet apparently dusky flesh-color. Length 7.50-8.50; wing 4.00-4.50; tail 2.50-3.00; bill 0.75 long, 0.67 deep, 0.60 broad. 9: Brownish-ash, paler below, whitening on belly, irregularly patched or mixed with yellowish ; white of wings imperfect, or tinged with yellow ; primaries, which are quite black in , with 62. 190. FRINGILLIDZ: FINCHES, BUNTINGS, SPARROWS, ETC. 343 large white spaces on inner webs, and sometimes tipped with white. Adult g 9 differ in the shade of yellow and degree of its obscuration. (Specimens from Southern Rocky Mts. said to have less turgid bill and narrower yellow frontlet.) A bird of distinguished appearance, whose very name suggests the far-away land of the dipping sun, and the tuneful romance which the wild bird throws around the fading light of day; clothed in striking color-contrasts of black, white, and gold, he seems to represent the allegory of diurnal transmutation ; for his sable pinions close around the brightness of his vesture, as night encompasses the golden hues of sunset, while the clear white space enfolded in these tints foretells the dawn of the morrow. Western U. S. and somewhat northward; E. in region of great lakes to N. Y. and Canada and probably New England ; irregularly migratory; common. Nest and eggs unknown. PINI/COLA. (Lat. pinus, a pine; colo, I cultivate.) Pinz Buxurincues. Bill short, stout, about as high as broad, sides convex in all directions, culmen convex throughout, tip hooked ; commissure gently curved throughout, without decided angulation ; gonys relatively long, rami of under mandible short, former nearly straight, latter coming together in a very broad gentle curve; commissural edge inflected. Nostrils small, round, basal, concealed by the ruff of antrorse plumules ; nasal fossee short and broad. Wings of moderate length, tipped by 2d-4th quills, Ist and 5th a little shorter ; 2d—5th with outer webs incised; no peculiarity’ of inner quills. Tail little shorter than wings, emarginate, its short coverts scarcely or not reaching half-way to end. Feet small; tarsus not longer than middle toe without claw, 7-scu- tellate in front, laminiplantar behind, but the outer of these plates commonly subdivided into 3 or 4 below! Lateral toes short, their claws scarcely surpassing base of middle one, outer rather longer than inner; hind toe less in length than inner lateral; its claw shorter, though stouter and more curved than the middle. Sexes unlike; g red, 9 gray. One species. P. enuclea/tor. (Lat. enucleator, one who shells out. Fig. 207.) Pine Grospeax. Adult ¢: Light carmine or rosy-red, feathers of back with dusky centres; lower belly and under tail-coverts gray, and, in general, the red continuous only in highly plumaged specimens. Nasal tufts and lores blackish. Wings blackish; primaries with narrow white or rosy edging, inner secondaries more broadly edged with white, ends of greater and middle coverts white or rosy, forming conspicuous wing-bars. Tail like wings, with narrow edgings like those of primaries. Bill blackish, with or without paler base below; feet blackish. Length about 8.50; wing 4.50 or more; tail 4.00. 9: Ashy-gray, paler below; feathers of the back with darker cen- Fic. 207.— Pine Grosbeak, reduced. (Shep- tres, those of head, rump, aud fore parts generally parddel. Nichols sc.) skirted with a saffron or yellowish color, very variable in extent and tint, from dull gamboge- yellow to olive-orange, or rusty-orange, or even reddish; in some specimens crown and rump quite bricky-red. Throat sometimes abruptly paler than surrounding parts. Rather smaller than @. Young ¢ resembles 9. Northern portions of both hemispheres; in America, in summer, Alaska, British America and N. border of U.8., the Rocky Mts. to Colorado, and Sierra Nevada to Califoruia; in winter, range extended sometimes to Maryland, Ohio, Ilinois and Kansas. Inhabits chiefly coniferous woods, in flocks when not breeding, feeding upon the fruit of such trees. A fine musician, of amiable disposition and gentle manners, often caged. Nest composed of a basement of twigs and rootlets, within which is a more compact fabric of finer materials; eggs usually 4, pale greenish-blue, spotted and blotched with dark brown surface-markings and lilac shell-spots ; 1.05 x 0.74. 63. 191. 1,192, 4! 344 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES — OSCINES. PYR/RHULA. (Lat. pyrrhula, a bullfinch.) BULLFINCHES. Generic characters of Pinicola as above given; the lesser hook of the bill and different style of coloration being the principal distinction. Colors in masses of black, white or gray, and red. , P. cas/sini. (To John Cassin. Fig. 208.) Cassin’s BuuirincH. Above, clear ashy- gray; below, cinnamon-gray; rump and under wing- and tail-coverts white; wings and tail, crown, chin and face black ; outer tail-feathers with a white patch, greater wing-coverts tipped and primaries edged with whitish ; bill black, feet dusky. Length 6.50; wing 3.50; tail 3.25. Nulato, Alaska, only one specimen known, marked @, but having all the charac- ters of a 9; nearest related to P. cocet::.2 of Asia, and originally described as a variety of that species. Fig. 208, — Cassin’s Bullfinch, reduced. (From Baird.) » PASSER. (Lat. passer, a sparrow: this very species.) SpaRRows. Form stout -and stocky. Bill very stout, shaped somewhat as in Carpodacus, but without nasal ruff. Cul- men curved; commissure little angulated; gonys convex, ascending; lateral outlines of bill bulging to near the end. Wing pointed; Ist, 2d, and 3d primaries nearly equal and longest ; 4th little shorter, rest graduated; inner secondaries not elongate. Tail shorter than wings, nearly even. Feet small; tarsus about equal to middle toe and claw; lateral toes of equal lengths, their claws not reaching to base of middle claw. Sexes unlike. g with black and chestnut on head. Middle of back only streaked. Old World: two species naturalized in North America. P. domes’ticus. (Lat. domesticus, domestic. Fig. 209.) THe Sparrow. Purip Spar- row. Hovuss Sparrow. Parasire. Tramp. Hoopium. Gamin. @, adult: Upper parts ashy-gray; middle of back and scapulars boldly streaked with black and bay. A dark chestnut or mahogany space behind eye, spreading on side of neck. Lesser wing-coverts deep chestnut ; median tipped with white, forming a conspicuous wing-bar, bordering which is a black line. Greater coverts and inner quills with central black field bordered with bay. Tail dusky-gray, unmarked. Lower parts ashy, gray or whitish; chin and throat jet black, spreading on the breast and lores, bordered on side of neck with white. Bill blue-black ; feet brown. Wing about 3.00; tail 2.25. 9, adult: Above, brownish-gray; streaking of back light ochrey-brown and black; wing-edgings light ochrey-brown, the white bar impure. No black, mahogany, or white on head; a pale brown postocular stripe; bill blackish- brown, yellowish at base below. Varies endlessly in the purity or dinginess of coloration. Young ¢ at first like 9. Europe, etc. Imported about fifteen years ago, during a craze which even affected some ornithologists, making people fancy that a granivorous conirostral bird would rid us of insect-pests, this sturdy and invincible little bird has overrun the whole country, and proved a nuisance without a redeeming quality. Well-informed persons denounced the bird without avail during the years when it might have been abated, but further protest is futile, for the sparrows have it all their own way, and can afford to laugh at legislatures, like rats, mice, cockroaches and other parasites of the human race which we have imported. This species, of all birds, naturally attaches itself most closely to man, and easily: modifies its habits to suit such artificial surroundings; this ready yielding to conditions of environment, and profiting by them, makes it one of the creatures best fitted to survive in the struggle for existence under whatever conditions man may afford or enforce; hence it wins in every competition with native birds, and in this country has as yet developed no counteractive influences to restore a disturbed balance of forces, nor any check whatever upon its limitless 193, FRINGILLIDZ: FINCHES, BUNTINGS, SPARROWS, ETC. 345 increase. Its habits need not be noted, as they are already better known to everyone than those of any native bird whatever. : T. monta‘nus. (Lat. montanus, of mountains. Fig. 209.) Mountain Sparrow. Sorne- what like the last, but smaller and otherwise different. @: Crown and nape a peculiar pur- plish-brown. Lores, chin, and throat black, the throat-patch narrow and short, not spreading on breast, contrasted with ashy-white on side of head and neck; ear-coverts blackish. Back Fig. 209. — Exotic Sparrows. Lowest one, P. domesticus; next one, P. montanus; reduced, (From Brehm.) and scapulars streaked with black and bay, the streaking reaching to the purplish: nape ; rump and tail plain grayish-brown. Wings marked much as in P. domesticus, with a black. and white bar across tips of median coverts, but also a narrow white bar across tips of greater coverts. Primaries more varied with ochrey-brown on outer webs, forming a basal spot and other edging. Below, ashy-gray, shaded on sides, flanks, and crissum with grayish-brown. Bill blue-black ; feet brown. Wing 2.75; tail 2.50. 9 differs much as before. Europe; naturalized about St. Louis and elsewhere. : 65. 194. 346 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES— OSCINES. CARPO'DACUS. (Gr. xapmés, karpos, fruit; dSdxos, dakos, biting.) PuRPLE BULLFINCHES. Bill smaller and less turgid than in Pimicola or Pyrrhula, more regularly conic and more acute; sides convex in all directions, but with distinct ridge prolonged in a point on forehead where not concealed by the anti, its outline moderately curved ; com- missure decidedly angulated, about straight before and behind the ; O bend; gonys quite straight. Nasal ruff little developed, barely concealing the slight nasal fossee, thence falling over sides of bill, but discontinuous across culmen. Wings long and pointed, fold- ing half-way to end of tail or farther, pointed by first 3 or 4 quills. Tail much shorter than wings, considerably forked, with rather narrow feathers; both sets of coverts reaching more than half. way to end. Feet small and weak; tarsus shorter than middlc toe; lateral toes subequal, outer rather longer than inner, their claws reaching base of middle claw. Sexes unlike. extensively red of some shade, 9 streaky brown and white. Head with erectile feathers, but not fairly crested. A beautiful genus, of several species of New and Old World. Fie. 210. — Bill of Purple Finch, nat. size. Analysis of Species ( #). Bill conic-acute, with scarcely convex culmen ; edgings of wing- and tail-feathers reddish. Large: length 6 50-7.00; bill at least 0.50 along culmen. Under tail-coverts streaked with dusky centres of the feathers. Crimson crown well distinguished from merely reddish-brown back. (Southwestern U. 82): : cassini 195 Medium: length 5 15-6. 25 ; bill not 0. 50 ‘along einen: Under ‘tail parents scarcely or n«.. streaked. Crimson of crown not well distinguished from that of back. (U.S.). .. . .- . nurpureus 104 Bill conoid-obtuse, with very convex culmen. Edgings of wing- and tail-feathers whitish. Small: length scarcely 6.00; bill about 0.40 along culmen. Front, line over eye, rump and throat red, more or less contrasting with brown ot white of other parts. Red pretty definitely restricted to the areas said (Southwestern U.S.) . . . .. . . Jrontalis 196 Red spreading over other parts (Californian coast). . ..... s 1 es « + Phodocolpus 197 C. purpu/reus, (Lat. purpureus, purple. Figs. 210, 211.) Purpie Frvcu (better Crim- son Fincu.) Adult g: Rose-red, paler below, insensibly whitening on belly and crissum, brightest anteriorly, intensified to crimson on crown, darker and more brownish-red on banks where also streaked with dark brown. Wings and tail dusky, the quills edged and coverts tipped with brownish- red. lores and feathers about base of bill hoary-whitish. Bill and feet brown, the under mandible rather paler. Length 6.00-6.25; extent 10.00-10.60; wing 3.00-3.25 ; tail 2.25-2.50 ; tarsus 0.62; middle toe and claw 0.87; bill under 0.50. The shade of red is very variable, almost any- thing but purplish — according to season, and age and vigor of the individual. In high feather, the crown is richer crimson than any other part, but does not form a definite cap. The auriculars are dusky, and there is an appreciably light rosy stripe over them. Younger f fg have frequently a bronzy shade. @ and young: Oliva- ceous-brown, more clearly olivaceous on rump, everywhere streaked with dusky. Below, white, marked everywhere except on throat, belly, and crissum with streaks and Fig, 211.— Purple Finch, g', reduced. arrow-heads of dusky olive-brown; the latter pretty (Sheppard del. Nichols, se.) evenly distributed on breast, former the same on sides, on the sides of neck and throat con- fluent and gathered into a maxillary series running up to the bill, separated by a poorly- defined whitish area from the olive-brown auriculars, over which is a whitish postocular streak, Wings and tail as in g, but the edgings plain brown. Length 5.70-5.90; extent 195. 196. FRINGILLIDE: FINCHES, BUNTINGS, SPARROWS, ETC. 34T 9.50-10.00; wing about 3.00. Young ¢ cannot be certainly distinguished from ¢ ; in general, duller and grayer brown, with less of the olive shade; the red first shows pale or bronzy in slight touches. Cage-birds sometimes turn yellowish after moulting, as is the case with various other red finches. U. 8. from Atlantic to Pacific, excepting probably the Southern Rocky Mt. region; N. to Labrador and the Saskatchewan. Breeds from the Middle States northward; winters in most of the U. S., particularly the M. and S. States. An engaging bird, of bright colors and sweet song, and many amiable traits, among them its fondness for the society of man; it comes fearlessly about our houses to build its own, which is generally situated on a horizontal bough or fork, composed of the most miscellaneous materials, almost any vegetable fibre being available for the flat and shallow structure; it is usually lined with hair, and the eggs, to the number of 4 or 5, are pale dull greenish, or almost whitish, sparsely sprinkled and scratched with blackish surface-markings and lilac shell-spots ; size about 0.85 X 0.65 ; two broods are often reared. When not breeding the birds are generally found in flocks, and it is to be feared they do damage in the spring to the blossoms of fruit-trees. C. cassi/ni. (To John Cassin.) Cassin’s Purpie Finou. Adult ¢: In highest plumage duller than C. purpureus, excepting on crown. Middle of the back brown, tinged with red, the feathers dusky-centred, gray-edged ; crown crimson, the cap not so extensive as in purpu- reus, and quite well defined, separated by a dusky and gray interval from the color of the back. Under tail-coverts with dusky shaft lines, usually wanting in purpureus. Larger: length 6.50~-7.00 ; extent 11.00-11.50; wing 3.50; tail 2.50; bill atleast 0.50 along culmen, usually more, relatively less turgid than in pwrpureus. Iris brown; feet blackish-brown; bill above dark bluish horn-color, below dusky flesh-tinted. The sexual changes are the same as in the last species ; it is not, so easy to distinguish the 9 and young @ from those of purpureus, but they are larger, with longer and less tumid bill, and more streaked’ on the crissum. Very young birds have an ochraceous or light rufous suffusion, especially noticeable on the under parts; the streaks are more numerous and diffuse. Rocky Mts. of U. 8. and westward, espe- cially the Southern Rocky Mt. region, as Utah, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico; N. to British Columbia; E. to Wind River mountains; 8. to table lands of Mexico. Habits the same as those of the purple finch; eggs not fairly distinguishable. C. fronta/lis. (Lat. frontalis, pertaining to the front.) CRIMSON-FRONTED Fincu. Houses Fincu. Burion. Adult ¢: Grayish-brown above, somewhat varied with darker centres and paler edges of the feathers, and for the most part tinged with red. Below dull white, streaked with dark brown, often tinged with red. Fore part of crown, superciliary line, rump, throat, breast and sometimes side of head, crimson. Wings and tail dark brown, with narrow pale edgings. Bill dusky-brown above, paler below; feet and eyes brown. Length about 6.00; extent scarcely 10.00; wing 3.00; tail 2.50; scarcely forked; tarsus 0.67; bill 0.40, very turgid, almost as in Pinicola or Pyrrhula. 9: Like g, but without any red; upper parts more varied with darker centres and paler edges of the feathers, and entire under parts streaked like belly of g. Young ¢ resembles the 9, but at an early age is browner, and’ apt to have buffy edgings of the wings. Colors of adult ¢ as variable as those of purpwreus or more so. In winter, the red less intense and more diffuse, and may have a rosy or purplish tint, or be interrupted with grayish edgings of the feathers. Generally in the Colorado Valley, where the typical form is developed, the red is restricted to the parts said, but the constant tendency is to spread; the back and belly have usually in fact a tinge of red, and in some cases the whole head and fore parts are thus encrimsoned. U. S., rather southerly, from the Rocky Mts. to the interior ranges of California; Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico; abundant in those regions, and as familiar as a swallow or chip-bird, nesting in the streets and gardens, where its bright colors, hearty song, and sprightly ways make it a welcome visitor. The nest- ing is like that of the purple finch in essential particulars; the eggs are smaller, paler, and of more fugitive bluish tint, with the blackish sprinkling sparser ; size 0.68 X 0.60 to 0.75 X 0.54. 197. 66. 198. 348 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES — OSCINES. C. f. rhodocol/pus. (Gr. fd3ov, rhodon, the rose; xédmos, kolpos, the breast.) RoseE- BREASTED Fincn. This alleged variety resembles the last; crimson tints more diffuse. Pacific coast region of California and southward. LOX/IA. (Gr. Aofds, lowos, crooked.) CRross-BILLS. Bill metagnathous; both mandibles faleate, deflected to opposite sides, their points crossed (unique among birds). Upper mandible stout and broad at base, rapidly narrowing to the elongate, decurved, laterally deflected and overhanging tip, its sides nearly flat, culminal ridge well marked and very convex throughout; its base beset with a ruff of antrorse plumules concealing nostrils and nasal fosse. Lower man- dible with gonys very long, occupying nearly all the exposed part of the bill, convex throngh- out, the end of the mandible prolonged, curved upward and deflected to one side. Commissural line of either mandible curved in the opposite direction from its fellow. Mouth very narrow anteriorly, ample at base; tongue horny and concave at end; cesophagus with a large special erop, bulging to the right side. Wings long, pointed by tips of the first three primaries, rest rapidly graduated. Tail very short, only about $ as long as the wing, emarginate and divari- cate, covered nearly to the forking by the coverts both above and below. Feet small; tarsus shorter than middle toe without claw ; covered with 3 or 4 large overlapping plates, and smaller ones above and below; the postero-lateral plates much broken up below. Lateral toes of sub- equal lengths, tips of their claws falling opposite base of middle claw. Hind claw about equal to its digit, longer; stouter, and more curved than the middle one. Form stout, thick- set; ueck short; head broad and flattened ontop. Plumage soft and blended. Sexes dissimilar in color. @ red, 9 brown with olive or yellowish tinge. There are several species of these singular finches, — finches in which not only the horny envelope of the beak, but the bony framework, and to some extent the ligaments and muscles acting upon it, are unsymmetrical. The struct- ures concerned in what would appear to a fool to be a deformity constitute a handy tool for cracking nuts of some kinds and shelling out their kernels; it acts like a pair of cutting pliers, — pincers and scissors in one. Our two species inbabit the nurthern parts of America, coming southward in flocks in the fall; but they are also resident in northern and mountainous parts of the U. 8., where they sometimes breed in winter. They are irregularly migratory according to exigencies of weather and food-supply ; are eminently gregarious, and feed principally upon pine seeds, which they skilfully husk out of the cones with their curious bills. Analysis of Species. Wings with two white bars. j rosy-red; 9 brownish-olive, streaked and spotted with dusky, the rump saffron-yellow Wy ah ee - . leucoptera 198 Wings without bars. "Gf bricky-red. 9 as before, without wing-bars, Bill small, about 3 of aninchlong . . Se wt Be eh a VC Te I oe . + + americana 199 Bill large, }-¢o0f aninchlong ...... Ob ae De ie Oe a ae Gk ai A ney + « mexicana 200 L, leucop’tera. (Gr. Aeukds, leukos, white ; rrepov, pteron, wing. Fig. 212.) WHITE-wINGED Cross-Bitu. Adult ¢ : Rosy-red, sometimes carmined or even crimsoned, obscured on middle of back, paling on lower belly and crissum, latter whitish with dusky centres of the feathers. Scapulars black, this color sometimes meeting across lower back. Wing- and tail-feathers black, with slight white or rosy edgings; inner secondaries and greater and middle coverts tipped with white, forming two cross-bars, sometimes confluent in one large patch. Rather Fic, 212. White-winged Crossbill, reduced. (After Audubon.) 199. FRINGILLIDA: FINCHES, BUNTINGS, SPARROWS, ETC. 349 larger than the next, the bill thinner and more attenuate. Q and young: Though the differ- ences are parallel with those of ZL. americana, some peculiarity in tone of color usually serves to distinguish the two species, independently of the white wing-marks, which exist in both sexes at all ages. The difference is something like that between the 9 9 of Pyranga estiva and P. rubra, in the presence of ochrey or buffy tints, instead of clear olivaceous or yellowish. Upper parts fuscous, closely lined with an ochrey-olive or dingy ochre, the rump bright yellow- ochre. Below, the gray overlaid with ochreous, and further varied with dark gray centres of the feathers, tending to streaks on the flanks. The whole tone of coloration varies inter- minably ; the under parts and rump are sometimes bright tawny yellow, or brownish-orange. Some ¢ ¢ are brilliant carmine, some 9 Q pale orange, almost uniform. North Am., northerly ; Alaska; Greenland; casual in Europe. In winter 8. in most of the U. 8., in flocks with the next, not so common. Resident in N. New England, and along whole N. tier of States, probably breeding also in alpine U. S. localities to Pennsylvania and Colorado. Breeds in winter and early spring, nesting like that of the next species ; eggs pale blue, dotted chiefly at the larger end with black and lilac; 0.80 x 0.56. L. curviros'tra america’na. (Lat. curvirostris, curve-billed. Fig. 213.) AMERICAN RED Cross-BiLL. Adult #: Red; wings and tail blackish, with- out white markings. Middle of back darker, more browu- ish-red than elsewhere, the feathers with dusky centres. In the highest feather, even, the red is scarcely continuous except on head and rump, where brightest; lower belly and crissum usually gray or pale. Though the shade of red is never rosy or carmine as in the last, it varies inter- minably. It is usually tile- red or cinnabar, heightening in some cases to vermilion, in others shading to brownish- red, and often mixed not only with gray, but with olivaceous or saffron-yellowish tints. Orange, chrome or gamboge @ gf are sometimes seen. Length about 6.00; wing 8.50; tail 2.50; bill (chord of culinen) 0.67 or less, very variable ; under mandible usually weaker than upper. Q and young: Dull greenish-olive, much mixed with gray or dusky, brighter and more yellowish on head and rump; below, gray, most feathers skirted with dingy yellowish, overcasting most of the plumage. Very young are dusky, streaked with grayish-white, usually no trace of olivaceous ; below gray, streaked with dusky; bill weak. From such state as this. the ¢ usually passes through stages resembling the 9, being found in every possible patchy state of mixed gray, olive and dusky-reddish ; sometimes appears to pass directly into the red state, and the same is doubtless the case, with other species. N. Am., alpine and northerly ; S. in most of the U.S. in winter, on the E. side usually to Pa. and Md.; resident in Maine, in mountains 8. to Pa.; and in the Rocky and other Mts. of the West; abundant, in gentle and unwary but timid flocks, usually including some individuals of the other species, fluttering and ereeping about in the foliage of coniferous trees. Nesting often in winter or early spring when snow still covers the ground; nest in forks or among twigs of a tree, founded on a mass of twigs and bark-strips, the inside felted of finer materials, including small twigs, rootlets, Fic. 213. — Common Crossbill, ¢ 9, reduced. (Sheppard del. Nichols sc.) 200. 67. 201. 202. 350 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES — OSCINES. grasses, hair, feathers, etc.; eggs 3-4, 0.75 X 0.57, pale greenish, spotted and dotted about larger end with dark purplish-brown, with lavender shell-markings. L. c. mexica‘na. Mrxican Cross-Bitu. Like the last; the bill larger, 0.75 or more long, the under mandible especially more robust. Southern Rocky Mts: and southward on the table lands of Mexico. LEUCOSTIC'TE. (Gr. Aevukos, leukos, white; orixrn, sticte, varied. Fig.215.) Rosy FIncues. Bill small, conic-acute, ruffed at base with antrorse plumules meeting over culmen and con- cealing the short nasal fossee and small nostrils. Side of under mandible (in typical species) with a sharp ridge running obliquely upward and forward. Culmen ridged between two slight depressions parallel with itself, gently convex throughout. No obvious angulation of commis- sural edge of upper mandible ; that of lower with decided bend; gonys straight. Wings long, folding beyond middle of tail, tipped by first 3 primaries, 4th shorter. Tail of moderate length, forked, its feathers rather broad, its coverts reaching about + way to end. Tarsus not shorter than middle toe without claw ; lateral toes unequal, inner shorter, its claw not reaching base of middle claw. Hind claw about as long as its digit, more curved and longer than middle claw. Sexes somewhat dissimilar. Coloration peculiar; usually chocolate-brown, enriched with rose or carmine, shaded with silvery-gray or black ; one species mostly silvery-gray. The American representative of the Old World genus Montifringilla. Terrestrial, highly gre- garious ; nest on ground ; eggs immaculate white. Numerous species of this very interesting genus are scarcely stable; I present the forms that are usually recognizable. The nearest Aimerican relative is A’giothus ; the general economy is more that of Plectrophanes. Analysis of Species. Under mandible ridged. Body-color chocolate-brown or darker. No ash on head (Colorado) . . . 2 6 6 ee ee ee ee eee ni - australis 202 Ash on head confined to the top. Coloration blackish (Colorado) . . 1. 2-1 ee ee ee ee te ee atrata 201 Coloration chocolate(W. America) ., . 2. 1 2 eee ee he te tephrocotis 203 Ash spreading on sides of head. Smaller: wing 4.20. (W. America). . ee ee ee ee il anal ap ae . litoralis 204 Larger: wing 4.60. (Alaska) c ose ey are stk es + + 2 + griseinucha 205 Under mandible smooth. Dusky-purplish and silvery-gray, withrosy ........ lee 5 » » @retoa 206 L. atra/ta. (Lat. atrata, blackened.) Ripa@way’s Rosy Fincu. Sexes unlike. @, in April: Pattern of coloration and distribution of tints as in tephrocotis proper (see beyond) ; nasal tufts white, and occiput ashy, as in that species, but the chocolate-brown of tephrocotis replaced by black, deepest anteriorly and on under parts, sooty-brownish on the back. Bill black (April) or yellow (September). Size of tephrocotis. 9, in April: Black of g repre- sented by dark slate-gray, more brownish on back, the rosy markings duller and more restricted ; size rather less. This form occurs in the mountains of Colorado and Utah. We know neither the summer nor winter plumage of this bird; no winter plumage nor whereabouts of australis ; nor young nor breeding plumage of tephrocotis ; -— points to be ascertained before we can decide the status of several alleged species of the genus. L, austra/lis. (Lat. australis, southern.) ALLEN’s Rosy Finca. Sexes unlike. , breed- ing plumage: Rich chocolate or umber-brown, the feathers of the back with darker shaft-lines and paler edges, those of the under parts darker and somewhat purplish-brown. Red parts of the body heightened to intense crimson, extending farther forward than in tephrocotis, some- times skirting all the feathers of the under parts; especially strong on the wing- and tail-coverts and belly. No pure ash whatever on head; whole pileum black or blackish, purest anteriorly, duller behind. Nasal tufts white. Bill and feet black. Length 6.75; wing 4.00-4.40, aver- aging in 69 specimens 4.30; tail 2.80-3.35, average 3.10; bill 0.45; tarsus 0.75. When not in highest feather, carmine toned down to more pink or rosy. In winter, bill yellow, changing to black through various cloudings. 9, in summer: While generally like %, having black 203. 204. 205. FRINGILLIDZ: FINCHES, BUNTINGS, SPARROWS, ETC. 351 bill and no ash on head, averages a little smaller, and is much duller colored; brown parts of a grayish cast; rosy reduced or almost extinguished, chiefly traceable on rump and wing- -coverts ; abdomen scarcely tinted, and quills and tail-feathers with whitish instead of rosy edg- ings. Wing 4.00-4.20, averaging little over 4.00; tail 2.90-3.25, average 3.00. Colorado and New Mexico, breeding up to 12,000 feet; a curious southerly local race of the genus. L. tephroco'tis. (Gr. reppds, tephros, gray; ovs, dros, ous, otos, the ear. Fig. 214.) Swatn- son’s Rosy Fixcu. Sexes similar. Adult ¢,in breeding plumage or nearly sv: Bill and feet black. Nasal plumules white. Frontlet black; rest of pileum hoary-ash, not descending below level of eyes and upper border of auriculars (for when the ash invades the sides of head to any extent, the bird takes the first step toward litoralis, in which the head is extensively hooded in ash). General color, sides of head in- cluded, chocolate or liver-brown of vary- ing intensity, many feathers skirted with gray or whitish, especially the inter- seapulars, which also have dusky centres, and inclining to blackish on chin and throat. Hinder parts of the body above and below, including tail-coverts, rich Fic. 214.— Rosy Finch, reduced, (Sheppard del. Nichols sc.) rosy or carmine red, this color due to broad edgings of the dusky feathers of these parts. Wings and tail blackish, the wing-coverts and primaries edged with rosy, showing nearly continuous in the closed wing; edgings of inner secondaries rosy-white or white. Length (average) 6.75; wing 4.00-4.45, average 4.25; tail 2.50-3.00, average 2.75; culmen 0.40- 0.50, average 0.45; tarsus 0.75-0.85, average 0.80. 9, adult: Very similar; pattern identi- cal; tone subdued; size a little less; length 6.60; wing 4.10; tail 2.65. @9 in winter: Bill yellow; pattern unchanged; coloration less vivid, the brown rather umber than chocolate, the red rather rosy than carmine. Rocky Mt. region, from the Saskatchewan or beyond, through most of the U. S. in winter; breeding limits unknown, supposed to be Northern Rocky Mts. of U. S. and beyond. This is the central figure in the genus. It runs directly into L. t. litora/lis. (Lat. litoralis, littoral.) Barrp’s Rosy Fincu. Like the last; the ash spreading over the head, more or less, sometimes almost enveloping it like a hood, and even occupying the chin in extreme cases. Size of the last. Northwest coast; in summer unknown, in winter spreading from Kadiak S. and E. to California, Nevada, Utah, and Colorado; very abundant, in flocks mixed with tephrocotis proper. L. griseinu/cha. (Low Lat. griseus, gray, and mucha, nape. Fig. 215.) Branpt’s Rosy Fivcu. Like the littoral variety of tephrocotis, in having the ashy extending over the sides of the head; this color settled in a definite hood, said to never invade the chin. The resident form of the N. W. coast and islands, from Kadiak W. and N. Much larger than Nos. 203-4; length 7.00 or more; wing 4.50 (4.25-4.85) ; tail 3.50 (3.15-3.90) ; culmen 0.57; tarsus 0.95. Sexes scarcely distinguishable. Bill black or yellow according to season. Young “uniform brownish-gray, ' washed with umber; wings and tail dusky-slate, the feathers Fie. 215, — Brandt's Rosy bordered with paler; the edges of the lesser wing-coverts and Finch. (After Baird.) remiges very pale pinkish ; of the greater wing-coverts and tertials pale dull ochraceous; no black or gray about head ; bill horn-color.” Nest well made of grasses and mosses, lined with feathers, on the ground or among rocks; eggs 3-6, generally 4, pure white, 0.97 < 0.67. 352 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS.— PASSERES — OSCINES. 206. L. arcto'a. (Gr. dyxros, arktoios, northern.) Patias’s Rosy Fincu. Dusky-purplish ; neck above pale yellowish; forehead and nasal feathers blackish; outer webs of quills and wing-coverts, tail-coverts, ramp and erissuin silvery-gray, rosy-margined. (urile and Aleu- tian Islands; Siberia. Subgenerically different from any of the foreguing. 68. AXGIOTHUS. (Gr. Alyiofos, nom. propr. Fig. 216.) Rev-potn Lixxets. Bill small, short, straight, very acute, more or less compressed, the lateral outlines usually a little concave, those of culmen and gonys straight ; commissure straight to the slight angulation. Base of bill thickly beset with a ruff of antrorse plumules, concealing the small nasal fossee and round nostrils. Wings longer than tail, pointed by first 3 primaries. Tail rather long for this group, forked. Feet small and weak, but tarsi longer than middle toe without claw; lateral toes of equal lengths, their claw-tips falling beyond base of middle claw. Hind claw much longer, stouter and more curved than the mid- dle, exceeding its digit in length. Size small; plumage streaky with dusky, white, and flaxen colors, crown crimson, face and throat blackish; sexes otherwise dissimilar; @ with rosy or carmine on breast, wanting in 9. Scarcely different from Linota (flavirostris, etc.) the pattern of coloration being the most avail- able distinction. Arboreal, gregarious, highly boreal finches of circumpolar distribution, breeding in high latitudes and alpine regions, roving south in winter in great flocks. The species are : 3 Fig. 216. — Details of Zgio- much involved ; we have four recognizable forms. thus (2. hornemanni, nat. size). (From Elliot.) Analysis of Species. Tarsus as long as middle toe and claw. Heavily streaked below. Rump always fully streaked. Smaller: length about 5.50; wing 3.00; bill moderate (N. Am. atlarge) . . foe % . linaria 207 Larger: length about 6.00; wing 3.25; bill immoderate (Canada, ete.) . . . » +. . . holboelli 208 Tarsus longer than middle toe and claw. Lightly or scarcely streaked below. Rump of adult ¢ immacu- late white to some extent. Smaller: length about 5.50; wing 3.00. Bill and feet small (Brit. Am. espa U.S.). . . eailipes 210 Larger: length about 6.00; wing 3.30. Bill and feet Jarge (Greenland). . é . hornemanni 209 207. . lina/ria. (Mat. linaria, flaxen; a limnet. Fig. 217.) Common Repeat, Adult g: Frontlet, lores, and throat-spot sooty-black. Crown crimson. Above, variegated with brown- ish-yellow and dusky, the feathers having dark centres and flaxen edges. Rump streaked with dusky and white, and tinged with rosy, more or less so according to age and season. Below, white, the sides and crissum streaked with dusky, the entire fore-parts colored with rose-red more or less rich and extensive according to same cir- cumstances. Wings and tail dusky, the feathers edged with whitish, the middle and greater coverts tipped with the same, forming two cross- bars. Bill black or yellow, usually found yel- low with dusky tip and edges. Feet blackish. Length 5.50; extent 9.00; wing 3.00; tail 2.50; bill 0.33; tarsus 0.65; middle toe and claw the same. Adult 9: Wanting entirely } or having but a trace of rosy on the rump and Fic. 217.--Common Red-poll, reduced. (Shep- under parts. Breast with a dingy yellowish wash, pard del. Nichols se.) streaked with dusky. Slightly smaller. Young: Like 9, butthe # soon showing rosy. Young may usually be distinguished from the adult 9 by 208. 209. 210. 69. 211. 70. FRINGILLIDZE: FINCHES, BUNTINGS, SPARROWS, ETC. 803 a general buffy suffusion, especially on fore parts; edgings of wing likewise buffy; streaks below less sharply defined ; crimson of crown restricted, or of a coppery or bronzy tint. In worn mid- summer plumage the bird is very dark colored, almost entirely dusky. This bright little bird inhabits northerly parts of both hemispheres, irregularly south in winter in N. Am. to about 35°; at times abundant, but erratic. Eggs 4-5, very pale bluish, finely speckled all over with reddish-brown, 0.65 x 0.52. Nest in low trees and bushes. . 1. hol/boelli. (To C. Holbéll, a Danish naturalist.) HonBéLi’s Rep-pouu. Like the last; larger; length 6.00 or more ; wing 3.25 ; tail 2.75 ; bill longer and less constricted, with straight lateral outlines and rather curved culmen. Europe and N. Am., especially Canada and New England. E. hor‘nemanni. (To J. W. Hornemann. Fig. 216.) GrerntaAND Meaty RED-POLL. Bill regularly conic, only moderately compressed and acute, as high at base as long, color varying with season from black to yellow. Frontlet black, overlaid with hoary. A recogni- zable light superciliary stripe, reaching to the bill. Crimson cap over nearly all the crown. Upper parts streaked with brownish-black and white, the latter edging and tipping the feathers ; this white nearly pure, only slightly flaxen on sides of head and neck. Wings and tail as in other species. Rump and entire under parts from the sooty throat white, free from spots, the rump and breast rosy. Feet large and stout; tarsus rather longer than middle toe and claw. Length 6.00; wing 3.30; tail 2.80; bill 0.34; tarsus 0.65 ; middle toe and claw 0.58. Sexual and seasonal changes as before; quite dark in midsummer. Greenland and N. Europe. This large hoary northern form is resident; never known to occur in the U. 8., and most of the con- tinental Red-polls of even Arctic N. Am. belong to the next species. ZB, exi/lipes. (Lat. exilis, exiguous, small; pes, foot.) AMERICAN MEALY Rep-Pouu. Bill small, short, stout at base, regularly conic, little compressed, all its outlines about straight ; nasal plumules very heavy, sometimes reaching half-way to tip of bill. Frontlet dusky, but the feathers tipped with hoary; an appreciable light superciliary line ; lores and throat-spot dusky. General color of upper parts as in maria, but the dusky streaks are smaller and less distinct, especially on the anterior parts; and the flaxen is very pale, nearly white, disappear- ing entirely on lower back, leaving a space streaked only with dusky and white. Rump snowy- white, rosy-tinted, immaculate. Wings and tail as in other species; under parts white, the breast with a rosy tint, paler than in limaria of same age and season; the sides streaked with dusky, the markings sparser and less definite than in linaria; crissum almost immaculate. Feet very small and weak, the toes especially shorter. Length 5.50; extent 9.00; wing 3.00; tail 2.50; tarsus 0.55; middle toe without claw 0.28 ; middle toe and claw shorter than tarsus ; bill 0.32. Seasonal and sexual differences as before. This form inhabits the whole of boreal America, seldom reaching the U. 8. and only along the northern tier of States. LINO’TA. (Latinized from Fr. linotte, a linnet.) Liynets. Character of Agiothus in form ; no crimson crown. European. L., flaviros/tris brew'steri? (Lat. flavirostris, yellow-billed. To Wm. Brewster, of Cam- bridge.) Brewsrer’s Linnet. With the general appearance of an immature Agiothus, this bird will be recognized by absence of crimson on crown, no black throat-spot, a sulphur- yellowish shade on lower back, and somewhat different proportions. Wing 3.00; tail 2.50; tarsus 0.50. Massachusetts, one specimen known. (Agiothus flavirostris, var. brewstert, Ridg., Am. Nat., vi, July, 1872, p. 433; Hist. N. A. B., i, 1874, p. 501. Conjectured to be Aigiothus linaria x Chrysomitris pinus.) CHRYSOMI'TRIS. (Gr. ypvoopirpis, chrusomitris, having a golden head-dress.) SISKINS. Bill exceedingly acute; its lateral outlines concave by compression of the sides toward the end, culmen and gouys about straight, commissure angulated, cutting edges inflected, no ridges on either mandible. Nasal tufts concealing the nostrils in their short fosse. Wings long, exceeding the short, emarginate tail; point formed by the 1-3 or 4 quills, 5 and rest rapidly 23 212. 71. 213. 354 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES— OSCINES. shorter. Tarsus about as long as middle toe with claw; lateral toes of equal lengths, their claws reaching base of middle claw; hind claw shorter than its digit. Everywhere thickly streaked. Nored. Sexes alike. Habit gregarious. Nest in trees. Eggs speckled. C. pimus. (Lat. pinus, a pine. Fig. 218.) Pine Linner. Pine Fincu. AMERICAN Sis- KIN. ¢ 9, adult: Continuously streaked, above with dusky or dark olivaceous-brown and flaxen or whitish, below with dusky and whitish, the whole body usually suffused with yellowish, most evident on the rump. Wings dusky, the basal portion of all the quills and their inner webs for some distance sulphury-yellow, usually showing externally as a spot just beyond the coverts, sometimes restricted and hidden. Outer webs of the quills also narrowly edged with yellow, separated from the basal yellow patch by a blackish interval. Tail dusky, its basal half yellow, and outer webs edged with yellow. Bill and feet brown. Length about 4.75; extent 8.75; wing 8.75; tail 1.75. Very variable in yellowness of tone, sometimes quite bright, again plain streaky, dusky and whitish or flaxen; but the yellow colora- tion of the wings and tail is distinctive. Young birds have the markings diffuse, with a general buffy- Fic. 218, — Pine Finch, reduced. (Sheppard brownish suffusion. N. Am. at large, breeding del. Nichols sc.) northerly, ranging in flocks in the winter through most of the U.S., abundant. Nest high in trees, preferably conifers; eggs pale greenish, speckled with brown; about 0.70 x 0.50. Flight undulatory; voice querulous. ASTRAGALINUS. (Gr. dorpayadivos, astragalinos, name of some bird.) AMERICAN GOLD- Fincues. Like Chrysomitris. Bill stouter, less acuminate, without extreme lateral com- pression, culmen rather convex, gonys quite straight; commissure strongly angulated; upper mandible usually showing longitudinal striz. Nasal ruff evident, though short. Wings and tail as in Chrysomitris; feet smaller; toes shorter ; lateral digits of unequal lengths; outer claw rather overreaching, inner not reaching, base of middle claw. Coloration massed, not streaky ; yellow, olive, black and white, no red. Sexes unlike. Eggs white. : Analysis of Species o yellow (in summer) with black cap, wings and tail, the two latter white-marked (Eastern) tristis 213 ¢ gray, varied with yellow on back, breast, and wings, with black face, wings, and tail, latter white-marked (Western). . . . ste eee + « lawrencit 214 ¢ above olive or black, or mixed with both; yellow below ; wings and tail black, white-marked (Western). Back olive; crown black, not below eyes; large white tail-spots . ae ee soe 6 «psaltria 215 Back mixed olive and black; crown black; moderate white tail-spots ...... . . arizone 216 Back and crown black, to below eyes; small white tail-spots . . . b& - 6 mexicanus 217 od yellow, with black yellow-spaced wings and tail, and whole head black, (Mexico, etc.). . - + notatus 218 A. tris'tis. (Lat. tristis, sad; from its note. Fig. 219.) AMERICAN GOLDFINCH. YELLOW-BIRD. THISTLE- ue BirD. @, in summer: Rich yellow, changing to fie; S10: — Agena. ap ; Goldfinch, g, in whitish on the tail-coverts; a black patch on the summer, reduced. (Sheppard del. Nicholssc.) crown; wings black, more or less edged with white; lesser wing-coverts white or yellow; greater coverts tipped with white; tail black, every feather with a white spot; bill and feet 214. 215. 216. 217. FRINGILLIDZE: FINCHES, BUNTINGS, SPARROWS, ETC. 355 flesh-colored. In September, the black cap disappears; the general plumage changes to a pale flaxen-brown above and whitey-brown below, with traces of the yellow, especially about the head; wings and tail much as in summer; sexes then much alike: this con- tinues until the following April or May. Length 4.80-5.20; extent 8.75-9.25; wing 2.75; tail 2.00; 9 olivaceous above, including the crown; below soiled yellowish, wings and tail dusky, whitish-edged ; rather smaller than the ¢. Yonng like the winter 9; when very young, suf- fused with fulvous, and the wings edged with tawny. N. Am., especially the Eastern U. §.; an abundant and familiar species, conspicuous by its bright colors, and plaintive lisping notes; in the fall, collects in large flocks, and so remains until the breeding season; irregularly migratory, but winters as far north as New England; feeds especially on the seeds of the thistle and buttonwood; flies in an undulating course. Nest small, compact, built of downy aud other soft pliant substances, placed in a crotch; eggs 4-6, faintly bluish-white, nor- Fic. 220. — Lawrence’s Goldfinch, reduced. mally unmarked, 0.65 « 0.50. (Altered from Audubon.) A. lawren’cii. (To G. N. Lawrence, of New York. Fig. 220.) LawREncr’s GOLDFINCH. ¢@, in summer: Gray, more or less tinged with yellowish, whitening on the belly and crissuin ; rump, a large breast-patch, and much of the back rich yellow; crown, face, and chin black ; wings black, variegated with yellow, most of the coverts being of this color, and the same broadly edging the quills; inner secondaries edged with hoary gray; tail black, most of the feathers with large square white spots on the inner webs and whitish edging of the outer; bill and feet flesh-color more or less obscured. The Q resembles the 2, but there is no black on the head, and the yellow places are not so bright; yellow of the back often wanting. ¢ 9, in winter: The yellowish of the upper parts changed to olive-gray, but the yellow of other parts often as bright as in summer, and the black of the g’s head the same. Size of tristis, or rather less; an elegant species. California, Arizona, and New Mexico. General habits the same as those of C. tristis; nest and eggs indistinguishable. A. psal'tria. (Gr. aArpia, psaltria, a lutist. Fig. 221.) ARKANSAWGOLDFINCH. 4, adult: Upper parts uniform olive-green, without any black; below yellow; crown black, this not extending below eyes; wings black, most of the quills and the greater coverts white-tipped, and the primaries white at base; tail black, the outermost three pairs of feathers with a long rectangular white spot on the inner web. Q and young similar, but not so bright, and no black on the head; sometimes, also, no decided white spots on the tail. Length 4.25— 4 4.50; wing 2.30; tail 2.00. Plains to the Fic. 221, —Arkansaw Goldfinch, reduced. (After Pacific, U. 8., southerly; N. at least to the Audubon.) head-waters of the Platte. A pretty species, of the same habits as the common Goldfinch ; nest aud eggs the same. Southward this form passes directly into A. p. arizo/ne. (Lat., of Arizona.) Arizona GoLprinca. The upper parts mixed olive and black in about equal amounts ; thus leading directly into A. p. mexica/nus. (Lat. Mexican. Fig. 222.) Mexican Gouprincu. The upper parts con- 218. 72. 219. 356 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES — OSCINES. tinuously-black, and the black of the crown extending below the eyes, enclosing the olive under eyelid. Mexican border and southward. This bird looks quite unlike typical psaltria, but the gradation through var. arizone is perfect; and mexicana, moreover, leads directly into var. columbiana, a Central American form in which the tail-spots are very small or wanting. The females of these several varieties cannot be distin- guished with certainty. A. nota‘tus. (Lat. notatus, noted in any way.) BLACK-HEADED GOoLDpFINCH. 4, adult: Bright yellow, obscured on the back, head all around glossy black, extending on fore-breast ; wings black, with large basal area on all the quills yellow, forming a conspicuous patch ; tail black, basal half or more of all the feathers but the iniddle pair yellow. Wing 2.70; tail 1.80; bill extrernely acute, much as in Fie. 292. — Mexican Goldfinch, reduced. Carduels or Chrysomitris proper. South and Cen- (After Audubon.) tral Am. and Mexico, a straggler in U. 8. (2 “Kentucky,” Audubon.) PLECTRO'PHANES. (Gr. aAnxtpov, plectron, a certain instrument; gaivw, I appear; alluding to the hind claw.) Bill very small and truly conic, well exhibiting ‘‘ emberizine” or “bunting ” characters; i. e., strong angulation of commissure; inflected cutting edges; a palatal knob. Culmen slightly curved; gonys perfectly straight, and very short, less in length than width of bill; lower mandible heavier than upper. A dense nasal ruff. Wings very long and pointed; Ist or lst and 2d quills longest, rest rapidly graduated. Tail 4 shorter than wings, nearly square. Tarsus longer than middle toe without claw; lateral toes of subequal lengths, and much shorter than the middle one. Claws slender and compressed, with deep lateral grooves at base; hind claw lengthened and less curved than the rest, but not straight. Gullet very distensible. Sexes alike. Colors very different with season; in summer ¢ entirely black and white. One species, circumpolar. ‘Terrestrial, gregarious. P. niva/lis. (Lat. nivalis, snowy ; nix, nivis, snow. Fig. 223.) Snow Bunrine. Snow- FLAKE. 6, in full dress: Pure white; the bill, feet, middle of back, scapulars, primaries except at base, most inner secondaries, bastard quills, and several tail-feathers, black. Length about 7.00 ; extent 12.50-13.00; wing 4.00-4.25 ; tail 2.50-2.75. In less perfect summer dress, black of the back, inner secondaries and tail- feathers varied with white. 9, in breeding plumage: The black impure or brownish, and most or all of the upper parts brownish-black, varied with white. Rather smaller. Dimen- sions of many specimens of both sexes : length 6.50-7.00; extent 12.00-13.00; wing 4.00- 4.25; tail 2.50-2.75; bill 0.40; tarsus 0.80; middle toe and claw 0.90; hind toe and claw 0.67-0.75 ; claw alone 0.33-0.44. Adults, in winter, as generally seen in the U. S. (where black-and-white birds are rarely if ever Fie. 223,— Snow Bunting, in summer, reduced. found): Upper parts overcast with rich warm (Sheppard del. Nichols sc.) chestnut-brown and grayish-brown, mixed with the black of the back, and clouding the other upper parts which are white in summer, becoming dusky or even blackish on the head; this brown also usually forming a patch on the ears, a collar on the breast, edging of the inner wing- and tail-feathers, and a wash on the flanks; but specimens vary interminably; other parts white or black as in summer; bill FRINGILLIDZ: FINCHES, BUN. TIN GS, SPARROWS, ETC. 857 yellowish, usually black-tipped, but drying reddish-brown. Fledglings: Dark ashy- gray above, and on the fore parts below this color overlaid with brown, and streaked on the back with dusky; below, from the breast, white; lateral tail-feathers mostly white; inner secondaries black with brown edging. A very notable bird, inhabiting the northern hemi- sphere, breeding in arctic regions, whence migrating south in vast flocks with the snow, as if one with these pure crystallizations. Thousands whirl into the U.S. in the fall on the wings of the storm, relieving by their animated presence the desolation of places exposed to the ® ‘fury of the blast. South regularly only to the Northern States, but often the roving flocks 73. 220. reach 35°. Nest on the ground in the sphagnum and tussocks of arctic regions, of a great quantity of grass and moss, lined profusely with feathers: eggs 4-6, very variable in size and color, about 0.90 X 0.65, white or whitish, speckled, veined, blotched, and marbled with Beep browns and neutral tints. CENTRO'PHANES. (Gr. xévrpov, kentron, nail, claw; gaivo, phaino, I appear; the hind claw lengthened and straightened.) Lonespurs. Characters of Plectrophanes; hind claw and its digit more developed ; longer than the middle; bill relatively and absolutely larger, rather “fringilline” than thoroughly ‘‘ emberizine,” but still with a palatal knob; no decided nasal ruff, but antrorse plumules in nasal fosse ; a little tuft at base of rictus. Wings less acute, the point formed by lst-3d primaries, 4th abruptly shorter; tail emarginate. Sexes very unlike: @ with a black hood and chestnut cervical collar. Gregarious, terrestrial. , Analysis of Adult Males. Whole head and throat black; belly white ; bill yellow; feet black . ........ lapponicus 220 Crown black; whole under parts fawn-colored ; feet flesh-colored. . . . . 1... a. pictus 221 Crown black; throat white; belly black or mahogany; feetdark. . . ...4.4 ornatus 222 C. lappon/icus. (Lat. lapponicus, of Lapponia, Lapp-land. Figs. 43, Deuce Lapianp Lone- spur. , in full dress (seldom seen in U. S.): g Ry: Whole head, throat and breast jet-black, bor- dered with bufty or whitish, which forms a post-ocular stripe separating black of crown from that of sides of head, sometimes contin- ued to the bill. A broad cervical chestnut col- lar, separated from the black cap by whitish or buffy line and nuchal spot. Upper parts brownish-black completely streaked with buff or whitish edges of the feathers ; under parts white, the sides streaked with black. Wings dusky, with pale or brownish edgings of the feathers, but no strong markings. Tail like wings, with large oblique white spaces on outer 3 feathers. Bill yellow, black-tipped. Legs and feet black. Length about 6.50; extent 11.25; wing 3.50-3.75; tail 2.50-2.75 ; _ Fig. 224,— Lapland Longspur, in summer, reduced. tarsus 0.75; middle toe and claw rather more; (Sheppard del. Nichols sc.) hind claw about 0.50, slender, sharp, and little curved. @, adult, in winter: The black hood overcast with brown or gray tips of the feathers, or otherwise imperfect. Chestnut collar also overlaid with gray. Edges of secondaries and wing-coverts ruddy-brown; sides of flanks washed with brown. White tail-spots less extensive. Yellow of bill obscured. 9, in breed- ing plumage: Upper parts of body, wings and tail, as in g. No continuous pure black on sides of head, chin, or throat. Cervical collar indicated, but dull and obscured. Black of crown overlaid with gray; superciliary and postocular stripe buffy ; sides of head blackish, overlaid with gray; throat similarly varied, but chin nearly white; on the whole, the pattern 221. R22 358 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. —PASSERES — OSCINES. of the @’s black hood clearly indicated, but interrupted and ill-defined. Sides of breast and belly with few small sharp dark streaks, instead of heavy black stripes; other under parts as in the @. Bill obscure yellowish, dusky-tipped; feet dark brown, not black. Rather smaller. & 2, young, in winter, as usually seen in U. 8., without any continuous black, resemble the adult 9 as to coloration of head and fore parts, and are like winter ¢ in other respects. The cervical collar may be scarcely appreciable, but usually shows a trace at least ; sides often quite brown. Fledglings: Continuously streaked on the upper and fore parts with blackish and brownish-yellow; wings and tail broadly edged with chestnut; bill dark; feet pale. A species of cireumpolar distribution, like the last; breeding range and winter rovings much the same, but less commonly observed in the U. 8. South irregularly to the Middle States, Ohio, Colorado, ete. Nesting like P. nivalis; eggs 4-6, 0.80 x 0.62, dark-colored, very heavily mottled and clouded with chocolate-brown, through which the greenish-gray ground scarcely appears. C. pictus. (Lat. pictus, painted.) Parintep Lonespur. Adult ¢: Cervical collar and entire under parts rich fawn color; crown and sides of head black, bounded below by a white line, and interrupted by a white superciliary and auricular line and white occipital spot. Upper parts streaked with black and brownish-yellow. Lesser and middle wing-coverts black, tipped with white, forming conspicuous patches. One or two outer tail-feathers mostly white. No white ontherest. Legs pale or flesh-colored. Size of lapponicus. Length 6.50; extent 11.25; wing 3.75 ; tail 2.50; tarsus 0.75 ; middle toe and claw, about the same; hind toe and claw, rather less (C. ornatus is much less in all its dimensions). Young, and generally in winter: Bill dusky- brown above and at tip, paler below; feet light brown (drying darker) ; toes rather darker. Entire under parts rich yellowish-brown, or buffy (in C. ornatus never thus); paler on the chin and throat, which, with the fore-breast, are obsoletely streaked with dusky; the tibiee white. Tail white only onthe two or three outer feathers (in C. ornatus all the feathers, excepting some- times the central pair, are white at the base). Upper parts much as in the adult, but the distinc- tive head-markings wanting, or only obscurely indicated. Interior N. Am. from the region of the Yukon, McKenzie, Saskatchewan and upper Missouri to the prairies of Illinois in winter. It is not found in the Atlantic States, but is common on the prairies of Dakota, Montana, and southward, associated in the fall with C. ornatus, but breeding mostly farther north. Habits and general aspect of ornatus, but easily distinguished by larger size, buffy under parts, black and white wing-patch, and white only on some lateral instead of all of the tail-feathers. Nest on ground; eggs size of lapponicus, colored more like ornatus. C. orna/tus. (Lat. ornatus, adorned), CHESTNUT-COLLARED LonG@sPuR. BLACK-SHOTL- DERED LonespuR. WuuitTs-Taitep Lonespur. , in full dress: Cervical collar intense chestnut. Crown black; a whitish spot on nape, and broad white superciliary stripe. Auricu- lars black, mixed with the color of the throat; throat and most of the sides of head below eyes rusty-white, changing to pure white which extends around sides of neck, partly bordering the chestnut collar. Breast and belly lustrous black, often mixed with intense ferruginous or mahogany feathers, sometimes largely overlaid with this rich sienna-color. Lining of wings pure white. Sides of body, flanks, lower belly and under tail-coverts, white, all but the last usually rusty-tinged. Back, rump, and scapulars brownish-black, varied with grayish-brown edges of the feathers. Wings dark brown without decided markings, though the feathers are pale-edged, excepting jet-black lesser coverts, with or without white tips. Tail like wings, but two or three’ lateral feathers entirely white, and all the rest basally white in decreasing amount: in flight, the ‘‘ white tail” is very conspicuous. Bill blackish-plumbeous ; feet dark. Smaller than the foregoing: Length 5.75-6.00, rarely 6.25 ; extent 10.25-10.75, rarely 11.00; wing 3.00-3.30; tail 2.00-2.30. 9, in full dress: Rather smaller; size averaging about the lesser figures just given. Upper parts, wings, and tail as before, but lesser coverts not black ; chest- nut collar obscured ; crown like back, separated from the back-markings by a slight rufous 74. 223. FRINGILLIDA: FINCHES, BUNTINGS, SPARROWS, ETC. 359 dusky-streaked interval. Sides of head, and throat, whitish, with dusky speckling on cheeks and ears. Under parts dull brown, fading to white on belly and crissum, the feathers some- times with dusky streaks. Thus an obscure bird: but observe generic characters, and exten- sively white tail. @, adult, after the fall moult: The full dress is confined to the breeding season ; afterward, the colors are much obscured. Cervical collar and black of head and belly veiled by gray ends of the feathers, but visible on raising the plumage. Crown like back, with concealed black; superciliary stripe and other distinctive head-markings obliterated; bill brownish-plumbeous. The changes in the 9 are parallel, but there is less to be altered. Young & 9, before first moult: Whole upper parts blackish-brown, with semicircular gray or whitish markings, and a slightly lighter cervical interval. Throat definitely white. Under parts dull brown, heavily streaked with dusky, especially on the breast. Much light brown edging and tipping of the quills and wing-coverts. Feet and bill pale. This stage is transi- tory; with the first moult the young acquire the characters above described for the winter. A beautiful species of the interior plains, British America and U. 8. and Mexico; breeds in pro- fusion on the prairies of Dakota, Montana, and whole upper Missouri and Saskatchewan regions, S. to Kansas or further; has occurred in New England; rarely W. of the Rocky Mts. Breeds in June and July; nest on ground, sunken flush with surface, of a few grasses and weed- stalks ; eggs usually 4, about 0.80 X 0.60, white clouded with purplish shell-markings, gray the prevailing tone, this irregularly dotted and veined with sharp dark-brown surface-marks. Young covered with whitish down. In the breeding season the birds are fond of soaring and singing as they fly, rising to great height and letting themselves down with the wings held like parachutes; they curiously resemble butterflies when so engaged. The white tail shows very conspicuously. Ordinary flight wayward and vacillating ; song weak und twittering, but pleas- ing. The birds flock as soon as young are fairly on wing, and leave the northern prairies in October. They are associated in the breeding season with R. maccownt, and joined in October by P. pictus and lapponicus froin the north. RHYNCHO’PHANES. (Gr. fuyyos, rhugchos, beak, and daive, phaino, I appear; in allusion to the turgid bill.) Lonespurs. Similar to Centrophanes, but departing in the direction of Montifringilla (an exotie genus). Bill turgid, very stout and large in comparison; culmen rising high on forehead, its outline almost a little concave. Hind toe and claw less developed. Hind claw not longer than its digit, not notably straightened. Sexes dissimilar. No cervical collar. & with black pectoral crescent and red bend of wing. Habits of Centrophanes strictly. R. maccown'i. (To Capt. J. P. McCown, U.S. A. Fig. 225.) Buack-BrEastep Lone- spur. Bay-wincEep Lonespur. 4, in full dress: Upper parts slate-gray, streaked with dusky and grayish or yellowish- brown, especially on the interscap- ulars. No cervical collar, but a chestnut patch on the wings, formed by the median coverts. Crown jet- black, bounded by a white super- ciliary line ; sides of head whitish, but auriculars more or less slaty. Throat white, bounded by firm black maxillary stripes. Breast jet-black, in broad crescentic form, sharply defined against the white throat, shading behind into slaty- blackish, becoming more and more mixed with white on the belly and : Fic. 225. —- Black-breasted Longspur, reduced. (Sheppard del, sides, till posteriorly the parts are Nichols sc.) 360 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES — OSCINES. pure white; lining of wings white. All the tail-feathers, except the middle pair, and bases and tips of intermediate ones, white, ending squarely across both webs. Bill blackish-plum- beous, pale at base below; feet brownish-black. Length about 6.00; extent 11.00-11.50; wing 3.30-3.60; tail 2.25; bill 0.50; tarsus 0.67; middle toe and claw rather less. 9, in breeding plumage: Upper parts, wings, and tail as in the ¢— coverts with at least a trace of chestnut, and tail displaying the rectangular shape of the white area; crown like back in- stead of black ; no black maxillary stripes, and breast-crescent slaty-gray ; throat whitish ; bill and feet yellowish-brown, more or less obscured. The seasonal changes of plumage, as well as the sexual differences, are parallel with those of P. ornatus; there is the same veiling of black parts by gray, etc. Though so different from ornatus in full dress, the bird is very similar in other conditions, age for age, and sex for sex: but larger; no trace of chestnut on nape; trace at least on wing-coverts; and peculiar pattern of tail-feathers shown as soon as they sprout and never lost. Very young birds have curved edgings of the feathers of the upper parts; the under parts quite purely white, with some dusky streaks, and a buff suffusion on the breast. Region of the upper Missouri and its tributaries; N. to the Saskatchewan ; not known W. of the Rocky Mts.; 8. to Texas and Mexico; E. to Kansas and probably Iowa and Missouri. Breeds in profusion on the prairies from Cvlorado northward, in parts of Dakota and in Montana associated with P. ornatus; winters from Colorado southward. Its habits and man- ners are the same as those of P. ornatus. It has the same soaring singing flight, and para- chute-like descent, ‘‘ sliding down on the scale of its own music ;” nesting the same; eggs re- sembling the paler varieties of P. ornatus; 0.80 x 0.60. 75, PASSER/CULUS. (Lat. passerculus, a little sparrow; diminutive of passer, a sparrow.) Savanna SPARROWS. GROUND Sparrows. Bill rather slenderly conical, culmen, commissure and gonys about straight (bill more turgid in P. rostratus and guttatus). Wings longer than tail, point formed by outer 4 primaries, of nearly equal lengths ; inner secondaries enlarged and flowing, reaching nearly or quite to end of primaries in the closed wing. Tail short, nearly even or little emarginate, of narrow pointed feathers. Feet slender, pale-colored, usually reaching when outstretched nearly or quite to end of tail; tarsus and middle toe with claw of about equal lengths ; lateral toes of equal lengths, their claws underreaching base of ‘middle claw ; hind toe rather longer than its claw, which has no special development. Plumage thickly streaked everywhere above, and below on breast and sides; crown with median light line and lateral dark ones; no decided markings on tail-feathers. In most species edge of wing yellow, and traces at least of yellow on head; no red, blue, or greenish. Sexes alike. Embracing small plain streaked ground sparrows of slender build, mostly with a touch of lemon-yellow on edge of wing, long inner secondaries and pale slender legs; one species abounding in the East, others of more special distribution. Analysis of Species and Varieties. Bill typical. Crown with median light stripe. Inner secondaries seldom quite equalling primaries. No decided lemon-yellow on edge of wing. ap of head with two black stripes, and suffused with rich brownish-yellow . : . « bairdi 224 Bill typical. Crown with median light stripe. Inner secondaries at full length. Edge of wing with lemon-yellow; same shade on head, if any. Upper parts much variegated ; under white, with sharp streaking. Large, pale; little or no yellowish; length 6.00 or more; wing 3.25. Coast of New England princeps 22 Large, dark, with decided yellow; length about 6.00; wing 3.00. Northwest coast samdvicensis 226 Medium, of average coloration; length about 5.50; wing 2.75. N. Am. at large . . + savanna 227 Medium; pale; size of savana proper. Interior and western. . . . alaudinus 229 Small, dark; yellow very decided. Length about 5.25; wing 2.50. ‘West coast oe . « « anthinus 228 Bill enlarged, turgid, with convex culmen. Crown-stripe obsolete. No yellow on head or wing. Larger: bill 0.50. Length 5.30; wing near 3,00, Pale brownish-gray, with obsolete streaking; the streaks below light brown. Coast ofCalifornia . 2 0. 1 1 we te ee - rostratus 230 Smaller : bill 0.33. Length 5.00; wing 2.50. Darker, the streaks below dusky, L. Cala. . guttatus 231 224, P.bairdi. (To Prof. 8. F. Baird. Fig. 226.) Barrv’s Savanna Sparrow. $9, adult, in breeding plumage: With a general resemblance to P. savana. Inner secondaries less elon- 225. FRINGILLIDA: FINCHES, BUNTINGS, SPARROWS, ETC. 361 gated, rarely equalling the primaries in the closed wings. First 4 quills about equal and longest. Hind toe and claw about equalling the middle toe and claw, its claw about equalling the digit. Tail shorter than wing, lightly double-rounded (central and outer pair of feathers both a little shorter than the intermediate ones). Top of head streaked with black and rich brownish- yellow, or buff, the former predominating laterally, the latter chiefly as a median stripe, but also suffusing the nape and sides of head in greater or less degree. Back varied with brownish-black and gray, together with a little bay, the two latter colors forming the edg- ings of the interscapulars and scapulars. Rump variegated with gray and. chestnut-brown, different in shade from that of the back. Under parts dull white, usually with a faint ochrey tinge on the breast, but often without; a circlet of small, sharp, sparse, dusky streaks across the breast, continuous with others, longer and mostly lighter, along the whole sides, and with others, again, extending up the sides of the neck into small vague maxillary and auricular markings. When the feathers are perfectly arranged these lateral head-markings are seen to be a post-ocular stripe just over the auriculars, a post-auricular spot, a streak starting from the angle of the mouth, and another heavier one parallel with and below this, running directly into the pec- toral ones. Quills without special markings, except- ing the elongated inner secondaries, which correspond with the scapulars. Tail the same, slightly whitish- edged. Upper mandible mostly dark, lower pale. Feet flesh-colored. Length 5.10-5.85, averaging 5.67; extent 8.60-9.85, average 9.50; wing 2.75- 3.00; tail 2.00-2.25; culmen about 0.40; tarsus about 0.75 ; middle toe and claw, and hind toe and claw, each, rather less; 9 averages rather smaller. Autumnal plumage: Soft, with brighter, more suf- fused colors, in bolder pattern. Whole top and sides of head, as well as nape and part of neck, suffused with rich buff, in many instances as bright a golden- brown as that on the head of Stwrus auricapillus. A paler, rather ochraceous shade of the same also suffus- Fig. 226.—Baird’s Savanna Sparrow, re- ing the whole fore under-parts. Pectoral and lateral ‘ced. (Sheppard del. Nichols sc.) dusky streaks, as well as the two rows on each side of the throat, large, heavy, diffuse. Bay and whitish edgings of the secondaries broad and conspicuous, contrasting with the black central fields. Whitish edgings of tail-feathers the same ; and, in general, the same character is stamped over allthe upper plumage. Newly-fledged young have each feather of the dorsal plumage con- spicuously bordered with white, producing a set of semicircles, much as in Neocorys spraguii. There is the saine general buffy suffusion of the head and fore parts as iu autumnal adults, but the tint is dull and ochrey. The markings below have a short, broad, guttiform character. When just from the nest, the edging of the secondaries and tail-feathers is of a peculiar pinkish- rusty shade. Central Plains, U. 8.; N. to British Provinces; E. nearly to Red River of the North; 8. to Texas, N. Mex. and Arizona; W. to the Rocky Mts., and beyond. An interesting sparrow, long almost unknown till I found it breeding in profusion in Dakota, taking 75 speci- mens one season. In general habits and appearance in life quite like savanna sparrows ; mix- ing freely with these and Neocorys, Hremophila, and Plectrophanes ornatus. Song peculiar, of two or three tinkling syllables and a trill, like zip-zip-zip-er-r-r-r. Nest on ground, a slight structure of grasses and weed-stalks, about 4 inches across ; eggs 5, 0.80 x 0.65, white, irregu- larly speckled and blutehed with pale and dark reddish-browns, laid in June and July. P. prin’ceps. (Lat. princeps, chief.) Ipswich Savanna Sparrow. : General appear- ance of a large savanna sparrow, but with a resemblance to a bay-winged bunting. Upper 226. 362 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. —PASSERES — OSCINES. parts grayish-brown, with blackish rufous-edged centres of the feathers; median crown-stripe not strong, and scarcely yellowish ; a whitish superciliary stripe, not yellow anteriorly ; ear- coverts grayish, with a rufous tinge. Scapulars, coverts and secondaries blackish-brown, broadly edged with rufous, brightest on the secondaries; scapulars also edged with white, and both median and greater coverts white-tipped. Tail brownish, tipped and edged with whitish. Whole under parts white, breast and sides of throat and body streaked, the streaks dusky- centred, rufous-edged. Bill dark brown, base of under mandible paler; eyes and feet brown. Length 6.30; extent 11.00; wing 3.25; tail 2.60; bill 0.45; tarsus 0.95; middle toe and claw 1.05; hind toe and claw 0.72. (Foregoing condensed from original description of the type, taken in winter. Following as redescribed by Ridgway.) Bill of size and shape as in P. bairdi exactly ; inner secondaries little lengthened. Outstretched feet not reaching to end of tail. In color almost exactly as in P. rostratus, but different in markings; above light ashy, the dorsal feathers light sandy-brown centrally, their shafts black. Surface of wings pale sandy-brown, the feathers darker-ceutred ; inner secondaries with whitish outer webs, and con- spicuous black central field. Crown becoming darker brown anteriorly, where an indistinct median line of ochrey-white ; an indistinct superciliary stripe, and conspicuous maxillary stripe of the same, the latter beciarel above by a narrow dusky stripe; lores and cheeks like the superciliary stripe ; auriculars like crown. Below, white, slightly ashy on flanks ; whole breast and sides of body with narrow streaks of blackish-centred sandy-brown ; belly, erissum, and lining of wings immaculate; throat with a few minute specks, but on cael side a bridle of suffuse streaks. 9: wing 2.90; tail 2.40; culmen 0.50; tarsus 0.85. (Following notes taken by me of a specimen received from Maynard; 9, Ipswich, Oct. 18, 1872: No. 73,553, Mus. 8. 1.) ‘About size of largest P. sundvicensis from Alaska. No trace of yellow on head or wing. Upper parts even paler and grayer than extreme of P. alaudinus from the West — the streaks of upper parts having only shaft-lines of blackish-brown, brown-edged, the edges of the feathers finally gray; nape, rump, and upper tail-coverts gray, scarcely streaked at all. Crown streaked like interscapulars, but in smaller pattern; divided by a median light line. A long whitish (not yellowish) superciliary line; lore gray below this. Inner second- aries and greater coverts blackish, broadly edged on outer webs with bay, fading to whitish at tips; median coverts similar, but more noticeably whitish-tipped; these edgings of wing- feathers making the strongest coloration of all the upper parts. Below, white; throat and middle of belly only immaculate, flanks a little shaded with gray ; whole breast, sides of neck and body, and crissum, with brown streaks, pale in comparison with those of P. savana, and rather suffuse. On the sides of head below auriculars the stripes tend to form two chains —a maxillary one and another above it separated by an immaculate interval. Resembles P. rostratus in diffuse grayish coloration and lack of yellow on head or wing. Looks as a hybrid between P. savana and Powcetes might be supposed to do.” Seems distinct, but not firmly estab- lished as a species. Coast of New England, especially sand-hills of the Massachusetts coast ; general range unknown; perhaps a local race. Curiously similar in some respects to the Californian litoral form P. rostratus. P. sandvicen’sis. (Of the Sandwich, one of the Aleutian Islands.) Similar to the ordinary savanna sparrow: averaging in size about the maximum of the latter: length about 6.00; wing 3.00; tail 2.25; eulmen 0.45; depth of bill at base 0.25; tarsus, and middle toe and claw, each, 0.80. Bill nearly twice as bulky as that of ordinary savana. A firm bright yellow super- ciliary stripe from nostril to eye, thence fading over auriculars (i. e., chrysops, Pall.) Under parts precisely as in savana; upper similar, but grayer—less rufous and more gray in the edgings of the feathers. Such are the peculiarities of a specimen from the very spot whence Latham and Pennant deseribe their bird; they are appreciable on laying the skin alongside a large varying series of Eastern savana. Alaska. But it does not follow that all the Alaskan and Aleutian savanna sparrows are like this. R27. 229. 228. 230. FRINGILLIDZ: FINCHES, BUNTINGS, SPARROWS, ETC. 3638 P.s.sava/na. (Spanish sabana or savana,ameadow. Fig, 227.) Common SAVANNA SPAR- Row. ¢ 9, adult, in spring: Thickly streaked everywhere above, on sides, and across breast ; a superciliary line, and edge of the wing, yellowish; lesser wing-coverts not chestnut; legs flesh- color; bill rather slender and acute; tail nearly even, its outer feathers not white; longest secondary nearly as long as the primaries in the closed wing. Above, brownish-gray, streaked with blackish, whitish-gray and pale bay, the streaks largest on interscapulars, smallest on cervix, the crown divided by an obscure whitish line ; sometimes an obscure yellowish suffusion about head besides the streak over the eye. Below, white, pure or with faint buffy shade, thickly streaked, as just stated, with dusky— the individual spots edged with brown, mostly arrow-shaped, running in chains along the sides, and often aggregated in an obscure blotch on the breast. Wings dusky, the coverts and inner secondaries black-edged and tipped with bright bay; tail-feathers rather nar- row and pointed, dusky, not noticeably marked. Extreme dimensions of both sexes: Length 5.20-6.00; extent 8.50- 10.00! wing 2.40-3.00; tail 1.75-2.25 ; tarsus 0.75-0.88 ; but such figures are rare. Average of both sexes 5.25; extent 8.75; wing 2.60; tail 2.00; tarsus 0.84. g usu- ally 5.30-5.60; extent 9.00-9.50; wing %.67-2.75; Q usually 5.00-5.30; extent 8.75-9.00; wing 2.50-2.67. Ordinarily, bill about 0.40; tarsus, middle toe and claw together 1.50. Fall and winter specimens much more brightly colored than spring : = and summer ones; the young particularly Fig. 227. Common Savanna Sparrow, reduced. (Shep- having much ochrey or buffy suffusion, in- pard del. Nichols sc.) stead of clean colors, more brown and bay, instead of dusky and gray. It is not easy for an un- practised person to discriminate the small sparrows, and so variable a one as this offers' special difficulty ; attention to the points of form as well as of color is requisite. North Amer. at large, chiefly Eastern, very abundant everywhere in fields, on plains, by the wayside, and along the sea-shore ; a thoroughly terrestrial bird, migratory, and in the fall somewhat gregarious. Has an agreeable though weak song in the spring. Winters at least from Middle States southward, and breeds at least from New England to highest latitudes. Nest sunken in ground flush with surface, of a few grasses and weed-stalks; eggs 4-6, 0.70 x 0.50, varying interminably in their motley coloring; usually heavily clouded and blotched with dark brown; most like those of Poacetes, but smaller. P.s. alaudi/nus. (Lat. alaudinus, lark-like; no applicability.) Lark Savanna SpaRRow. So similar to the last as only to be distinguished by rather duller and paler coloration on an average, and weaker bill, about 0.35 long by 0.20 deep at the base. If the “savanna spar- row” be split into several races, this may possibly be allowed with the rest. Western U. S. P. s. anthi/nus. (Lat. anthinus, pipit-like ; no applicability.) Prerr Savanna SPARROW. A form from the Pacific marshes, especially the coast of Cala., better marked than the last. Bill as long as in savana, but slenderer; under parts more sharply, closely, darkly and extensively streaked. Yellow eyebrow and bend of wing quite as well marked as in savand, and therefore contrasting with the paler and grayer alaudinus with which it is associated. P. rostra/tus. (Lat. rostratus, beaked; rostrum, beak.) BEAKED Savanna SPARROW. San Dreco SAVANNA SPARROW. SEA-SHORE SPARROW. With the form of a Savanna, but the bill elongated as in Ammodramus, yet very stout and turgid, with decidedly convex 231. 76. 232. 364 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES— OSCINES. culmen 0.50 long. No yellowish over eye or on edge of wing; no evident median stripe on crown. Brownish-gray, obsoletely streaked with dark brown, most noticeable on crown and middle of back; entire under parts dull white, confluently streaked with clear brown every- where except on throat, middle of belly, and crissum. Wings and tail dusky-gray, the rectrices with paler edges, the primaries with whitish edges, the wing-coverts and secondaries broadly edged and tipped with grayish-bay. An obscure whitish superciliary line. Bill light brown, under mandible paler or yellowish; legs pale. Length 5.25; wing 2.50-2.75 ; tail 2.00. Pacifie coast, U. S., especially California ; a curious species, common, maritime, representing, with var. anthinus, the Ammodrami in the marshes of the seashore. P. gutta'‘tus. (Lat. guttatus, spotted; gutta, a drop.) St. Lucas Savanna Sparrow. Bill shaped as in rostratus, relatively as stout, but smaller; culmen 0.45; depth at base 0.25. Bird smaller: pattern of coloration the same, but tone darker; streaking of the under parts sharper, heavier, and darker. Instead of the light brownish-gray of rostratus the upper parts are here dark, almost olivaceous, brown, so that the dark streaking of the crown and inter- seapulars is less noticeable. The same difference characterizes the under parts. Cape St. Lucas. Oss. There is a sparrow of the L. Cala. Gulf coast and islands like guttatus : larger; wing 2.75; bill 0.50, at base 0.30 deep, thus as large as that of rostratus, but regularly conic, with straight culmen suddenly deflected at end, and perfectly straight commissure; upper mandible and tip of lower blackish; rest apparently yellowish. An n. sp.? P. sanctorum N., Mus. §. L., San Benito Isl. (See Pr. U. S. Nat. Mus., March, 1883, p. 538.) POG'CETES. (Gr. én, poe, grass; olxérys, otketes, an inhabitant.) Grass SPARROWS. Bill moderate, culmen, gonys and commissure nearly straight. Wings long, longer than tail, tip formed by first 4 quills; inner secondaries somewhat elongate, less so than in Passerculus. Tail emarginate, with rather broad firm feathers, not acuminate at ends. Tarsus about as long as middle toe without claw; lateral toes of about equal lengths, their claws scarcely reaching base of middle claw; -hind claw as usual, not longer than its digit. Plumage thickly streaked everywhere above, on sides below and across breast; bend of wing chestnut; 1-3 outer tail feathers white ; crown without light median stripe; no trace of yellow anywhere. P. grami/neus. (Lat. gramineus, applied to a grass-loving bird; gramen, grass. Fig. 228.) Grass Fincu. Bay-winerp BUNTING. VESPER-BIRD. Above, grayish-brown, closely and uniformly marked with dusky- centred brown-edged streaks, and further variegated by pale gray edging of the feathers. Crown quite like back, though the marking is in smaller pattern ; super- ciliary line and eye-ring whitish. Under parts dull white, usually noticeably buff- tinged in the streaked areas, thickly streaked across breast and along sides with dusky- centred brown-edged streaks, anteriorly tending to concentrate in lateral chains bounding the white throat; above this Fic. 228,—Bay-winged Bunting, reduced. (Sheppard chain a maxillary brown stripe ; auriculars del. Nichols sc.) varied with light and dark brown. Quills fuscous, the longer ones with grayish-white edging, the secondaries and greater and median coverts with broad firm brown and white edges and tips ; lesser coverts bright chestnut, whence the name “bay-winged.” Outer tail-feather largely or wholly white, next pair or two pairs largely white in decreasing amount. Upper mandible brown; lower, and the feet, fiesh- 233. 77. 234. FRINGILLIDZ: FINCHES, BUNTINGS, SPARROWS, ETC. 365 colored or yellowish. Length 5.75-6.25 ; extent 10.00-10.50 ; wing 2.80-3.25 ; tail 2.25-2.75. North Amer. at large, breeding throughout its range, but partially migratory, chiefly nesting northward, and wintering southward. A large, stout, full-chested sparrow of plain appearance, but recognized on sight by the bay bend of the wing and white lateral tail feathers, — the latter conspicuous as it flies. Very abundant in fields, along roadsides; terrestrial, gregarious to some extent when not breeding. Nest sunken in the ground, bulky, thick-rimmed, deeply cupped ; eggs 4-6, heavily colored, as in P. savana, 0.80 x 0.60; two or three broods may be reared. One of the sweetest songsters among the sparrows. P. g. confi/nis. (Lat. confinis, near.) WESTERN GRAss Fincn. The paler, grayer form from the dry western regions. COTURNI/CULUS. (Lat. coturnix, a quail; cotwrniculus, a little quail.) GRASSHOPPER Sparrows. Bill (in passerinus and henslowi) short and stout, with curved culmen (in lecontit slenderer and more elongate). Wings extremely short and rounded, so that the inner secondaries reach nearly to the tip when closed, without special elongation on their part. Tail of variable length according to species, weak, of narrow, lanceolate feathers, in one species very tapering and acuminate. Feet stout, much as in Ammodramus. Plumage greatly-variegated ; buffy tints conspicuous on under parts. Contains 3 remarkably distinct N. Am. species of queer little sparrows of grass, weeds, and reeds, with another of 8. Am. (C. manimbe). They show a greater range of variation in form than our finical modern genera usually allow, and shade through C. lecontii into Ammodramus. The name is appropriate; C. passerinus curiously resembles a quail in miniature. Analysis of Species. Tail shorter than wings; outstretched feet reaching to or beyond itsend. Bill stout, brown. Adult not evi- dently streaked below ........ Beas . passerinus 234, 285 Tail equal to wings. Sharp maxillary, pectoral aid lateral Serb, Bill stout, brown. . . henslowi 28¢ Tail longer than wings ; outstretched feet not reaching its end. Billslender, bluish. Sharp lateral without pectoral or maxillary streaks . . ....- ae ae eer + « lecontii 237 C. passeri/nus. (Lat. passerinus, sparrow-like. Fig. 229.) YELLOW-WINGED SPaRRow. QuaIL SPARROW. GRASSHOPPER SrarRow. g 9, adult: Edge of oe conspicuously yel- low; lesser wing-coverts greenish-yellow; a yellow loral spot; short line over eye buffy- yellow. Crown with median stripe of pale brownish-yellow. Below, ochraceous or pale buff or tawny, fading to whitish on belly, not evidently streaked, though a few dark touches may appear on sides of breast. Above, sin- gularly variegated with black, gray, yellow- ish-brown and a peculiar purplish-bay, in short streaks and specks; the crown being nearly black with sharp median brownish- yellow stripe, the middle of the back chiefly black with bay and brownish-yellow edgings of the feathers, the cervical region and rump chiefly bay and gray. When the feathers are not disturbed, the peculiar pattern of the cervical region separates that of the crown and back ; the markings extend on the sides Fig. 229.— Yellow-winged Sparrow, reduced. (Shep- of the neck, but the sides of the head are pard del. Nichols sc.) piain, like the under parts. Wing-coverts and inner secondaries variegated in intricate pattern, the general effect like the back. Primaries and tail-feathers plain dusky, with narrow light edg- ings; outer tail-feathers paler, but not white. Feet flesh-colored. Small: length 4.80-5.25 ; 235. 236. 237. 366 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. —PASSERES — OSCINES. extent 8.00-8.50; wing 2 25-2.50; tail 2.00 or less, shorter than wing, outstretched feet reaching beyond it; rounded or rather double-ruunded at end, the feathers narrow and lance- olate. Bill very stout and full. In autumn, fresh-moulted birds are as usual richer in color, the markings more blended and diffuse, the fore parts below and the sides rich buffy brown, in which vague lighter and darker markings usually appear. Young: before the moult, are whitish below, with decided dusky inaxillar} and pectoral streaks, thus resembling C. henslowi. Eastern U. 8. and Canada, but not far north; breeds throughout its range; resident in the Southern States, elsewhere a migrant and summer visitant. Abundant in the rank herbage of old fields, but less frequently observed than it would be did it not hide so persistently in the herbage ; has a peculiar chirring note, like a grasshopper’s; nests on the ground; eggs 4-5, crystal white, flecked with reddish-brown, 0.72 x 0.64. C. p. perpal/lidus. (Lat. perpallidus, very pale.) BLEACHED YELLOW-WINGED SPARROW. Specimens from dry western regions are paler and grayer; less black and more slaty-gray on the upper parts, the ochrey crown stripe and edgings of the dorsal feathers, as well as the under parts generally, paler. ; Cc. hen/slowi. (To Prof. J. 8. Henslow, of England.) HmnsLow’s GRASSHOPPER SPARROW. Somewhat resembling a young C. passerinus. Under parts whitish, tinged strongly along the whole sides, across the breast, and on the flanks and crissum with buff, all these buff parts sharply and distinctly streaked with blackish in fine pattern; the pectoral streaks connecting along the sides of neck with decided black maxillary stripes. The brownish-yellow shade is very variable in extent and intensity, but it usually leaves only the throat and belly decidedly whitish. Ground-color of head and hind neck a peculiar pale olive-gray, with a decided greenish-yellow tinge; top of head with broad lateral blackish stripes, continued on the cervix in much smaller pattern, divided by a greenish-brownish-yellow median stripe. The peculiar color of the hind neck extending far around on sides of neck, and sides of head of much the same tint; a blackish post-ocular stripe bounding the auriculars above; below and anterior to them a black maxillary stripe starting from the angle of the mouth ; below this usually other maxillary streaks ; dark specks often behind auriculars. Dorsal and scapular feathers with broad black central field, then broadly chestnut, then mostly narrowly edged with whitish, these markings in bold pattern, and contrasting with the peculiar greenish-gray cervical region with its fine black streaks. Edge of wing yellow. Greater wing-coverts and most of the secondaries colored to correspond with the back, the closed wing showing chiefly chestnut with the black field of the three innermost secondaries. Tail-feathers extremely narrow and acute, brown, the inver at least with long blackish shaft stripe, and reddish-brown on inner webs. Bill brownish, usually quite dusky above, pale below; feet pale. Length scarcely 5.00; extent 7.50; wing and tail, each, 2.00-2.10; bill from extreme hase of culmen 0.45 ; 0.30 deep at base; tarsus-or middle toe and claw 0.65. Eastern U. &., strictly, N. to New England, not very commonly; W. to Nebraska. Not abundant on the whole, nor easily observed. Common about Washington, where it breeds, in fields and meadows; nest on the ground, in tufts of grass. Eggs 4-5, greenish-white, profusely speckled with reddish, 0.75 « 0.57. C. lecon'tii. (To Maj. J. Le Conte, of Philadelphia.) Lz Conrn’s GrassHOPPER SPARROW. Le Conte’s Buntinec. ¢ 9, adult: Bill smaller and slenderer than in either of the foregoing, dark horn-blue above, paler bluish below; iris black. Tail long, decidedly exceeding the wings when full grown, and remarkably graduated ; lateral feathers 4—-$ inch shorter than the central pair; all extremely narrow, tapering, and acuminate, even more so than in the sharp- tailed finch (Ammodramus caudacutus) ; outstretched feet not reaching to its end. Wings short and much rounded; primaries in closed wing hardly 4 inch longer than secondaries. Length 4.90-5.10; extent 6.90-7.10; wing 1.90-2.00; tail 2.00-2.25 or a little more; bill 0.40; tarsus 0.67. No trace of yellow on bend of wing, nor any yellow loral spot. No black maxillary or pectoral streaks; markings of under parts confined to sparse, sharp, blackish FRINGILLIDZ: FINCHES, BUNTINGS, SPARROWS, ETC. 367 streaks on the sides. General coloration more or less buff, according to age and season. Crown with black lateral stripes, separated by a whitish stripe becoming ochrey on forehead. Sides of head buff, brightest on the long broad superciliary line, enclosing slaty-gray auriculars, which are bordered above by a black pust-ocular line, sometimes chiefly appearing as a dark speck behind them. Cervical feathers bay, black-shafted and whitish-edged, forming a distinct inter- val between markings of back and crown. Dorsal feathers in bold pattern, with black terminal central field, little rufous and much whitish or buffy edging ; streaking extending ou rump and upper tail-coverts. Wing-coverts and inner secondaries colored boldly to correspond with the back. Under parts buffy-white, sometimes quite whitish, again much more buffy, with season, usually quite buff with only belly whitish. Fresh moulted fall birds are often entirely deep buff below, excepting the belly, which is white, in marked contrast. Young: Bill still smaller, reddish-brown instead of bluish; general color buff above, whitish below, more or less buffy on breast and sides; markings of upper parts black, without the bay and brown variegation, except on wings and tail, which are nearly as in the adults; sparse black streaks of under parts usually appearing across breast as well as on sides. An interesting, long-lost species, recently redis- covered: Yellowstone R. (Audubon, 1843); Texas (Lincecum); Dakota (Cowes, 1878); ‘Illinois (Welson, 1875) ; Iowa (Newton, 1875); Minnesota (Tiffany, 1878) ; South Carolina! (Loomis, 1881.) Approaching Ammodramus caudacutus in many respects, and inhabiting similar resorts in the interior. Nest and eggs still unknown. 78. AMMO'DRAMUS. (Gr. duos, ammos, sand; Spapeiv, dramein, to run.) SEA-sIDE SPAR- rows. Bill remarkably slender and lengthened for this family, with culmen decurved toward end, gonys straight, and sometimes an evident lobation of the cutting edge of the upper mandible. “Wings short and rounded, yet longer than tail; inner sec- ondaries, though not elongate, reaching nearly to end of primaries when wing is closed ; point formed by 2d-4th quills. Feet large and stout, reaching out- stretched about to end of tail; tarsus about equal to middle toe and claw in length ; lateral toes of equal lengths, very short, their claws underreaching base of middle claw. Tail shorter or not longer than wings, much rounded, of narrow, stiffish, sharp-pointed feath- ers. Embracing small streaky marsh sparrows, especially of the sea-coast, but not exclusively maritime, as long —- Fie 230 — Generic details of Ammodramus (4. caudacutus), supposed; remarkable for slenderness ™*- 82 (Ad. nat. del. E. C.) . of the bil, sharp narrow tail-feathers, and stout feet fitted for grasping slender swaying reeds. Edge of wing bright yellow; a yellow spot or buff stripe on head; upper parts olive-gray or quite blackish, streaky. Analysis of Species. Loral spot and edge of wing bright yellow. Upper parts olive-gray obscurely streaked . 2... 1. 1 2 1 ee ee + . maritimus 238 Upper parts quite blackish «1 ww 1 ww we ee ee nigrescens 239 A long buff superciliary stripe... . ae ae ee ee a ee ee a caudacutus 240-241 238. A. mari/timus. (Lat. maritimus, maritime, coast-wise; mare, the sea. Fig. 230.) SEA-sIDE Finca. Olive-gray, obscurely streaked on back and crown with darker and paler; below, whit- ish, often washed with brownish, shaded on sides with color of. back, and with ill-defined dark 239. 240. 241. 368 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES — OSCINES. streaks on breast and sides; maxillary stripes of the saine; wings and ‘tail plain dusky, with slight olivaceous edgings; wing-coverts nd inner quills somewhat margined with brown; edge of wing bright yellow ; a bright yellow spot on lore; and often some vague brownish and dusky markings on side of head; bill plumbeous, or dark horn-blue ; feet dark. Length 5.75- 6.25; extent 8.50; wing 2.25-2.50; tail about 2.00. Recognizable on sight by the bright yellow edge of wing and loral spot, with little varied olive-gray upper parts. Salt marshes of the Atlantic and Gulf coast; abundant. North to Massachusetts; breeds throughout its range, and resident in the south, but screened from casual observation by the nature of its haunts and habits. Nest in a tussock of grass just out of water; eggs 0.75 X 0.55, grayish-white, thickly and pretty evenly marked. A. m. nigres/cens. (Lat. nigrescens, growing black.) FLORIDA SEa-sipE Fincu. Like A. maritimus; rather smaller bodied, though members not shorter, and conspicuously different in color, being almost entirely black and white. Upper parts sooty-black, slightly variegated with slate-colored edgings of the feathers, and some pale gray edgings of the in- terscapulars. Below white, heavily streaked with blackish everywhere excepting on the throat and middle of belly. A bright yellow loral spot, and bend of the wing bright yel- low (both very conspicuous in the black plumage). Wing-quills blackish, the inner secondaries quite black ; all narrowly edged with brownish. Tail black, with gray edg- ings of the feathers, — these edgings tending to form scallops with the black central field. Bill and feet as in A. maritimus. A curi- ous local race, resident in Florida. A. caudacu'tus. (Lat. cauda, tail; acutus, 2 sharp. Fig. 231.) SHaRp-TAILeD Fincu. Fig. 281: —Sea-side Finch, reduced. (Sheppard del. Olive-gray, sharply streaked on the back Nichols sc.) with blackish and whitish, less so on the rump with blackish alone. Crown darker than nape, with brownish-black streaks, tending to form lateral stripes and obscure olive-gray median line; no yellow loral spot,. but long line over eye and sides of head rich buff or orange-brown, enclos- ing olive-gray auriculars and a dark speck behind them, or dark post-ocular stripe over them. Olive-gray of cervix extending around on sides of neck. Below, white; the fore parts and sides tinged with yellowish-brown or buff of variable intensity, the breast and sides sharply streaked with dusky. Greater coverts and inner secondaries with blackish field toward their ends, broadly margined with rusty brown and whitish. Tail-feathers brown, with dusky shaft- stripes and tendency to ‘‘water” with crosswise wavy bars. Bill blackish above, pale or not below, feet brown. Coloration in spring and summer clearer and paler, in fall and in young birds more brightly and extensively buff. Rather smaller than A. maritimus; Dill still slenderer, and tail-feathers still narrower and more acute. Length 5.10-5.50; extent 7.50; wing 2.25; tail 2.00; bill 0.45-0.50; tarsus, or middle toe and claw, 0.75. Salt marshes of the Atlantic and Gulf States, N. abundantly to Maine; range similar to that of A. maritimus, but on the whole more uortherly, especially in the breeding season; nest and eggs similar and searcely distinguishable. A. c. nel/soni. (To E. W. Nelson, of Ilinois.) Similar to the last, but smaller, with bill slenderer and longer; colors brighter and markings more sharply defined. Fresh marshes of Illinois and other portions of the Mississippi Valley at large ; N. probably to Canada. _FRINGILLIDZ: FINCHES, BUNTINGS, SPARROWS, ETC. 369 79. MELOSPI/ZA. (Gr. pédos, melos, song, melody, and omi{a, spiza, name of some Finch in Aris- totle). Song Sparrows. Bill moderate, conic, without special turgidity or compression, out- lines of culmen, commissure, gonys and sides nearly or about straight. Wings short and much rounded, folding little beyond base of tail; 1st primary quite short; point of wing formed by 3d, 4th, and 5th, supported closely by 2d aud 6th ; inner sebondaiee not elongated. Tail long, about equalling or rather exceeding the wings, much rounded, with firm feathers broad to their rounded ends. Feet moderately stout; tarsus scarcely or not longer than middle toe and claw; lateral toes slightly unequal, outer the longer, its claw scarcely or not reaching base of middle elaw. Embracing a large number of middle-sized and large sparrows, without a trace of yellow anywhere, and of brownish-yellow only in M. lincolni; upper parts, including crown, thickly streaked; under parts white or ashy, thickly streaked across breast and along sides (excepting adult M. palustris). No bright color anywhere, and no colorsin masses. The type of the genus is the familiar and beloved song sparrow, —a bird of constant characters in the East, but which in the West is split into numerous geographical races, some of them looking so different from typical fasciata that they have been considered as distinct species, and even placed in other gen- era. This differentiation affects not only the color, but the size, relative proportion of parts, and particularly the shape of the bill; and it is sometimes so great, as in case of M. cinerea, that less dissimilar-looking ,birds are commonly as- signed to different genera. Nevertheless, the gradation is complete, and effected by impercep- tible degrees. Some Northwestern forms of great size and dark colors are easily discrimi- nated, but there are U.S. birds from Atlantic to Pacific which are uot readily told apart. The Fig. 282, — Linculu’s Sung-Sparrow reduced. student should not be discouraged if a subject (Sheppard del. Nichols sc. ) ; which has tried the chiefs perplexes him ; nor must he expect to find drawn on paper hard and fast lines which do not exist in nature. The curt antithetical expressions used in constructing the analysis of species and varieties necessarily exaggerate the case, and are only true as indi- cating the typical style of each; plenty of specimens lie ‘‘ between the lines” as written. In going over a large series of Western song sparrows — specimens picked to illustrate types of style rather than connecting links, it still seems to me that distinctions have been somewhat forced; and that, also, different degrees of variation are thrown out of proper perspective by reducing all the forms to the same varietal plane. Thus, the differences between cinerea and all the rest, or between rufina and fasciata, are much greater than between rufina and guttata for instance, or between fallax and fasciata. In any outline of the genus the curves and angles indicated by Baird in 1858 are as far as they go nicer qualifications than the dead-level varieties later in vogue. The several degrees of likeness and unlikeness may be thrown into true relief better by some such expressions as the following than by formal antithetical phrases: —1. The common eastern bird slightly modified in the arid interior into the duller colored 2. fallax. This, in the Pacific water shed, more decidedly modified by deeper coloration, — broader black streaks in 3. heermanni, with its diminutive local race 4. samuelis, and more ruddy shades in 5. guttata northward increasing in intensity, with increased size, in 6. rufa. Then the remarkable 7. cinerea, insulated much further apart than any of the others. A former American school would probably have made four ‘‘ good species.” l. fasciata; 2. samuelis; 3. rufina; 4. cinerea. The present British school might perhaps 24 242. 243. 3870 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES — OSCINES. handle them as 1. fasciata and fallax, with a, heermanni; 2. samuelis; 3. rufina, with u, guttata. 4. cinerea. Analysis of Species and Varieties. Breast streaked, and with a transverse belt of brownish-yellow; tail nearly equal to wings . lincolni 242 Breast ashy, unbelted, with few streaks, or none; tail about equal to wings . . . + «palustris 243 Breast white, or brownish-white, with numerous streaks; tail usually longer than the wings, both rounded. Thickly streaked above, on sides, and across breast . c . Jfasciata and its varieties 244-250 The streaks distinct, decidedly blackish-centred (in breeding plumage). Tone of upper parts grayish-brown or reddish-gray. Streaked from head totail. Dorsal streaks black, rufous, and grayish-white. Wing 2.60; tail under 3.00. EasternN.A. . . ‘ - « fasciata 244 Tone of upper parts gray. Streaks obsolete on rump. Dorsal streaks narrowly blackish and grayish- white, with little rufous. Tail about 3.00, Southern Rocky Mt. region . - » . fallax 245 Tone of upper parts ashy-gray. Streaks obsolete on rump. Dorsal streaks proadly binck, with little rufous and scarcely any grayish-white. Size of the first. California . . . + heermanni 248 Tone of upper parts olive-gray. Streaks on rump and upper tail-coverts. Dorsal streaks as in the last. Very small. Wing 2.25; tail 2.50. Coast of California . xh Her - . samuelis 29 The streaks diffuse, not black-centred nor whitish-edged. Bill slender. Pacific, ¢ twise, Tone of upper parts rufous-brown. Streaks above and below dark rufous. Medium-sized; wing 2.60; tail under 3.00. Pacific coast, U. S. and British Columbia . . . - . guttata 6 Tone of upper parts olive-browyn. Streaks sooty. Larger; wing and tail about 3. 00. Pacific coast, British Columbia and Alaska . . . - . rufina AT Tone of upper parts dark cinereous. Streaking reddish-brown. ‘Largest; wing and tail 3. 25 or more cinerea 250 M., lin/colni. (To Robert Lincoln. Fig. 232.) Lincouy’s Sone Sparrow. @, 9: Below, white, with a broad brownish-yellow belt across breast, the sides of the body and neck, and the crissun, washed with the same; extent and intensity of this buff very variable, often leaving only chin, throat, and belly purely white, but a pectoral band is always evident. All the buffy parts sharply and thickly streaked with dusky. Above, grayish-brown, with numerous sharp black-centred, brown-edged streaks. Top of head ashy, with a pair of dark brown black- streaked stripes; ov, say, top of head brown, streaked with black, and with median and lateral ashy stripes. Below the superciliary ashy stripe is a narrow dark brown one, running from eye over ear; auriculars also bounded below by an indistinct dark brown stripe, below which and behind the auriculars the parts are suffused with buff. Wings with much rufous-brown edging of all the quills ; inner secondaries and coverts having quite black central fields, with broad bay edging, becoming whitish toward their ends. Tail brown, the feathers with pale edges, and the central pair at least with dusky shaft-stripes. Bill blackish, lighter below; feet brownish. Length 5.50-6.00; extent 7.75-8.25; wing and tail, each, about 2.50, the latter rather shorter. There is little variation in color, except as above said. Fall specimens are usually most buffy. Very young: Before the fall moult, birds of the year are much browner above, with consider- able brownish-yellow streaking besides the black markings; top of head quite like back, the ashy stripes not being established ; whole under parts brownish-yellow, merely paler on throat and belly, dusky-streaked throughout. North Am. at large; a peculiar species, not so well known as it might be, less numerous in the Atlantic States than in the interior and west; and keeping very close in shrubbery. Migratory; winters in the South; breeds at least from N. Y. and N. England to Arctic regions, and in the West S. at least to Mts. of Colorado. Nesting like that of the song sparrow, and eggs not distinguishable with certainty. M. palus'tris. (Lat. palustris, swampy; palus, aswamp. Fig. 233.) Swamp Sone Spar- Row. 9, perfect plumage: Crown bright chestnut, blackening on forehead, the red cap and black vizor as conspicuous as in a chipping sparrow; but oftener, crown with obscure median ashy line, and streaked with black. An ashy-gray superciliary line; a dark brown postocular stripe, bordering the auriculars; sides of head ashy, with grayish-brown auriculars, dusky speckling on cheeks and lores, and slight dusky maxillary spots or streaks. An ashy cervical collar separating the chestnut crown from the back, sometimes pure, oftener interrupted with blackish streaks. The general ash’ of the sides of head and neck spreads all over the breast 244. FRINGILLIDA: FINCHES, BUNTINGS, SPARROWS, ETC. 871 and under parts, fading to whitish on throat and belly; the sides, flanks, and crissum marked with brown, and obsoletely streaked with darker brown. Back and rump brown, rather darker than sides of body, boldly variegated with black central streaks of the feathers and their pale brown or grayish edges. Wings so strongly edged with bright bay as to appear almost uni- formly brownish-red when closed; but inner secondaries and greater coverts showing some black and whitish besides the bay. Tail likewise strongly edged with bay, and usually showing sharp black shaft lines. Thus well marked by the emphasis of black, bay, and ash. Length 5.40-5.80, usually 5.60; extent 7.50-8.00; wing and tail, each, 2.20-2.40. Varies little except as above noted, and in extent and intensity of the ash on fore and under parts. In birds of the first autumn, the crown may be quite blackish, with little chestnut and an ashy median stripe. Very young birds may be conspicuous- ly streaked below, and a few streaks may persist on the sides of the breast. North Amer. at large, W. to Utah, N. to Hudson’s Bay and Labrador, but chiefly Eastern U. 8. and Canada; breeding at least from New England northward, wintering entirely in the Southern States. Abundant, but a timid recluse of shrubbery, swamp, and brake, and seldom seen by the pro- fanum vulgus; a good musician, like all the genus. Nesting and eggs like those of the song sparrow. M. fascia/ta. (Lat. fasciata, bundled together ; fascis, a bundle of rods; fas- cia, a band; whence fasciata, banded, striped; the allusion not to the body- = streaks, but to the obsolete bands on ———— or” the tail-feathers. Fig. 234.) Sone Fie. 233.—Swamp Song Sparrow, reduced. (Sheppard del. SpaRRow. SILVER-TONGUE. Below, Nichols sc.) white, slightly shaded with brownish on the flanks and crissum; with numerous black-centred, brown-edged streaks across breast and along sides, usually forming a pectoral blotch and coalescing into maxillary stripes bounding the white throat; crown dull bay, with fine black streaks, divided in the middle and bounded on either side by ashy-whitish lines; vague brown or dusky and whitish markings on the sides of the head; a brown post-ocular stripe over the gray auriculars, and another, not so well defined, from angle of mouth below the auriculars ; the interscapular streaks black, with bay and ashy-white edgings; rump and cervix grayish- brown, with merely a few bay marks ; wings with dull bay edgings, the coverts and inner quills marked like the interscapulars; tail plain brown, with darker shaft lines, on the middle feathers at least, and often with obsolete transverse wavy markings. Very constant in plumage, the chief differences being in the sharpness and breadth of the markings, due in part to the wear of the feathers. In worn midsummer plumage, the streaking is very sharp, narrow, and black, from wearing of the rufous and whitish, especially observable below where the streaks contrast with white, and giving the impression of heavier streaking than in fall and winter, when, in fresher feather, the markings are softer and more suffuse, The aggregation of spots into a blotch on the middle of the breast is usual. Bill dark brown, paler below; feet pale brown. Length 5.90-6.50, usually 6.30; extent 8.25-9.25, usually 8.50-9.00; wing 2.40-2.75, usually about 2.60; tail nearer 3.00. 9 averaging near the lesser dimensions, but the species re- markably constant in size, form, and coloring. Eastern U. S. and Canada, breeding through- 245. 248. 249. 246. RAT 250. 3872 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. —PASSERES— OSCINES. out its range, wintering nearly throughout; one of the common winter sparrows of the Middle States. A very abundant bird everywhere in shrubbery and tangle, garden, orchard, and park, as well as swamp and brake. A hearty, sunny songster, whose quivering pipe is often tuned to the most dreary scenes ; the lipid notes being one of the few snatches of bird melody that enlivens winter. Nesting various, ina bush near the ground, ora grass tuft, or on the ground : eges 4-6, 0.75-0.85 x 0.55-0.60, greenish or grayish-white, endlessly varied with browns, from reddish to chocolate as surface-markings, and lavender or purplish shell-markings, either speckled, blotched, or clouded: no general effect deseribable in few words. Two or three broods may be reared. M. f. fal/lax. (Lat. fallax, fallacious, deceitful: well named.) Gray Sona SPARROW. Extremely similar; the first and least departure from fasciata, and scarcely distinguishable ; tail rather longer; tone of upper parts paler, grayer ; the streaks not so obviously blackish in the centre and with less rufous; obsolete on rump. Southern Rocky Mt. region and Great Basin. M. f. heer‘manni. (To Dr. A. L. Heer- mann.) HrERMANN’s Sonc SPARROW. Sim- ilar: tone of upper parts grayish, the streaks numerous, broad, distinct, with little rufous and mostly lacking pale edging, obsolete on the rump. Size of fasciata. California. M. f. samue'lis. (To E. Samuels.) SAMUELS’ Sone Sparrow. Similar to the last, in dis- tinctness of the black streaks, which are not obsolete on rump; tone of upper parts ashy- gray. Very small, scarcely 5.00; wing 2.00; tail 2.30. California coast. M. £. gutta’ta. (Lat. guttata, marked with drop-like spots.) OREGON Sone Sparrow. Decidedly different. The streaking diffuse, the streaks above and below dark rufous- brown, without black centres or pale edges. : Fig 234.— Song Sparrow, reduced. (Sheppard del. s Nichols sc. ) Coloration blended, the general tone ruddy ; under parts extensively shaded with brownish, except on belly. About the size of fasciata, or rather larger. Pacific coast, U. 8. and British Columbia. This form was recognized as dis- tinct by Audubon, who wrongly called it Fringilla cinerea Gm. ; and by Nuttall, who named it F. guttata, and compared it with the fox sparrow, from its resemblance in color tu Vasserella alaca. M. f. rufiina. (Lat. rufina, reddish.) Rusty Sone Sparrow. Quite like guttata; larger and darker; tone of upper parts smoky-brown, the streaking very dark. Wing and tail about 3.00. Pacific coast, British Columbia and northward. (Combined by Baird with the last, under name of M. rufina.) M. cine’rea. (Lat. cinerea, ashy.) CINEREOUS Sone Sparrow. Kapi1aK Sone SPARROW. Peculiar in size, shape, and color. Above, brownish slate-color, more rufous on wings, the streaking broad and blended, very dark. Below, plumbeous-whitish, shaded with brown on sides, the streaks broad, diffuse, and dark. Spring and fall plumages differ much, but the bird may be recognized by its great size. Length about 7.00; wing 3.30; tail 3.50; bill very long, slender for its length; culmen about 0.60; depth at base 0.30. Kadiak, Alaska; Aleutian Islands. (Fringilla cinerea Gm. M. insignis Bd.) 80. 251. 252. FRINGILLIDZ: FINCHES, BUNTINGS, SPARROWS, ETC. 3738 PEUCAHVA. (Gr. meveq, peuce, a pine; not well applied except to P. estivalis.) Summer Fincues. Bill of moderate size, rather elongate-conic, upper mandible declivous toward end, comiissure bent. Wings short and much rounded, folding little if any beyond base of tail, the inner secondaries not elongated. Tail little or much longer than wing, much rounded, the lateral feathers some $ an inch shorter than the middle; of weak narrowly linear feathers with elliptically rounded ends. Feet small and weak, not reaching when outstretched nearly to end of tail; tarsus about equal to middle toe and claw; lateral toes equal, short, their claws not nearly reaching base of middle claw. Adults scarcely or not streaked below ; crown chestnut or (oftener) quite like back, streaked with rusty-brown, black, and gray. A superciliary and post-ocular stripe, but usually none running under auriculars; more or less distinct black maxillary stripes. Edge of wing yellow (in most species. These nest on the ground and lay white eggs). Analysis of Species (adults). Edge of wing yellow. Crown not uniform chestnut; nochestnut on lesser wing-coverts. Maxillary stripes slight. Nest on ground; eggs white. Broadly marked above with rufous streaks or blotches on ashy ground, with black centres of the streaks on middle of back. Tail-feathers plain, or only with obscure whitish area. . e@stivalis 251-253 Marked above with pale brown black-centred streaks, these black centres enlarged transversely at their ends on the middle of back. Tail-feathers shafted and barred with blackish, the outer broadly edged and tipped with white. . . i or cassini 254 Edge of wing not yellow. Crownchestnut. Maxillary stripes near No chestnut on lesser wing-coverts . fa e a he id a es GS ay Peta AO ol aS ruficeps 255-256 A chestnut patch on lesser wing-coverts . . . . Soa eons . ae BP se, -carpalis 257 P. estiva/lis. (Lat. estivalis, like estivus, summery; estas, summer.) BacHmMan’s SUMMER Fincu. Upper parts, including crown, continuously streaked with blackish, dull chestnut and ashy-gray; no yellow about head; wing-coverts and inner secondaries marked like the back ; edge and bend of wing yellow, as in Cotwrniculus passerinus. Below, dull brownish-ash, or brownish-gray, whitening on the belly, deepest on sides and across breast, nowhere obviously streaked in adult plumage. Some obscure dusky maxillary streaks, some vague dusky mark- ings on auriculars, a slight ashy superciliary line, and very obscure median ashy line on crown. Bill dark above, pale below; legs very pale; lateral claws falling far short of base of middle claw; hind claw much shorter than its digit ; tarsus not longer than middle toe and claw ; tail mouch rounded, with obscure grayish-white area ou the lateral feathers. Young have the breast and sides evidently streaked. Length 5.75-6.20, average 5.90; extent 7.60-8.30, average 8.00; wing 2.17-2.55, average 2.40; tail 2.25-2.68, average 2.50. South Atlantic States, strictly, and especially a bird of pine barrens, common in suitable localities ; a fine songster. Nest on the ground, of grasses; eggs 4, 0.75 0.60, pure white. As the first described species of the genus, this has been used as a standard of comparison; but it is the most modified offshoot of a genus which focusses in the Southwest and Mexico. P. e. illinoén’sis. (Of Illinois.) In~ino1s Summer Fincn. Oak-woops Sparrow. Above, sandy-ferruginous, indistinctly streaked with light ashy-gray, the streaks broadest on the back and middle line of crown; interscapulars sometimes with narrow black streaks. Wings light ferruginous, the greater coverts less reddish and edged with paler; inner secondaries dusky, bordered at ends with pale reddish ash. Tail plain grayish-brown, with ashy edgings of the feathers. Sides of head, neck, and body and breast quite across, dingy buff-color, deepest on breast, paler on throat and chin; a post-ocular rusty-brown streak over the auriculars ; sides of neck streaked with the same; an indistinct dusky streak on side of throat; belly dull white ; crissum buff; edge of wing bright yellow; bill pale horn-color, darkest above; feet pale brown; iris brown. Size of estivalis; wing a little longer, 2.35-2.60, average 2.50 ; tail 2.55- 3.80, average 2.70; bill thicker; black streaks of upper parts, instead of being generally dis- tributed, few and confined to the interscapulars; breast and sides more buffy. Llinois to Texas. (Like estivalis proper, but quite different from any of the following forms.) 253. 254. 255. 3874 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES — OSCINES. P. x. arizo/ne. (Of Arizona.) Arizona SumMER Fincu. With a general likeness to P. estivalis, in pattern of coloration, streaking of all upper parts, similarity of back to crown, yellow edge of wing, and plain tail feathers; size same, wing and tail a trifle longer (as in illindensis). Colors duller and less variegated ; maxillary stripes obscure or obsolete. Upper parts light dull chestnut or reddish-brown, moderately streaked with plumbeous-gray, but reddish the prevailing tone; interscapular feathers, and sometimes those of the crown, with blackish centres; a poorly defined light superciliary stripe. Beneath, dull whitish, unstreaked, the breast and sides with a decided ochrey-brown tinge. Wings dusky, the inner secondaries darker and with more conspicuous rusty-brown edgings than those of the longer quills, and also some whitish edging or tipping. Bill blackish above, pale below; legs flesh color. Young: above, streaked with blackish and yellowish-gray, showing little reddish ; under parts more or less streaked with dusky. Western Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and southward. (This is what I meant by P. var. cassini of the orig. ed. of the Key; but true cassini is entirely differ- ent. Var. arizone is probably identical with Zonotrichia botterit Scl.) P. ecas/sini. (To John Cassin.) Cassin’s Summer Fincu. Belonging to the estivalis group, with yellow edge of wing, and most resembling var. arizone; but perfectly distinct. A peculiar character of marking raises groundless suspicion of immaturity. ¢ 9, adult: Entire upper parts, from bill to tail, alike in pattern of coloration —a peculiarly intimate variegation of ashy-gray, rufous-brown and blackish — the ruddy color occupying most of the feathers, which have a blackish central field and gray edging; the blackish area on each feather, espe- cially of the back, rump, and upper tail-coverts, where it is most conspicuous, being hammer- headed, or widened toward the end of the feather. Pattern of markings smallest on the cervix. No special head-markings, though there is a tendency toward a lateral browner band on the side of the crown, and browner post-ocular stripe, separated by a gray interval. Variegation of the upper parts descending on sides of neck; sides of head with some vague markings. Innermost secondaries showing quite blackish in the general field of the upper parts, and edged all around with a firm border of ashy-white or hoary-white. Greater and middle coverts exactly like the inner secondaries ; primaries similar, but the edging not so clear. Edge of wing clear yellow, and some of the least coverts tinged with this color. Tail curiously particolored ; middle pair of feathers light grayish-brown, with a strong dusky shaft-line throwing off numer- ous dusky cross-bars, so that these feathers seem ‘‘ watered” with lighter and darker shades. Other tail-feathers, except the outermost pair, are dusky-brown, with pale grayish-brown terminal spots increasing in size: from the inner feathers outward. On the outermost feather this pale gray space is very large, and rimmed all around with white. An indistinct maxillary stripe on each side of the chin. A number of strong well-defined dusky stripes on the flanks ; otherwise, entire under parts unmarked, and of a dingy whitish color, clearest on the belly and throat, more grayish on the sides and across breast. Bill brown, pale below; feet pale. Length 6.00-6.25; extent about 8.25; wing 2.50; tail 2.75. Young: Described as very similar, but with a few drop-shaped streaks on the jugulum and along sides; feathers of upper parts with a more appreciable terminal border of buff. Texas to California, N. to Kansas, S. into Mexico. Habits, nest, and eggs as in P. estivalis (eggs pure white). P. ru‘ficeps. (Lat. ruficeps, red-headed.) RUFOUS-CROWNED SUMMER Fincu. Belonging to a different section of the genus, without any yellow on edge of wing as in the estivalis group and cassimi. Lesser wing-coverts not chestnut as in P. carpalis. Strong maxillary streaks. & 9, adult: Crown bright chestnut, in perfect condition bright and continuous, blackening on forehead, where divided by a short whitish line (whole cap thus as in Spizella socialis or Melospiza palustris) ; crown, however, oftener streaked with olive-ash, especially along a median dividing line, thus assimilating more nearly with colors of other upper parts. An “obscure olive-ashy superciliary line, whitening over the lores. Back streaked with olive-ash aud chestnut-brown, the latter sometimes distinct, as bold streaking with ashy edging of the 256. 257. 81. FRINGILLIDZA : FINCHES, BUNTINGS, SPARROWS, EIC. 875 feathers, sometimes spreading almost to extinction of the ashy ; and the brown also varying in shade from a kind of purplish-bay to light rusty-brown, apparently according to wear and tear of the plumage. Wings and tail dusky, with varying amount of reddish-brown edgings of the feathers. Under parts dull whitish, strongly shaded with olive-gray or olive-brown, paler on belly, quite whitish on throat, which latter is bounded by strong black maxillary stripes. Size of P. cassini, or rather less. Young: Crown like back ; under parts streaked with dusky, especially the breast. California. Nest and eggs still unknown. P. vr. boucar’di. (To Adolphe Boucard, a French collector.) Boucarp’s Summer FINcH. From the typical Californian ruficeps the Arizona bird is said to differ in being darker, more brownish-plumbeous than olive-ash, the dorsal streaks scarcely rufous, and with black shaft- streaks. Few sparrows, if any, vary more than the species of Peucea, according to mere wear of the feathers, independently of any moult, and to some extent of season. Birds of very different aspect result, and it is not clear how the present alleged variety differs from ruficeps proper. Ons. P. x. eremeca Brown, Texas, seems scarcely different. Peuwcea seems to be, like Junco, Melospiza, Passerella, etc., still unstable in its specific differentiations —to be “making species,” in fact. P. carpa'lis. (Lat. carpalis, relating to the carpus, or wrist-joint.) Bay-wincep SUMMER Fincu. Belonging to the section without yellow on edge of wing. Lesser wing-coverts chestnut, forming a patch as conspicuous as in Powcetes or Awriparus. Strong black maxillary stripes. Whole crown rufous, or dull bay, divided on forehead by a short pale stripe, and bordered with a pale grayish-ash superciliary stripe. Cervix like crown, but mixed with ashy- gray. Middle of back and scapulars grayish-brown, mixed with a little bay, and sharply streaked with blackish ; lower back gray, with little or no black or brown. The general effect of the upper parts, crown, and back, is like that of Spizella socialis. Wings and their greater coverts dusky, with grayish-fulvous edging and tipping; primaries and tail-feathers with whitish edging ; one or two outer tail-feathers white-tipped. Under parts white, shaded on breast and sides with ashy, the throat pure white, bounded on each side by a sharp black maxillary stripe, above which is another dark line from angle of mouth. Bill apparently reddish flesh color below, dusky above; feet pale brown, the toes rather darker. Length about 6.00 ; extent 8.50; wing 2.25-2.50; tail 2.75, graduated about 0.50; bill 0.40; tarsus 0.67. Less mature: Crown less different from back, being streaked with ashy, blackish, and rufous. Very young: No chestnut on wing-coverts, and under parts streaked with dusky; thus much like the earliest stage of Spizella socialis; after this first stage the chestnut bend of the wing is always conspicuous. Arizona; a very distinct and curious species, lately discovered. Farther peculiar in nesting in bushes and laying a greenish egg, all the other Peucee, as far as known nesting on ground and laying pure white eggs. (P. ruficeps, however, is not yet known in this particular.) Eggs 4-5, 0.72 x 0.58, June-September; nest in a fork of bush, deeply cupped, of grasses, rootlets, and hairs. AMPHISPIZA. (Gr. dui, amphi, on both sides; omifa, spiza, a finch: alluding to the close relation of the genus to those about it.) Sage Sparrows. Bill moderate, conical, not peculiar. Wings folding considerably beyond the base of the tail, without elongated inner secondaries ; point of wing formed by 2d-5th quill, the lst between 6th and7th. Tail not shorter than wings, of rather broad firm feathers, rounded at ends. Tarsus longer than middle toe and claw; lateral toes of unequal lengths, the outer (longer) not reaching to base of middle claw. Embracing two Southwestern species, with rounded blackish tail not shorter than the wings, plumbeous-black bill and feet, and few decided streaks, or none. These do not particularly resemble each other, and might not necessarily be associated ; nor is the genus well characterized, though different from the exotic Poospiza to which the species were formerly referred. The larger one of the two species, A. belli, is sometimes placed in the genus Zonotrichia. 258. 259. 260. 376 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES — OSCINES. Analysis of Species. Adult with throat black, sides not streaked, and no yellow on edge ofwing. ....... bilineata 258 Adult with throat white, sides streaked, and yellow on edge of wing. Smaller: wing and tail under 3.00; dorsal streaks obsolete ...4.4.4.. shel i te te belli 259 Larger: wing and tail 8.00 or more; dorsal streaks distinct . . . 1. 1 ew ea nevadensis 260 A. bilinea’'ta. (Lat. bilineata, two-lined; bis, twice, linea, a line; alluding to the stripes on the head. Fig. 235.) Buack-rHROATED Finch. BLacK-FACED SaGe SparRRow. £9, adult: Face, chin, and throat sharply jet-black ; a strong white superciliary line, and another bounding the black of the throat ; under eyelid white; auriculars dark slate. No yellow any- where. Below, pure white; the sides, flanks, and crissum shaded with ashy or fulvous- brownish, but no streaks. Above, uniform gray- ish-brown ; clearer ash in high plumage, other- wise browner, generally more ashy anteriorly than behind, and shading insensibly into the black of the face.. Wings dusky; coverts and inner quills edged with the color of the back. Tail black, with narrow grayish edgings; the outer feather . sharply edged and tipped with white, and several others similarly tipped. Bill and feet plumbe- ous-black. Small: length about 5.50; wing about 2.50; tail 2.75. Young: The head-mark- ings obscure; little or no black on throat; a few pectoral streaks. Owing to absence of black on \ the throat, the white maxillary stripe is ill-de- Fic. 235.— Black-throated Finch, reduced. (Shep- fined, but the other stripe is conspicuous. Back pard del. Nichols se. ) rather brown than ashy; tail blackish, not pure black. A jaunty little sparrow, haunting the sage-brush and chaparral of the southwest, from Texas to California, N. to Utah and Nevada or farther, migratory northerly. An effective songster. Nest in bushes close to the ground; eggs 4-5, 0.72 x 0.58, whitish, unmarked. A. belli. (To J. G. Bell, of N. Y.) Bauy’s Fincu. Cairornia SaGe Sparrow. No definite black about head, and edge of wing slightly yellowish. Forehead, line over eye, and edges of eyelids, inconspicuously white. Below, white, more or less tinged with pale brownish, the sides with slight sparse streaks that anteriorly become aggregated into slight maxillary stripes cutting off from the white throat a whitish line that runs from the corner of the bill; lores and cireum-ocular region dusky. Above, grayish-brown, ashier on head, the middle of the back with small obscure blackish streaks; wing-coverts and inner quills with much fulvous edging ; tail black with slight pale edgings, the outer web of the outer feather simply whitish. Bill and feet plumbeous-blue. Length under 6.00; wing and tail under 3.00. Southern California, resident. Nest in low bushes or on the ground; eggs greenish-blue, speckled. A. b. nevaden’sis, Artemisia SPARROW. NEVADA SaGE Sparrow. Similar to the last in coloration. Edge of wing, and sometimes the lesser coverts, yellowish. Above, ashy-brown, much as in P. bilineata, clearer ash anteriorly, more brownish behind; also clearer in high plumage, and more overcast with brown in less mature specimens; the middle of the back and the scapulars very notably streaked with fine black lines. Below, white; the sides and some- times, especially in fall specimens, most of the under parts shaded with pale fulvous-brown; the sides, and sometimes the breast, with dusky streaks, which on the side of the neck tend to run in a chain, partly distinguishing a pure white lateral stripe above them from the general whitish of the under parts. Sides of head slaty, becoming dusky on lores; a conspicuous white eye-ring. A short white line above lores, and another on middle of forehead. Wings and tail as in thelast; outer feather edged and tipped with white. Bill dark bluish-plumbeous, under 82. 261. FRINGILLIDE: FINCHES, BUNTINGS, SPARROWS, EI‘. 877 mandible sometimes yellowish. Decidedly larger than belli proper, though so little different in color; wing and tail fully 3.00, if not more; bill 0.35; tarsus 0.75. Southern Rocky Mt. region, N. to 40° and beyond, resident; abounding in the sage-brush deserts of Nevada, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona. Nesting as in P. belli; eggs 0.80 x 0.60, pale greenish, pro- fusely speckled with reddish-brown and blackish-brown, with purplish shell-markings. JUN'CO. (? Lat. juncus, a reed.) SNow SPARROws. SNow-siRvs. Bill small, strictly conic. Wings rather long, the primaries much surpassing the short inner secondaries in the closed wing; usually 2d, 3d, and 4th quills longest, 5th little shorter, then 1st and 6th. Tarsus a little longer than middle toe and claw; lateral toes subequal, their claws about reaching base of middle claw. Tail about as long as wings, slightly emarginate or about even, of rather narrow but firm feathers, rounded oval at ends. A beautiful genus; adults unspotted, unstreaked, the colors massed in large definite areas; belly, crissum, and 2-3 lateral tail-feathers white ; bill whitish, or black and yellow. Length 6 or 7 inches; wing and tail about 3 inches. Sexes subsimilar, but ¢ clearer and purer in coloration; young entirely different, quite streaky. Nest on the ground; eggs speckled. One common Eastern species; in the West the Jwnco stock split into numerous forms, all of which intergrade with each other, and with the Eastern bird. Almost all late writers have taken a hand at Junco, shuffling them about in the vain attempt to decide which are ‘‘ species” and which “ varieties.” All are either, or both, as we may elect to consider them ; for the degree of difference between almost any two of the nearest related ones is about the same. The distinctions between the typical styles of each are very nice and easily perceived. The theory of hybridization advanced to account for the connecting links. simply restates without explaining the case ; for interbreeding is just one of the conditions of intergraded species, keeping them from positive distinctness. Upon this understanding the recognizable styles of Jwnco may all be treated alike. Adult male birds of the several forms afford the following Bill flesh-color. Blackish-ash, without reddish tints; sides ashy. Analysis of Species or Subspecies. No white wing-bars . ace tdk Gratis a ae A SS hiemalis 261 Twowhite wing-bars .... .«... ss. ne fee ree ae RO ae aikeni 262 (mixed characters of firstandnext. ........+4468. ae « . connectens 262a Sooty-black on head and breast; back reddish; sides pinkish . . e “ + +. oregonus 263 (mixed characters oflastandnext. ...... bt es és +. .annectens 264 Ashy on head and breast; interscapulars alone reddish ‘ Wp ole Geb io eae: 220 caniceps 263 Bill black and yellow. : " (mixed characters oflastand next. ........ See Buch + Wee nee salen Oe dorsalis 266 Ashy on head and breast; interscapulars and wing-coverts reddish . oe eS cimereus 267 Setting aside atkeni as a special offshoot, we have hiemalis connected with oregonus by birds possessing pink sides and ashy back, or reddish back and ashy sides; this style may be named connectens. Similarly, oregonus and camiceps are annexed by gray-headed red-backed birds with pink sides; this is anmectens. And again, but more remarkably, the pink-billed caniceps is affixed with the black-and-yellow-billed cinereus by dorsalis, which has the bill of the latter, but otherwise resembles the former. J. hiema/lis. (Lat. hiemalis, wintry; hiems, winter. Fig. 236.) EasTeRN SNOW-BIRD. Back SNow-BirD. Blackish-ash, below abruptly pure white from the breast, the sides shaded with ashy. Inthe 9, and most fall and winter specimens, the upper parts have a more grayish, or even a decidedly brownish, cast, and the inner secondaries are edged with pale bay. @, in full dress: The slaty-black intense on the head; belly and crissum pure white, the line between the two transverse or convex forward; wings and tail blackish, with slightly hoary edging of some ofthe feathers ; 2-3 lateral tail feathers pure white, wholly or in greatest part. No rusty- brown on back or sides;.any shade on the sides ashy, not pinkish. Bill pinkish-white, or flesh-color, usually black-tipped. Length 6.00-6.50 ; extent 9.50-10.00 ; wing 3.00-3.25; tail rather less. These extremes uncommon; average: 6.25—9.75—3.10. 9, in summer: The 878 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES — OSCINES. slate-color less intense, overlaid with brown (not reddish), sometimes quite brown; edging of inner secondaries rusty-brown ; average less white on the tail; rather smaller ; average about at the lesser of the above dimensions: sometimes only 5.75—9.25—2.75. @ 9, in winter: Resembling the Q in summer. Young of the year: The general color rather brown than slate, with conspicuous bay edgings of inner secondaries; bill much obscured with dusky. The brown overcast, it should be: observed, is a general shading, not of particular areas, and not pinkish. Young before first} moult: Entirely streaked and spotted, like most very young sparrows. Upper parts streaked with blackish and rusty-brown, the secondaries and wing coverts conspicuously edged with the latter. Under parts streaked or speckled with dusky and ochrey brown, on all the fore parts and sides, the belly and crissum soiled whitish. Bill dusky, paler below. Eastern N. Amer., N. W. to Alaska, W. to the Rocky Mts. and even Utah and Washington Territories ; still chiefly Eastern. One of our most abundant and familiar winter birds, in flocks in the shrubbery, from October to April. Retires to high latitudes or altitudes to breed. Nests in mountains of the Middle and some of the Southern States, as Vir- ginia and North Carolina, and down to sea level froin the limits of the Canadian fauna in Maine ; winters anywhere in the U. S., most numerously from Massachusetts southward; a cheery bright little bird, coming fearlessly to the threshold and window-sill in bad weather. Its snapping note is better known than is the pleasant song with which it takes leave in the spring. Nest on the ground; eggs 4-6, white, sprinkled Fig. 236.—Eastern Suow-Bird. (Sheppard del. with reddish and darker brown dots, about Nichols sc.) 0.80 x 0.60. 262. J. hb. ai/keni. (ToC. E. Aiken, of Colorado.) WHITE-wINGED BLack Snow-zirp. Like the last: the wings crossed with two white bars formed by the tips of the greater and middle coverts ; and sometimes white edging of the inner secondaries. Rather large. Mts. of Colorado. 262a, J. h. connec'tens. (Lat. connectens, connecting ; con, with, necto, I join.) Hysrip Snow- BIRD. Possessing in varying degree the characters of hiemalis and oregonus; rufous back of the latter and ashy sides of the former, or, oftener, the ashy back of the former and pink sides of the latter ; occurring wherever the breeding range of the two comes together, and elsewhere during the migration. 263. J.h.ore/gonus. (Lat. of the Oregon River.) OrEGoN SNow-BIRD. Head and neck all round and fore breast sooty-black, ending sharply against white with a rounded outline convex back- ward; middle of back dull reddish-brown, and feathers of the wings much edged with the same ; below from the fore breast abruptly white, tinged on the sides with pale reddish-brown —a peculiar “‘ pinkish” shade. Bill white, black-tipped. In the Q and young the black is obscured by brownish, but the typical form may always be distinguished by an evident contrast in color between the interscapulars and head, and the fulvous or pinkish wash on ‘the sides. The season and sexual changes of plumage are parallel with those of hiemalis. A specimen examined by me has imperfect white wing-bars, like atkeni. Rocky Mts. to the Pacific; as abundant there as hiemalis is with us, and thence straggling eastward; has occurred in Massa- chusetts; N. to Alaska. In the U.S. it is less obviously migratory than hiemalis, owing to the broken mountainous regions it inhabits. 264. 265. 266. 267. 83. 268. FRINGILLIDG: FINCHES. BUNTINGS, SPARROWS, ETC. 379 J.h, annec’tens, (Lat. annectens, annexing ; ad, to, and necto, I join.) Pinx-stipep Snow- BIRD. Characters in general of J. caniceps (No. 265) ; differs by more abrupt definition of the white belly from the ashy breast, and pinkish sides: by so much resembling oregonus. Southern Rocky Mt. region, from Wyoming, and especially Colorado, to New Mexico and Arizona; migrating latitudinally with season, but chiefly working up and down the mountains. J. h. ca’niceps. (Lat. caniceps, gray-headed ; canus, gray.) GRAY-HEADED SNOW-BIRD. Clear ash, purest on head, paler below, and fading gradually into white on belly; interscapulars abruptly, definitely, chestnut or rusty-brown ; lores blackish ; bill flesh-color ; iris brown ; no fulvous wash on sides ; no chestnut on wings in the typical form. Rather larger than hiemalis; length about 7.00; wing over 3.00; tail about 3.00. The sexual and seasonal changes are not so well marked as in the heavily-colored hiemalis and oregonus, but parallel as far as they go. Very young birds are streaked, like all the rest. Rocky Mts. of the U. S., from Wyoming southward ; Wahsatch and Uintah Mts. Five or six of the styles of Junco, including J. hiemalis, occur together in the mountains of Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona. J. h. dorsa/lis. (Lat. dorsalis, pertaining to the back; dorsum, the back.) RED-BACKED SNow-BIRD. Characters in general of J. caniceps; but with the bill black and yellow, as in cinereus. Mountains of New Mexico and Arizona. J. h. cinereus. (Lat. cinereus, ashy; cinis, ashes.) CINEREOUS SNOW-BIRD. MrxIcAN SNow-BirD. Like J. camiceps. Under parts paler ash, fading sooner and nore insensibly into white; chestnut of back intense, and spreading over the wing-coverts and inner secondaries ; upper mandible black; lower yellow; iris yellow. Mexico to the U.S. border. Mt. Graham, Arizona. SPIZEL/LA. (Ital. diminutive form of Lat. spiza, from Gr. oni{a, a finch.) Curprinc Sparrows. Embracing small species, 5-6 inches long, with the long, broad-feathered, forked tail about equalling (more or less) the rather pointed wings ; with no yellowish anywhere, and no streaks on the under parts when adult ; interscapular region distinctly streaked ; ramp plain (except atrigularis) ; young fully streaked. Point of wing formed by 2d to 4th or 5th quill; 1st usually between 5th and 6th. Bill small, conic. Tarsus little if any longer than middle toe and Fic. 237. — Chippy’s head, a8 claw; lateral toes about equal. Tail-feathers widening a little ate asiife. (E. C.) to broadly oval tips. Numerous species, Eastern and Western, inhabiting shrubbery ; three of them familiar Eastern birds. Analysis of Species, Eastern and Western species with the crown of the adult chestnut. Bill black and yellow; forehead not black; two distinct white wing-bars; dark spot on breast; large: about 6.00long .. . » + .monticola 268 Bill and forehead black ; swing bart not conspicuous; breast siaha/santilees without spot ; length under 6. Tail decidedly shorter than wing . . « domestica 269, 270 Bill brownish-red; forehead not black; wing- “bars. indistinct; breast busty white, without spot. Length under 6.00 . : + + « agrestis 271 Western species, with the crown not chestnut, and streaked like the ack: Crown divided by a median stripe, and its streaks separated from those of the back by an ashy interval. Tail equal to wings . . - . . pallida 272 Crown not evidently divided, and atvenked continioudly with the back. "Tail hone » . . brewert 272 Western species, with the crown of the adult dark ash. Face and throat black. Tail decidedly longer than wing . Swit at Ce ee ee ee ee we we ee ww « Ctrigularis 274 S. monti/cola. (Lat. monticola, inhabiting mountains; mons, montis, a mountain; colo, I dwell; incola, an inhabitant.) Tree Sparrow. WINTER Cuip-pirp. Bill black above, yellow below; legs brown; toes black. No black on forehead; crown chestnut (in winter specimens the feathers usually skirted with gray), bordered by a erayieli- -white superciliary and loral line; a postocular chestnut stripe over auriculars, and some vague chestnut marks on 269. 270. 271. 380 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. —PASSERES — OSCINES. cheeks; sides of head and neck ptherwise ashy-gray. Below, impurely whitish, tinged with ashy anteriorly, washed with pale brownish posteriorly, the middle of the breast with an obscure dusky blotch. Middle of back boldly streaked with black, bay, and flaxen ; middle and greater wing-coverts black, edged with bay and tipped with white, forming two conspicuous cross-bars ; inner secondaries similarly variegated ; other quills and tail-feathers plain dusky, with pale or whitish edges. Remarkably constant in coloration; sexes indistinguishable, and young very similar, the chief variation being in the veiling of the cap with gray. There is a very early streaky stage, however, as in other species. A handsome sparrow, the largest of the genus. Length 5.80-6.20, usually 6.00; extent 8.75-9.75, usually 9.25; wing and tail 2.75-3.10. Abundant in the U. 8. in winter, flocking in shrubbery; breeds in mountainous and boreal regions, even to the Arctic coast. Infrequent or casual west of the Rocky Mts. Nest in low bushes or on the ground, loosely constructed of bark-strips, weeds, and grasses, warmly lined with feathers. Eggs 4-6 or even 7, pale green, minutely and regularly sprinkled with reddish-brown spots. S. domes’tica. (Lat. domestica, domestic. Figs. 237, 238.) Curppine Sparrow. CHIP- BIRD ORCuHIPPY. Harr-pirp. Adult: Bill black; feet pale; crown chestnut ; extreme fore- head black, usually divided by a pale line; a grayish-white superciliary line; below this a blackish stripe through eye and over auriculars ; lores dusky. Below, a variable shade of pale ash, nearly uniform and entirely unmarked; back streaked with black, dull bay and grayish-brown ; inner secondaries and wing-coverts similarly vari- egated, the tips of the greater and median coverts forming whitish bars; rump ashy, with slight blackish streaks or none; primaries and tail- feathers dusky, with paler edges. Smaller: length 5.00-5.50; extent 8.00-9.00; wing 2.66- 2.75 ; tail less, about 2.50. Sexes alike, but very young birds quite different; the crown being : streaked like the back, the breast and sides Fig. 238.—Chipping-Sparrow, reduced (Shep- thickly streaked with dusky, the bill pale brown, Pard:del,Nichols.se:) and the head lacking definite black. In this stage, which, however, is of brief duration, it resembles some other species, but may be known by a certain ashiness the others lack, and from the small sparrows that are streaked below when adult, by its generic characters. North America, extremely abundant, and the most familiar species about houses, in gardens, and elsewhere, nesting in shrubbery; nest of fine dried grass, lined’with hair; eggs 4-5, bluish, speckled sparsely and chiefly about the larger end with blackish-brown, with purplish shell-markings; size about 0.70 X 0.55. 8. d. arizo/nz. (Lat. of Arizona.) Arizona Curppinc Sparrow. Like an immature 8. domestica. Paler than this species, the ashiness in great measure brown; crown grayish-brown streaked with dusky like the back, and showing evident traces of rich chestnut, but never becoming wholly chestnut; black frontlet lacking or obscure, and no definite ashy superciliary line, the sides of the crown merely lighter brown ; bill brown above, pale below. Arizona, and other portions of the Southern Rocky Mt. region. A curious form, as it were an arrested stage of domestica. Some specimens, with the least chestnut on the head, look remarkably like breweri, but this last is evidently smaller, without chestnut on the head, and otherwise different. S. agres'tis. (Lat. agrestis, pertaining to fields; ager, a field.) FirmeLp Sparrow. Bill pale reddish ; feet very pale; crown dull chestnut; auriculars and postocular stripe the same; no decided black or whitish about head. Below, white, unmarked, but much washed with pale brown on breast and sides; sides of head and neck with some vague brown markings; all the 1 by 272. 273. 274. 84, FRINGILLIDE: FINCHES, BUNTINGS, SPARROWS, ETC. 381 ashy parts of domestica replaced by pale brownish. Back bright bay, with black streaks and ‘some pale flaxen edgings ; inner secondaries similarly variegated ; tips of median and greater coverts forming whitish cross-bars. Size of domestica, but more nearly the colors of monticola. Length 5.25-5.75; extent 7.75-8.40; wing 2.30-2.50 ; tail quite as much, or more, thus not shorter than wing, as it is in the last. Sexes alike; young for a short time streaked below, as usual in Spizella. Eastern U.S., strictly; hardly N. throughout New England, W. only to the edge of the Plains; migratory ; breeds usually from Virginia northward, and winters from the same southward; very abundant in fields, copses, and hedges, in flocks when not breeding. Nest indifferently in low bushes or on ground; eggs whitish, fully speckled with rusty-brown, 0.68 & 0.50. : S. pal/lida. (Lat. pallida, pale.) Cuay-coLorEp Sparrow. Crown and back clay-colored or flaxen, distinctly streaked with black, without evident bay, the dorsal streaks noticeably separated from those of the crown, by an ashier, less streaked, cervical interval; rump brown- ish-gray. Crown divided by a pale nedian stripe; a distinct whitish superciliary line; loral and auricular regions decidedly brown, with a dark postocular stripe over the auriculars, and another from the angle of the mouth, bounding the brown area inferiorly ; below this a dusky maxillary streak ; wing-coverts and inner secondaries variegated like the back, being black with broad flaxen-brown edging and whitish tipping. Below, white, soiled with clay-color. Bill dusky above, pale below; feet pale. Small: Length 5.00-5.25, rarely 5.50; extent 7.40-7.75. rarely 8.00; wing and tail, each, about 2.50. Young birds lightly streaked below. Central region of the U. 8. into British America, Saskatchewan and Red River regions; 8. to Texas; E. to Iowa and Illinois. Abundant; nest in bushes close to ground; eggs 3-4, pale green sparsely speckled with rich brown ; 0.62 x 0.50. , S. brew'eri. (To Dr. T. M. Brewer, of Boston.) BreweEr’s Sparrow. Similar; paler and duller, all the markings indistinct; streaks of crown and back small, numerous, not separated by a cervical interval; no definite markings on sides of head. Upper parts grayish-brown, with marked dorsal area of brighter brown, and continuously streaked from head to tail. Size of the last, but tail relatively longer, exceeding the wings — about 2.66 long, thus equalling, if it does not somewhat exceed, that of domestica, although the latter is a larger bird. South- western U. S., especially New Mexico and Arizona; said to have occurred in Massachusetts ; habits those of pallida; nest and eggs indistinguishable. S. atrigula/ris. (Lat. atrigularis, black-throated; ater, black; gula, throat.) Buacxk~- CHINNED Sparrow. 4, adult: Dark ash, fading insensibly into whitish on the belly, deepening to black on the face and throat; intersecapulars bright bay, streaked with black ; wing-coverts and inner secondaries variegated with the same colors ; tail blackish, with pale edg- ings; bill coral red as in 8. agrestis; feet dark brown. A siall-bodied species, but full 6.00 long, on account of the great j _ length of the tail (2.75-3.00), which much exceeds the wings (2.25-2.50; extent 7.75). The young lack black on the face, have the crown washed with ashy-brown, the middle of the back duller chestnut, and the bill dusky above; but may be known by the length of the tail. : . : 3 Fig. 240.—Crown Sparrow, throated), nat. size. (Ad nat, del. Mexico, Lower California, Ari- (white-crowned), nat. size. (Ad. E. C.) zona. nat. del. E. C.) Fig. 2389.— Crown Sparrow (white- ZONOTRICH'IA. (Gr. (on, zone, a girdle, band; rpeytas, trichias, name of a bird. Figs. 239, 240.) Crown Sparrows. Embracing our largest and handsomest sparrows, 6.50 to 215. 382 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES— OSCINES. 7.50 inches long, the rounded wings and tail each 3.00 or more; the under parts with ‘very few streaks, or none, the middle of the back streaked, the rump plain, the wings with two white cross-bars, the head of the adults with black, and usually with white and yellow also, or both. Bill moderate, conical, culmen and gonys just appreciably curved, commissure very little angu- lated. Point of the wing formed usually by the 2d-4th quills, and 1st about equal to 5th; folding decidedly beyond the inner secondaries, and to near the middle of the tail. Tail-feathers of moderate width and consistency, rounded oval at the end; tail as a whole rounded. Tarsus about equal to middle toe and claw; lateral toes about equal to each other. The Crown Sparrows are peculiar to North America, where they are represented by five beautiful and per- fectly distinct species. Analysis of Species (adults only). Crown black and white; no yellow on head; throat ash. Lores black. Dorsal streaks purplish-bay; no yellowon wing .......+.-s leucophrys 276 Lores gray. Dorsal streaks purplish-bay; noyellowon wing. .......... intermedia 277 Lores gray. Dorsal streaks sooty-black; edge of wing yellowish . ...... . + gambeli 278 Crown black and white; yellow spot before eye; throat white; edge of wing yellow. ... . albicollis 275 Crown black, yellow and ash; edge of wing yellow; throatashy ... ......4.4 coronata 279 Crown, face, and throat black ; no yellow on head or wing oi ips gap BE. rae das ope te tee We querula 280 Z. albicollis. (Lat. albicollis, white-throated; albus, sites collum, neck. Fig. 241.) WHITE-THROATED Crown SPARROW. PEABODY-BIRD. Adult ¢: Crown black, divided by a median white stripe, bounded by a white superciliary line, and yellow spot from nostril to eye; below this a black stripe through eye; below this a maxillary black stripe bounding the definitely pure white throat, sharply contrasted with the dark ash of the breast and sides of the neck and head. Edge of wing yellow. Back continuously streaked with black, chestnut, and fulvous-white ; rump ashy, unmarked. Wings much edged with bay, the white tips of the median and greater coverts forming two conspicuous bars ; quills and tail-feathers dusky, with pale edges. Below, white, shaded with | ashy-brown on sides, the ash deeper and Fic. 241. — White-throated. Crown Sparrow, paduded. purer on the breast ; bill dark; feet pale. (Sheppard, del. Nichols sc.) @, and immature birds, aud. specimens as generally seen in the U. S. in fall and winter, with the black of the head replaced by brown, the white of the throat less conspicuously contrasted with the duller ash of surrounding parts, and frequently with obscure dusky streaks on the breast and sides ; but the species may always be known by the yellow over the eye and on the edge of the wing (these never being imper- ceptible), coupled with the large size and the generic characters. Length 6.50-6.90; extent 9.20-9.90; wing 2.75-3.00; tail about the same. A fine sparrow, abundant throughout Eastern N. Am. to latitude 65° N.; W. to Dakota; breeds from the New England and other Northern States northward; winters from the Middle States southward. Found in all situations, but especially in shrubbery, generally in flocks, except when breeding; a pleasing if not brilliant songster, with its limpid pea-peabody, peabody, peabody’ in cadence. Nest on the ground, rarely in bushes; eggs 4-6, about 0.90 0.66, with the endless diversity of tone and pattern of those of the song sparrow, from which they are only distinguished by their greater size. e76. 277. 278. 279. FRINGILLIDZ: FINCHES, BUNTINGS, SPARROWS, ETC. 383 Z. leucojphrys. (Gr. Aevxds. leucos, white; édpis, ophrus, eyebrow. Fig. 242.) WuiTr- BROWED/CRowNn SPARROW. ¢ 9, adult: Crown pure white, enclosing on either side a broad black stipe that meets its fellow on the forehead and descends the lores to the level of the eyes, and bounded by another narrow black stripe that starts behind the eye and curves around the side of the hind-head, nearly meeting its fellow on the nape; edge of under eyelid white. Or, we may say, crown black, enclosing a median white stripe and two lateral white stripes, all confluent on the hind head. No yellow anywhere. General color a fine dark ash, paler below, whitening insensibly on chin and belly, more brownish on the rump, changing to dull brownish on the flanks and crissum, the middle of the back streaked with dark purplish-bay and ashy- white. No bright bay, like that of albicollis, amywhere, except some edging on the wing- coverts and inner secondaries; middle and greater coverts tipped with white, forming two bars. Bill and feet reddish. Length 6.25-7.00; extent 9.20-10.20; wing and tail 2.90-3.20; usually 6.75—9.50—8.10. Young: Black of the head replaced by very rich warm brown, the white of the head by pale brownish; the general ash has a brownish suffusion, and the back is more like that of albicollis, being streaked with dusky and ochrey-brown; but the two species cannot be confounded. Very young: Be- fore the first moult, there are indications of the head markings as last described; but the whole upper parts, sides of the neck and fore under parts are streaked with blackish and ochrey-brown or whitish. North Amer., especially eastern and rather northerly ; W. to the Rocky Mts., where mixed with Z. 1. intermedia; Greenland; Cape St. Lucas. Not neatly so abundant in the U. S. as albicollis, but common in many sections in winter and during the migrations. Breeds occasionally in North- ern New England, and plentifully in Lab- rador, where it is one of the commonest sparrows. Nesting the same as that of Fig. 242. — White-browed Crown Sparrow, reduced. albicollis, and eggs undistinguishable. (Sheppard del. Nichols sc.) Z.1, intermedia. (Lat. intermedia, intermediate, in the middle.) INTERMEDIATE CROWN Sparrow. Exactly like the last, but lores gray or ashy, continuous with the white stripe over the eye, %. e., the black of the forehead does not descend to the eye. Perhaps averaging a trifle smaller, and duller colored. Some specimens resemble leucophrys on one side of the head, and intermedia on the other. Rocky Mts. to the Pacific, mostly replacing true lewcophrys. (Z. gambeli Bd., 1858, Coues, 1872, nec Nutt.) Z. gam/beli. (To Wm. Gambel, of Phila.) Gampet’s Crown Sparrow. Markings of the head much the same as in Z. 1. intermedia; body colors entirely different, and almost exactly as in coronata, No. 279. Streaking of the back sooty-black. Edge and lining of the wing yellow, as in coronata and albicollis. Bill in dried specimens blackish and yellow, not reddish. Size of coronata. Pacific coast, U. 8., southerly. (Z. gambeli Nutt., 1840, nec Baird, Coues.) Z. corona/ta, (Lat. coronata, crowned; corona, a crown.) GOLDEN CROWN SPARROW. & 9, adult: Forehead and sides of the crown black, enclosing a dull yellow coronal patch anteriorly, an ashy one posteriorly ; a yellow spot over eye; lores black. Edge of the wing yellow. Above, much like albicollis, but with less bay and no whitish; two white wing-bars. Below, including sides of head and neck, ashy, passing insensibly into whitish on the belly, and much shaded with brownish on the flanks and crissum; thus much like leucophrys, but the 280. 85. 281. 384 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES — OSCINES. ashy not so pure; larger than lewcophrys; length averaging 7.00; wing over 3.00. Young: black of the crown replaced by brown; but always traces of the yellow on crown and wings. The yellow eye-spot is small, and not always evident. Pacific coast (to the Rocky Mts. — from Alaska to Southern California, abundant, migratory. Z. que’rula. (Lat. querula, querulous, plaintive; queror, I complain, lament.) Hooprp Crown Sparrow. Harris’ Sparrow. Adult @, in breeding plumage: Whole crown, face, and throat jet-black ; sides of head pale ash; auriculars darker ash, bounded by a black line starting behind the eye and curving around them. Under parts nearly pure white, but slightly ashy before and faintly brownish-washed behind, the sides with a few dusky streaks, the breast with a few black spots continued from the black throat-patch. Back nearly as in coronata, streaked with dusky and reddish-brown. Bill coral-red; toes dark; tarsi pale. No yellow anywhere. Very large: Length 7.00-7.75 ; extent 10.75-11.25; wing 3.25-3.50; tail 3.40- 3.60; bill 0.45 ; tarsus 1.00; middle toe and claw rather less. 9 similar, but with much less black on head and throat, the hood being restricted or imperfect ; but its outline usually trace- able. @ 9, in the fall: Bill light reddish-brown, usually obscured on ridge and at tip, and paler at base below ; feet flesh-colored, obscured on the toes; eyes brown. Crown grayish- black, every feather with a distinct, narrow, pale gray edge all around, producing a peculiar ° effect ; this area bounded with a light ochrey-brown superciliary and frontal line. Sides of head like the superciliary, but the auricular patch rather darker grayish-brown, and the loral region obscurely whitish. Chin pure white, bounded on each side by a sharp maxillary line of blackish, with a rusty-red tinge. On the lower throat, a large, diffuse and partially discon- tinuous blotch of this same blackish-red, cutting off the white chin from the white of the rest of the under parts, connecting with the maxillary streaks, and stretching along the sides of the neck and breast in a series of rich dusky-chestnut streaks. On the middle of the breast the blotch generally runs out into the white in a sharp point, but its size and shape vary inter- minably. The markings here described are all included in the jet-black hood and breast-plate of the perfect spring dress; and between the two extremes every intermediate condition may be observed at various seasons. The rest of the plumage does not differ very materially from that of the adult ¢ in summer. This is the largest of our sparrows; a bird of imposing appear- ance — for a sparrow. Interior U. 8. and British Provinces, especially the valley of the Missis- sippi, Lower Missouri, and Red River of the North; scarcely W. to the Rocky Mts.? E. to Minnesota, Missouri, Iowa, and probably Illinois; 8. to Texas. It is abundant in the line of its migration, as in Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Dakota, ete., but its breeding resorts are still unknown. I found it in Dakota at 49° coming early in September from the North. CHONDESTES. (Gr. x6v8pos, chondros, cartilage; also grain, seeds; éSeorys, edestes, an eater; badly formed.) Lark Sparrows. Framed for a single species, with long pointed wings exceeding the- long rounded tail; point of the wing formed by 2d and 3d primaries, but Ist and 4th scarcely shorter; rest rapidly graduated. Tarsus about equal to middle toe and claw; lateral toes short, tips of the claws not reaching base of middle claw. Bill swollen-conic, with culmen slightly convex, and commissure little angulated. Species large, for a sparrow, streaked above, white below, the head and tail parti-colored. C. gram/mica., (Gr. ypappixds, grammicos, marked with a j ypdppa, gramma, a line, word ; badly selected to indicate the Fig, 243. — Lark Sparrow, nat. size. stripes of the head. Fig. 243.) Lark Sparrow. Larg (4¢2a6 del. EC.) Fincu. & @, adult: Head variegated with chestnut, black, and white; crown chestnut, blackening on forehead, divided by a median stripe, and bounded by superciliary stripes, of 86. 282. 283. FRINGILLIDZ: FINCHES, BUNTINGS, SPARROWS, ETC. 385 white; a black line through eye, and another below eye, enclosing a white streak under the eye and the chestnut auriculars; next, a sharp black maxillary stripe not quite reaching the bill, cutting off a white stripe from the white chin and throat. A black blotch on middle of breast. Under parts white, faintly shaded with grayish-brown ; upper parts grayish-brown, the middle of the back with fine black streaks. Tail very long, its central feathers like the back, the rest jet-black, broadly tipped with pure white in diminishing amount froin the lateral pair inward, and the outer web of the outer pair entirely white. Length 6.50-7.00; wing 3.50, pointed; tail 3.00, rounded. Very young: Crown, back, and nearly all the under parts streaked with dusky; no chestnut on head, nor are the black stripes firm; but with the first moult the peculiar pattern of the head-markings becomes evident, and there is little variation afterward with age, sex, or season. A beautiful species, abundant from the eastern edge of the prairies, and even Iowa and Illinois, to the Pacific, U. 8.; occasional in Ohio, and strag- glers have been taken in Massachusetts and about Washington. A sweet songster; breeds throughout its range ; nest usually on the ground, of dried grass; eggs 4-7, white, with strag- gling zigzag dark lines, as in many Icteride; size 0.75-0.85 by about 0.65. PASSEREL'LA. (Ital. diminutive form of Lat. passer, a sparrow.) Fox SPARROWS. Remarkable for the size of the feet and claws: Lateral toes elongated to about equal degree, the ends of their claws reaching about half-way to the end of the middle claw ; claws all very large; middle toe and claw about as long as the tarsus. Wings long and pointed, folding about to the middle of the tail; point formed by the 2d-4th quills, 1st and 5th little shorter. Tail moderate, a little rounded or nearly even. Bill rather small, strictly conic, with straight outlines and scarcely angulated commissure. Large handsome reddish or slate-colored species, marked below with triangular spots and streaks of . the color of the back. Habits terrestrial and somewhat rasorial. Nest indifferently in trees or bushes or on the ground; eggs greenish, fully pre, o44,— Bill of speckled. The species, if more than one, are, like those of Junco, Melospiza, ae Sparrow, nat. and Pipilo, still imperfectly differentiated. P. ili’aca. (Lat. iliaca, relating to the ilia, or flanks, which are conspicuously marked. Figs. 244, 245.) Eastern Fox Sparrow. ¢, 9: General color above ferrugineous or rusty-red, purest and brightest on the rump, tail, and wings, on the other upper parts appearing in streaks laid on an ashy ground. Below, white, variously but thickly marked except on the belly and crissum with rusty-red —the markings anteriorly in the form of diffuse confluent blotches, on the breast and sides consisting chiefly of sharp arrow-head spots and pointed streaks. Tips of middle and greater wing-coverts forming two whitish bars. Upper mandible dark, lower mostly yellow; feet pale. One of the finest singers of the family; quite unlike any other Eastern species of sparrow. A large handsome species. Length 6.50-7.25 ; extent 10.50-11.50; wing 3.25-3.60, averaging 3.40; tail little or not over 3.00, thus decidedly shorter than the wing; pill, along culmen, 0.40; tarsus 0.90; hind claw about 0.35. Sexes alike, and young not particularly different after the first moult, though in an early stage much darker; back rufous- brown with darker streaks; no wing-bars; all the under parts heavily marked. There is much individual variation in color, independently of age, sex, or season. Eastern N. Aum. ; W. in the U. S. regularly only to the edge of the Plains, occasionally to Colorado; but in Alaska to the Pacific; N. to the Arctic coast. Breeds throughout the interior of British America and in Alaska; not known to do so anywhere in the U. S. Winters from the Middle States southward. Nest on ground or in bushes or trees; eggs pale greenish-white, thickly speckled with rusty-brown, 0.95 x 0.70; general aspect of the egg as in Zonotrichia and Melospiza. P. i. unalascen’sis. (Of the Island of Unalashka.) TowNnsenp’s Fox Sparrow. @, 9 General color above dark olive-brown, overcast with a reddish-brown tinge, and the streaking 25 284. 87. 386 | SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES — OSCINES. obsolete, —thus giving a uniform and continuous ruddy-olive tone, becoming more foxy-red on the rump, wings, and tail. Wing-bars obsolete. Beneath, white, thickly marked, excepting on the middle of the belly, with triangular spots of about the same dark color as the back, — aggregated on the breast, and the entire sides of the neck and body almost like the back in uniformity of the color, but still showing ill-defined confluent dark reddish-brown streaks on a more olive-brown ground. Cheeks and auriculars with some whitish speckling. No obvious mark- ings on wings. Bill dusky above, apparently reddish or yellowish below; feet reddish-brown. ‘Size: of iliaca, but very different-look- ing in color, and somewhat differ- eutly proportioned ; wing aver- aging 3.25, and tail scarcely or not shorter; bill about 0.50; hind claw the same, and as long as its digit. A curious form, re- lated to tiaca much as Melospiza rufina is to the Eastern song spar- row. Pacific coast region, from Alaska to California, breeding in SS : wer mountains and northward. (P. Fig. 245. — Fox Sparrow, reduced. (Sheppard del. Nichols sc.) townsendi Aud. Auct.) P. i. schista/cea. (Lat. schistacea, slaty ; Gr. cytords, schistos, fissile or cleft, as slate-stone is; the allusion, however, is to the color.) SLATE-cOLORED Fox Sparrow. , 9: Gencral color above uniform slate with a slight olive tinge, becoming dull foxy-red on the wings and tail; the streaking of the back obsolete, but whitish wing bars sometimes indicated. Below, white, shaded along the sides with the color of the back, but not so as to obscure the decided markings of the parts; the under parts at large spotted and streaked with dusky-brown, usually aggregated into a blotch on the breast. This is the connecting link between iliaca and una- lascensis; the upper parts are nearly of the slaty-ash that forms the ground color of éliaca, only the foxy streaks of the back are obsolete. The spotting below is correspondingly darker. The form has, however, some peculiarities : tail decidedly longer in comparison with the wings. Length about 7.00; wing 3.00-3.25 ; tail 3.385-3.60; bill 0.45; tarsus 0.90. Rocky Mt. region, chiefly, but noted from Kansas to California. P.i. megarhyn’cha. (Gr. péyas, megas, great; pryxos, rhugchos, rhynchus, beak.) LAaRGE- BILLED Fox Sparrow. Coloration as in P. schistacea. Tail at maximum length, averaging at the extreme of that of schistacea; claws and beak very highly developed; bill very thick, its depth at base 0.50, rather more than its length from nostril to tip; hind claw longer than its digit. A local race of the last, in the mountains of California and Nevada. CALAMOSPI’ZA. (Gr. kddayos, kalamos, Lat. calamus, a reed; omifa, spiza,a finch.) Lark Buytines. Bill large and stout at base, the culmen a little curved, the commissure well angulated ; rictus bristly. Wing long and pointed: tip formed by the lst-4th quills, rest rapidly graduated ; inner secondaries enlarged and flowing, one of them about reaching the point of the wing when closed. Tail shorter than wing, nearly even. Feet stout, adapted to terrestrial habits; tarsus about as long as iniddle toe and claw; lateral toes nearly equal to each other, scarcely reaching the base of the middle claw; hind claw about as long as its digit, but not. straightened. A well-marked genus, with wing-structure reminding one of Anthus or Alauda; the turgid strongly-angulated bill resembles that of a grosbeak. Sexes very dissimilar; a black and white. 286. 88. 287, FRINGILLIDZ: FINCHES, 'B UNTINGS, SPARROWS, ETC. 387 C. bicolor. (Lat. bicolor, two-colored. Fig. 246.) Lark Bunting. WuITE-wINGED Buackeirp.. g, in summer. Black, with a large white patch on the wings; the quills and tail-feathers frequently marked with white; bill dark horn-blue above, paler below; feet brown. Length 6.00-6.75 ; extent 10.00-11.00; wing 3.25-3.50; tail 2.50-2.75 ; bill 0.50-0.55 ; tarsus, or middle toe and claw, 0.90-1.00. Sexes unlike: 9 more resembling a sparrow. Above, gray- ish-brown, streaked with dusky-brown, on the back the edges of the dark streaks often of a purer brown than the general ground-color. Below, white, shaded on the sides with grayish- brown, thickly streaked with blackish-brown everywhere excepting the throat and belly, the streaks mostly sharp and distinct, but blended on the sides, tending to aggregate on the breast, and run forward as a maxillary chain. A poorly-defined light superciliary stripe. Wings dusky, with a large white or whitish speculum, much as in the ¢, but not so pure nor so extensive ; inner secondaries edged with brown and white. ‘Tail-feathers, the middle excepted, blackish tipped with white. Young @ like the 9, but colors more suffuse and brighter; upper parts pure brown; under parts tinged with fulvous, the wing-markings quite fulvous ; under surface of wing quite blackish. In very young birds the markings more motley than streaky ; the bill brownish, flesh-colored be- low. 2 wears the black plumage only during the breeding season, like the bobolink; when changing, the characters of the two sexes are confused. In the form of the bill, this interest- ing species is closely allied to the grosbeaks; and this, with the singularly enlarged secondaries, as long as the primaries in the closed wing, renders it unmistakable .in any plumage. A _ prairie bird, abundant on the central plains ; N. to 49° at least, in the Missouri and Milk River region, W. to the Rocky Mts., and southerly to the Pacific. The male has the habit of soaring and singing on wing like a lark; nest on the ground, sunken flush with the surface, of grasses; eggs 4-5, 0.90 X 0.65, pale bluish-green, normally unmarked, occasionally speckled. SPI'ZA. (Gr. omi{a, spiza, a kind of finch, probably F. celebs.) Sink Buntines. Bill much as in Calamospiza, but longer for its depth and not so strongly angulated. Wings very long and pointed; 2d primary usualiy longest, 1st and 3d little shorter, 4th and rest rapidly graduated; one inner secondary a little elongated, but not nearly reaching point of wing. Tail short, nearly even, but a little emarginate. Tarsus and middle toe and claw of about equal lengths; lateral toes of nearly equal lengths, not reaching base of middle claw; hind toe with claw as long as the middle toe without claw. S. america/na. (Lat. of America. Fig. 247.) Buack-THROATED Bunrinc. gf: Above, grayish-brown, the middle of the back streaked with black, the hind neck ashy, becoming on the crown yellowish-olive with black touches. A yellow superciliary line, and maxillary touch of the same; eyelid white; ear-coverts ashy like the cervix; chin white; throat with a large jet-black patch. Under parts in general white, shaded with gray on the sides, extensively tinged with yellow on the breast and belly. Edge of wing yellow; lesser and middle coverts Fic. 246.—Lark Bunting, ¢ 9, reduced. (Sheppard del. Nichols sc.) 288. 89, 388 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES — OSCINES. rich chestnut, other coverts and inner secondaries edged with paler. Bill dark horn-blue; feet brown. Length 6.50-7.00; extent 10.50-11.00; wing 3.25-3.50, sharp-pointed ; tail 2.50-2.75, emarginate. Q. Smaller; wing under 3.00, ete.; above, like the ¢, but head and neck plainer; below, less tinged with yellow, the black: throat-patch wanting, replaced by sparse sharp maxillary and pectoral streaks, the wing-coverts not chestnut, though so indicated by rufous edg- ings of the individual feathers. Young ¢: Larger than the 9, but in general similar; throat-pateh indicated by blackish feathers ; wing-coverts chest- nut. An elegant species, of trim form, tasteful colors and very smooth plumage, abundant in the fertile portions of the Eastern U. S.; N. to Massa- chusetts ; W. to Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, and in the south to Arizona; rather southerly, scarcely reaching the N. border of the U. S. anywhere; hee winters wholly extralimital; breeds throughout its Fic. 247 — Black-throated Bunting, reduced. U. 8. range. Not a good vocalist; the simple (Sheppard del. Nichols sc.) ditty sounds like chip-chip-chee, chee, chee. Nest on the ground, or in a low bush; eggs 4-5, normally plain greenish-white, rarely speckled ; 0.80 X 0.65. S. town/sendi. (To J. K. Townsend.) Townsenp’s Buntine. ‘Upper parts, head and neck all round, sides of body and forepart of breast, slate-blue; back and upper surface of wings tinged with yellowish-brown ; interscapulars streaked with black ; superciliary and maxillary line, chin and throat and central line of under parts from breast to crissum, white; edge of wing, and gloss on breast and middle of belly, yellow; a black spotted line from lower corner of lower mandible down the side of the throat, connecting with a crescent of streaks in the upper edge of the slate portion of the breast.” Pennsylvania ; one specimen known, a standing puzzle to ornithologists, in the uncertainty whether it is a ‘‘ good species,” or merely an abnormal plu- mage of the last, or a hybrid, possibly of S. americana 9 X gf Guiraca cerulea. While it is not improbable that the type came from an egg laid by S. americana, even such immediate ancestry would not forbid recognition of ‘“ specific characters ;” the solitary bird having been killed, it represents a species which died at its birth. ZAMELO'DIA. (Gr. 4, za, much, very ; peA@dia, melodia, melody. Fig. 248.) Sona Grosseaxs. Bill extremely heavy, with the lower mandible as deep as the upper or deeper, the commissural angle strong, far in advance of the feathered base of the bill, the rictus overhung with a few long stiff bristles. Wing with outer 4 primaries abruptly longer than 5th. Tail shorter than wing, even or scarcely rounded. Feet short and stout. Embracing two large species, of beau- tiful and striking cclors, the sexes dissimilar. @ black and white, with carmine-red or orange-brown; 9 otherwise, but Fic. 248. — Bill of Zamelodia (Z. : me aoe . ludoviciana, nat. size.) (Ad. nat del. with lining of wings yellow. Brilliant songsters; nest in F.C.) trees and bushes; eggs spotted. Analysis of Species. ¢@ black and white, with carmine-red on breast and under wings. 9? with lining of wings saffron-yellow. ae ai ent Be nae ase - + + « « ludoviciana 289 reast: #9 with lining of wings and belly yellow. Western melanocephala 290 289. 290. FRINGILLIDA: FINCHES, BUNTINGS, SPARROWS, ETC. 889 Z. ludovicia/‘na. (Lat. of Louisiana. Figs. 248, 249, 255.) RosE-BREASTED SONG GROS- BEAK. Adult ¢ with the head and neck all around and most of the upper parts black, the rump, upper tail-coverts and under parts white, the breast and under wing-coverts exquisite carmine or rose-red ; wings and tail black, variegated with white; bill white; feet grayish- blue; iris brown. @ above, streaked with blackish and olive-brown or flaxen-brown, with median white coronal and superciliary line; below, white, more or less tinged with fulvous and streaked with dusky; wnder wing-coverts saffron-yellow ; upper coverts and inner quills with a white spot at end; bill brown. Young ¢ at first resembling the 9 ; but the rose color appears with the first full feather- ing. Two or three years are required to produce the perfect beauty. Sexes of same size. Length 7.75-8.50; extent 12.00-13.00; wing 3.90-4.25; tail 3.25; tarsus 0.90. Eastern U. 8S. and British Provinces, N. to Labrador and the region of the Saskatche- wan; W. in U. S. to the Red River Valley, and edge of the Missouri River plains ; win- ters extralimital; breeds from the Middle States northward. A splendid bird! Few combine such attractions for the eye and ear. Nest in bushes and low trees, chiefly of root- lets and slender fibres; eggs 3-4, 1.00 x 0.75, dull greenish, fully splashed and dotted with dark brown, laid in June. Fic. 249. — Rose-breasted Grosbeak, reduced. (Shep- Z. melanoce/phala. (Gr. pédas, pédavos, pard del. Nichols sc.) melas, melanos, black; kepady, kephale, head. Fig. 250.) BLACK-HEADED SonG GROSBEAK. Adult @ with the crown, sides of head, back, wings, and tail black; the back usually varied with whitish or cinnamon-brown, the wings spotted with white on the ends of the coverts, and usually also towards the ends of the quills, and with a large white patch at base of primaries ; several lateral tail-feathers with large white spots on inner webs near their ends. Neck all around, rump, and under parts rich orange-brown, changing to bright pure yellow on the belly and under wing-coverts; bill and feet dark grayish - blue. Size of the last. The 9 and young differ much as in the last species, but may be recognized by the rich sulphur-yellow under wing-coverts; the bill is shorter HAN, aud more tumid, 0.66-0.75 along Fic. 250. — Black-headed Grosbeak, reduced. (Shepparddel. Nichols sc.) culmen, 0.60 deep at base. 9, adult: Under parts like those of the g, but paler, though the belly and lining of wings are as pure yellow. Upper parts dark brown with an olive shade, varied with whitish or brownish-white, the head blackish with white or brownish coronal and superciliary stripes. Wings dusky, marked as in the 3, but the basal white spot on primaries restricted ; tail as in 90. 291. 91. 890 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. —PASSERES —OSCINES. &, but the white spots reduced or obsolete. Bill light-colored below. In the @ the ten- dency is to perfectly black head, back, tail, and wings, the two former pure and continuous, the two latter boldly spotted with white as described ; but such faultless full dress is not often seen. This stylish Western representative of the elegant rose-breast is common in suitable woodland from the Plains to the Pacific, U. S., wintering in Mexico, breeding throughout its U.S. range; its habits are the same; its nest and eggs are indistinguishable. GUIRA'CA. (Vox barb., Mex. or 8. Am. name of some bird. Fig. 251) Brus Grospesxks. Bill with commissure strongly angulated far beyond base, with deep under mandible and bristly rictus as in Zamelodia, but not so swollen, the cul- men nearly straight. Wings long and pointed, folding about the middle of the tail; tip formed by the 2d-4th quills, Ist little shorter, 5th rapidly graduated. Tail shorter than wings, even. ‘Tarsus rather less than middle toe and claw; outer lateral toe slightly longer than the inner, but scarcely reaching Fre. 251.—Bill of Guiraca, nat. pase of middle claw. One species, large, ¢ blue, 9 brown. size. (Ad nat. del. E.C.) G. cerwlea. (Lat. cerulea, cerulean. Fig. 252.) Biun Grospnax. Adult g: Rich dark blue, nearly uniform, but darker or blackish across middle of back; feathers around base of bill, wings and tail, black; middle and greater wing-coverts tipped with chestnut; bill dark horn- blue, paler below; feet blackish. Length 6.50-7.00; extent 10.50-11.00; wing 3.30-3.60; tail 2.75-3.00 ; bill 0.60-0.67 ; tarsus 0.75; middle toe and claw rather more. @ smaller, plain warm brown above, paler and rather flaxen-brown below, sometimes whitey-brown on throat and belly, or with slight streaks on belly and crissum ; wings and tail fus- cous, sometimes slightly bluish-glossed or edged, the former with whitey-brown crogs-bars ; billand feet brown. Young 6 at first like 9; when changing, shows confused brown and blue; after- ward, blue interrupted with white be- low. U. S&., from Atlantic to Pacific, but southerly; rarely N. to Massachu- setts, and even Maine; winters wholly extralimital ; breeds thronghoutits U. 8. range. Its limit of northward migra- tion with regularity and in any numbers is about the latitude of Philadelphia. Fic. 252. — Biue Grosbeak, iidaced (Sheppard del. Nichols sc.) Nest in bushes, vines or other shrub- bery, sometimes a low tree, of grasses and rootlets; eggs 4-5, averaging 0.90 X 0.65, palest bluish, normally unspotted ; quite like those of the indigo-bird, but larger. PASSERI'NA. (Lat. passerinus, sparrow-like: not well applied to these ‘‘ inatchless ones.”) Painrep Fincues. Bill relatively smaller and weaker than in the last, with less conspicuous angulation, the culmen regularly a little convex, the gonys nearly straight. Outer 4 primaries longest ; 1st usually between 4th and 5th, the latter much shorter. Tail little shorter than wing, about even or emarginate. Feet moderate; tarsus about equal to the middle toe and claw; lateral toes about equal to each other, their claws falling short of base of middle claw. Embracing several elegant finches of small size; the males of very showy hues, especially blue, but also red, purple, yellow, and green, usually in masses; the females of simple and tasteful greenish or brownish shades. 292. 293. 294. FRINGILLIDZ: FINCHES, BUNTINGS, SPARROWS, Erc. 891 Analysis of Species. d rich blue, intense red and golden-green; 9 greenish and yellow. Southern ........ ciris 292 ¢ purplish-blue, dusky and reddish. @ brown. Southwestern .........444046 versicolor 293 ¢@ lazuli-blue and white, the breast brown; 9 brown and whitish. Western Sete setci » amena 294 d@ indigo-blue; 9 brown. Eastern Ay Be aed ee BORO So bo sh ‘ y aes + oe + cyamea 295 P. ci/ris. (Gr. eipis, heiris, name of a bird into which Seylla, dauphter of Nisus, was trans- formed.) Paintep Fincu. PaIntTED BuntTinc. Nonpareiy. Popz. @, adult: Crown and hind neck and sides of head and neck rich blue; back and scapulars beautiful golden-green ; eyelids, rump, and entire under parts intense vermilion-red; wings dusky, glossed with green and reddish ; tail dusky reddish. Bill dark horn-color; feet dark brown. Size of C. amena; wing 2.75 ; tail 2.25, a little emarginate. 9: Above, plain yellowish-green, nearly uniform, this color glossing the dusky wings and tail; below, yellowish; bill brownish, pale below; thus quite different from the brown 9 9 of all the following species. Young @ at first like 9; acquiring the red and blue with every possible gradation between the colors of the two sexes. South Atlantic and Gulf States, abundant; up the coast to Carolina, and in the interior to Tllinois; Texas and Mexico. An exquisite little creature of matchless hues, well named the “incomparable”; a fair songster, and a favorite cage-bird in Louisiana. Nest in bushes, hedges and low trees; eggs pearly white, speckled with reddish and purplish browns. P. versi/color. (Lat. versicolor, various in color; verto, I turn; color, color.) PURPLE PAINTED Fincw. Varinp Bunting. WESTERN NoNPAREIL. Prusiano. @, adult: Hind head, throat, and fore breast brownish-red or claret-color, the former sometimes scarlet ; hind neck and middle of back similar, but more obscured; fore-part of crown purplish-red; rump and upper tail-coverts purplish-blue; below, from the breast, and the wings and tail, dusky, tinged or glossed with purplish ; concealed white in feathers of side of rump; lores and cireumrostral feathers black. Bill horn-bluish, paler below, stouter than in the other species, with very convex culmen and concave cutting edge of upper mandible. Feet dark. The versicoloration is difficult to describe; the general aspect is that of a purplish-dusky bird, redder or bluer here and there. Size of the others. 9 plain brown above, whitey-brown below, like amena and cyanea; no whitish wing-bars; no black stripe on gonys; concealed white on sides of ruayp ; pill stout. Lower California and Mexico, N. to U.S. border, especially in the Rio Grande Valley, where common in some localities. (Accidental in Michigan.) P. ame’na, (Lat. amena, delightful, charming, dressy.) Lazuti Painrep Fincu. 4, adult: Head and neck all around, entire upper parts, and lining of wings, rich azure or lapis. lazuli blue, more or less obscured on the middle of the back; the lores black. Below, from the blue neck, chestnut-brown, changing to white on the belly and crissum. A firm white wing- bar across ends of the median coverts, and usually another weaker one across tips of greater coverts. Wings and tail dusky, glossed with blue. Bill and feet bluish-black. Length 5.25- 5.50; extent 8.00-8.50; wing 2.75-3.00; tail 2.25-2.50; bill 0.37; tarsus 0.65. 9, adult: Above, flaxen‘brown, nearly uniform, but with slightly darker centres of the feathers, and some- times a faint bluish gloss. Below, buffy or brownish-white, most colored on the breast, palest on throat and belly. Wings and tail fuscous, with faint bluish edgings usually, crossed with two decided brownish-white bars, — the chief distinction from 9 cyanea. $, young: Like the 9 ; ‘ when changing, patched with brown and blue; when very young, J 9 somewhat streaky, 295. especially on under parts. Replacing P. cyanea from the Plains to the Pacific, common in suitable places ; habits, nest, and eggs the same. P. cya’nea. (Lat. cyanea, Gr. xudveos, kuameos, dark blue. Fig. 253.) Inpico PainTED Fincu. Inpico-srrp. Adult ¢: Indigo-blue, intense and constant on the head, glancing greenish with different lights on other parts; wings and tail blackish, glossed with greenish- blue; feathers around base of bill black ; bill dark. above, rather paler below, with a curious black stripe along the gonys. 9: Above, plain warm brown, below whitey-hrown, obsoletely streaky on the breast and sides; wing-coverts and inner quills pale-edged, but not whitish; 92. 296. 93. 29%. 392 "SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES — OSCINES. no whitish wing-bars; upper mandible blackish, lower pale, with the black stripe just mentioned, — this is a pretty constant feature, and will distinguish the species from any of our Eastern little brown birds. Young ¢: Like the 9, but soon shows blue traces, and afterward is blue with white variegation below. Size of the foregoing. Eastern U. S., N. to Maine and Canada; W. to Kansas, Indian Territory, and Texas; winters wholly extralimital; breeds throughout its N. A. range. Abundant in fields and open woodland, in summer; a well mean- ing but rather weak vocalist, whose low rambling strain is delivered as if the little performer were tired or indifferent. Nest in the crotch of a bush, large for the size of the bird, and not at all artistic; eggs usually 4-5, averaging 0.72 & 0.52, white with a faint blue shade, and normally plain, though not seldom a little speckled. SPERMO/PHILA. (Gr. omépya, sperma, seed; didos, philos, loving.) Pyeamy FincHEs. Bill like that of a bullfinch in miniature, short and extremely turgid ; swollen in all directions, culmen convex nearly in the sextant of a circle; cutting edge of upper mandible very concave ; gonys short, about straight in outline. Wings short and greatly rounded; 2d-4th quills longest, 1st, 5th, and even 6th, little shorter, and secondaries nearly covering primaries in the closed wing. ‘Tail rather shorter than wings, slightly rounded, with abruptly pointed tips of the feathers. Tarsus equal to middle toe and claw, and lateral toes to each other, their claws about reaching base of middle claw. A large C. and 8. Am. genus of pygmy finches, one of which reaches our border; our most diminutive fringilline (but Phonipara is about the same). S. morelet'i. (To one Morelet.) Morever’s Pyamy Fincu. Litre Srep-ratrer. : Top and sides of head, back of neck, broad band across upper part of breast, middle of back, wings, and tail, black ; chin, upper throat, neck nearly all around, rump, and remaining under parts, white, the latter often tinged with pale buff; two wing-bands, and bases of all the quills, also white, that on the secondaries hidden by the coverts, that on the primaries forming an exposed spot; inner secondaries usually edged with white; tail-feathers sometimes with obscurely whitish tip. Bill blue-black; feet dark. 9 olivaceous-brown above, brownish- yellow or dull buff below ; wings with whitish bars, but no white bases of quills; bill brown; feet dark. Length about 4.00; wing 2.00-2.10; tail 1.90; tarsus 0.60. Mexico to Texas, in the Lower Rio Grande valley. PHONI'PARA. (Gr. dovy, phone, sound, voice; Lat. pario, I produce: badly formed.) Grass Quits. Bill small, acute, culmen slightly convex, commissure about straight to the angulation at base. Wings short, rounded, 2d—5th primaries subequal and little longer than Ist, 6th, 7th. Tail still shorter, about even. Tarsus if anything shorter than middle toe and claw; lateral toes subequal to each other in length, scarcely reaching base of middle toe. A West Indian genus of diminutive finches, one of which occurs in Florida. P. ze/na, (Vox barb.; perhaps proper name.) BLAcK-raceD Grass Quit. ¢, adult: Upper parts, including exposed surfaces of wings and tail, dull olivaceous, passing on the face, throat, and breast, into sooty-black, fading on other under parts into olive-gray, more or less varied with whitish; wings and tail unmarked; no decided demarcation of colors anywhere. Bill blue-black ; feet dark brown. @Q lighter olivaceous, passing to olive-ashy where the f is black; bill pale below; fect light brown. Length about 4.00; wing 2.00-2.10; tail 1.75. West Indies and Florida. One of the common house finches in various West Indian Islands ; Fic, 253, —Indigo-bird, reduced. (Sheppard del. Nichols sc.) 94, 298. 95. 299. FRINGILLIDZ: FINCHES, BUNTINGS, SPARROWS, ETC. 393 nest in bushes and shrubbery, large, domed, with lateral entrance; eggs 3-6, 0.65 x 0.50, white, speckled with reddish. PYRRHULO‘XIA. (Lat. pyrrhula + loxia; pyrrhula, a bullfinch ; loxia, a cross-bill. Gr. muppds, purhros, red; Aogias, lowias, crooked.) BuLLFINcH CARDINALS. Bill very short and stout, hooked almost like a parrot’s: its depth at base exceeding its length; under mandible deeper than upper at nostrils; culmen curved almost to the quadrant of a circle ; commissure forcibly angulated in advance of nostrils; gonys about straight. Otherwise generally like Cardinalis. Colors grayish and red; head crested. One large species. P. sinua/ta. (Lat. sinuata, bent, bowed, curved; sinus, a bend, bay: alluding to the bill.) BULLFINCH CARDINAL. TEXAS CARDINAL. Conspicuously crested, and otherwise like the common cardinal in form, but the bill extremely short and crooked. @: Ashy-brown, paler or whitish below; the crest, face, throat, breast, and middle line of belly, with the wings and tail, more or less perfectly crimson or carmine red; bill whitish. Length 8.00-8.50; extent 11.00-12.00; wing 3.50-4.00; tail 8.75-4.25. 9 similar to the g, more so than 9 Cardinalis : red of crest, wings, and tail much the same; rather brownish-yellow below, usually with traces of red on the breast and belly, sometimes without. Young @ like the 9. At an early age, both sexes have the bill obscured. In this species the crest is long, but thin, consisting of a few coronal feathers, without general elongation of the head-plumage. The shade of red is very variable in equally adult males. In highest feather it is continuous on the under parts from bill to tail along the median line; but it is often broken into patches on throat, belly, and crissum. The tint is always carmine, not vermilion as usual in the common cardinal. The intense rose-color is well displayed on spreading the wings. A singular bird, inhabiting the U. §. near the Mexican border, from Texas to Lower California; abundant in the valley of the Lower Rio Grande. The habits, nest, and eggs are substantially the same as those of the common cardinal. CARDINA'LIS. (Lat. cardinalis, pertaining to cardo, a door-hinge; cardinal, that upon which something hinges or depends ; hence important, principal, cardinal point ; cardinal, a chief ecclesiastical official, wearing the red hat; hence cardinal-red, from which color the bird is named. Fig. 254.) CarpinaL GROSBEAKS. Bill very large and stout, but quite conic ; culmen a little convex ; gonys about straight ; commissure sinuate, not abruptly angulated; lower mandible about as deep as upper; rictus bristled. Wings very short and rounded; usually 4th and 5th quills longest, others rapidly grad- uated both ways, — 5th to Ist, 5th to 9th. Tail longer than wings, rounded, of broad feathers with obliquely Fie. 254. —Head of Cardinal Grosbeak, oval tips. Tarsus longer than middle toe and claw; nat. size. (Ad nat. del. E. C.) lateral toes subequal. Size large. Head crested. Color mostly red, including bill. Sexes subsimilar. % C. virginia/nus. (Of Virginia; name inappropriate to Queen Elizabeth. Figs. 254, 255.) CARDINAL GROSBEAK. CARDINAL Rep-sirp. Vireinta NIGHTINGALE. , adult: Rich red, usually vermilion, sometimes rosy; pure and intense on crest and under parts, darker on back, where obscured with ashy-gray, as it is also on upper surfaces of wings and tail; the feathers of the wings fuscous on inner webs. A jet-black mask on the face, entirely surround- ing the bill, extending on the throat. Bill coral-red; feet brown. Length 8.00-9.00; extent 11.00-12.00 ; wing 3.50-4.00 ; tail 4.25-4.75 ; bill 0.67-0.75 ; tarsus 0.90-1.00. rather less: Ashy-brown, paler and somewhat yellowish-brown below, with traces of red; reddening much asin the @ on crest, wings, aud tail. Young ¢: At first like 9, but soon reddening ; at an 300. 394 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES — OSCINES. early age, bill dark. Eastern U.8., southerly, seldom N. to the Connecticut Valley; along the Mexican border shading iuto C. v. igneus. A bird of striking appearance and brilliant vocal powers, resident and abundant from the Middle States southward; inhabits thickets, tangle and undergrowth of all kinds, whence issue its rich rolling whistling notes while the performer, brightly clad as he is, often eludes observation by his shyness, vigilance, and activity. The nest, built loosely of bark-strips, twigs, leaves, and grasses, is placed in a bush, vine, or low z WS \S a ™~ cn A XA at SATs RASS Fic. 255. — Cardinal Grosbeak, upper; Rose-breasted Grosbeak, lower; reduced. (From Brehm.) thick tree; the eggs are 1.00-1.10 long, 0.70-0.80 in breadth, profusely marked with browns, from reddish to dark chocolate, with neutral tint in the shell, usually in fine dotting or mar- bling pattern. Two or three broods are reared in the South. Like the rose-breasted grosbeak, the cardinal is a favorite cage-bird. . C. v.ig/ineus. (Lat. igneus, fiery.) Fiery-RED CARDINAL. Like the last; not redder, but if anything lighter red; black mask narrowed on forehead, or so interrupted there that the red reaches to the bill; crest inclining to light red, more like that of belly than of back. Bil! 96. FRINGILLIDZ: FINCHES, BUNTINGS, SPARROWS, ETC. 395 tending to swell, with more decidedly curved culmen. Tail rather longer, on an average. Valley of the Colorado and Gila, and Lower California, common. PI'PILO. (Lat. pipilo or pipio, I pip, peep, chirp.) Towsre Buntines. Embracing numerous species and varieties of large Fringillide, varying much in system of coloration and details of form, and therefore not easy to characterize concisely. Excepting one species, all are over seven inches long. Bill moderate in size, conic without extremes of turgidity or compres- sion, but varying much in precise shape with the species. Feet large and strong, fitted for ground work; tarsus about equalling or rather exceeding the middle toe and claw ; lateral toes subequal, outer usually a little the longer, its claw reaching, in some cases exceeding the base of the middle claw; the claws all stout and much curved, in some species highly developed. Wings short and greatly rounded, about the 4th-5th primary longest, whence the quills are rapidly graduated to 1st and 9th; lst very short. Tail long, exceeding the wings, rounded or much graduated, of broad firm feathers with rounded ends. Large species, inhabiting shrub- bery, and partly terrestrial. They fall in 3 sections or series. I. Black Towhees: of which the only Eastern species is a typical example. In this, the sexes are very unlike, but the difference is less in the Western varieties into which it runs: all the forms are black on head and upper parts, with black, white-marked wings or tail, the back also white-marked or not; belly white, sides chestnut. II. Brown Towhees: variously brown above, paler, etc., below, the sexes alike. These are confined to the Southwest, where the numerous species stand in the same relation to Fringillide that the Southwestern forms of Harporhynchus bear to Turdide. III. Green Towhees: one small species, standing alone. Oss. I. The black series of Pipilo offers a case nearly parallel with those of Melospiza, Passerella and Jumnco already discussed. There is one Eastern form much more distinct from the several Western ones than these are from one another. It is uniform black above, seldom with a trace of white spotting on the scapulars: the ? distinctively brown where the ¢ is black. The Western ones all have spotted scapularg and sometimes also interscapulars; and @ 9 are blackish, much like the f g. (These furthermore shade into an olivaceous Mexican form.) P. areticus corresponds in a way with Melospiza heermanni, Passerella schistacea, and Junco caniceps ; P. oregonus with Melospiza guttata or rufina, Passerella wnalasce and Junco oregonus ; P. megalonyx exactly. with Passerella megarhyncha. It might be more consistent to treat all the black Towhees as races of one incompletely specified stock ; but it is not easy to so far ignore the sexual distinctiveness, nor the fact that though P. erythrophthalmus has oceasional spots on the scapulars, its intergradation is scarcely established. II. The Brown Towhees afford one remarkably distinct species, P. abertz, to be likened to Harporhynchus crissalis; and others incompletely separated from each other, like H. redivivus and H. lecontit. Analysis of Species and Varieties. 1. Black Towhees. Colors of the male black, white, and chestnut in definite areas, No white on the scapulars or wing-coverts. Sexes very unlike. Eyes red in the breeding season. Eastern U.S. atlarge . . SS de th 8 Rasaaiancaauic a 301 Eyes white in the breeding season. Florida, resident . .......-. . » » alleni 302 Scapulars and wing-cgverts with white spots; sexes more alike. Western. Little if any white at bases of primaries ; none on outer web of outer tail-feathers except at end. oregonus 303 White on wings and tail as in erythrophthalmus, but interscapulars streaked . 4 « G@reticus 304 Like the last; claws highly developed; sexes nearly alike. . . si . + megalonyx 305 2. Brown Towhees. Colors not definitely black, white and chestnut; no greenish: sexes alike. Southwestern. Grayish-brown, paler below, without blackish face ; throat and crissum fulvous or rufescent. Light; belly whitening; crissum iecceapeala biel necklace of dusky streaks . . . mesoleucus 306 Similar; more white on throat . . . . . « « albigula 307 Dark ; belly only paler ; crissum cinnamioausbrown? throat falvous, speckled. + 2 + « erissalis 3808 Qrayish-brown, paler below; face blackish ; no other decided markings . . . . . .. . . aberti 309 3. Green Towhees. Colors greenish ; sexes alike. Crown brown, throat white, breast ashy, edge of wing yellow, etc. . ‘ » + + « « .chlorurus 310 S01. 302. 303. 304. 396 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES — OSCINES. P. erythrophthal’mus. (Gr. épvdpos, eruthros, red; d@Oadyuds, ophthalmos, eye.) TOWHEE Buntinc. Marsa Rosin. CHEewinx. , adult: Giossy black; belly white; sides chest- nut; crissum fulvous-brown; primaries and inner secondaries with white touches on the outer webs; outer tail-feather with outer web and nearly the terminal half of inner web white, the next two or three with white spots decreasing in size; bill black; feet pale brown; iris red in the adult, white or creamy in the young, and generally in winter specimens. Normally, the black pure and continuous ; occasionally, white touches on wing-coverts and scapulars. White on primaries confined to bases of outer 6, and their outer webs at about their middle; on secondaries to outer webs of inner 2 or 3. Black feathers of throat with concealed whitish | bases. Length 7.50-8.75 ; extent 10.00-12.00; wing 3.20-3.90 ; tail 3.35-4.00; tarsus 1.00- 1.12; but these extremes are rare; average length 8.00; extent 11.25; wing 3.75; tail 4.50. Q: Rich warm brown where the male is black; otherwise similar, but smaller. Very young birds are streaked brown and dusky above, below whitish tinged with brown and streaked with dusky; but this plumage is of brief duration; sexual distinctions may be noted in birds just from the nest, and they rapidly become much like the adults. Eastern U. 8. and British Provinces ; N. to Canada, Minnesota and Dakota, where meeting P. arcticus; W. to Kansas, and in Missouri River region to about 43°. Northerly perfectly migratory; winters from middle U. 8S. southward; breeds nearly throughout its range. An abundant and familiar inhabitant of thickets, undergrowth, and briery tracts, spending much of its time on the ground, scratching among fallen leaves. Nest on the ground, bulky, of leaves, grasses and other fibrous material ; eggs 4-5, 0.95 x 0.70, white, thickly speckled with reddish. The curious names ‘‘ Towhee ” and ‘‘ Chewink” are from its cry; ‘‘ Marsh Robin” from its haunts and the chestnut of the sides. P.e. aVleni. (To J. A. Allen, the eminent naturalist.) WHrITE-EYED TowHEE BUNTING. Similar; smaller; less white on the wings and tail; claws longer; iris white. @, extremes: Length 7.25-8.50; extent 9.50-11.55 ; wing 2.80-3.50 ; tail 3.25-4.00; tarsus 0.80-1.10; aver- age length 7.90; extent 9.90; wing 3.12; tail 3.50; tail relatively longer than in Northern specimens, producing less difference in total length than there is in length and extent of wings. White on outer tail-feather about as much as on the next feather of P. erythrophthalmus. Florida ; resident; a local race. [P. macula/tus. (Lat. maculatus, spotted.) OLIvE-BLACK SPOTTED TowHEE. A Mexican species, with extensively olivaceous coloration and streaked back, into which the following three varieties shade imperceptibly, — oregonus being farthest removed and most like erythrophthal- mus, arcticus and megalonyx successively nearing the Mexican stock-form. ] P. m. ore/gonus. (To the Territory of the Oregon.) OrEGoN Towner. @: Very similar to erythrophthalmus; quite as black, but not continuously so; wing-coverts with small rounded, and seapulars with larger oval, white spots on the outer webs of the feathers near the end; interscapulars sometimes also with white touches? white marks on the primaries and inner secondaries very small or wanting, usually none at the bases of the former; white spots on tail- feathers very small, the outer web of the outer rectrix not white except at the end. Excepting these particulars, this form looks more like erythrophthalmus than like the typical maculatus, in which the body-colors are olivaceous. Q dark umber-brown, but not quite blackish. Pacific coast region, N. to British Columbia, S. to Southern California, melting eastward into arcticus, southeastward into megalonyx. P. m. arc’ticus. (Lat. arcticus, arctic.) Arctic TowHEE. Similar to the foregoing; less purely and continuously black, with tendency to olivaceous on back and rump; white spots of wing-coverts larger, those of scapulars still larger and lengthening into streaks ; interscapulars also streaked with white; white on the quills and tail-feathers at a maximum, as in erythro- phthalmus; usually, also, concealed white specks in the black of the throat. 9 comparatively dark, but not quite blackish. In this form, the white on the wing-quills and tail-feathers, so much reduced in the glossy black oregonus, is as extensive as in erythrophthalmus; but the 305. 306. 307. 30. FRINGILLIDZ: FINCHES, BUNTINGS, SPARROWS, ETC. 397 wing-coverts, scapulars and interscapulars are fully marked with white; the black tends to olive, at least on rump, and the 9 is not fairly brown. Central region of N. Am., from the limit of erythrophthalmus in Kansas, Nebraska, and Dakota, to that of oregonus in Oregon and Washington ; in the 8. Rocky Mt. region melting into megalonya. P.m. megalo’nyx. (yeyddn, megale, great; évvé, onux, claw.) SPURRED TOWHEE BUNTING. The prevailing form in the 8. Rocky Mt. region, New Mexico, Arizona and California. Pre- cisely like arcticus, but feet larger, with highly-developed claws; hind claw decidedly longer than its digit ; lateral claws reaching to or beyond middle of middle claw. In this form at any rate, the ? is hardly distinguishable in color from the ¢, being slaty-blackish with an appreci- able olivaceous shade, thus exhibiting a decided approach to the typical Mexican stock. The note is entirely different from that of the Eastern Towhee, being so exactly like the scolding “mew” of a cat-bird, that I have heard persons stoutly contend that there are cat-birds in Arizona. The general habits, nest and eggs of all these Western Towhees are substantially the same as those of the Eastern. [P. fus/eus. (Lat. fuscus, dark brown.) Muxican Brown TowHEE. An obscure Mexican stock form, carelessly described by Swainson, to which the three following N. Am. birds are probably referable as varieties. ] P. f. mesoleu/cus, (Gr. pécos, mesos, middle ; Aeukds, leucos, white; the middle under parts whiter than in erissalis.) Brown Towner. CaNon Towner. @, 9: Above, uniform grayish-brown with a slight olivaceous shade; crown brown in appreciable contrast; wings and tail like the back, unmarked, or some tail-feathers with rusty tips. Below, a paler shade of the color of the back, whitening on the belly, tinged with fulvous and streaked with dusky on the sides.of throat and middle of breast, washed with rich rusty-brown on the flanks and crissum. The belly is usually quite white, contrasting with the rusty flanks and vent; the throat is ochrey, usually immaculate and embraced necklace-wise with dusky spots in series on each side, aggregated and blotched on the breast. Bill dusky, paler below ; feet brown, toes usually darker than tarsus. Sexes indistinguishable. In fresh fall specimens, the tawny suffuses nearly all the under parts except middle of belly, and the throat spots are diffused instead of being in series. In the very early streaked stage, there is no distinction of a brown cap; the wing-coverts are rusty-edged; and the whole under parts are dusky-streaked. Length 8.00-8.50; wing 3.60-4.00; tail 4.25-4.60. S. W. U. S., chiefly New Mexico and Arizona, but also W. Texas, S. Colorado, Utah and Nevada, and interior of Southern California. Nest in bushes ; eggs, as in all the Brown Towhees, specked and scratched with blackish on a pale greenish ground. (P. fuscus of the Key, orig. ed.) P. f. albi/gula. (Lat. albus, white; gula, throat.) WHITE-THROATED Brown TOWHEE. Exactly like the last, but the white of the under parts extending further up the breast, the gular spots more restricted, sparser, and better detined. Lower California. Slightly distin- guished; but in good spring specimens the rusty is restricted to the crissum ; the ochraceous of the throat is less extensive, paler, and mainly confined within the necklace. P. f. crissa/lis. (Low Lat. crissalis, relating to the crisswm, the under tail-coverts, which are highly colored.) Crissau TownEE Buntine. Cauirornia TowHee. Similar to mesoleucus; crown like the back; rather darker above, with an olivaceous tinge, decidedly so below, the middle of the belly scarcely or not whitening, the gular fulvous strong, and, with its dusky streaks, definitely restricted to the throat; the flanks and crissum chestnut or deep cinnamon- brown. Rather larger: wing 4.00; tail 5.00; 9 rather less. Coast region of California (and northward 2), abundant. Nest in bushes, probably also on ground; eggs 3-4, 0.95 x 0.72, pale greenish or bluish-white, fully spotted with blackish and neutral tints. This is the dark coast form, bearing the same relation to mesoleucus that the coast Harporhynchus redivwus bears to the paler H. lecontit of the interior. The crown is brownish, but not forming a cap contrasting with the back; the throat is fulvous rather than ochrey ; this color of very limited XN 309. 310. 97. 311. 398 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. —PASSERES— OSCINES. extent, and speckled with dusky throughout; the crissum rich rusty. (It is the P. fuscus, Cass., Il, 1854, pl. 17; Bd., 1858; but not the true fuscus of Sw.; Fringilla crissalis, Vigors, 1839.) P. a/berti. (To Lieut. J. W. Abert.) AxsEerT’s TOWHEE. GRAY TOWHEE. Somewhat similar to the foregoing species of this section of the genus, but entirely distinct; a very large, long-tailed form, with no decided markings anywhere excepting the dark face. Above, grayish-brown, with a slight fulvous tinge; wings and tail darker and purer brown, the tail- feathers slightly rusty-tipped. Below as above, but paler, by dilution with a peculiar pale pinkish-brown shade (like that on the side of an Oregon snow-bird), particularly on the throat ; erissum more cinnamon-brown ; lores and chin blackish. Bill and feet brown ; under mandible paler than the upper. Young more rusty. There is much individual variation in shade, but this large dingy whole-colored bird with dark face is always easily recognized. Length about 9.00; wing 3.40-3.70; tail 4.50-5.00; tarsus 1.00-1.10. New Mexico and Arizona, abundant, especially in the valley of the Gila and Colorado, where we find it a wild and shy inhabitant of thickets and chaparral; N. to Colorado and Utah. Nest in bushes, loose and bulky; eggs 3-4, 1.00 x 0.75, bluish-white, sparingly speckled and scrawled with blackish. P. chloru’rus. (Gr. xAwpds, chloros, green; odpa, oura, tail.) GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE. Buanvine’s Fincw. ¢@, 9, adult: Above, grayish-greeu, sometimes quite olive-gray, at others bright olive-green, the exposed surfaces of the wings and tail with brighter greenish edgings. Edge of wing and under coverts and axillaries bright yellow. Crown rich chestnut ; forehead blackish, with a whitish loral spot on each side. Chin and throat pure white, bounded by dusky maxillary stripes as sharply contrasted as in the white-throated sparrow with dark surroundings. Whole breast and sides of head, neck and body fine clear ash, or slate-gray, obscured on the flanks and crissum with brownish, fading to white on the belly; completing the resemblance to Zonotrichia albicollis. Bill blackish-plumbeous; feet brown, toes darker. Length about 7.00; extent 9.50; wing 2.80-3.20; tail 3.40-3.70; tarsus 0.95. Less maturn birds have the chestnut cap veiled by gray tips of the feathers. Young: Crown like back. Upper parts dull brown tinged with greenish in places, streaked throughout with dusky, but wings and tail as in the adult; under parts forecasting the pattern of the adults, but dusky- streaked throughout. This stage is brief and the birds resemble the adults after the first fall moult. An interesting bird, of no intimate relations with any other; it has long been con- ventionally placed in Pipilo, for want of a better location; it is not easy to see how it differs in form from Zonotrichia or Embernagra. Southwestern U. 8., especially 8. Rocky Mts.; N. te Wyoming and Idaho; migratory ; winters over our border. A sprightly inhabitant of shrub- bery; nest in bush or on the ground; eggs 0.90 x 0.68, pale greenish or grayish-white, freckled all over with bright reddish-brown, usually aggregating or wreathing at the larger end. EMBERNA'GRA. (A villanous compound of emberiza, a bunting, and tanagra, a tan- ager; the former is only Latinized from Old German, the latter is South American.) The integrity of the genus is questionable. Said to contain several extralimital species not nearly allied to ours. It is difficult to see how the following species differs more than specifically from Pipilo chlorurus. It offers the following details of form: Bill not notable in any way. Tarsus exceeding the middle toe and claw. Lateral toes short; outer a little longer than inner; claw of neither reaching base of middle claw; fore claws all small and weak; hind claw about as long as its digit. Wings very short and much rounded; 4th to 7th primaries about equal and longest; 2d as long as 9th; 1st equalling the 3d from the innermost secondary. Tail about as long as the wings, much rounded, the outer feathers half an inch shorter than the middle ones ; all broad to their rounded ends. Coloration olivaceous with yellow edge of wing and incon- spicuous head-stripes. E. rufovirga'ta. (Lat. rufo, with rufous, virgata, striped; virga, a rod.) GREEN FincuH. Texas Sparrow. 4, adult: Above, dull olive-green, brighter on wings and tail. Under ICTERIDZ: AMERICAN STARLINGS; BLACKBIRDS, ETC. 399 parts shading from color of the upper through grayish-olive and olive-gray to sordid whitish, purest on the middle of the belly. Inner webs of wing-quills fuscous ; tail the same, but more glossed with greenish, and sometimes showing traces of crosswise watering with darker waves, as often seen in thesong sparrow. Whole bend and lining of wing bright clear yellow. Crown like back, with two broad stripes of dull rufous from nostrils to nape;. a similar rufous stripe behind eye, sometimes traceable past eye to the lore, then defining a superciliary line of light olive-gray or whitish. A whitish eye-ring. Upper mandible light brown, lower drying yellowish ; feet pale. Length 6.25-6.75 (not 5.50, as in Baird); extent 8.50-9.00; wing 2.40-2.75 ; tail the same; bill 0.50; tarsus 0.90; middle toe and claw 0.75. @Q said to differ immaterially, and young to lack the head-stripes. Young, first plumage: Above, mixed brown and olive-tawny; wings brown, edged with olive, the coverts edged and tipped with tawny ; breast like back; belly tawny. Texas, in Lower Rio Grande Valley. Inhabits shrubbery, chaparral, and close cover of all kinds, where it is difficult to discover, owing to its quiet ways and greenish tints. Keeps near the ground, but builds a domed nest of twigs and grasses in bushes and low trees; two broods are reared in May-June, and Aug.Sept. Eggs 2-4, pure white, unmarked, averaging 0.85 x 0.65, but from 0.75-0.90 by 0.60-0.70. 17. Family ICTERID.4 : American Starlings: Blackbirds, etc. Cultrirostral Oscines with 9 prima- ries. — A family of moderate extent, confined to America, where it repre- sents the Stwrnide, or Starlings of the Old World. It consists of the Blackbirds and Orioles, among the former being included the Bobolinks, Cow-birds, and Meadow “ Larks.” It is nominally composed of 150 species, half of which may prove valid, distributed among 50 genera or subgenera, of which one-fourth may be considered worthy of reten- tion. The relationships are very close with the Fringilkde, on the one hand; on the other, they grade Fie. 256.— A typical Icterus (I. bullocki). (After Audubon). — toward the Crows (Corvide). They share with Fringilline birds the characters of angulated commissure and 9 developed pri- maries, and this distinguishes them from all the other families whatsoever; but the distinc- tions from the Fringillide are not easily expressed. In fact, I know of no character that will relegate the Bobolink and Cowbird to the Icteride rather than to the Fringillide, in the current acceptation of these terms. In general, however, the Icteride are cultrirostral rather than, strictly controstral Oscines, having that cutting rather than crushing style of bill seen in perfection in the crows, toward which some of the Icteride approach ; being thus distinguished by the length, acuteness, and not strictly conical shape of the unnotched, unbristled bill, which has a peculiar extension of the culmen on the forehead dividing the prominent antize of close-set velvety feathers that reach to or on the nasal scale — a character well exhibited in Stwrnella, for instance. In length, the bill usually equals if it does not exceed the head; the tip is unnotched, the rictus unbristled, the commissure obtusely but evidently angulated. The bill is shortest and most fringilline in Dolichonyx and Molothrus ; most acute in the Orioles (Icterus), where it is sometimes actually decurved; most crow-like in the 98. 312. 400 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES — OSCINES. Grackles (Quiscalus). (See any figs., beyond.) Excepting the arboreal orioles, the feet are large and strong, fitted for the more or less terrestrial life which all the species lead, walking on the ground with ease instead of hopping like most Fringillide. No specialties of wing or tail; former usually pointed, latter rounded, sometimes very large and fan-shaped. Among our moderate number of species are representatives of four of the subfamilies into which the Icterid@ are conveniently and quite naturally divisible. In most of the genera black is the prevailing color,—either uniform and of intense metallic lustre, or contrasted with masses of red or yellow. In Stwrnella alone the pattern is “‘niggled.” In nearly all, the sexes are conspicuously dissimilar, the female being smaller and brownish or streaky in the iridescent black species, greenish and yellowish in the brilliantly colored ones. All are migratory in this country. Other details are best given under heads of the subfamilies. These groups, with their component genera, may be analyzed as follows by the salient features more likely to attract the attention of the student than less obvious technical characters : — Analysis of Subfamilies and Genera. AGELZINE. Marsh Blackbirds, Terrestrial and gregarious. Bill conic-acute, sometimes quite fringilline, shorter or scarcely longer than head. Feet stout. Bobolinks. Sexes unlike in summer, Black and buff, or legeanes nored. Tail-feathers very acute. Tarsus shorter than middle toe and claw. . . + + « « + « Dolichonyx 98 Cowbirds, Sexes unlike. Lustrous black ¢, brown 9; no en or yellow + + 6 « . + Molothrus 99 Blackbirds. Sexes unlike. Lustrous black 4, red on wing; streaky 9; noyellow . . Ageleus 100 Blackbirds. Sexes unlike. Lustrous black ¢, brown 9, both with yellow head . Xanthocephalus 101 STURNELLINEZ. Meadow Larks. Te:restrial and imperfectly gregarious. Bill of peculiar shape. Tail very short. Feet large and stout. Sexes alike. Motley-colored, extensively yellow below .. . . . . Sturnella 102 IcTERINE. Orioles. Arboreal, non-gregarious. Bill extremely acute: sounetinies Goourved: Feet weak. Sexes unlike. : Black, with yellow or orange or chestnut in masses, in the #; ? greenish and yellowish . Ieterus 108 QUISCALINE. Crow Blackbirds. Terrestrial and gregarious. Bill elongate, corvine. Feet stout. Color of ¢ entirely iridescent black; 9 brown or blackish. Bill shorter than head ; even tail shorter than wings . . 5 7 . . Scolecophagus 104 Bill not shorter than head ; graduated tail not shorter than eee oe Gr Quiscalus 105 22. Subfamily ACELAINA: Marsh Blackbirds. Gregarious, granivorous species, more or less completely terrestrial, and chiefly palustrine, not ordinarily conspicuous vocalists; building rather rude, not pensile, nests, laying 4-6 spotted or curiously limned eggs. With the feet strong, fitted both for walking and for grasping swaying reeds ; the wings more or less pointed, equalling or exceeding the tail in length; the. pill conic-acute, shorter or little longer than the head, its cutting edges more or less inflected. Four well-marked genera, the species of which abound in the United States, on plain and prairie, in marsh and meadow. In the West, they swarm about the settlements, stage stations, military posts and other detestable places. DOLICHONYX. (Gr. dod:xés, dolichos, long; évvg, onux, claw.) Boxsotinges. Sexes unlike, but only in the breeding season: ¢ black, buff and white; 9 brownish and yellowish. Bill short, conic, fringilline, not nearly as long as head. Wings long and pointed, lst and 2d quills longest, others rapidly graduated. ‘Tail stiffened, with rigid very acute feathers, almost like a woodpecker’s, shorter than wing. Feet stout; tarsus shorter than middle toe and claw ; claws all very large. One remarkable species, though there are several others in tropical America; noted for the peculiar changes of plumage and the ‘‘mad music” of the g; abundant in marsh and meadow of the Eastern U. 8. D. oryzi/vorus. (Gr. dpuga, oruza, Lat. oryza, rice; voro, I devour. Fig. 257.) BoBoxink. MEApoW-wINK. SkuNK BLACKBIRD, Northern States. Rexrp-srrp, Middle States. Ricr- BIRD, Southern States. @, in breeding plumage: Black; cervix buff; scapulars, rump and upper tail-coverts ashy-white ; interscapulars streaked with black, buff, and asby ; outer quills ICTERIDAE — AGELAIINZ): MARSH BLACKBIRDS. 401 edged with yellowish ; bill blackish-horn ; feet brown. The faultless full dress of black, white, and buff is worn only for a brief period ; and even in spring and summer, most males are found to have yellowish touches in the black, especially of the under parts. The ‘delirious song” is only heard while the males are trooping their way to their breeding-grounds, and before the midsummer change of feather. ¢ in fall, 9, and young, entirely different in color: Yellowish- brown above, brownish-yellow below ; crown and back conspicuously, nape, rump, and sides less broadly, streaked with black ; crown with a median and lateral light stripe; wings and tail blackish, pale-edged ; bill brown, paler below. In this, the ordinary condition, the ¢ is only known by superior size. Fall birds are more buffy than the spring 9. The ¢ changing shows confused characters of both sexes (see p. 89); but in any plumage the species may be recognized by the stiffish, extremely acute tail-feathers, in connection with its special dimensions. @: Length 7.00-7.50; extent 11.50-12.25; wing 3.50-3.80; tail 2.75-3.00; tarsus 1.00; middle toe and claw 1.25. 9: Length 6.50-7.00; extent 10.50-11.25 ; wing 8.25-3.50, etc., averaging $ an inch less in length and an inch in extent. Chiefly Eastern U. 8. and Canada; N. to 54° in the region of the Saskatchewan, W. not ordinarily beyond the central plains, but occurs in Montana, Idaho, Utah, and Nevada. Winters wholly extralimital. In May, the vivacious, voluble, and eccentric ‘‘ Bobo- links” pass North, spreading over the meadows of the Middle and Northern States from the Atlantic to Kansas and Dakota, perfecting its black dress, and breeding in June and July. After the midsummer change the ‘ Reed-bird” or ‘“Rice-bird” comes back, thronging the marshes in immense flocks with the Black- birds; has simply a chirping note, feeds on the wild oats and wild rice, and becomes extremely fat and is accounted a great delicacy. The name ‘ortolan,” applied ' by some gunners and restaurateurs tu this =\ =a ——— a bird, as well as to the Carolina Rail (Por- Fic. 257.— Bobolink, g, reduced. (Sheppard del. zana carolina) is in either case a strange Nichols sc.) misnomer, the Ortolan being a fringilline bird of Europe, Emberiza hortulana L. (Lat. hortu- lanus, relating to a garden.) In the West Indies, where this bird retires in winter, as it does also to Central and South America, it is called “‘ butter-bird.””. The names “ bobolink” and “ meadow-wink ” are in imitation of its ery; ‘‘skunk blackbird” notes the resemblance in color to the obnoxious quadruped. The migrations are performed mostly at night, when in May and early September one may hear the mellow metallic ‘‘ chink” of the invisible passen- gers. Nest ow the ground, artfully concealed in the grass; eggs 4-6, 0.90 x 0.65, stone-gray, dotted, mottled, and clouded with dark browns. , MOLO'THRUS. (Gr. pododpds, or podoSpds, vagabond, tramp, parasite.) Cowsrrps. Bill short, stout, conic and fringilline, about # as long as head; but entirely unnotched and unbristled, with little bent of commissure, the broad culmen running well up on the forehead, the nostrils well in advance of the feathers. Wings long and pointed, the first 3 primaries entering into the tip, rest rapidly graduated. Tail shorter than wings, nearly even or a little rounded, tending to divaricate in the middle, the feathers broad and plane to their rounded ends. Feet strong; tarsus not shorter than middle toe. ¢ black and lustrous, without red or yellow ; Q plain black or brown. Terrestrial, but not specially palustrine ; eminently gregarious and polygamous, or rather communistic, never mating or building nests; thus parasitic, like the Old World euckoos; no musical ability. To the single species long notorious in the U.§., a second 26 46 313. 314, 402 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES— OSCINES. has lately been added; there are several others in the warmer parts of America, all of the same irregular and objectionable tendencies. Analysis of Species and Varieties. ¢, steely black with brown head. Larger: d', wing over 4.00; tail over 3.00; 9, wing about 3.75; tailabout2.75.... + . Gter 318 Smaller: g, sizeof Q oftheforegoing .. = ....+4.. soe ee et ee «6Ob8curus 314 d; brassy black, including head; eyes red; wing near 5.00; tailmearly4.00 .....4.4. =. @neus 315 M. a/ter. (Lat. ater, black. Fig. 258.) Common Cowzirp. Cuckorp. 4, adult: Lus- trous green-black, with steel-blue, purple, and violet iridescence. Head and neck deep wood- brown, with some purplish lustre. Bill and feet black. Length 7.50-8.00; extent 13.50; wing abont 4.50, at least over 4.00; tail about 3.25; bill 0.70; tarsus 1.00-1.10. 9, adult: An obscure-looking bird, dusky grayish-brown, nearly uniform, but paler below than above, where most of the feathers have dusky centres, and most of those of the under parts with dark shaft lines; giving a somewhat streaky appearance. There is some gloss on the upper parts, particularly on the wings and tail, where a slight greenish lustre is usually evident. Bill blackish-brown, paler below; feet blackish-brown. Smaller than the ¢. Length 7.00-7.50; wing about 3.75; tail 2.75. Young ¢ 9: Similar to the @ adult; still duller, and more variegated ; upper parts dusky brown, the feathers skirted with gray, producing a set of semicircles on the back; below, pale grayish, or even ochrey-brown, everywhere streaked with dusky. The sexual difference in size soon appreciable, and the black of the ¢ soon begins to appear in patches. Am. at large; migratory, abundant, gregarious, polygamous, parasitic. The singular habits of this bird, shared by others of the genus, form one of the most inter- esting chapters in ornithology. Like the == European cuckoo, it builds no nest, laying Fic. 258. — Cowbird, reduced. (Sheppard del. its eggs by stealth in the nests of various Nichols sc.) other birds, especially warblers, vireos, and sparrows; and it appears to constitute, furthermore, a remarkable exception to the rule of conjugal affection and fidelity amoug birds. A wonderful provision for the perpetuation of the species is seen in its instinctive selection of smaller birds as the foster-parents of its offspring ; for the larger egg receives the greater share of warmth during incubation, and the lustier young cowbird asserts its precedence in the nest; while the foster-birds, however reluctant to incu- bate the strange egg (their devices to avoid the duty are sometimes astonishing), become assid- uous in their care of the foundling, even to the neglect of their own young. The cowbird’s egg is said to hatch sooner than that of most birds: this would obviously confer additional advantage. The list of birds in whose nests cowbirds’ eggs have been found includes a large number of finches, warblers, greenlets, flycatchers, etc. ; there seems to be really little choice. While small species are usually victimized, this is not always the case. I have found eggs in nests of the kingbird and towhee bunting. Inthe West, where cowbirds swarm about the ranches and settlements, it is the rule, I almost said, to find their eggs in nests of the prairie Frin- gillide, etc. The egg is usually single; sometimes 2, 38, even 4 are found in a nest; they -ange from 0.80-1,00 in length, by 0.65-0.70 in breadth, and are white, fully speckled and dashed with browns and neutral tints. M. a. obseu‘rus. (Lat. obscwrus, dark.) Dwarr Cowsirp. Similar; smaller; @ the size of 9 M. ater; @ under 7.00; wing 3.33; tail 2.33. The difference is strongly marked, and ON 315. 100. ICTERIDA — AGELAIINZE: MARSH BLACKBIRDS. 403 apparently constant. Southwestern U. S., Texas to California, the resident form, breeding there, while 1. ater passes on, though the two are associated during the migration of the latter. Swarming like M. ater; eggs as in that species, but smaller; only up to about 0.80 x 0.60. M. 2/neus. (Lat. eneus or ahenius, brassy, bronzy; @s, brass.) Brass CowBIRD. BRONZzED Cowspirp. RED-EYED Cowsirp. ¢, adult: Entire body and head black, splendidly lustrous with bronzy reflections, the tint much like that of the back of Quiscalus eneus. This rich brassy-black uniform over the whole bird, there being no distinction of color between the head and body, as in M. ater. The bronze only on the ends of the feathers, the covered parts of which are vivlet-black, with plain dusky roots. Wings and tail black, with violet, purple, and especially green metallic lustre on the upper surfaces. Under wing- and tail-coverts chiefly violaceous-black ; the purplish and violaceous tints most noticeable on the upper coverts of both wings and tail, the reflections of the quill-feathers themselves being chiefly green. Bill ebony-black. Feet black. Irisred. Length 8.00-8.50; extent about 15.00; wing 4.50-4.75 ; tail 3.25-3.50; tarsus 1.15-1.25 ; bill 0.90 along culmen, very stout and especially deep at base, much compressed; lateral outlines concave; under outline straight; upper gently convex throughout; tip very acute. 9? notably smaller: wing scarcely over 4 inches; tail about 3.00; culmen scarcely 0.75 ; tarsus 1.00. Color not brown, as in M. ater 9, but uniformly quite black, with considerable gloss, though nothing like the brassy splendor of the g. Wings and tail with greenish reflections. Young ¢: Uniform dull black, faintly violaceous on back and rump, greenish on wings and tail. Early spring birds, in im- perfect dress, are exactly like the adult 9 in color, but much larger. Mexico to the Lower Rio Grande, abounding in some places; a large and very handsome Cow- bird, recently added to our fauna. Polyga- mous and parasitic like the others, but egg entirely different, being greenish-white, without markings; size 0.85-0.95 in length by 0.65-0.75 broad; average 0.90 X 0.70. Found in nests of Icteria, Icterus, Cardi- nalis, Milvulus, Tyrannus, ete. AGELZ'US. (Gr. dyeAaios, agelaios, gregarious; dyéAy, a flock.) Rep-wine Marsi BLACKBIRDS. Bill about as long as head, stout at base, where deeper than broad, upper and under outlines on an average about straight ; commissure variously sinuate or bent ; culmen high on forehead, where flattish and broadly parting the feathers; bill rapidly tapering to an acute tip. Wings pointed, but 1st primary not longest ; usually 2d-4th entering point of wing. Tail even or little rounded, of broad feathers widening a little to very obtuse ends, somewhat divari- cate in the middle. Tarsus a little longer than the bill. Our three forms are very closely related: the @ uniform lustrous black, with bend of wing red; 8.00-9.00 long; wing 4.50-5.00 ; tail 3.50-4.00. The Q everywhere streaked ; above blackish-brown with pale streaks, inclin- ing on head to form median and superciliary stripes ; below, whitish, with many sharp dusky streaks; sides of head, throat, and bend of the wing, tinged with reddish or fulvous ; under 8.00; wing about 4.00; tail 3.25. The young @ at first like the 9, but larger, apt to have a general buffy or fulvous suffusion, with bright bay edgings of the feathers of back, wings, and tail, and soon showing black patches. The 9 9 are scarcely distinguishable: the gg may be determined as follows: del. Nichols sc.) 316. 317 318. 101. 319. 404 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES — OSCINES. Analysis of Species and Varieties. Middle wing-coverts buff, bordering the bright red patch . . ...... . . pheniceus 316 Middle wing-coverts buff, but black-tipped, usually leaving red patch without puff buntiee . gubernator 317 Middle wing-coverts white, bordering the dark red patch . . «1. ew 5 ew we pe th ee tricolor 318 A, pheeni/ceus. (Gr. dowixeos, phoinikeos, Lat. pheniceus, red, of a color introduced in Greece by the Phenicians. Fig. 259.) Buacksrrp. Marsa BLAcKBIRD. RED-WINGED BLACK- BIRD. RED-AND-BUFF-SHOULDERED MArsH Buackpirp. ¢@: Lesser wing-coverts scarlet, like arterial blood, broadly bordered by brownish-yellow, or brownish-white, the middle row of coverts being entirely of this color; sometimes the greater row, likewise, are mostly similar, producing a patch on the wing nearly as large as the red one; occasionally, there are traces of red on the edge of the wing and below; in some specimens the bordering is almost pure white, instead of buff. Extremes: ¢, length 8.25-9.85; extent 13.60-15.30; wing 4.35-5.00; tail 3.12-3.90; bill 0.75-1.00; average: Length 9.00; extent 14.50; wing 4.65; tail 3.60. 9, length 7.35-8.55 ; extent 11.85-13.55; wing 3.65-4.25 ; tail 2.65-3.20; bill 0.70-0.80; aver- age: Length 7.65; extent.12.35; wing 3.85; tail 3.00; bill 0.75. The extremes here given not often seen. Southern-bred birds are much smaller as well as glossier. Temperate N. Am., but chiefly E. of the Rocky Mts.; breeding anywhere in its range, wintering from about 35° southward. From its general dispersion in low or wet thickets or fields, swamps, and marshes, the blackbird collects in August and September in immense flocks, thronging the extensive tracts of wild oats and other aquatic plants in marshes and along water courses, also visiting and" doing much damage to grain-fields. Thousands are destroyed by boys and pot-hunters, but the hosts scarcely diminish, and every known artifice fails to protect the crops from the invasion of the dusky hordes. At other seasons the ‘‘naize-thief” is innocuous, if not positively beneficial, as it destroys its share of insects. Nest usually in reeds or bushes near the ground, or in a tussock of grass, or on the ground; occasionally in small trees, vines, and shrubbery ; a bulky structure of coarse fibrous materials, usually strips of rushes, sedges or marsh grass, lined with finer grasses; eggs 4-6, 1.00 x 0.75, May and July, pale blue, fantastically dotted, blotched, clouded, and scrawled over with dark or even blackish-brown, and paler or purplish shell-marks. The usual note is a guttural chuck ; in the breeding season the “‘ creaking chorus” makes an indescribable medley. A. p. guberna‘tor. (Lat. gubernator, a governor, alluding to the red epaulettes, as if a sign of rank or command.) RED-SHOULDERED Marsa Buackpirp. Lesser wing-coverts scarlet, as before, narrowly or not at all bordered with buff, the next row having black tips for all or most of their exposed portion, so that the brownish-yellow of their bases does not show much, if any. Pacific Coast, U. 8. and British Columbia. Scarcely different; 9 indistinguishable from ? pheniceus. A. tricolor. (Lat. tricolor, three-colored; red, white, and black.) ReD-AND-WuHITE- SHOULDERED Mars# Buacxsirp. Lesser wing-coverts dark red (like venous blood), bor- dered with pure white. Besides this obvious distinction from pheeniceus, the bill is usually slen- derer and the tail is less rounded; the gloss of the plumage is bluish, not greenish (appreciably- so in the @ as well as in the 2%). Q with median wing-coverts white-edged. California and Oregon, especially coastwise ; resident or scarcely migratory. General habits the same; nest and eggs indistinguishable. XANTHOCE/PHALUS. (Gr. &av60s, xanthos, yellow ; xepady, kephale, head.) YELLOw- Herapep Buackpirps. General characters of Ageleus; claws more developed, the lateral reaching much beyond base of the middle, Tail more nearly even, with narrower feathers. Wings long and pointed; tip formed by outer 3 quills. Colors black, white, and yellow. X. icteroce/phalus. (Gr. ixrepos, tkteros, Lat. icterus, yellow. Fig. 260.) YELLOW-HEADED Buacksirp. ¢: Black, including lores and small space around eye and bill; whole head otherwise, with the neck and breast, rich yellow, orange in high feather, the color extending 102. ICTERIDA — STURNELLINZ: MEADOW STARLINGS. 405 interruptedly to or towards the belly; some feathers around vent, and the tibie, usually yellow also. A large white patch on the wing, formed by the primary and many of the greater second- ary coverts, interrupted by black of the bastard quills. Bill and feet black. Length 10.00— 11.00; extent 16.50-17.50; wing about 5.50; tail 4.50; bill 0.75-1.00; tarsus 1.25. In less perfect dress, the yellow overcast with dusky. 9, adult: Dark brown, including back of head and neck ; line over eye, throat and breast dull yellow, with dusky maxillary streaks; usually there are whitish feathers in the yellow, and sometimes the same in the black of breast. No white wing-patch. Bill dark brownish horn-color; feet blackish. Much smaller. Length 8.00-9.50; extent scarcely 14.00; wing under 5.00; tail under 4.00. Nestlings are snuffy- brown; the sprouting wing-feathers black, already showing white; feet flesh-color. It is use- less to pursue the endless color varia- tions ; the species is unmistakable. Western U. 8. and British Provinces to 58°; E. regularly to Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, etc., casually to Pennsyl- vania, Massachusetts and Greenland ; 8. into Mexico; migratory, very abun- dant. Its distribution is general on the prairies, but irregular; it flocks about ranches and settlements, and collects in colonies to breed in marshy spots, any- where in its general range. Nest a light but large thick-brimmed fabric of dried reeds and grasses, slung to growing ones, 5-6 inches in diameter, about as deep; eggs 3-6, 1:00-1.15 long by 0.75 broad; grayish-green, spotted, as in Scolecophagus, with red- Fie. 260.— Yellow-headed Blackbird, reduced. (Sheppard dish-brown, not scrawled as in Ageleus. el. Nichols se.) A fine large species, conspicuous by its yellow head among the several blackbirds that troop together in the West. 23. Subfamily STURNELLINAZ: Meadow Starlings. If the marsh blackbirds, orioles, and crow blackbirds be respectively entitled to represent subfamilies of Icteride, the meadow starlings seem to be equally entitled to such distinction ; and I find that by making Sturnella (with Trupialis) the type of a subfamily, the Ageleine are susceptible of better definition. The characters are included under head of the type genus. STURNEL'LA. (Irregular dimin. of Lat. stwrnus, astarling. Fig. 261.) Mrapow Larxs. (Name “lark” objectionable and misleading, but apparently ineradicable.) A remarkable genus of Icteride. Bill along culmen longer than head, shorter than tarsus; depth at base about 4 the length; outlines about straight above and below, and along commissure to the strong bend near its base. Culmen flattened throughout, extending broad and far into feathers of forehead ; laterally, the frontal feathers reaching the narrow scaled nostrils. Inner lateral toe rather longer than outer, claw of neither reaching base of middle claw. Hind toe long, with a great claw twice as large as the middle one. Feet very large and stout, reaching beyond the end of the tail when outstretched ; eminently fitted for terrestrial locomotion. Wings short and much rounded; little difference in lengths of 1st-5th quills; enlarged inner secondaries nearly covering them in closed wing. ‘Tail very short, rounded, of narrow, acute feathers. Feathers of crown stiffish, bristle-tipped. No other genus approaches Stwrnella, excepting Trupialis, 320. 321. S22. 406 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES— OSCINES. which is much the same, with red instead of yellow. Contains several imperfectly differentiated conspecies, 3 of this country. Analysis of Conspecies. Common Characters. — Plumage highly variegated; each feather of the back blackish, with a terminal reddish- brown area, and sharp brownish-yellow borders ; neck similar, the pattern smaller ; crown streaked with black and brown, and witb a pale median and superciliary stripe; a blackish line behind eye; several lateral tail-feathers white, the others, with the inner quills and wing-coverts, barred or scalloped with black, and brown or gray. Edge of wing, spot over eye, and under parts generally, bright yellow, the sides and crissum flaxen-brown, with numer- ous sharp blackish streaks, the breast with a large black crescent (obscure in the young). Prevailing tone brown above: yellow of chin confined to space between forks of the jaw; wings and tail with confluent black bars and gray scallops. Larger; black less predominant: wing 4.500rmore. ... . a ene - + . magna 320 Smaller ; black more predominant; wing 4.50 orless . . . +. . mexicana 321 Prevailing tone gray above: anid of chin spreading on cheeks ; plies and tail with alternating black aud gray bars . ee Se ie EO r ‘ . oe « « . » neglecta 322 S. magna. (Lat. magna, large.) Fie~tp Lark. OLp-Fretp Lark. Merapow Lark. The colors, as above described, rich and pure, the prevailing aspect brown; black streaks prevailing on crown; yellow of chin usually confined between rami of under mandible ; black bars on wings and tail usually confluent along the shaft of the feathers, leaving the gray in scallops. Sexes similar: 9 duller colored, the yellow paler. Young at first have little if any pale yellow, and the pectoral crescent indicated by a few streaks. Length of ¢ 10.00- 11.00; extent about 17.00; wing 4.50 Fig. 261.— Bill and foot of Sturnelia, nat. size. (Ad nat. or more; tail 3.50; bill 1.35; tarsus del. E. 0.) 1.40. 9: length 9.00-9.50; extent about 15.00; wing 4.25; tail 3.00. Varies greatly in size, like Ageleus ; southern-bred birds much smaller than northern. Eastern U. 8. and British Provinces; N. to about 54°; mixing in the Upper Mississippi valley with neglecta, and extending to edge of the plains; everywhere abundant in open country; winters usually from the Middle States southward; imperfectly migratory ; partially gregarious when not breeding ; strictly terrestrial ; an agreeable vocalist. Breeds throughout its range; nest of dried grass, on the ground, usually domed or covered in some way in the grass-clump. Eggs 4-6, crystal white, speckled with reddish and purplish; very variable in size, averaging about 1.10 X 0.80. Two or three broods may be reared. S. m. mexica’na, (Lat. Mexican.) Mrxican Mrapow Lark. Very similar; the browns intense, approaching reddish-brown ; black at a maximum; yellow very rich. Size smaller; wing of g about 4.25; bill and feet relatively larger; bill 1.20; tarsus 1.60. Mexico to Texas. S. neglec'ta. (Lat. neglecta, not selected, overlooked ; as the variety long was.) WESTERN Meavow Lark. The colors duller and paler, the prevailing aspect gray; black at a mini- mum, not prevailing over gray on the crown; yellow of chin usually encroaching on sides of lower jaw; black on wings and tail usually resolved into distinct bars alternating with gray bars. Western U. 8., from Iowa, etc., to the Pacific. General habits, manners, and appear- ance the same, but song said to be different. ere!) y 24. Subfamily ICTERINZ: Orioles. Non-gregarious, insectivorous and frugivorous species, strictly arboricole; of brilliant or strikingly contrasted colors, and pleasing song; distinguished as architects, constructing elabo : 103. 323. 324. ICTERIDZ — ICTERINZ: ORIOLES. 407 rately woven penusile nests. With the bill relatively longer, as well as slenderer and more acute than in most of the Icteride; the feet weaker, exclusively fitted for perching. Three of our species are migratory birds, abundant in summer; the rest merely reach our southern border from tropical America. IC'TERUS. (Gr. ikrepos, ikteros, Lat. icterus, yellow. ; Fig. 262.) Orzrotes. Our single genus of the sub- fainily: characters practically the same. Bill averaging & as long as head (more or less); very acute, sometimes decurved. Feet fitted for perching, not for walking; tarsus not longer than middle toe and claw. Lateral toes, if not of equal lengths, outer longest (the rule in Fringillide; in Icteride the reverse). Wings usually pointed and averaging equal to (longer or shorter than) the rounded or graduated tail. A large and beautiful genus, the species of which vary much in details of form, but are not easily divided otherwise than specifically. The colors are strik- ing: the males black with orange or yellow, usually also with white; in one species, black and chestnut. The sexes very unlike. The 9 @ of several species closely resemble one another, though the ¢ are very different. Two Eastern species; one Western; the rest Southwestern. Fie. 262, — Bill of an Oriole. Analysis of Species. The ¢ black and chestnut: spurius, affinis. The ¢ black and orange: galbula, bullocki, cucullatus. The ¢ black and clear yellow : parisorum, auduboni, vulgaris. Feathers of throat soft and normal. ¢@ black and chestnut ; ? olivaceous and yellowish. Length 7.00 orless . ... + + spurius 324, 325 ¢ black and orange, or flame-color. Tail rounded, not longer than wings. ¢ head and neck all around black; white on wingsin bars .. . - + + » .galbula 326 do crown and throat black, sides of head orange. White patch on wings . oe + + bullocki 327 Tail graduated ; outer feathers an inch shorter than middle ones; longer than wings. of head orange, with black mask . . 1... 00. 1 we we ee ee . . eucullatus 328 ¢ black and pure yellow. ¢ bead, neck, breast and back black. Sexes unlike; length about 8.00 . . +. parisorum 329 of head, neck, and breast black; body yellow, greenish on back; length about 9.00 auduboni 330 Feathers of throat elongate and lanceolate. Sexes alike. iui seh about 10.00. ¢@ Black and yellow, with white on wings .... a aha oe a - + 6 « vulgaris 323 I. vulgaris. (Lat. vulgaris, vulgar, common.) TROUPIAL. Bill acute, attenuated, elongate, and somewhat decurved. Throat-feathers lengthened, loosened, and lanceolate. Bare space around eye. Adult ¢ 9: Head and neck all around, fore breast, isolated dorsal area, wings and tail, black. Rump, upper tail-coverts, cervical collar, and under parts of the breast, rich yellow. Wings with white patch on coverts and much white edging of secondaries. Large: length about 10.00 ; wing and tail 4.50; bill over 1.00. A common and well-known species of Tropical America, said to have strayed to the Southern States. No late cases of so doing. (The species would be better enumerated next after No. 330.) I. spwrius. (Lat. spwrius, spurious; the species was formerly called “bastard Baltimore oriole,” whence the undeserved name.) ORCHARD ORIOLE. Adult @: Black and chestnut. Head and neck all around, fore breast and back, black. Rump and upper tail-coverts, lesser and under wing-coverts, aud whole under-parts from the breast, chestnut or chocolate-brown. Wings and tail black, former except as said, and some white or whitish edging of the quills and tipping of the greater coverts, the latter forming a wing-bar ; outer tail-feathers sometimes with a touch of chestnut. Bill and feet blue-black. Length about 7.00; extent about 10.00; wing 3.00-3.25 ; tail nearly as long, much rounded, its graduation nearly 0.50 ; bill 0.70 along culmen, very slender and acute, somewhat decurved ; tarsus 0.90. 9, adult: Smaller than the 325. 326. 408 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. —PASSERES — OSCINES. &- Above, dull yellowish-olive, clearest on head, rump, and tail, obscured on the back. Below, sordid yellowish. Wings plain dusky, glossed with olivaceous, with whitish edging, much as in the ¢. An inconspicuous object, but known from other 9 orioles by its small size and slender bill, a little curved. Young ¢: First year like 9, but larger; second year like 9, but with a black mask on the face and throat. Afterward showing confused characters of both sexes. Three years required to assume the full dress. Eastern U. S., strictly; rarely N. to Maine, Canada; W. to the high central plains. Breeds throughout its U. S. range; winters extralimital. Abundant in orchards, parks, streets, the skirts of woods, ete. The nest is one of the most perfect examples of a woven pensile fabric, even in a group of birds distinguished as the orioles are for the dexterity and assiduity they display in their elaborate textile rostrifac- tures. They antedate Howe in the expedient of placing the eye of a needle at its point — that which revolutionized hand-sewing, and made sewing-machines practicable: for their bill works to precisely the same effect. The orchard oriole’s nest is generally more compact and homo- geneous than the Baltimore’s, woven chiefly of slender grass-blades which cure in the sun like good hay, long retaining some greenness, which tends to its concealment in the foliage. It is smaller, less deep in proportion, and often not so strictly pendant from its forked twig. Eggs smaller than the Baltimore’s, scarcely 0.85 X 0.60, and spotty rather than scrawly. I. s. affimis. (Lat. affinis, affined, allied.) Taxas ORCHARD ORIOLE. Smaller: ¢ little over 6.00; wing usually under 3.00. Texas: Southern race, scarcely distinguishable. I, gal/bula. (Lat. galgula or galbula, some small yellow bird of the ancients. ‘‘ Baltimore” is not from the city of that name, but from the title of Sir George Calvert, first baron of Balti- more ; the colors of the bird being cho- sen for his livery, or resembling those of his coat-of-arms. Fig. 263.) Bat- TIMORE ORIOLE. GOLDEN Rosin. Firepirp. Hanenest. Adult ¢: Black and orange. Head and neck all round, and the back, black; rump, upper tail-coverts, lesser and under wing-coverts, most of the tail-feathers, and all the under parts from the throat’ fiery orange, but of varying intensity an itl _ according to age and season. Middle Fig. 263, — Baltimore Oriole, reduced. (Sheppard del. tail-feathers black; wings black, the Nichols sc.) middle and greater coverts, and inner quills, more or less edged and tipped with white, but the white on the coverts not forming a continuous patch ; bill and feet blue-black, or dark grayish-blue. Length 7.50-8.00; extent 11.50-12.50 ; wing 3.66; tail 8.00. Q smaller, and much paler, the black obscured by olive, sometimes entirely wanting. Above, mixed dusky and yellowish-clive, somewhat overcast with a gray shade. Below, dull orange, more or less mixed with whitish, and usually with black traces on the throat. Tail and its upper coverts dull yellowish, the central feathers usually blackish. Bill and feet lighter plumbeous than in the ¢. Young ¢ entirely without black on throat and head, otherwise colored nearly like the 9. Below, dull orange yellow whitening on throat, shaded with olive on sides. Above, olive, more yellowish on rump and tail, but latter without black; middle of back obscured with dusky centres of the feathers; wings dusky, with two white bars and white edgings of the inner quills. In some splendid featherings, particularly from the Mississippi valley, the orange becomes intense flame-color, and there is so much white on the wings as to approach the character of I. bullocki. U.S. and adjoining British Provinces ; W. to the plains, and reaching toward the Rocky Mts. This is one of our famous beauties of bird-life, noted alike for its flash of color, its assiduity in sing- 327. ICTERIDA — ICTERINZ:: ORIOLES. 409 ing, and its skill at the loom; its elaborately fabricated and perfectly pensile nests swaying from the tops of our shade-trees, which have one charm added when fired with such brilliancy as the oriole brings to contrast with verdure. Eggs 4-6, nearly 1.00 x 0.65, thus rather elongate ; ground color a shaded white, irregularly spotted, blotched, clouded and especially scrawled with blackish-brown and other heavy surface colors, together with subdued shell- markings. I. bullocki. (To Wm. Bullock, of London. Fig. 256.) Butiock’s Ortotz. Adult ¢: Similarly black and orange, the orange invading the sides of the head and neck and the fore- head, leaving only a narrow space on the throat, the lores, and a line through the eye, black ; a large continuous white patch on the wing, formed by the middle and greater coverts. Larger » than the Baltimore. Length 8.00-8.50; extent 12.50-13.50; wing 4.00; tail 3.40. 9: Olive- 328. 329. gray, below whitish, all the fore parts of the body and head tinged with yellow; the wings dusky, with two white bars, but the tail.and its under coverts quite yellowish. 9 thus very closely resembling the Q Baltimore, and more detailed description may be desirable. Larger: length about 8.00; extent 12.00; wing 3.75; tail 3.25. Above olive-gray, becoming quite gray on the rump, brightening into olive. Yellow on nape, upper tail-coverts and tail. Forehead, superciliary line, sides of head and neck, and large space on breast, bright yellow ; lores and throat white. Other under parts grayish-white, tinged with yellow on the under tail- coverts. Edge and lining of wing yellow; middle coverts broadly edged and tipped with white; greater coverts and quills less conspicuously edged. Young J at first like the 9, soon, however, showing black and orange; in one stage with a black throat patch. Western U. S., in woodland, abundant, replacing the Baltimore, to which it is so eloeely allied, and with whieh it corresponds in habits and manners. I. cuculla/tus. (Lat. cucullatus, wearing the cuculla, a kind of hood or cowl.) Hooprp Ortote. Adult $: Orange and black. General color orange; from rich chrome yellow to flame-color. Middle of back (scapulars and interscapulars) black. A black mask, embracing eyes, a narrow frontal line, and patch on chin, cheeks, and throat. Wings black, with white edging of the quills and coverts. Tail black, some or all of the feathers usually with narrow whitish tips. Bill and feet blue-black, the former extremely slender and somewhat decurved, 0.80; tarsus 0.90. Length 8.00; extent 10.50; wing 3.30; tail 3.50-4.00, thus longer than wings; the feathers narrow and lanceolate, the outermost an inch or so shorter than the central pair; such length, narrowness, and extreme graduation of the tail being a strong character. @, adult: Above, dull grayish-olive; tail and under parts dull yellowish; wings dusky, the quills and coverts edged with dull white. The 9 thus resembles other species, but the long slender graduated tail and attenuated decurved bill are diagnostic. Fairly smaller than the ¢. Young @: At first like 9, but bill pale at base below. Various intermediate states during progress to maturity ; sometimes the black dorsal band interrupted by yellowish-gray, and the general orange obscured with the same. A frequent condition, when the general plumage is like that of the 9, is to have a black frontlet and gorget, like I. spurius under the same circumstances. Southern Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California, chiefly near the Mexican border. Nest woven like that of other orioles, very substantial and durable ; in places where the Spanish moss grows, it is usually made of this material, and placed in a truss of the same. Eggs 3-4, sometimes 5, varying from 0.80 to 0.90 long by 0.60 broad, usually quite pointed at both ends; color white, with the usual scrawling. In the Lower Rio Grande valley this is the commonest oriole in some places. I. pariso/rum. (To the brothers Paris.) BLacK-AND-YELLOW ORIOLE. Paris’ ORIOLE. Adult g: Black and clear yellow. Below from the breast, rump, and upper tail-coverts, lesser, middle and under wing-coverts, both above and below, and basal portions of all the tail-feathers, except the central ones, clear yellow; greater wing-coverts tipped, inner quills edged, with white. Head, neck, breast, and back, black. On the tail, the yellow occupies the “330. 410 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES — OSCINES. basal half of the lateral feathers, but only the extreme base of the central pair. Length 8.00;. extent 12.00; wing 4.00; tail 3.40-3.60, moderately rounded, the lateral feathers graduated about 0.50; bill 0.90, attenuate and slightly decurved; tarsus 1.00. Young @: The black‘ parts all overcast with grayish-olive skirting of the feathers, giving the prevailing tone on the upper parts, but on the breast the black showing more clearly. The yellow likewise obscured with grayish-olive, especially on the rump. Tail greenish-yellow, the middle feathers black- ening. Wings dusky, all the quills and the greater and middle coverts broadly edged and tipped with white. 9? resembling the last described; less white on the wings; central tail- feathers simply fuscous like the ends of the others. Southern Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and Southern California, near the Mexican border. Not yet well known or found breeding in the U. 8. Nesting essentially the same as that of other orioles, often in bunches of moss or vines hanging in cactuses, quite near the ground; eggs 0.90 « 0.65, whitish, variously blotched and dotted with purplish and blackish-browns. I. melanoce’phalus aud/uboni, (Gr. pédas, melas, gen. pédavos, melanos, black; xeadj, kephale, head. To J.J. Audubon.) BLACK-HEADED ORIOLE. AUDUBON’s ORIOLE. Adult ¢: Black and clear yellow. Entire body rich gamboge-yellow, without orange or flame tint, but shaded with greenish on back, sides, and upper tail-coverts; under tail-coverts pure yellow, like the belly. Middle and lesser wing-coverts and lining of wings pure yellow, the former with black bases concealed by the yellow tips. Head all around, fore neck and breast, glossy jet-black, without any concealed yellow, except at edges of the black on the breast — the black there thus ending ragged, different from the clean-cut border of cucullatus. Wings black, the outer webs of the quills white-edged, especially on inner secondaries and outer primaries toward their end; greater coverts with white spot at end of outer web. Tail black, the outer feathers more or less edged and tipped with white. Bill and feet plumbeous-blackish, former paler at base below. Length 9.25-9.75; extent 12.50-13.00; wing 4.00; tail rather more, much graduated, the outer feathers 1.00 or more shorter than the middle. Bill stout, straight, almost asin Ageleus; culmen fully 1.00. Tarsus 1.10 ; middle toe and claw thesame. Adult 9: Quite like the ¢ ; not smaller, and little different in color, contrary to the rule in the genus and family. Back rather more olivaceous; wings rather more edged with white; outer tail- feather edged and tipped with whitish. The sexual characters long remained undetermined. This fine oriole is little known: it is a large beautiful species, occurring in the U. S. only, as far as known, in the Lower Rio Grande valley ; thence southward running into the true Mexican melanocephalus. Said to be a magnificent songster, and a favorite cage bird. Nest half- pensile, woven of grasses; eggs 0.95-1.00 by 0.67-0.72, white dusted with fine brown specks, over which are stains and splashes of dark brown and lilac, with the coarse blackish hieroglyphs usual in this genus. 25. Subfamily QUISCALINA:: Crow Blackbirds; Grackles. Closely resembling the Ageleine both in % structure and in habits, these birds are distin- guished by the length and attenuation of the bill, with decidedly curved culmen, es- pecially towards the end, more or less sin- uate commissure, and strongly inflected tomia. The bill is quite cultrirostral, and the typical Quiscali have a certain Fig. 264. — Foot of a Quiscalus (Q. macrurus, nat, size). (From Baird.) 104. 331. 332. ICTERIDZE — QUISCALINZ: CROW BLACKBIRDS. 411 crow-like aspect ; but they are readily distinguished by several features, besides 9 instead of 10 primaries. The feet are large and strong, and the birds spend much of their time on the ground, where they walk or run instead of advancing by leaps. They generally build rude, bulky nests, lay spotted or streaked eggs, and their best vocal efforts are hardly to be called musical. The ¢ of all our species is lustrous black, with various iridescence, the 9 merely blackish, or brown and much smaller. There is only one genus (Cassidix) besides the two of this country: in Scolecophagus the tail is slightly rounded and shorter than the wings; in Quiscalus the tail is graduated, and nearly equals or exceeds the wings. They are not specially palustrine. Individuals of all the species abound, especially in the South and West; only two are common Eastern birds. SCOLECO’PHAGUS. (Gr. cxadyé, gen. cxa@Ankos, scolex, scolecos, a worm: gayos, phagos, eating.) Rusty Grackies. THruso BLacKgirps. Bill shorter or not longer than head, slender for the subfamily, and somewhat like a robin’s, for instance; culmen little convex, if any, except at the decurved tip; gonys slightly convex; cutting edges inflexed, commissure little sinuated. Wings pointed, decidedly longer than the nearly even tail; point formed by the outer 4 primaries. Tail much as in Ageleus in size and shape. Tarsus rather longer than middle toe and claw. Lateral toes short, with moderate claws, scarcely or not reaching base of middle claw. Nest in bushes. Eggs spotty, not veiny and streaky. Analysis af Species. Smaller: wing under 5.00. Bill slender, thrush-like. gf greenish-black, including head. Sexes very un- like: @ quite rusty-brown, even with chestnut ; alight lineovereye ......4.. Jerrugineus 331 Larger: wing 5.00 or more. Bill stouter, more blackbird-like. ¢ greenish-black, head more violet. 9% subsimilar, sooty-brown , no pale superciliary stripe . : a> as ae . . cyanocephalus 332 S. ferrugi/neus. (Lat. ferrugineus, rust-colored; ferrugo, iron-rust: only applicable to 9 and young.) Rusty Grackite. Turusn Buackpirp. Adult ¢,in summer: One lustrous black with green metallic reflections; head not notably different froin other parts in its iridescence. Bill and feet black. Iris creamy or lemon. (Not ordinarily seen in the U. S. in this full dress — usually with some rusty.) Length 9.00-9.50; extent 14.00-15.00; wing under 5.00; tail 4.00 or less ; bill 0.80, only about 0.35 deep at base; tarsus 1.20; middle toe and claw less. Adult 9 in summer: Slaty-blackish, duller below, with greenish reflections chiefly on wings and tail; nearly all the upper parts overlaid with rich rusty-brown, and under parts with a paler shade of the same; inner secondaries brown-edged ; a whitey-brown streak over eye; iris brown. Moderately smaller than the g. The young ¢ at first resembles the 9, but is larger, and shows more decidedly lustrous black, especially on wings and tail. As usually found in flocks in the U. §., in fall, winter, and early spring, young and old of both sexes are very rusty, with light line over eye. Eastern North Amer., N. W. to Alaska; in the U. S., W. to Dakota, Nebraska, etc., meeting and mixing in the fall with the next species. In winter, generally dispersed over the EK. U. S.; breeds from N. New England northward. Nesting and eggs like those of Xanthocephalus ; breeding in loose colonies, in swampy tangle ; nest in bushes, of sticks and grasses mixed with mud, lined with fine grasses and rootlets; eggs usually 4, about 1.05 x 0.75, but very variable; dull greenish-bluish or grayish-white, flecked and mottled with dark brown, but with little or no line-tracery. S. cyanoce’phalus. (Gr. xiavos, kuanos, Lat. cyanus, blue; xepadn, kephale, head.) BLusE- HEADED GRACKLE. BREWER’S BLACKBIRD. Similar to the last, but quite a different bird. Adult g, in summer: Very lustrous green-black, as before, but with purple and violet irides- cence, especially on head, where the violet or steel-blue sheen contrasts with the general greenish hue, Bill and feet black. Iris creamy or lemon. Larger: length averaging 10.00 — 9.75-10.25 ; extent 16.00 or more; wing 5.00-5.25 ; tail 4.00~4.25 ; bill 0.80, stout at base, where about 0.40 deep — more like an abbreviated Quiscalus-bill than a thrush’s; tarsus 1.25- 1.30; middle toe and claw 1.10-1.15. 9, -adult, in summer: Blackish, with dull greenish 105. 333. 234. 412 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES — OSCINES. shade on back, wings, and tail; more slaty-blackish below. Fore parts of body above, head and most under parts overlaid with brownish-gray, lightest on head and throat, never rich rusty-brown. No light superciliary line. Iris brown. There is thus much less sexual differ- ence than in S. ferrugineus. Smaller; size about that of ¢ ferrugimeus; length 9.00-9.50; extent 14.50-15.50; wing 4.50~-4.90, ete. Young ¢ resembling 9; soon, however, showing more lustre, overcast with grayish (not rusty) brown, in same style as ferrugineus, but differ- ent shade. Western U. S., and adjoining British Provinces; E. to eastern edge of the plains, overlapping the migratory range of 8. ferrugineus; W.to the Pacific. Breeds nearly through- out its range, in suitable places; migratory to and from extremes of its range. Nest and eggs substantially the same as those of S. ferrugineus. QUIS'CALUS. (Span. quisquilla, Lat. quisquillie? Vox barb., of uncertain meaning and application. See Coues, Check List, 2d ed., p. 64.) Crow Buacksirps. Bill about as long as head, quite cultrate and crow-like, but more attenuate and acute, with deflected cutting edges; upper and under outlines straightish to the terminal curve of culmen, but variable; commissure variously sinuate. Wings relatively shorter and less acute than in Scolecophagus, usually pointed by the 2d-4th quills, 1st and 5th shorter. Tail of varying development with the species; at its greatest, much longer than wings, at its least decidedly shorter; always graduated, the lateral feathers 1-3 inches shorter than the middle pair, in life capable of slanting upward on each side, so that the middle feathers make a keel below; whence the name “boat-tail.” (Tail usually described as “longer than wings” in Quiscalus; but in most species it is decidedly shorter.) Feet stout; tarsus about equal to middle toe and claw. The é & in all the species ‘ black,” but so magnificently iridescent that little dead black is seen, being brassy, steel-blue, violet, purple, greenish, ete. 9 subsimilar, or plain brown. Analysis of Species and Varieties. Tail decidedly shorter than wings, graduated 1.00-1.50. Sexes subsimilar. Iridescence various — green, blue, purple, violet. g usually over12.00 ...... purpureus 335 Tridescence of back brassy; head steel-blue. gt usually over12.00 . .......s 2s ceneus 336 Tridescence greenish, neck purple. gf usually under12.00 . .......0.6+.4048 agleus 387 Tail about equal to wings, graduated about 2.50. Sexes very different. Q brown ... . major 334 Tail decidedly longer than wings, graduated 2.50-3.50. Sexes very different. Q brown . . macrurus 333 Q. macrw’rus. (Gr. paxpés, macros, long, large; odpa, owra, tail.) FAN-TAILED Crow BLACKBIRD. TEXAS GRACKLE. Of largest size, with longest, most keeled and graduated tail. Sexes very unlike. Bill very stout at base, tapering to the strongly deflected tip. Adult g: Iridescence chiefly purplish and violet, more greenish posteriorly. Length about 18.00 ; extent 23.00-24.00 ; wing 7.50-8.00 ; tail about 9.00, graduated 2.50-3.50; bill 1.75, Adult 9 : Dark brown; paler, grayish or whitish below. Length 13.00-14.00; extent 18.00- 19.00; wing 5.50-6.00; tail little more. The species probably shades into the next, but pre- sents dimensions the latter has not shown. Lower Rio Grande of Texas and southward, very abundant, swarming in the towns, where conspicuous by its curious antics as well as great size and numbers. Breeds in colonies, either in reedy marshes, when the nest is placed in the rushes over water, or anywhere about the settlements in trees away from water; sometimes there are many nests in one tree; some nests at an altitude of 30 or 40 feet. Nests built of any trash, usually with mud. Eggs in April-May, usually 3, 1.12-1.45 by 0.82-0.95, averaging 1.25 X 0.85 ; greenish or purplish-white, clouded oftener over smaller end than at the other, irregularly spotted, veined, and scratched with dark browns and blackish. Q. ma‘jor. (Lat. major, greater (than Q. purpureus).) Boat-TAILED Crow BLACKBIRD. Boat-TAILeD GRAcKLE. Jackpaw. Of large size, with long, much keeled and graduated tail. Sexes very unlike. Bill stout at base, tapering to the deflected tip. Adult 3: Irides- cence mostly green, becoming purple or violet chiefly on the head and neck. Length 15.50- 17.00, average 16.50; extent 21.00-23.50, average 22.50; wing and tail, each, 6.25-7.25, 335. 336. ICTERIDZA — QUISCALINAE: CROW BLACKBIRDS. 413 average 7.00, latter rather the longer of the two; its graduation about 2.50; bill 1.50; tarsus nearly 2.00; middle toe and claw about the same. Adult?: Astonishingly smaller than the g, lacking entirely the great development of the tail, and easily to be mistaken for another species. Length 12.00-13.50, average 13.00; extent 17.25-18.25, average 17.75; wing 5.25-6.00, average 5.67; tail 4.75-5.50, average 5.25. General color plain brown, only darker on wings and tail; below brownish-gray, frequently whitening on the throat. South Atlantic and Gulf States, on the coast, abundant; N. regularly to the Carolinas, frequently to the Middle districts, but not to New England, as far as certainly known, though very likely in exceptional cases. This species differs from the common crow blackbird in being strictly maritime, with the consequent modification in food and habits; it may be seen at times wading in the water, and small fish and crustaceans form much of its fare. Nesting and eggs as in Q. macrurus; eggs averaging smaller, but not distinguishable with certainty. Q. purpur'eus. (Lat. purpureus, purple. Fig. 265.) Purpte Crow Buackpirp. Com- mon Crow BLACKBIRD. PURPLE GRACKLE. Of medium size, with moderately keeled and graduated tail, shorter than wings. Sexes subsimilar. Bill usually less tapering and de- flected at tip, but very variable. Adult @: Iridescence very variable with season, age, and sexual vigor, as well as on different parts of the body; but always intense in healthy adults, and at its height during the love-ardor; variously pur- ple, green, blue, violet, and 3h bronzy; not the extensive Fig. 265. — Purple Grackle, reduced. (Sheppard del. Nichols sc.) green of the last species, nor usually the decided brassy of the next variety; wings and tail mostly purplish ; dark purplish and steel-blue on head, neck, and breast; back more green- ish or bronzy. Bill and feet ebony black. Iris straw-yellow. Length 12.00-13.50; ex- tent 17.00-18.50; wing 5.00-6.00, averaging 5.60; tail 4.50-6.00, usually under 5.50; bill 1.25, very variable; tarsus 1.25 ; graduation of tail 1.00-1.50. Adult 9: Blackish, and quite lustrous ; sufficiently similar to the ¢; length 11.00-12.00; wing about 5.00; tail about 4.50. Birds of this character, without perfectly brassy back and steel-blue head, are the usual kind in the Atlantic States; abundant and generally distributed, migratory and gregarious, breeding anywhere in their range, but chiefly northerly. Nesting variable, in tree or bush, on bough orin a hollow, at any height; sometimes in an artificial retreat, or a fish-hawk’s nest. Nest bulky, of any trash, usually with mud; eggs of the character and with all the indescribable variability of others of the genus; usually bluish or greenish, with purplish veining and clouding, zigzagged and flourished with dark browns or blackish ; averaging 1.25 X 0.90 in size; 5-6 in number. The grackles are absent from their breeding-grounds for ouly a small part of the year, when they flock southerly, often in immense bands scouring about for food. At times they are very injurious to the crops, but this is offset by their destruction of noxious insects. The courtships of the males look very curious to a dispassionate observer, being carried on with the most gro- tesque actions and ludicrous attitudes, as well as curious vocalization. Q. p. z/neus. (Lat. @neus, brassy.) BRronzED Crow BLACKBIRD. Brass GRACKLE. Birds from the interior U. S., especially the Mississippi valley, acquire in full plumage a splendid iridescence of three kinds, in pretty distinct areas. Body uniform shining brassy. Hind neck and breast chiefly steel-blue. Wings and tail chiefly violet and purple. This bril- liant coloration is that represented by Audubon, pl. 221 of the 8vo. ed. Such birds occur 337. 414 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. —PASSERES — OSCINES. from New England, Hudson’s Bay, the Saskatchewan and Rocky Mts. to Texas and the Gulf States. Q. p. agle'us. (Gr. dyAaios, aglaios, splendid.) FLoripa Crow BLACKBIRD. GREEN GRACKLE. Birds resident in S. Florida are smaller than average purpureus, with relatively longer and slenderer bill more decurved at tip; the body lustre chiefly greenish ; head and neck chiefly violaceous steel-blue; wings and tail steel-blue, becoming violet on the coverts. Aver- aging an inch less in length than purpwreus, and other parts in proportion, excepting the bill and feet, which are quite as long. (@. baritus, Bd., 1858, nec auct. Q. agleus, Bd., 1866.) 18. Family CORVIDA: Crows, Jays, etc. Cultrirostral Oscines with 10 prima- ries. —A rather large and important family, comprising such familiar birds as ravens, crows, rooks, jackdaws, magpies, jays, with their allies, and a few diverging forms not so well known; nearly related to the famous birds of paradise. There are 10 primaries, of which the lst is short, generally about half as long as the 2d, and several outer ones are more or less sinuate- attenuate on the inner web toward the end. The tail has 12 rectrices, as usual among higher birds; it varies much in shape, but is generally rounded — sometimes extremely graduated, as in the niagpie; and is not forked in any of our forms. The tarsus has scutella : C4 4 a Mae ee wl y woe in front, separated on one or both sides c 7% Cae =~ from the rest of the tarsal envelope mn ; My Gh za “eo by a groove, sometimes naked, some- Fic. 266. —European Jackdaw (Corvus monedula.) (From tines filled in by small scales. The Dixon.) bill is stout, about as long as the head or shorter, tapering, rather acute, generally notched, with convex culmen; it lacks the com~ missural angulation of the Fringilide and Icteride, the deep cleavage of the Hirundinide, the slenderness of the Certhiide, Sittide, and most small insectivorous birds. The rictus usually has a few stiffish bristles, and there are others about the base of the bill. An essential] character is seen in the dense covering of the nostrils with large long tufts of close-pressed antrorse bristly feathers (excepting, among our forms, in Gymnocitta and Psilorhinus). These last features distinguish the Corvide from all our other birds excepting Paride; the mutual resemblance is here so close, that I cannot point out any obvious technical character of external form to distinguish, for example, Cyanocitta from Lophophanes, or Perisoreus from Parus. But as already remarked, size is here perfectly distinctive, all the Corvide being much larger birds than any of the Paride. Owing to the uniformity of color in the leading groups of the family, and an apparent plasticity of organization in many formns, the number of species is difficult to determine, and is very variously estimated by different writers. Mr. G. R. Gray admits upwards of 200, which he distributes in 50 genera and subgenera; but these figures are certainly excessive. 106. CORVIDA — CORVINZ: CROWS. 415 probably requiring reduction by at least one-third, in both cases. The Corvide have been divided into five subfamilies; three of these are small and apparently specialized groups con- fined to the Old World, where they are represented most largely in the Australian and Indian regions ; the other two, constituting the great bulk of the family, are more nearly cosmopolitan. These are the Corvine and Garruline, or crows and jays, readily distinguishable, at least so far as our forms are concerned, by the longer pointed wings and shorter less rounded tail of the former as contrasted with the shorter rounded wings and longer more rounded or graduated tail of the latter. 26. Subfamily CORVINZ: Crows. With the wings long aud pointed, much exceeding the tail; the tip formed by the 3d, 4th, and 5th quills; 2d much shorter, Ist only about 4 as long as 3d. The legs stout, fitted for walking as well as perching. As a rule, the plumage is sombre or at least unvariegated, —blue, the characteristic color of the jays, being here rare. The sexes are alike, and the changes of plumage slight. Although techuically oscine, corvine birds are highly unmasical; the voice of the larger kinds is raucous, that of the smaller strident, — witness the croak of the raven, the “caw” of the crow, the screaming of jays. They frequent all situ- ations, and walk firmly and easily on the ground, where jays hop. They are among the most nearly omnivorous of birds, and as a consequence, in connection with their hardy nature, they are rarely if ever truly,migratory. Their nesting is various, according to circumstances, but the fabric is usually rude and bulky; the eggs, of the average oscine number, are commonly bluish or greenish, speckled. Although not properly gregarious, as a rule, they often associate in large numbers, drawn together by community of interest. In illustration of this may be instanced the extensive roosting-places in the Atlantic States, comparable to the rookeries of Europe, whither immense troops of crows resort nightly, often from great distances, recalling the fine line of the poet, — ; “ The blackening trains of crows to their repose.” & Fre. 267, — Typical Corvine bill. Our three genera of Corvine are readily known by the black color of Corvus, the gray, white, and black of Picicorvus, and the blue of Gymnocitta. In the latter, as in Psilorhinus of Garruline, the nostrils are exposed, contrary to the rule in each subfamily. COR/VUS. (Lat. corvus, a crow. Fig. 267.) Ravens. Crows. The species throughout uniform lustrous black, including the bill and feet; nasal bristles about half as long as the bill, which exhibits the typical cultrirostral style. Nostrils large, but entirely concealed. Wings much longer than tail, folding about to its end. Several outer primaries sinuate-attenuate on inner webs. Tail rounded, with broad feathers, sinuate-truncate at ends, with mucronate shafts. Feet stout ; tarsus more or less nearly equal to middle toe and claw, roughly scutellate in front, laminar behind, with a set of small plates between. Analysis of Species. Ravens, with the throat-feathers acute, lengthened, disconnected. About 2 feet long; wing 16-18 inches; tail about 10. Bases of cervical feathers gray . . . . corax 338 Smaller; concealed bases of cervical feathers pure white (Southwestern) ... . eryptoleucus 339 Crows, with the throat-feathers oval and blended. Length 18-20; wing 12-14; tail 7-8; bill 12-2, its height at base 3; tarsus about equal to the middle toe and claw, longer than bill; 1st quill not longer than 10th he . frugivorus 340, 341 Small, Length 14-16; wing 10-11; tail 6-7; bill 13-2; tarsus rather longer lian’ pill or middle toe and claw ; 1st quill longer than 10th. (Northwestern) ‘ . . caurinus 342 Small; 14-16 inches long ; wing 10-11 ; tail 6-7; tarsus akoree than middle toe and claw, longer than bill; 1st quill not longer than 10th . . . . . 6 ewe ee ee Se «MOIS 243 338, 339. 416 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES — OSCINES. C. covrax. (Gr. xépaé, korax, Lat. corax, a croaker— the raven. Fig. 268.) AMERICAN Raven. Feathers of throat somewhat stiffened, lengthened, pointed, lying loose from one another; those of neck with gray downy bases, as elsewhere on the body. Color entirely lus- trous black, with chiefly purplish and violet burnishing. Length about 2 feet — at least over 20 inches; expanse of wings 4 or 44 feet — much over a yard. Wing about 14 feet— at least over 15 inches. Tail about 10 inches ; its feathers graduated 1.50-2.50 inches. Bill along chord of culmen, and tarsus, about 2.50. Varies much in size. Greenland and Labrador specimens are of great size, with immense bill touching 3.00. The bill is usually longer and relatively less deep in the American than in the European raven; whole bird more sturdy and robust. The usual wing-formula is: primary 4>3=5 >2>6>1=8; but these quills grow and moult so gradually the proportionate lengths differ much in specimens examined. The 9 is undistin- guishable from the @, though averaging smaller. N. Amer.; but now rare in the U. S. east of the Mississippi, and altogether wanting in most of the States ; Labrador, ranging southward, / Fig. 268. —Head of a very large American Raven, nat. size. (Ad nat. del. E.C.) rarely, along the coast to the Middle districts; very abundant in the West, where the sable plume and the bleaching skeleton, the ominous croak and the Indian war-whoop, are not yet things of the past. Wherever in the West the raven abounds, the crow seems to be sup- planted. Nests high in trees and on cliffs, selecting the most inaccessible places. Eggs 4-8, oftener 4-5, about 2.00 x 1.30, greenish, dotted, blotched and clouded with neutral tints, pur- plish- and blackish-browns. C. eryptoleu/cus. (Gr. xpumtds, kruptos, erypted or hidden; Aevkds, lewkos, white.) WHITE- NECKED Raven. Throat-feathers as in C. corax; but bases of the feathers of neck snowy- white. Smaller than the raven; about as large as a good-sized crow, and generally taken for one in those regions where it occurs with the raven, the difference between them being obvious in life; the accounts of “crows” in some regions where C. americanus does not occur being ‘based upon the presence of C. cryptoleucus. Southwestern U. S., Llano Estacado and higher Rio Grande of Texas, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and portions of California. 340. 341. 342. 343. 107. CORVIDA— CORVINZE: CROWS. 417 C. frugi/vorus. (Lat. frugivorus, fruit-eating: frux, fruit; voro, [ devour.) Common AMERI- can Crow. The common crow isa foot and a half long, or rather more; wing 12 to 14 inches; tail 7 to 8; bill 1.75-2.00, about 0.75 high at base; tarsus about equal to middle toe and claw, rather exceeding the bill. First primary not longer than 10th. Feathers of the throat oval, soft, and blended; no snowy-white under-plumage. The burnishing is chiefly on the wings, tail, and back, the head being nearly dead-black. The 9 is decidedly smaller than the ¢, and under-sized cabinet specimens are not seldom labelled ‘ ossifragus.” Fastern N. Amer., chiefly U. S., not ordinarily found westward in the interior, where the raveg abounds ; rare or wanting in the Upper Missouri and Southern Rocky Mt. regions ; common, however, in some parts of California. In settled parts of the country the crow tends to colonize, and some of its ‘“roosts” are of vast extent. Mine is on the Virginia side of the Potomac, near Washington. Crows are always flying west over the city in the afternoon, and when as a boy I used to see the gray of the morning, crows were flying the other way. It is doubtless the same now ; but I oftener hear midnight migrants than see such ‘‘ early birds” these days. Nest in trees, any- where in the woods, usually concealed with some art, though so bulky; built of sticks and trash; eggs 4-6-7, 1.60 X 1.20, like the raven’s in color and markings, and equally variable. (C. americanus, Auct.) C. f. florida/nus. (Lat. of Florida.) FLoripa Crow. Represents the greater relative size of the bill and feet shown by many resident birds of Florida and corresponding latitudes. C. cauri‘nus. (Lat. caurus, the N. W. wind, whence cawrinus, northwestern.) NorTu- WESTERN FisH Crow. Small: about the size of the common fish crow, but feet more as in C. americanus, the tarsus not being shorter than the middle toe and claw, though rather less than the bill; lst primary longer than 10th. Length 14.00-16.00; wing 10.50; tail 6.50; bill 1.75-2.00. N. Pacific coast, Oregon to Alaska; maritime; piscivorous; voice said to he different from that of C. frugivorus. Cc. mari/timus. (Lat. maritimus, maritime; mare, the sea.) SOUTH-EASTERN Fis Crow. Small. Length 14.00-16.00; wing 10.00-11.00; tail 6.00-7.00; bill 1.50; tarsus 1.60; mid- dle toe and claw 1.75. First primary not longer than 10th; a bare space about the gape? South Atlantic and Gulf States, N. to New England, Common; maritime, piscivorous. Apparently a different bird from any of the foregoing, as it presents some tangible distinctions, although constantly associated with C. frugivorus. Nest and eggs not to be distinguished with certainty from those of the common crow, though averaging smaller. (C. ossifragus Wils.) PICICOR'VUS. (Com- pounded of picus, a wood- pecker, or pica, amagpie, and corvus, a crow. Fig. 269.) AmeERIcAN Nut- CRACKERS. General characters of the Euro- pean Nucifraga. Bill slenderer, more acute, with more regularly eurved culmen and com- missure, and straight in- Fie. 269, — Head of Picicorrus, nat. size. (Ad nat. del. E. C.) stead of convex and ascending gonys ; as a whole somewhat decurved. Nostrils circular, con- cealed by a full tuft of plumules. Wings long and pointed, folding to the end of the tail; 5th quill longest; 4th, 3d, 6th little less; 2d much shorter, 1st not half as long as 5th. Tail little over half as long as wing, little rounded. Tarsus shorter than middle toe and claw; the envelope divided into small plates on the sides behind toward the bottom. Claws very large, strong, 27 344. 108. 345. 418 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. —PASSERES — OSCINES. acute and much curved, especially that of the hind toe; the lateral reaching beyond base of the middle claw. Coloration peculiar; gray, with black-and-white wings and tail. Habits much the same as those of Nucifraga; alpine and sub-boreal, pinicoline, and pinivorous. One species, confined to W. Amer. P. columbia‘nus, (Of the Columbia River. Fig. 270.) Cuarxe’s Crow. 9, adult: Gray, often bleaching on the head; wings glossy black, most of the secoudaries broadly tipped with white; tail white, including the under coverts;, the central feathers and usually part of th« next pair, together with the up- per coverts, black. Bill and fect black. Iris brown. Length about 12.50; extent 22.00; wing 7.00-8.00; tail 4.00-5.00; tar- sus 1.35; bill averaging 1.67 ; feet from 1.25 to 1.75. Sexes alike in color, but 9 smaller than &. Young similar, but browner ash. There is great difference Fic. 270. —Clarke’s Crow, reduced. (Sheppard del. Nichols sc.) in the shade in adults, the plumage when fresh being more glaucous-ash, wearing browner, and also bleaching in patches, especially on head. Coniferous belt. of the West, N. to Sitka, 8. to Mexico, E. to Nebraska, W. to the Coust Ranges ; the American representative of the European nutcracker, Nucifraga caryocatactes ; abundant, imperfectly gregarious. A remarkable bird, wild, restless, and noisy. sometimes congregating by thousands in the pineries of the W., roving in search of food. Breeds high in pines, in alpine and northerly localities, concealing the nest with care; nest of sticks as a basis, on which bark-strips, grasses, and other fibrous substances are well matted together. Eggs 1.20 x 0.90, light grayish-green, speckled and blotched with grayish-brown and lilac, chiefly about the larger end. GYMNOCIT'TA. (Gr. yupvds, guinnos, naked, as the nostrils are ; kirra, kitta, ajay.) BLuE. Crows. Bill of peculiar shape, with nearly straight culmen mounting on forehead, thus some- what as in Sturnella, between the prominent and somewhat antrorse anti, which, how- ever, do not hide the nostrils ; slender, tapering, acute, not notched; gonys straightish, scarcely ascending. Nostrils sinall, oval, entirely exposed. Tail nearly square, much shorter than wings. Wings long, pointed, folding nearly to end of tail; 4th primary } longest, 3d and 5th scarcely Fig. 271. — Blue Crow, nat. size; culuin too convex. (Ad nat. del, E.C.) shorter ; 2d shorter, 1st shorter still. Feet stout, indicating somewhat terrestrial habits ; tar- sus longer than middle toe withuut claw, the envelope subdivided behind towards the bottom. Claws all large, strong, and much curved. Color bluish, nearly uniform: sexes alike. One species. G. cyanoce’/phala. (Gr. xtavos, kuanos, blue; xepadn, kephale, head. Fig. 271.) BLue Crow. ¢@: Dull blue, very variable in intensity, nearly uniform, but brightest on head, fading 109. 346. CORVIDA — GARRULINZE: JAYS. 419 on belly; the throat with whitish streaks; wings dusky on the inner webs. Bill and feet black. Tris brown. Length 11.00-12.00; extent. 16.50-19.00; wing 5.50-6.00; tail about 4.50; bill 1.33, but from 1.25-1.50; 9 smaller, duller. Rocky Mt. regiou ; much the same elevated distribution as the last, but apparently rather more southerly ; decidedly gregarious, and very abundant in some places. A remarkable bird, combining the form of a crow with the color and habits of a jay, and a peculiarly shaped bill. It roves about in noisy restless flocks, sometimes of thousands, in search of food, which is pine seeds, especially pifiones, juni- per berries, acorns, etc. Breeds in cvlonies ;.nest in pifion pines and other evergreens, compact but bulky, of twigs, and fibrous bark-strips well worked together; eggs 3-4, 1.25 X 0.87, greenish-white, profusely spotted with light brown and purplish; laid iu April. 27. Subfamily CARRULINA: Jays. With the wings much shorter than or about equalling the tail, both rounded; tip of the wing furmed by the 4th-7th quills. The feet, as well as the bill, are usually weaker than in the true crows, and the birds are more strictly arboricole, usually advancing by leaps when on . the ground, to which they do not habitually re- sort. In striking contrast to most Corvine, the jays are usually birds of bright and varied colors, among which blue is the most prominent; and the head is frequently crested. The sexes are nearly alike, and the changes of plumage do Fig. 272. — European Jay (Garrulus glandarius). not appear to be as great as is usual among (From Dixon.) highly-colored birds, although some differences are frequently observable. Our well-known Blue Jay is a familiar illustration of the habits and traits of the species in general. They are found in most parts of the world, and reach their highest development in the warmer portions of America. With one boreal exception (Peri- soreus), the genera of the Old and New World are entirely different. It is proper to observe, that, while the American Corvine and Garruling, upon which the foregoing paragraphs are mainly drawn up, are readily distinguishable, the characters given may require modification in their application to the whole family, the different divisions of which appear to intergrade closely. Our six genera are easily discriminated. Analysis of Genera. Nostrils large, naked. Not crested, General color brown... . js ‘ soe oe ew ww + . Psilorhinus 109 Nostrils moderate, covered by feathers. First primary attenuated, falcate: tail exceedingly long, graduated. Not crested. Colors black, white, and iridescent ewe te "4 . carn » + . » Pica 110 First primary not attenuated. Tail moderate. Crested. Blue: wings and tail barrel with black. . . . 1. 2s « Cyanocitta 11L Not crested. Blue: wingsand tail unbarred . . soe ew ew we «© Aphelocoma 112 Green and yellow, with blue and Pinel on head - use hts oe es ai Xanthura 113 Gray, with slaty wings and tail . . . . + Perisoreus 114 PSILORHINUS. (Gr. Wrds, psilos, smooth, bare, bald; fis, pwes, his, hrinos, nose.) Brown Jays. Smoxy Pies. Nostrils exposed, large, rounded. Bill stout, with very convex culmen, curved from the base. Wings and tail of about equal lengths, both rounded. Of large size, and smoky-brown color ; not crested. P. mo'rio, (Lat. morio, ‘a dark brown gem.”) Brown Jay. Smoky-brown, darker on head, fading on belly ; wings and tail with bluish gloss. Bill and feet black, sometimes yel- 110. 420 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES — OSCINES. low. Length about 16.00; wing and tail about 8.00, the graduation of the latter about 2.00 ; bill 1.25. Rio Grande Valley and southward. PICA. (Lat. pica, a pie.) Maaries. Tail extremely long, when fully developed forming more than + the total length, graduated for about 4 its own length; the feathers with rounded ends, the middle pair at least tapering, and specially lengthened beyond the rest. Bill of ordi- nary corvine shape; nos- trils concealed by long na- sal tufts. Wings short and rounded, with very short, narrow, faleate first pri- mary. Feet stout; tarsus little longer than middle toe and claw. Head not crested. A naked space about eye. Plumage black, iridescent, with masses ‘of white; bill black or yel- low. Sexes alike. Habits arboreal and somewhat ter- restrial, — very irregular, in fact, a magpie’s general character being none of the best, though the ge- neric characters are ex- cellent. P. rus/‘tica hudson‘ica. (Lat. rustica, rustic, rural; rus, ruris, the country. Of Hudson’s Bay. Fig. 273.) Macrrie. Lustrous black, with green, purple, violet, and even golden iridescence, especially on“ the tail and wings. Be- low. from the breast to the crissum, a scapular patch, and a great part, of the in- ner webs of the primary quills, white; some whit- ish touches on the throat; lower back showing gray, owing to mixture of white ' with black; bill and feet Fic. 273, — Magpie, reduced, (From Dixon.) black; eyes blackish. Length 15 or 20 inches, according to the development of the tail, which is a foot or less long, extremely graduated ; extent about 2 feet; wing about 8.00, the outer primary short, slender, and faleate ; bill 1.25; tarsus 1.67; middle toe and claw 1.50. Q rather smaller than ¢, but alike in color. Arctic Amer. and U.S. from Plains to Pacific, except California ; common. The American magpie is extremely similar to the notorious bird of Europe, and attempts to establish specific characters have failed. It is a rather larger and “better” bird, though quite 348. lil. 349. 750. CORVIDA| —GARRULINA:: JAYS. 421 as mnch of a rascal. The nest is placed in thick shrubbery, as big as a bushel, bristling with a chevaux-de-frise outside, with a lateral covered way leading to the nest within. Eggs 6-9, 1.20 to 1.40 long by 0.90 to 1.00 broad, pale drab, dotted, dashed, and blotched with purplish- brown. Pp. nut/talli. (To Thos. Nuttall.) YELLOw-BILLED Maaprs. Bill and ~2 space about eye yellow. Otherwise, precisely like the last, of which it is a perpctuated accident! The European magpie sometimes shows the same thing, and in some other spec ., like P. morio, the bill is indifferently black or yellow. California, common. CYANOCIT'TA. (Gr. xvavos, kuanos, blue; xirra, hitta, « jay.) CRESTED BLUE Jays. Conspicuously crested; wings and tail blue, black-barred bill and feet black. Length 11.00- 12.00; wing or tail 5.00-6.00. Nostrils large, subcircular, but concealed. Wings and tail of equal lengths, both rounded. Hind claw large, cqualling or exceeding its digit in length. Theré are two species of this beautiful genus, one light blue and white, Eastern, standing quite alone; the other dusky-bodied, Western, running into several varieties. Analysis of Species and Varieties. Purplish-blue, whitening below, with a black« lar. .. . Be ley fee Jat lane Gen lose . cristata 349 Sooty-brownish or -blackish, bluing c. body behind, wings and tail; ‘the latter black-barred. Sooty-blackish ; littlo if any b!:.2 on forehead; none about eye; wing-coverts unbarred . . stellert 350 Sooty-blackish; but blue on forehead and above eye; wing-coverts unbarred .. . . . amnectens 351 Sooty-brownish, blue on forehead; little if any blue about eye; wing-coverts unbarred . Jrontalis 353 Sooty-brownish, the crest quite black. Bluish-white streaks on forehead and about-eye; wing- coverts black-barred . ie UTES Be ahs Vere), oe ‘ be 6 «+ . macrolopha 352 C. cristata. (Lat. cristata, crested. Fig. 27 4) Buvz Jay. 2: " Purplish- -blue, below pale purplish - gray, whitening on throat, belly, and. crissum. A — black collar across lower throat and up the sides of the neck and head behind the crest ;. a black frontlet bordered with whitish. : Wings and tail pure rich blue with black bars, the greater coverts, secondaries, and tail- feathers, except the central, broadly tipped with pure white ; tail much rounded, the gradua- tion over an inch. Length 11.00+12.00 ; extent 16.00- 17.50; wing and tail, each, 5.00-6.00; bill 1.25; tarsus’ 1.35. Q similar, not so richly blue: smaller. There is much difference in size between north- ern and southern bred birds, as in the Ageleus. Florida specimens are particularly small, the bill relatively larger, the crest less, the white on wings and tail restricted; as worthy as some other Floridan races to be named (C. cc. florincola, N.). Eastern N. A., especially U. S., but N. to Hudson’s Bay; W. to the central plains; a very abundant resident or half-migratory bird, breeding throughout its range; a well-known character! Nest in trees and bushes, or any odd nook, large and substantial; eggs 5-6 in number, 1.00 to 1.20 long by 0.80 to 0.90 broad, drab-colored with brown spots. C. stel'leri. (To G. W. Steller.) Srenuer’s Jay. gf 9: Whole head, neck, and back sooty blackish, little if any lighter on throat, and with little if any blue on forehead or about eyes ; Fie. 274. — Blue Jay, reduced. (Sheppard del. Nichols sc.) 351. 353 352. 422 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES — OSCINES. this sooty color passing inseusibly on the rump and breast into dull blue. Wings and tail richer blue, crossed with numerous black bars, not on the secondary coverts. Bill and feet black. Young more fuliginous, the wing-bars faint if not wanting. Size of the Eastern jay, or rather larger. Pacific coast region, Oregon to Alaska, E. to the Rocky Mts., where inoscu- lating with C. s. macrolopha. This is the typical form, with little or no blue, no whitish on head, and unbarred wing-coverts; running through annectens, frontahs, and macrolopha into some very different Mexican forms. Habits, nest, and eggs as described under macrolophu. C. s, annec’tens. (lat. annectens, annexing.) Buack-HEADED JAy. This nainc has been given to specimens directly counecting stelleri and macrolopha. General tone of the former ; quite blackish, short-erested, with plain wing-coverts; but blue frontal streaks and whitish eye-patch of the latter. N. Rocky Mts., U. 8. C. s. fronta’lis. (Lat. frontalis, pertaining to frons, the forehead.) BLUE-FRONTED JAY. Strrra Jay. An offset from stelleri ; the sooty color rather brownish than blackish ; the blue of different shade on body from the deep indigo on wings and tail; whole crest glossed with bluish, and conspicuous blue streaks on forehead; no whitish eye-patches; wing-coverts obsoletely or not barred. Sierras Nevadas of California. C. s. macro‘lopha. (Gr. paxpés, makros, long ; Addos, lophos, crest. Fig. 275.) Lone- CRESTED JAY. Better marked than the connecting links. ¢ 9: Upper parts sooty umber- brown, with a faint blue tinge, blackening on head and neck all around in decided con- trast, passing ov ramp and upper tail-coverts into beautiful light co- balt-blue; passing on fore breast into the same blue which occu- pies all the under parts. Crest black, but faced on forehead with bluish- white, which, when the feathers are not dis- turbed, runs in two parallel lines froin the nostrils upward — these colored tips of the feathers of firmer texture than their basal portions. One or both eyelids patched with white. Chin ab- ruptly whitish, streaky. Exposed surfaces of wings rich indigo-blue, most intense on the inner secondaries, which, with the greater coverts, are regularly and firmly barred across both webs with black ; the outer webs of the primaries lighter blue, more like that of the rump or under parts. Upper surface of tail rich indigo, like the secondaries, and similarly black-barred ; these bands most distinct towards the ends and on the outer webs of the feathers; tail viewed from below appearing inostly blackish. Ivis dark. Bill and feet black. Length 12.00-13.00; extent 17.00-19.00; wing 5.50-6.50; tail the same; Dill 1.12; tarsus 1.50; middle toe and claw 1.33. Sexes quite alike, but 9 at the lesser dimensions given. Crest longer than in northern stellert, sometimes 3.00. Young: Much more sooty; below entirely fuliginous, with the future blue indicated by an ashy or grayish shade. Wings and tail nearly as bright blue as in the adult, but the black bars faint or wanting. Crest shorter, not quite black, not faced with blue, and no white about eyes. This form melts into C. diademata of Mexico, which is bluer; and this is near the quite blue C. coronata. Rocky Mt. region, U. S., especially southerly; a common bird of the pine belt, displaying in marked degree the notorious attributes of its genus, or genius. Nest in trees and bushes, usually concealed with art, though bulky. Fic. 275. — Long-crested Jay, nat. size. (Ad nat. del. E. C.) 112, 354. 355. CORVIDA — GARRULINA:: JAYS. 423 eggs 5-6. 1.25 to 1.35 x 0.80 to 0.90, pale bluish-green, profusely spotted and blotched with dark olive-brown and lighter brown. APHELO'COMA. (Gr. dpedns, apheles, smooth, sleek; xoun, home, hair: alluding to the lack of crest.) CrestLess BLUE Jays. Generally as in Cyanocitta. Head uncrested. Tail longer or shorter than wings, instead of about equal, graduated (in some extralimital forms about equal to the wing.and even). ‘Tarsus rather longer than middle toe and claw. Wings and tail blue, without black bars, and blue the chief body-color; whitish underneath, with (usually) or without a gray patch on the back. All Southern and Southwestern. Analysis af Species and Varieties. Tail longer than wings, graduated. Above blue, with gray dorsal area; belly dingy whitish; a super- ciliary stripe, and the throat streaky. Forehead hoary-white; superciliary stripe not well-defined. Dorsal patch well-defined. Crissum blue, contrasting with grayish under parts. . 2... 8 ww eee ee floridana 354 Forehead blue; superciliary stripe distinct. Dorsal patch ill-defined, spreading and bluish. Crissum bluish, but not well contrasted with dingy under parts ......2.2.. - . . woodhousit 355 Forehead blue; superciliary stripe distinct. Dorsal patch well- defined, Crissum whitish like other MOGEOISE ah eee a Oe me a ee californica 356 Tail rather shorter than wing, wounded Bie, without definite dorsal anes, or aise or superciliary streaks : Bete ERT ge i a et ee - » « arizone 35T A. florida/na. (Of Florida.) FLORIDA JAY. 3 9: Blue; back with a small well- defined gray patch not invading scapulars; belly and sides pale grayish; under tail-coverts and tibiae blue in marked contrast ; much hoary whitish on forehead and sides of crown, but no sharp white superciliary stripe ; gif, throat, and middle of breast vague streaky whiiah and bluish ; ear- coverts dusky; the blue “iat seems to encircle the head and neck well defined against the gray of back and breast. . . Bill comparatively short, very stout at the base. Length 11.00-12.50, average 11. 75; extent 13.50-15.00, average 14.50; wing 4.00-4.75, average 4.40; tail 4.50- 5.50, average 5.00, always longer than wing; bill about 1.00. Florida (and Gulf States?), abundant. Very local, and not authentic as occurring outside of Florida. Usual habits of jays. Nest a flat structure, in bushes, of twigs lined with fibres. Eggs 4-5, bluish-green, sparingly speckled, chiefly at larger end, with brown, 1.00 x 0.80. A. f. woodhou'sii, (To 8. W. Woodhouse.) Woopnousr’s Jay. The dorsal patch dark, glossed with blue, shading into the blue of surrounding parts; under parts rather darker than in C. floridana, somewhat bluish-gray ; the under tail-coverts bluish but not contrasted; on the breast the blue and gray shading into each other, the gular and pectoral streaks whitish aud well-defined, the supereiliary lime definite white, but no hoary on forehead ; bill slenderer. $9, adult: General color blue, rich and pure on the wings, tail, ramp, crown, back and sides of neck, and on the breast surrounding the streaky white arca. Middle of back and scapulars dark gray much tinged with blue, shading insensibly into the surrounding blue. Upper and under tail-coverts blue. Under parts froin the breast gray, with blue tinge (in californica nearly white). Chin, throat, and breast with a series of whitish blue-edged streaks, enclosed in surrounding blue. Lores, orbits, and auriculars dusky. A series of sharp white streaks over and behind cye. Wings and tail blue; the inner webs of most of the quills, and the tail viewed from below, dusky. The inner secondaries and tail-feathers, closely examined, show obsolete barring, like that which becomes pronounced in Cyanocitta, but the traces are faint, and the feathers may be properly called plain. Iris brown ; bill and feet black. Length of 3, about 12.00: extent 16.50; wing 5.00; tail 6.00; bill 1.12; tarsus 1.50; middle toe and claw 1.33. Q smaller: average 11.25; extent 15.50, ete. Young: Wings and tail as in the adult; upper parts mostly gray : under parts grayish-white, with little or no blue on the breast, the pectoral streaks undefined, as are those over the eye. Rocky Mt. region, from Wyoming and Idaho southward. Habits, nest and eggs as in other species. The eggs in this genus usually differ from those of Cyanocitta, by more greenish ground color and bolder marking, especially 356. 357. ‘113. 358. 424 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. —PASSERES — OSCINES. at the larger end. In regions where Woodhouse’s and the Jong-crested jays occur together, the latter lives chiefly in the pines, the former in the scrub-oak and other thickets. A. £. californica. (Of California.) Catirornia JAy. The dorsal patch light and distinct as in A. floridana, but the under parts, including tail-coverts and tibiee, nearly white; gular streaks very large, aggregated, and white, causing the throat to be nearly uniform; a white superciliary line, as in woodhousit, but no hoary on forehead ; bill slender. Thus it is seen that each of the three forms presents a varying emphasis of common characters. $9, adult: General color blue. Scapulars and interseapulars gray, with little if any tinge of blue; rump. and upper tail-coverts bluish-gray, usually mixed with some white. Forehead and nasal tufts blue like crown; a sharp white superciliary stripe over and behind eye; lores, eyelids, and auriculars blackish. Under parts from the breast soiled white, with little or no tinge of blue except on crissum; breast appearing as if blue, overlaid with broad white stripes, which become continuous on throat and chin; the breast is really white, in streaks edged with blue, and with ' a surrounding of blue in which the streaks are as if framed. Iris brown; bill and feet black. Length 12.00 or less; wing 5.00; tail 5.50; bill 1.00; tarsus 1.50; middle toe and claw 1.25. In comparison with woodhousti, differences are seen in the well-defined gray dorsal patch ; the nearly white underparts without decidedly blue crissum ; and the broader and more continuously white gular streaks. The general habits, nest, and epee are the same. A, ultramari/na arizo'nx. (Lat. ultramarina, béyond the sea, name of a blue color.) Art- ZONA JAY. Belonging to a different section of the genus, distinguished by having the tail rather shorter than longer than the wings, the upper parts uniform blue, and no throat-streaks. 2, adult: Above, light blue, purer on head, wings, and tail than on back, where rather dull. Beneath, sordid bluish-gray, bluest on breast, paler on throat, whitening on belly, flanks, and crissum. Lores blackish ; orbits and auriculars dark. No superciliary stripe, nor decided streaks on throat or breast. Bill normally black, sometimes irregularly patched with whitish. Feet black. Length about 13.00; wing 6.25-6.75; tail 6.00-6.50, rounded, the lateral feathers graduated about 0.50; bill 1.25, 0.40 deep at base; tarsus 1.67; middle toe and claw 1.33. Young: Little if any blue excepting on wings and tail, being dull gray above; below, much like the adult. Bill flesh-colored on most of under mandible. Arizona, aud probably New Mexico; N. to about 35°. (C. sordida, Bd., 1858; Coues, 1872, may be a variety of sordida, but it is probably guing too far to bring in ultramarins, and make both this and arizone varieties of sordida.) XANTHU/RA. (Gr. favos, xanthos, yellow; odpa, oura, tail.) Green Jays. No crest. Wings short, much rounded, with lengthened inner secondaries folding nearly over the pri- maries. Tail longer than wings, graduated. Bill short and deep, with culmen curved froin the base. Colors green and yellow, with black and blue on head. Several tropical species of these luxurious jays, one reaching our border. X. luxurio/sa. (Lat. luxuriosa, luxurious. Commonly written luruosa.) Rio GRANDE Jay. Adult g: Back and exposed surface of wings yellowish-green ; inner webs of inost of the quills blackish edged with clear yellow; their shafts black above, yellow or whitish below; lining of wings clear yellow. Four middle tail-feathers greenish-blue, at base little different from back, bluing toward ends; these feathers, seen from below, quite black; other tail-feathers all clear rich yellow, including their shafts. Under parts from the breast light greenish-yellow, yielding to pure yellow on middle of belly. Top of head and nasal plumules beautiful rich blue, yielding on forehead to hoary-white. Sides of head to above eyes, and whole chin, throat, and fore-breast jet black, enclosing a large triangular patch of blue on the side of the lower jaw, and blue touches on the eyelids. Bill and feet black. Length 11.25-12.00; extent 14.50-15.50; wing 4.50-5.00; tail 5.25-5.75; tarsus 1.50; middle toe and claw 1.25; bill 1.00, very stout. 9 near the lesser of the dimensions given. This truly elegant bird is abundant in some localities in the Lower Rio Grande valley. Nest in bushes 114, 359. 360. 361. 362. CORVIDAE — GARRULINZ:: JAYS. 425 and small trees, bulky, of twigs with finer lining; eggs usually 3-4, 1.10 x 0.80, greenish- drab, marked as usual with browns. PERISO'REUS. (Gr. mepicapeio, perisoreuo, I heap up; probably in allusion to the hoarding or thievish propensities of jays.) Gray Jays. Not crested. Plumage soft, full and lax, grayish or sooty. Bill very short, not deep but wide at base; culmen little curved; gonys ascending. Wings and tail of approximately equal lengths; latter graduated. A cireumpolar and boreal or alpine genus, of one species in America, with several varieties. Analysis of Varieties. Dark hood moderate; forehead white; back brownish-gray, streaked % - . . canadensis 359 Dark hood extensive; forehead smoky ; back brownish-gray, unstreaked . . » . « fumifrons 360 Dark hood extensive ; forehead whitish; back brownish, with white shaft-lines . » . . . obscurus 861 Dark hood restricted ;. forehead extensively white; back ashy-gray, unstreaked . . . capitalis 362 P. canaden’sis. (Of Canada. Fig. 276.) Canapa Jay. WuisKry JACK. Moose. BIRD. Gray, whitening on head, neck, and breast; a dark cap on hind head and nape, sep- arated by a gray cervical collar from the ashy-plumbeous back ; wings and tail plumbeous, the feathers obscurely tipped with whitish. Bill and feet black. Young: Much darker, sooty or smoky-brown; the bleaching. progresses indefinitely with age. Length 10.00- 11.00; extent about 16.00; wing 5.25- 5.75 ; tail rather more, graduated ;. tar- sus 1.33; bill under. 1, shaped like a titmouse’s. Arctic “Am. into the N. States, N. ‘W. to Alaska; breeds in Maine and northward; resident, and seldom seen south ofits breeding range. The ‘ Wisskachon” (whence “ whisk- ey John” and then ‘‘ whiskey Jack”) is noted for the familiarity and impu- dence with which it hangs about the hunter’s camp to steal provisions, for consorting with moose, and for nesting in winter or early spring. Nest usually Y on the bough of a spruce or other coni- Fic. 276. — Canada Jay, reduced. (Sheppard del. Nicholssc.) fer, a large substantial structure, of twigs, grasses, mosses, and feathers; eggs 3-4, 1.20 x 0.85, yellowish-gray to pale green, finely dotted and blotched with brown and slate, or lavender, especially about the larger end; others more uniformly and largely blotched ; variation wide, as in other jays. P. ec. fu’/mifrons. (Lat. fumus, smoke; frons, forehead.) ALASKAN JAY. SMUTTY-NOSED Jay. Similar: coloration darker and dingier throughout ; white of forehead obscured or oblit- erated by smoky-gray. Coast region of Alaska. : 7 P. ¢c. obseu'rus. (Lat. obscurus, obscure.) OREGON JAY. More different: dark hood encroaching on crown, not well defined; upper parts umber-brownish rather than plumbeous, the feathers with white shaft-lines; tail not distinctly tipped with whitish. Pacifie coast region, Oregon to Sitka. P. ¢, capita/lis. (Lat. capitalis, capital, relating to the head, caput.) Rocky MounrTain Jay. General color ashy-plumbeous, or leaden-gray, paler below; wings and tail blackish, with a peculiar glaucous shade, as if frosted or silvered over. The body-color giving way on the breast and neck to whitish, established as hoary-white on the head, isolating the narrow well-defined nuchal band of sooty-gray. No white lines on back ; tail-feathers distinctly tipped with whitish, and much edging of the same on the wings. The clearer colors generally — back rather bluish-gray than brownish-gray, very white head with narrow nuchal band — produce . 426 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES— OSCINES. a bird differmg visibly from the ordinary gray jay. The changes of plumage with age are parallel. Size ata maximum. Leéngth about 12.00; extent 17.00; wing and tail, each, near. 6.00; bill 0.75; tarsus 1.80; middle toe and claw 1.00. 8. Rocky Mt. region, especially Colorado, Wyoming, N. New Mexico and Arizona, Idaho and Montana, northward shading into typical canadensis. The high mountains of Colorado furnish the extreme cases. 19. Family STURNIDA: Old World Starlings. A family confined to the Old World: difficult to characterize, owing to the variety of forms it includes. Apparently related to the Icteride, frown which distinguished by the presence of ten primaries, the first short or quite spurious. The only fomn with which we have here to do is the genus Sturnus, belong- ing to the 28. Subfamily STURNINEA: Typical Starlings. STUR'NUS. (Lat. stur- nus, a stare or starling.) Staruincs. Bill shaped somewhat as in Sturnella_ or Icterus, but widened and flattened; rather shorter than head; cul- men and gonys about straight, both gently rounded in transverse section, and at the tip; the culmen rising high on the forehead, dividing prominent antie which extend into the well- marked nasal fosse; a conspicuous nasal scale, overarching the nostrils ; tomial edges of uiandibles Fig. 277. — The Starling. (From Dixon.) dilated, especially those of the upper mandible; commissure obtusely angulated; sides of lower mandible extensively denuded and somewhat excavated; feathers filling the interramal space; no bristles about the Lill. Wings long and pointed; Ist primary spurious and very small; 2d and 3d longest, 115. 340. . STURNIDA: — STURNINZ: TYPICAL SIARLINGS. 427 rest rapidly graduated. Tail of 12 feathers, emarginate, little more than half as long as the wing. Feet short; tarsus of strictly oscine podotheca, scutellate and laminiplantar, about as long as middle toe without its claw. Lateral toes of subequal lengths, their claws falling short of base of middle claw; hind claw about as long as its digit. Plumage metallic and iridescent, the feathers all distinctly outlined. S. vulga/ris. (Lat. vulgaris, vulgar, common. Fig. 277.) THe Srarwinc. Adult: Gen- eral plumage of metallic lustre, iridescing dark green on most parts, more steel-blue on the under parts, and violet or purplish-blue on the fure parts ; more or less variegated throughout with pale ochraceous or whitish tips of the feathers. Wiugs and tail fuscous, the exposed parts of the feathers somewhat frosty or silvery, with velvety-black and pale ochrey margin- ings, the former within the latter. Bill yellowish; feet reddish. Young and in winter: Plumage more heavily variegated throughout, with larger tawny-brown spots ou the upper parts, and white ones below; wings and tail strongly edged with brown; Dill dark. Length about 8.50; wing 5.00; tail 2.75; bill 1.00; tarsus 1.00; middle toe and claw 1.25. Europe, etc., one of the longest and best known of birds. Has straggled to Greenland in one known instance. 2. SusorpeER PASSERES MESOMYODI, OR CLAMATORES: NON-MELODIOUS OR SONGLESS PASSERES. Mesomyodian scutelliplantar Passeres with ten fully developed primaries. — Syrinx with fewer than four distinct pairs of intrinsic muscles inserted at the middle of the upper bronchial half-rings, representing the mesomyodian type of voice-organ, and constituting an uncompli- cated and ineffective musical apparatus. Side and back of tarsus, as well as the front, covered with variously arranged scutella, so that there is no sharp undivided ridge bebind (as, e. g., in fig. 280, a). Ten fully developed primaries, the 1st of which, if not equalling or exceed- ing the 2d, is at least $ as long. (See p. 240, where the Oscines are defined as acro- myodian laminiplantar Passeres with 9 fully-developed primaries, or 10 and the lst short or spurious. ) The essential character of this group, as distinguished from Oscines, is thus seen to be an anatomical one, consisting in the non-development of a singing apparatus; the vocal muscles of the lower larynx (syrinx) being small and few, or else forming simply a fleshy mass, not sepa- rated into particular muscles; in either case inserted in a special manner into the bronchial half- rings. This character, though subject to some uncertainty of determination, corresponds yell with the principal external character assignable to the group, namely, a certain condition of the tarsal envelope rarely if ever seen in the higher Passeres. If the leg of a King-bird, for exaiple, be closely examined, it will be seen covered with a row of scutella forming cylindrical plates continuously enveloping the tarsus like a segmented scroll, and showing on its postero-internal face a deep groove where the edges of the envelope come together; this groove widening iuto a naked space abuve, partially filled in behind with a row of small plates. With some minor modifications, this scutelliplantar condition marks the Clamatorial birds, and is somethiug tangibly different from the typical Oscine or lamiuiplantar character of the tarsus, which consists in the presence on the sides of entire corneous laminz meeting behind in a sharp ridge. And even when, as in the cases of the oscine Hremophila and Ampelis, there is extensive subdivision of the laminz on the sides or behind, the arrangement does not exactly answer to the above description. The Clamatores represent the lower Passeres, approaching the large order Picarie (see beyond) in the steps by which they recede from Oscines, yet well separated from the Picarian birds. The families composing the suborder, as commonly received, are few iu number ; only one of them is represented in North America, north of Mexico. 428 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES — CLAMATORES. 20. Family TYRANNIDZ: American Flycatchers. While having a close general resemblance to some of the foregoing insectivorous and oscine Passeres, the North American representatives of © this. family will be instantly distinguished by the above-described condi- tion of the tarsus ; together with the presence of 10 primaries, whereof the lst is long or longest. From the birds of the following Picarian order by the Passerine characters of twelve rectrices, greater wing-cov- Fig. 278. —Bill of a &xtS uot more than half, as long as the secondaries, and hind claw not Flycatcher (Tyrannus smaller than the middle claw. verticalis, nat. size). This family is peculiar to America; it is one of the most extensive and characteristic groups of its grade in the New World, the Tanagride and Trochilide alone approaching it in these respects. There are over 400 current species, distributed among about 100 genera and subgenera. As well as I can judge at present, at least two-thirds of the species are valid, or very strongly marked geographical races, the remainder being about equally divided between slight varieties and mere synonyms. Only a sinall fragment of the family is represented within our limits, giving but a vague idea of the numerous and singularly diver- sified forms abounding in tropical America. Some of these grade so closely toward other families, that a strict definition of the Tyrannide becomes extremely difficult ; and I ain not prepared to offer a satisfactory diagnosis of the whole group. Our species, however, are closely related to each other, and may readily be defined in a manner answering the requirements of the present volume. With a possible exception, not necessary to insist upon in this connec- tion, they belong to the Ys 29, Subfamily TYRANNINAZE: True Tyrant Flycatchers, presenting the following characters: Wing of 10 primaries, the lst never spurious nor very short ; one or more frequently emarginate or attenuate on the inner web near the end. Tail of 12 rectrices, usually nearly even, sometimes deeply forficate. Feet swall, weak, exclusively fitted for perching ; tarsus little if any longer than middle toe and claw; anterior toes, espe- cially the outer, extensively coherent at base. Bill very broad and more or less depressed at base, tapering tu a fine point, thus presenting a more or less perfectly triangular outline when viewed from above ; tip abruptly deflected and usually plainly notched just behind the bend; culmen smooth and rounded transversely, straight or nearly so lengthwise, except towards the end; commissure straight (or slightly curved) except at the end; ygonys long, flat, not keeled. Nostrils small, circular, strictly basal, overhung but not concealed by bristles. Mouth capacious, its roof somewhat excavated; rictus ample and deeply cleft ; commissural point almost beneath anterior bor- der of eye. Rictus beset with a number of long stiff vibrisse, sometimes reaching nearly to end of bill; generally shorter. Fie. 219. — Emargination of pri- and flaring outward on each side; other bristles or bristle- maries in Tyrannine. a, Milvulus _, : : i aye forficatus ;-b. Tyrannus carolinensis; tipped feathers about base of bill. Bill very light, giving a ce, Tyrannus verticalia; d. Tyran- resonant sound in dried specimens when tapped, and on being ij ; all nat, size. (Ad E s ce ees = broken open, the upper mandible will be found extensively TYRANNIDA —TYRANNINA?: TYRANT FLYCATCHERS. 429 ‘ hollow. These several peculiarities of the bill (to most of which Ornithium offers signal ex- ception) are the most vbvious features of the group; and should prevent our small olivaceous Flycatchers from being confounded even by the tyro with insectivorous Oscines, as the War- blers and Vireos. (See figs. 278, 280.) The structure of the bill is admirably adapted for the capture of winged insects ; the broad and deeply fissured mandibles forin a capacious mouth, while the long bristles are of service in entangling the creatures in a trap and restraining their struggles to escape. The shape of the wings and tail confers the power of rapid and varied aérial evolutions necessary for the successful pursuit of active flying insects. A little practice in field ornithology will enable one to recog- nize the Flycatchers from their habit of perching in wait for their prey upon some prominent outpost, in a peculiar attitude, with the wings and tail drooped and vibrating in readiness for instant action; and of dashing into the air, eo seizing the passing insect with » quick move- ° ment and a click of the bill, and then returning to their stand. Although certain Oscines have somewhat the same habit, these pursue insects from place to place, instead of perching in wait at a particular spot, and their forays are not made with such admirable élan. Depend- ent entirely upon insect food, the Flycatchers are necessarily migratory in our latitudes; they appear with great regularity in spring, and depart on the approach of cold weather in the fall. They are distributed over temperate North America; many of them are common birds of the Eastern States. The voice, sus- ceptible of little modulation, is usually harsh and strident, though some species have no . unmusical whistle or twitter. The sexes are not ordinarily distinguishable (remarkable ex- ception in Pyrocephalus), and the changes of plumage with age and season are not ordinarily great. The modes of nesting are too various fis ep, Gena acts oe eae tu be collectively noted. The larger kinds of arehus; b. Sayiornis; c. Contopus; d. Empid ; Flycatchers are unmistakable, but several of ll mat. size. (Ad. nat. del. E. C.) the smaller species, of the genera Sayiornis, Contopus, and especially Empidonag, look much alike, and their discrimination becomes a matter of much tact and diligence. To the 8 genera of Tyrannide long known to be North American have lately been added 3 from Mexico—the immense-billed Pitangus, the streaky, yellow-bellied, rufous-tailed Myiodynastes, and the curious little ‘‘ beardless” Ornithium. The 11 may be readily discrimi- nated by the following characters : — é Analysis of Genera. Bill fiattish, fully bristled and hooked as usual in Tyrannide. One or more outer primaries attenuate at end. A flame or yellow spot on crown. (Tyranni.) Tail deeply forficate, much longer than wings oe tee F Milvulus 118 Tail simple, not longer than wings. fei Sia eos Tyrannus 119 Outer primaries not attenuated. A yellow crown-spot. Wings and tail extensively rufous; belly yellow; no streaks except on head » . . Pitangus 116 Tail but not wings extensively rufous; belly yellow. Streaked above and below . Myiodynastes 117 Outer primaries not attenuate. Tail moderate. No yellow spot on crown. (Tyrannule.) Tail chestnut and dusky, in lengthwise pattern, Belly yellow; throatashy . . . . Myiarchus 120 Tail without chestnut. Tail about equal to or little shorter than wing, slightly or not forked. Bill narrow. Tarsus 316. 364. 430 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES — CLAMATORES. . not shorter or rather longer than middle toe and claw. Coloration black and white, cinna- mon-brown, or olivaceous. . .... a oe ee oe 8 Sayiornis: 121 Tail decidedly shorter than wing, a little forked. Bill broad and flat. Tarsus shorter than middle toe and claw. Olivaceous; length 6.25 or more 5 he lee ae . Contopus 122 Tail a little shorter than wing, about even. Bill flat. Tarsus not shorter or rather longer than middle toe and claw. Coloration olivaceous and yellowish, but no red, buff or pure brown. Length 6.25 or less— usually under6.00 . ....... Empidonax 123 Tail, etc., as in Empidonax, from which scarcely different. Coloration more brownish- olive, buffy below. Very small . . a hee ORE BS ME ie See ie Mitrephanes 124 Tail and tarsus asin Empidonaz, Bill narrow. Hind not longer than lateral toe. Sexes unlike. g full-crested, vermilion and pure brown, ..... .. . Pyrocephalus 126 Bill compressed, quite parine in appearance, unbristled, unnotched. General color ashy, with yellow lining of wings. Very small: length under 5.00 . . ae oe tw we ew +e Ornithium 125 Obs. Besides the above, another genus and species doubtless occurs in Texas: MYIOZETETES TEXENSIS. Bill, short, stout, very broad at base, with curved culmen, hooked and notched tip, and heavily-bristled rictus. Pri- maries not emarginate; 2d, 3d, 4th longest, 5th shorter; 1st about equal to 6th. Tail shorter than wings, nearly square. Feet small; tarsus rather less than middle toe and claw. Above, olive; wings and tail brown, with yel- lowish edging of the quills. Under parts, including lining of wings, bright pure yellow; throat definitely white. Top and sides of head gray, hoary on forehead and over eyes, dusky on lores and auriculars, enclosing a flame and yellow crown-spot. Bill and feet black. Length about 7.00; wing 3.50; tail 3.00; bill 0.60; tarsus 0.75; middle toe and claw 0.85. PITAN'GUS. (Vox barb.; a Mexican or 8. Am. name of some bird.) DrrBy FLYcATCHERS. Outer primaries not emarginate. An orange crown patch. Bill as long as head, exceeding the tarsus, straight, stout, but narrow, as deep as broad at the nostrils, with ridged culmen straight to the hooked end; gonys about straight, ascending; cominissure and also lateral outlines perfectly straight. Nostrils rounded, nearer commissure than culmen. Wings rounded, tipped by 3d-5th quills; 2d and 6th about equal and shorter, 1st only about equal to 9th. Tail shorter than wings, nearly even, but somewhat double-rounded. Tarsus about as long as middle toe and claw. Largest-bodied of any N. Am. flycatcher. Brown above, yellow below, with black, white, and orange head ; quills and tail-feathers extensively chestnut, as in Myjiarchus. Mexican; lately found in Texas. P. derbia'‘nus. (To Lord Derby. Fig. 281.) Drrsy Frycarcner. Upper parts light wood-brown, with an olive tinge; wings and tail the same, but the feathers extensively bordered without and within with chestnut, forming a conspicuous continuous area on the wing- quills in the closed wing, and on inost of the wing and tail-feathers more extensive than the brown portion of the inner webs. Be- low from the breast, including lining of wings, clear and con- tinuous lemon-yellow. Whole chin and throat pure white, wid- ening behind up under ear-cov erts. Top and sides of head black, a circle of white from fure- Fig. 281. — Derby Flycatcher, nat. size. (Ad nat. del. E. C.) head over eyes to nape white, the enclosed black enclosing a lemon and orange patch. Or, middle of crown yellow and orange, enclosed and partly concealed in black, this black enclosed in white, then the long and broad black bar on side of head, separating the white of side of crown from that of side of throat. The coronal feathers lengthened and erectile as in a king-bird, or more so; crown-patch of same character but more extensive. Bill and feet black; iris hazel. Sexes alike. Length of male about 10.50; wing about 5.00; tail about 4.00; bill 1.20; tarsus 1.00. A great 117. 365. 118. 366. 367. PYRANNIDA — TYRANNIN.E: TYRANT FLYCATCHERS. 431 flycatcher of aggressive appearance, long known in Mexico, recently ascertained to occur un the Lower Rio Grande in Texas. MYIODYNASTES. (Gr. pvia, muia, a fly; duvacrns, dunastes, a ruler.) STRIPED Fiy- CATCHERS. Related to Myiarchus; tail extensively chestnut, as in that genus, but no chestnut on wings. No primaries emarginate. A yellow crown-spot. Bill shorter than head, as long as tarsus, very turgid, much broader than high at the nostrils, lateral outlines slightly convex, culmen nearly straight to the little hooked tip, gonys long, ascending. Rictus moderately bristled. Wings long and pointed; 3d quill slightly longer than 2d, 4th little shorter, 5th much shorter, lst between 5th and 6th. Tail shorter than wings, nearly even. Feet very small, relatively as weak as in Contopus; tarsus rather shorter than middle toe and claw. Several species of Mexico and tropical Am. flycatchers, with crown-spot, rufous tail, and the whole plumage streaked. M. luteiven’tris. (Lat. luteus, yellow, ventris, of venter, the belly.) SuLPHUR-BELLIED Stripep FiycatTcuer. Entire upper parts, including the head, streaked ; the feathers with broadly dusky centres and vlive-brown borders, finally edged slightly with yellowish-brown. A yellow crown-spot, concealed as in the king-bird. Tail and its upper coverts rich chestnut, all the feathers with blackish shaft stripes — on the middle feathers about half the width of either web, on the outer narrowed to the shaft itself and a slightly clubbed end; from below, shafts of the feathers white except. at ends. Wings blackish, the median and greater coverts and inner quills, both externally and internally, conspicuously edged with yellowish-white ; some rufous edgings also on lesser coverts. Under parts, including lining of wings, sulphur-yellow, fading to white on the throat; everywhere, excepting on middle of belly and erissum, heavily streaked with blackish, these dark stripes suffused and blended on the throat, particularly along its sides. Lores and auriculars dusky; forehead and streak over eye whitish. Bill blackish, pale at base below. Wing 4.40; tail 3.40; bill and tarsus 0.75; middle toe and claw rather more. Central Am. and Mexico to Arizona, where common, and breeding in southern parts of the territory. MIL/VULUS. (Lat. milvulus, diminutive of milvus, a kite.) SWALLOW-TAILED Ftry- catcuers. Tail in the adult deeply forficate, about twice as long as the wing. Outer primary or primaries abruptly attenuate, and other characters as in Tyrannus proper (beyond). A yellow or flaming crown-spot. Analysis of Species. Three or four primaries emarginate. Crown-spot yellow, in blackcap = ...... tyrannus 366 One primary emarginate. Crown-spot flaming, in ashy cap . . 3 5 . . forficatus 367 M. tyran/nus. (Lat. tyramnus, a tyrant.) ForK-TAILED FLYCATCHER. O?, adult: Outer 3 or 4 primaries emarginate. Crown-patch yellow. Above, clear ash; below, white ; top and sides of head black ; tail black, the outer feather white on outer web for about half its length ; wings dusky, unmarked. Sexes alike. Young similar, but primaries not emarginate, nor tail lengthened ; no crown-spot; wing- and tail-coverts edged with brown, Wing 4.50; tail up to a foot long, forked 6-8 inches. A beautiful bird of tropical Am., accidental in the U. 8. (Louisiana, Kentucky, New Jersey !) M. forfica‘tus. (Lat. forficatus, forked like forfex, a pair of scissors. Fig. 282.) Swat- LOW-TAILED FLYCATCHER. ScIssor-TaIL. $9, adult: First primary alone emargi- nate (fig. 279, a). Crown patch orange or scarlet. General color hoary-ash, paler or white below ; sides at insertion of wings scarlet or bloody-red, and other parts of the body variously tinged with the same, ora paler salmon-red. Wings blackish, with whitish edgings. Tail black, but several of the long feathers extensively white or rosy ; these are narrow and linear, sometimes widening somewhat in spoon-shape. Wing 4.50-5.00; extent of wings 14.50- 15.50; tail up to a foot long, usually 8.00-10.00 inches, forked 5.00-6.00. 9 averaging 119. 368. 432 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. —PASSERES — CLAMATORES. smaller than ¢, with the tail commonly less developed. Young: Similar; primary not abruptly emarginate; tail undeveloped; no crown-spot, and little or no red. Lower Missis- sippi valley and Texas; usually N. to Indian Terri- tory and Kansas, even 8S. W. Missouri; accidental in New Jersey and New England! A most elegant, graceful, and showy bird, abundant in Texas, con- spicuous by the display it inakes in opening and clos- ing the tail, like scissor-blades ; very active, dashing and noisy, like a king-bird, — all the large flycatchers sharing this same impetuous, irritable disposition. Nesting like the king-bird’s; eggs 4—5, white, boldly blotched with reddish on the surface, and lilac shell- spots; laid in May. TYRAN'NUS. (Lat. tyrannus, a tyrant.) Kine Fry- CATCHERS. Tail moderate in size and shape, rather shorter than wing, even or little rounded, emarginate or lightly forked. Wings long, pointed by the 2d-8d quills, lst and 4th little if any shorter, 5th and rest rapidly graduated. Several outer primaries abruptly emarginate or sinuate-narrowed on inner webs towards end. Bill stout, flattish, fully bristled, notched, and hooked (fig. 278). Feet small and weak, the tarsus with scales obviously lapping around. Size large: length 8 inches or more; wing over 4. Sexes alike ; @ sharing the flaming crown-patch ; primaries less or not emarginate? Young lacking the crown-spot and attenuation of primaries. Nest bulky, on a bough, compactly woven and felted. Eggs white, boldly Fie. 282. — Swallow-tailed Flycatcher. marked with oval or tear-shaped spots of reddigh- (Sbeppard del. Nichols sc.) brown. Contains numerous species, 5 of N. Am., which have been divided into several named subgenera, but are closely interrelated through various exotic species. They are the “ king-. birds” proper. Analysis of Species. No olive nor decided yellow; blackish and whitish. Only two primaries obviously emarginate. Tail about even, i cea white-tipped. Bill small, under 1.00. (Tyrannus). . . + . » carolinensis 368 Five or six primaries emarginate. “Tail emarginate merely lighter at ond. "Bin big, 1.00 long. (Melit- tarchus) . + « « dominicensis 369 Olivaceous, with pure yellow on belly, ashy on bend. Bill mbticrate: ‘Gaphicien: > Tail blackish, merely cmarginate; wings dark brown. Several outer ee gradually attenuate for a long distance. Outer web of. outer tail-feather white... - . » verticalis 370 Several outer piinatiel abravily, emarginate for a short Aletanies: aise web of outer tail-feather merely whitish-edged . 7 oe ee ee ee ew ww we VOCiferams 371 Tail dark brown, like the wings, cbviously: forked Several outer primaries abruptly emarginate for a short distance . ..... . . . couchi 372 T. carolinen’sis. (Of Carolina. Fig. 283.) Kinc-pirp. Brs-martin. $9, adult: No olive nor decided yellow. Only two outer primaries obviously emarginate (fig. 279, b). Tail nearly even — if anything a little rounded. Blackish-ash, still darker or quite black on head, crown with a flaming spot. Below, pure white, the breast shaded with plumbeous. Wings dusky, with much whitish edging. Tail black, broadly and sharply tipped with’ white, the outer feather sometimes edged with the same. Bill and feet black. Young: Lacking emargination of the primaries, and no crown-spot; very young birds show rufous 369. 370. 371. TYRANNIDAE —-TYRANNINZE: TYRANT FLYCATCHERS. 433 edging of the wings and tail. Length about 8.00; extent 14.50; wing 4.50; tail 3.50, even or slightly rounded; bill small, under an inch long. Temperate N. Am., but chiefly E. U. 8. to Rocky Mts.; rare or casual on the Pacific slope; abundant in summer; breeds throughout its range; winters on the southern border and beyond. This trim and shapely ‘‘ martinet,” in severe black and white but with fiery pompon, is familiar to all, and equally noted for its irritability, pugnacity, and intre- pidity, and its inveterate enmity to crows, hawks, and owls, which it does not hesitate to attack, either in defence of its nest or just to show its spunk. Nest a conspicuous object in the orchard or by-the wayside, on the horizontal bough of a tree, large, cupped, compactly woven and matted with fibrous and disintegrated vegetable substances; eggs usu- ally 4-5-6, 0.90 to 1.00 long by 0.72 broad, white, rosy, or creamy, variously spotted or blotched in bold pattern with reddish and- darker brown surface-spots and lilac shell- markings. Destroys a thousand noxious insects for every Fic. 283.—King-bird, reduced. (From bee it eats ! Tenney, after Wilson.) T. dominicen’sis. (Of St. Domingo.) Gray KinG-Birp. ¢ 9, adult: Five or six outer primaries usually emarginate. Crown-spot. as before. Grayish-plumbeous, rather darker on head, the auriculars dusky. Below, white, shaded with ashy on breast and sides, the under wing- and tail-coverts faintly yellowish ; wings and tail dusky, edged with whitish or yel- fowish ; the tail-feathers merely indistinctly lighter at the extreme tip. Larger than the last : Length about 9.00; wing 5.50; tail nearly 5.00, more or less emarginate ; bill very turgid, an inch long. West Indies; Florida regularly; N. to Carolina rarely, to Massachusetts acci- dentally. General appearance, habits and nesting of the king-bird. T. vertica/lis. (Lat. verticalis, relating to the vertex, or top of head, which has a flame-patch. Fig. 278.) ARKANSAS TYRANT FLYCATCHER. Several outer primaries gradually attenuated for a long distance (fig. 279, c). Coloration olivaceous and yellow; belly and under wing- and tail-coverts clear yellow ; back ashy-olive, changing to clear ash on the head, throat, and breast, the chin whitening, the lores and auriculars dusky ; wings dark brown with whitish edging ; tail black or blackish; bill and feet black; iris brown. Outer web of outer tail- feather entirely white. Ash of the fore parts pale, contrasting with dusky lores and auric- ulars, fading insensibly into white on the chin, and changing gradually to yellow on the belly ; olive predominating over ashy on the back. Length about 9.00; extent about 16.50; wing 5.00; tail 4.00; bill 0.75; tarsus 0.75. Young: Similar; general ash of the body dull, with a brownish cast ; little or no olivaceous on back; tail not quite black ; yellow of under parts pale and sulphury, even whitish ; bill light-colored at base below; no color on crown, and primaries scarcely or not attenuate. Very young with rusty edgings, especially on wing- and tail-coverts. Western U. S., abundant; accidental in Louisiana, New Jersey, and Maine; E. regularly to Kansas, Iowa, etc., N. to British Provinces in Missouri and Milk River region and westward. General traits those of the king-bird; nest similar, rather larger, with more fluffy and less fibrous material; eggs not distinguishable with certainty. T. voci/ferans. (Lat. vociferans, vociferous, voice-bearing ; vox, voice, and fero, I bear.) Cassin’s TYRANT FLycaTcHer. Several outer primaries abruptly emarginate for a short distance (fig. 279, d). Outer web of outer tail-feather barely or not edged with whitish. General coloration as in J. verticalis; but ash of fore parts dark, little different on the lores and auricu- lars, changing rather abruptly to white on the chin and to yellow on the belly ; ashy predomi- nating over olive on the back. The difference is decisive on comparison. The outer primaries are abruptly nicked and narrowed within half an inch of the end. The mere edging of the outer 28 372. 120. 373. 434 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES— CLAMATORES. tail-feather with white instead of the whole web being white is also a good character. Changes of plumage the same as in verticalis; size the same ; bill rather stouter, about 0.85 ; tarsus slightly longer, on an average. Southwestern U. S., and southward; N. to Wyoming and Idaho; abundant in the Rocky Mt. region, there mostly replacing verticalis in the breeding season. Nesting and eggs the same. T. melanchollicus couch/i. (Gr. peAayyodixds, melagcholikos, Lat. melancholicus, melan- choly, i. e., atrabilious ; péAas, peAavos, melas, melanos, black; xédos, cholos, gall, bile. To Lt. D. N. Couch.) Coucw’s Frycatcner. Very similar to the last; primaries abruptly emarginate for a short distance, as in J. vociferans, and outer web of outer tail-feather not white; but tail dark brown, like the wings, and obviously forked (about 0.50; in vociferans the tail quite black, slightly emarginate or nearly even) ; all its feathers with slight pale edges, and their shafts pale on the under surface. Yellow of under parts very bright, reaching high up on the breast; throat as well as chin extensively white. Size of the foregoing, and changes of plumage coincident. A universally distributed South and Central Am. species, of which a slight variety reaches over our Mexican border. MYIAR/CHUS. (Gr. pvia, muia, a fly; dpxés, archos, a ruler. Fig. 280, a.) CRESTED FLYCATCHERS. ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS. RUFOUS-TAILED FLycaTCcHERS. No colored patch on the crown, but head slightly crested by lengthened erectile feathers. Pri- maries emarginate. Olivaceous; more or less yellow below, the throat ash, the primaries margined with chestnut, the tail-feathers the same ommostly chestnut — such coloration the best mark of the genus. Tail nearly even, if anything rounded, about as long as wings, of broad flat feathers with rounded ends. Wings rounded, the tip formed by 2d-4th quills (usually), the 5th shorter, 6th and lst much shorter. Tarsus about as long as middle toe and claw, —if any different, longer. Bill moderate, variable in shape and relative size. Next to the characteristic rufous on wings and tail, size is a good clue to this genus among our oliva- ceous flycatchers without colored crest; for the Myiarchi excepting M. lawrencii are much larger than any others excepting Contopus borealis and C. pertinax. Only one Eastern species, but four others in the southwest, requiring nice discrimination. Peculiar, all of them, in nesting in holes, and laying eggs scratched and snarled, but chiefly scrawled lengthwise, with dark brown, in close and intricate pattern. Analysis of Species and Varieties. Large: length 8.00 or more, Inner webs of tail-feathers largely rufous. Rufous occupying nearly or quite all the inner webs of several lateral tail- feathers + » » .erinitus 373 Rufous occupying inner webs of same feathers in nearly equal amount with a fuscous stripe of equal width throughout. Billnearly or quite100 . . . .... +. ese + + « cooper 880 Rufous occupying inner webs of same feathers in nearly equal t with : a fi stripe of equal width throughout. Billabout 0.75 . . . . erythrocercus 374 Rufous occupying inner webs of same feathers in greater sesaiunG: than a fuscous stripe which widens atend. Billvery narrow . . . « cinerescens 375 Small: length 7.00 or less. Inner webs of tail- ‘feathers seacwely 6 or not eafoners Me Ge . lawrencii 376 M. crini/tus. (Lat. crimitus, haired, i. e., crested; crimis, hair. Fig. 284.) Great CRESTED FLYCATCHER. (9, adult: Decidedly olivaceous above, a little browner on head, where the feathers have dark centres; throat and fore breast pure dark ash; rest of under parts bright yellow, the two colors meeting abruptly; primaries margined on both edges with chestnut ; secondaries and coverts edged and tipped with yellowish-white; tail with all the feathers but the central pair chestnut on the whole of the inner web (excepting perhaps a very narrow space next the shaft); outer web of outer feathers edged with yellowish; middle feathers, outer webs of the rest, and wings except as stated, dusky-brown. The foregoing phrases are intended to be chiefly antithetical to those used in describing cinerescens, below, No. 375. Other diagnostic points are: bill dark but not quite black, pale at base below ; stout and comparatively short, hardly or not as long as tarsus, the latter perhaps never 0.90 - 880. 374. TYRANNIDZA-— TYRANNINZE: TYRANT FLYCATCHERS. 435 the olive back, ash throat, and yellow belly severally pure in color; all tail-feathers but middle pair so extensively rufous on inner webs that a mere line, if any, of fuscous persists next the shaft (compare erythrocereus and coopert), and this fuscous line, if any, running of same narrowness to ends of the feathers (compare cinerescens) ; never more than a trace of rufous on outer webs. Very young birds have rufous skirting of many feathers, in ad- dition to the chestnut above described, but this soon dis- appears. Large: length 8.00~-9.00; extent about 13.00; wing and tail about 4.00 (3-80-4.20); Dill 0.75~-0.80 ; tarsus 0.70-0.80; middle toe and claw 0.65-0.75 ; breadth of bill at base 0.33-0.40, or about 4 the length of culmen. Eastern U. 8., west to Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, and Texas, N. to Massachusetts; Mexico and Central Am. in winter. An abundant bird, in woodland, of loud harsh voice and quarrelsome disposition, noted for its habitual .. use of cast-off snake-skins in the structure of its nest. Nest in hollows of trees and similar retreats ; eggs unique (outside this genus) in pattern: ground color buff or rich clay-color, with numberless markings of purplish-chest- nut, or purplish-chocolate, and others paler, sharp and seratchy, mostly lengthwise, but especially at the butt tangled up; size about 0.85 x 0.62. Breeds throughout its U.S. range, but entirely withdraws in winter. Locally Fig. 284. —Great Crested Flycatcher, and irregularly distributed in woodland. I a a a a (in addenda.) M. c. coo/peri. (To Wm. Cooper.) Cooprr’s LARGE-BILLED CRESTED Fiycatcuer. Distinguished in its extreme development from crinitus by its rather greater size, and especially the great size of the bill, which runs from 0.80 fully up to 1.10 measured along culmen, equalling or even exceeding in length the tarsi, which are themselves usually 0.10 longer than in crinitus. The olivaceous is usually not so pure, and the yellow not so clear ; but the chief difference is, that the inner webs of the tail-feathers have a fuscous stripe $ to nearly 4 the width of the feather, as in erythrocercus; from which latter it differs mainly in the greater size, especially of the bill. Wings and tail 3.90-4.25 ; bill 0.80-1.00; tarsus 0.85-0.95 ; Mexico and over the U.S. border; Arizona. (Tyrannula cooperi, Kaup, 1851? MM. cooperi Bd., 1858. M. crinitus var. cooperi, Coues, Pr. Phila. Acad., 1872, p. 67.) M. c. erythrocer/cus. (Gr. épvOpds, eruthros, reddish ; xépxos, kerkos, tail.) RuFous-TAILep CRESTED FLYCATCHER. On comparing this bird with typical M. crinitus, it is immediately perceived to be different. The lateral tail-feathers have a stripe of fuscous on the inner web adjoining the shaft, this stripe equalling or exceeding the width of the whole outer web of the respective feathers, and being about half-and-half with the rufous; whereas in crinitus there is only the narrowest possible dusky stripe on the inner web, or none at all. This dusky stripe is of uniform width throughout, nut enlarged at the end to oceupy most or all of the feather, as is the case with cimerescens. The entire upper parts are darker than those of crinitus —that is, they have a sordid brownish-olive cast, instead of the clearer and purer greenish-vlive of crinitus. The yellow of the belly is much paler. The ash of the throat is decidedly lighter and clearer, and it comes farther down the breast, yielding to the yellow without the interven- tion of the oliyaceous pectoral area which is usually conspicuous in erinitus. The general aspect of the under parts is much as in cinerescens, both the distribution and shade of the colors being more as witnessed in the latter than as seen in erinitus. The light edgings of the wing- feathers are also paler than those of crinstus. The bill is black, not dark brown, slenderer than in crinitus; in size nothing like that of coopert, nor has ‘it the very constricted shape of that of 436 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES — CLAMATORES. _ eimerescens. The general body-coloration is almost exactly as in cinerescens, from which it is 375. 376. 121, at once distinguished by the different shape of the bill and different pattern of the tail-feathers. Agreeing very closely in colors with cooperi, it is smaller than that species, and lacks in par- ticular the enormous development of the bill, which, in coopert, is an inch or more in length of culmen, and proportionately broad. It is clearly neither erimitus proper, uor erinitus coopert, nor yet cimerescens. Average length 8.75; extent about 12.75; wing 3.60-4.00; tail 3.75; bill 0.75; tarsus 0.85 ; middle toe and claw 0.75. Lower Rio Grande of Texas, and southward. Common, breeding. Nest and eggs like those of erinitus. (DL. crinitus var. irritabilis, Coues, Pr. Phila. Acad., 1872, p. 65, nee Tyrannus irritabilis Vieill. M. crinitus erythrocercus, Coues, Bull. U. S. Geol. Surv., iv, 1878, p. 32, and v, 1879, p. 402. M. meaicanus var. coopert, Ridg., Pr. Nat. Mus., i, p. 188, nec coopert Bd. DM. mexicanus, Ridg., Pr. Nat. Mus., ii, p- 14.) M. cineres/cens. (Lat. cinerescens, ashy. Fig. 285.) ASH-THROATED CRESTED FLy- CATCHER. 9, adult: Rather olivaceous-brown above, quite brown on the head; throat very pale ash, sometimes almost whitish, changing _ gradually to very pale yellow or yellowish-white on the rest of the under parts. Primaries edged as in 4 crinitus, but secondaries and coverts edged with gray- ish-white. Tail-feathers as in crinitus, but the rufous of the inner webs hardly or not reaching their ends, being cut off from the tip by widening of the fuscous stripe (in young birds, in which the quills and tail- feathers are more extensively rufous-edged, the last dis- tinction does not hold). Size of erinitus, but tarsi longer and bill slenderer; tarsi 0.80-0.90; bill 0.75- 0.85, but only 0.27-0.33 broad at the base, where only about as wide as high, and obviously narrower than in crinitus; though in Cape St. Lucas specimens (M. ff pertinaz Bd.) shaped quite as in crinitus, but smaller. Fic. 285, — Ash-thvoated Flycatcher, SOuthwestern U.8.; N. to Wyoming and Utah and reduced. (Sheppard del. Nichols sc.) Nevada; 8. through Mexico; E. and W. from Texas to the Pacific; said to winter in the Lower Colorado valley, U.S. Though so similar to the foregoing, it is a different bird from any of them. Nesting and eggs as in the others. (J. mexicanus Bd., 1858, nec Kaup, 1851. Tyrannula cinerascens, Lawr., 1851. M. cinerescens Coues, 1872.) M. lawren'cii. (To Geo. N. Lawrence.) Lawrence’s Crestep FiycatTcHer. Similar in color to M. crinitus, but much smaller. No chestnut on tail-feathers except a narrow border- ing on the outer webs, and, in the young, an inner margining also. Wing-coverts and inner secondaries as well as the primaries edged with rufous (rarely yellowish on inner secondaries) ; pileum dark or quite blackish. Bill broad, flat, shaped much as in Contopus, about 4 its own length wide at the nostrils. Very small: length 7.00 or less; wing and tail only 3.00-3.33 ; bill 0.62-0.70 ; tarsus 0.65-0.75. Texas (?), Mexico, and Central Am., there running into M. nigricapillus. : : SAYIORNIS. (Name of Thos. Say, with Gr. dpus, ornis, a bird.) Pewir FLycarcHErs. The 8 following species do not particularly resemble each other; most authors place them in separate genera, and some even under different subfamilies, of Tyrannide.. The discrepancies of form, however, are not startling, and for the purposes of this work the species may be properly put together, as they agree in presenting a certain aspect not shown by the other N. Am. groups. (Fig. 280, 6.) They are small species, about 7.00 or less in length. Head with a slight crest of erectile feathers. Tarsus rather longer than middle toe and claw (the reverse 377. 378. 379. TYRANNIDAE —TYRANNINZE: TYRANT FLYCATCHERS. 437 in Contopus). Bill narrower than in the other little Flycatchers, with nearly straight lateral outlines, its width at base about 4 the length of culmen. Wing pointed by 2d-5th quills, 1st shorter than 6th. Tail about as long as wing, emarginate, with broad feathers tending to divaricate in the middle. One Eastern, two Western species. Nest affixed to rocks and buildings, with mud; eggs normally white, unmarked. Analysis of Species. Ashy-brown, with cinnamon belly and black tail . . SMR EE ee Se i els sayi 377 Blackish, with white belly. . . . ..... me. Maw Sian Ua uae Gala art tes STE: ces nigricans 378 Olivaceous and yellowish . . 2 1 ww 1 ee te et te ee te he we et Susca 379 S. say'i. (To Thos. Say.) Say’s Pewir FrycatcHer. (9, adult: Grayish-brown, some- times with faint olivaceous tinge, rather darker on head, where the feathers have dusky centres, paler on throat and breast, then changing to cinnamon-brown on the rest of the under parts. Wings dusky, lined with tawny-whitish, edged with whitish on the coverts and inner quills. Tail perfectly black. Bill and feet black. Iris dark brown. Length about 7.00; extent 11.00; wing 3.75-4.35 ; tail 3.25-3.50; bill 0.50-0.60, narrow and slender for a flycatcher; tarsus 0.80; middle toe and claw 0.67. Young: More extensively fulvous or paler cinnamon than the adults, this color extending far up the breast, skirting the feathers of the back and rump, form- ing conspicuous cross-bars and edgings on the wings, and even tipping the tail. But no bird of our country resembles this one. Western U. S. and adjoining British Provinces, E. to Kansas, Iowa, Wisconsin, ete., common in open or rocky country, where seeu singly or in pairs ; the principal flycatcher of wnwooded regions, in weedy, brushy places, displaying the usual activity of its tribe, and uttering a melancholy note of one syllable, or a tremulous twitter. Nests naturally on rocks, but soon adapts itself to buildings like the Eastern Pewee. Nest of mud, straw, moss, feathers 3 eggs 4-5, 0.80 « 0.62, white. S. nig/ricans. (Lat. nigricans, blackening.) Buack Pewir Fiycatcuer. Sooty-brown or blackish, deepest on head and breast; belly and other under parts pure white, abruptly defined ; lining of wings, outer web of outer tail-feathers, and edges of inner secondaries, whitish; bill and feet black; iris red. The coloration is curiously like that of Junco hiemalis. Length about 7.00; wing 3.50-3.75 ; tail 3.25-3.50; bill 0.50 or less, very weak ; tarsus 0.67 ; middle toe and claw 0.60. South- western U.S. and southward, but on the Pacific to Oregon; chiefly in unwooded country, and especially along rocky streams, and in cafions—I have seen it at the bottom of the Grand Cafion of the Colorado, some 6,000 feet below the surface of the earth! Nest of mud, ete., on rocks and walls; eggs 0.75 x 0.56, white. S. fus/ea. (Lat. fusca, brown. Fig. 286.) Pewit Fiy- CATCHER. WATER PEWEE. Pewir. Pua@ss. Dull oli- vaceous-brown, the head much darker fuscous-brown, almost blackish, usually in marked contrast with the back ; below, soiled whitish, or palest possible yellow, particularly on the belly ; the sides, and the breast nearly or quite across, shaded with grayish-brown ; wings and tail dusky, the outer tail-feather, inner secondaries, and usually the wing-coverts, edged with whitish; a whitish ring round the eye ; bill and feet black. Varies greatly in shade; the foregoing is the Fic. 286.— Pewit Flycatcher, reduced, average spring condition. As summer passes, the plumage (Sheppard del. Nichols ac.) becomes much duller and darker brown, from wearing of the feathers; then, after the moult, fall specimens are much brighter than in spring, the under parts being decidedly yellow, at least on the belly. Very young birds have some feathers skirted with: rusty, particularly on 122. 380. ' 438 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSERES — CLAMATORES. the edges of the wing- and tail-feathers. The sexes are alike, the 9 averaging at the lesser dimensions of the g. The species requires careful discrimination, in the hands of a novice, from any of the little olivaceous species of the next two genera. It is larger; length 6.75- 7.25; extent 10.75-11.75 ; wing 3.00-3.50, usually 3.40; tail about the same, slightly emargi- nate; bill 0.50 or slightly more, little depressed, not so broad for its length as is usual in Contopus and Empidonaz, its lateral outlines straight ; tarsus equalling or slightly exceeding the middle toe and claw, these together about 1.33 long; point of the wing formed by the 2d to 5th quill; 2d shorter than 6th; 3d and 4th generally a little the longest; 1st shorter than 6th. Eastern U. S., and British Provinces, very abundant in open places, fields, along streams, and almost as domestic as the barn swallow. One of the very earliest arrivals in spring, and a late loiterer in fall; winters abundantly in the Southern States. West to Dakota, Nebraska, ete. Its ordinary note is harsh and abrupt, unlike the drawling pe-a-wee! of Contopus virens — sounding like pé-wit! phé'-bé, whence the name. The typical nest is affixed to the side of a vertical rock over water, often itself moist or dripping, and composed of mud, grass, and espe- cially moss, making a pretty object, lined with hay or feathers. The bird now builds anywhere about houses, bridges, and other buildings ; its attachment to particular spots is so strong that it will return year after year, and often persist in nesting under the most discouraging cireum- stances. Eggs 4-5-6, 0.80 < 0.60, normally pure white, not seldoin sparsely dotted. CON'TOPUS. (Gr. kévros, kontos, a pole or perch, and mods, pous, foot. Fig. 280, c.) Woop PEWEE FiycarcHers. With the feet extremely small; tarsus shorter or not longer than the bill, shorter than the middle toe and claw (except in pertinax); the tarsus, middle tue, and claw together, barely or not one-third as long as the wing ; bill flattened, very broad at base ; wings pointed, much longer than the emarginate tail, the proportions of the primaries varying with the species. Medium-sized and rather small species, brownish-olivaceous, without any bright colors or very decided markings ; the coronal feathers lengthened and erectile, but hardly forming a true crest. A small group of woodland species, near Hmpidonax, but characterized, as above described, by the feeble diminutive feet. Nest on boughs; eggs spotted. Analysis of Species. Species 7-8 long, with a tuft of white fluffy feathers on the flank. Under parts streaky. Wing pointed by 2d primary, supported nearly to end by ist and 3d, 4th much shorter. ‘ail about 3.00; wing about 4.00. Tarsus shorter than middle toe and claw. . . borealis 380 Under parts more smooth in color. Wing pointed by 2d, 3d, and 4th quills, lst much shorter; tail 3.50 or more; wing about 4.00, Tarsus not shorter than middle toe and claw se + « pertinax 381 Species under 7.00 long, without an evident cottony white tuft on the flank. Tarsus, middle toe, and claw together hardly or not1.00long .. . ... 2... s virens 382, 383 C. borea/lis. (Lat. borealis, northern.) OLIVE-SIDED FLycatcuER. Dusky olivaceous- brown, usually darker on the crown, where the feathers have blackish centres, and paler on the sides below; chin, throat, belly, crissum, and middle line of breast, white, more or less tinged with yellowish ; wings and tail blackish, unmarked, excepting inconspicuous grayish-brown tips of the wing-coverts, and some whitish edging on the inner quills ; feet and upper mandible black, lower mandible mostly yellowish. The olive-brown below has a peculiar streaky appear- ance hardly seen in other species, and extends almost entirely across the breast. This ragged aspect of mixed dusky-olive and whitish, together with the large white fluffy flank-tufts, is diagnostic. Young may have the feathers, especially of the wings and tail, skirted with rufous. Length 7.00-8.00 ; wing 3.87-4.33, averaging 4.00, very long, folding to terminal third of tail, and remarkably pointed; 2d quill longest, supported nearly to the end by the Ist and 34d, the 4th abruptly shorter; tail about 3.00, thus about 2 the wing, emarginate; tarsus only 0.50, shorter than bill, or than middle toe and claw ; tarsus, middle toe, and claw together only about 1.95; bill 0.67-0.75. N. Am. at large, apparently nowhere very abundant, rather common in some New England localities, very rare in the Middle and Southern States, less so in the West. N. even to Greenland: S. to Central America in winter. Breeds from New England north- 381. 382. TYRANNIDA—TYRANNINZ: TYRANT FLYCATCHERS. 439 ward, and much further south in the West. Generally seen high on some exposed outpost ; note querulous, but loud and harsh. Nest usually high, on a horizontal bough, rude and flat, of twigs, rootlets, grass, moss; eggs about 4, 0.85 x 0.65, buffy or creamy-white, fully spotted with lighter and darker reddish-browns. . 22. . Wwumizusume. 23. Brachyramphus marmoratus. 24. kittlitzii. 25. hypoleucus. 26. craveri. 00. [Not admitted in the List.] 27. Cepphus grylle. 28. mandtii. APPENDIX: COVES KEY, 1884. 871 bis. Add: Uria grylle mandti. Manpt’s GUILLEMOT. 895 UNION LIST, 1886. Similar to the last, and probably only the perfected plumage of it, having the white on both sides of the wing pure and unbroken; the bill said to be smaller. A circumpolar range is ascribed to this form, which is said to come south in winter as far as New Jersey and Norton Sound, Alaska. 872. Uria columba. 873. carbo. 873 his, Add: Uria carbo motzfeldi. 29. Cepphus columba, 3. carbo. 72. motzfeldi. MortzFre.Lp’s GuitLemort. Like the last, but lacking the whitish patch on the side of the head. North Atlantic; Greenland. 874. Lomvia troile 875. troile californica. 876. arra. 876 bis. (See Key, p. 818.] 877 Utamania torda. 878. Alca impennis. 30. Uria troile. 30a. troile californica. 81a. lomvia arra. 81. lomvia. 32. Alca torda. 83. Plautus impennis. SECOND APPENDIX. Since the publication of the Third Edition of the Kry, in 1887, the American Orni- thologists’ Union has continued its active work upon North American Birds. A Committee of the Union published in 1889 a ‘* Supplement to the Code of Nomenclature and Check-list of North American Birds adopted by the American Ornithologists’ Union” (New York, pp- iv., 23). The same Committee published in January, 1890, a ‘*Second Supplement ”’ (The Auk, VII., No. 1, pp. 60-66). Each of these Supplements treats briefly of — J. Additions; II. Eliminations ; III. Changes of Nomenclature; the Second Supplement also of —IV. Species and Subspecies considered as not entitled to recognition (being a few published in 1889 which the Committee disapprove). Some of the changes made in these two Supplements of 1889 and 1890 support the stand taken by the Key List of 1887 against the Union List of 1886 ; some are merely synony- matic ; others are-actual additions to our knowledge of North American Birds. The foregoing “ Appendix” (pp. 865-895 of the Key), shows in double columns the differences between the Kmy List of 1884, and the Union List of 1886, and introduces such changes as I saw fit to make in the third edition of 1887. The present ‘‘ Second Appendix ’’ notes every further change reported by the Union’s Committee from 1887 to January 1890 inclusive. In most cases J prefer to express no individual opinion, for the judgment of the Committee is presumed to be final so far as present evidence is concerned. But the names of species and subspecies which I am fully prepared to admit to the Ky as additions or emendations are printed in thick type. E. C. SMITHSONIAN InstTiTUTION, WAsHINGTON, D. C., April, 1890. No. 18 a, p. 248. Turdus sequoiensis, An- No. 36 a, p. 261. Polioptila cerulea ob- thony, Proc. Cala. Acad. Sci., 2d ser., IL, June, 1889, is deferred for final action by the Committee, owing to insufficient evidence. No. 18, p. 251. Harporhynchus rufus longi- yostris becomes H. longirostris sennetti, Ridg- way, Pr. U. &. Nat. Mus., Aug. 1888, p. 506. No. 28, p. 258. The Committee decline to recognize Sialia mexicana anabele of An- thony, Proc. Cala. Acad. Sci., 2d ser., IL, Oct. 1889, p. 79, deeming the ascribed char- acters insufficient. scura, named by Ridgway in 1883 (Pr. U. S. Nat. Mus., V., p. 535), is now recognized by the Committee, and assigned a local habita- tion in California, Arizona, and western Mexico. No. 40 bis, p. 866. Lophophanes bicolor texensis, which I recognized in 1887, is con- firmed under the original name, Parus bicolor texensis. No. 49 a, p. 267. Parus hudsonicus stoneyi is a new subspecies described from the Kowak River in Alaska as P. stoneyi by Ridgway, 898 Man. N. A. Birds, 1887, p. 591.. It is said to be “similar to P. hudsonicus, but much grayer above, sides of neck purer ash-gray, sides much paler rusty, and throat clear slate-black instead of sooty blackish.”’ As only three specimens were known, the char- acters adduced may not be confirmed when larger series from the same locality show how great may be the range of individual variation in shades of coloration. No. 47 a, p. 266. Parus carolinensis agilis is a new subspecies described from eastern and central Texas by Sennett, Auk, Jan. 1888, p. 46. No. 54 a, p. 268. Psaltriparus santarite isa new species from the Santa Rita Mountains of Arizona, described by Ridgway, Pr. U. S. Nat. Mus., Sept. 1888, p. 697. No. 55, p. 268. Psaltriparus melanotis be- comes P. Hoydi, Sennett, Auk, Jan. 1888, p. 43. No. 61 a, p. 271. Sitta pygmeea leuconucha is described from the San Pedro Mountains of Lower California by Anthony, Pr. Cala. Acad. Sci., 2d ser., II., Oct. 1889, p. 77, and re- cognized as a subspecies by the Committee. No. 62 8, p. 278. Certhia familiaris mon- tana, Ridgway, Pr. U. S. Nat. Mus., July, 1882, p. 114, is recognized as a valid sub- species, inhabiting the Rocky Mountains from northern Mexico to Alaska. It is said to differ from the common Creeper in being grayer above, with more distinctly contrasted tawny rump, and longer bill, wings, and tail. No. 62 ¢, p. 278. Certhia familiaris occi- dentalis, Ridgway, Pr. U. S. Nat. Mus., July, 1882, p. 114, is recognized as a valid sub- species, inhabiting the Pacific Coast from California to southern Alaska. It is said to be darker and more rusty in general cast of plumage, with the lateral lower parts more or less strongly tinged with brownish, the supercilliary stripe browner, and the wing- markings buffy. No. 67 a, p. 276. Catherpes mexicanus punctulatus, the Dotted Cafion Wren, which I admitted to the Key in 1884, but which the Committee disallowed in the Union List of 1886, is recognized in the List of 1889. SECOND APPENDIX. No. 70 a, p. 277. Thryothorus ludovicianus lomite is described by Sennett, Auk, Jan. 1890, p. 58, from Lomita, southeastern Texas, and recognized by the Committee. It appears to be intermediate between T. ludovicianus and T. 1. berlandieri. No. 75 bis, p. 278. Add: Troglodytes domesticus aztecus. AzTEC House-WREN. (T. aédon aztecus, Baird, Rev. Am. Birds, 1864, p. 189.) This is the form of Western House- Wren which has usually been called ‘‘ Park- man’s Wren.’’ It occurs from Illinois west- ward and south into Mexico, but not on the Pacific coast of the United States, where it is replaced by 7’. d. parkmani. The descrip- tion of the latter in the Kry includes aztecus. See Allen, Auk, April, 1888, p. 164. No. 80, p. 279. This subspecies of Marsh Wren, admitted with a query in the Kry, is confirmed under its original name, Cistothorus palustris paludicola of Baird, Rev. Am. Birds, 1864, p. 148. No. 80 bis, p. 279. Add: Telmatodytes marianz. Marran’s Marsy Wren. Like T. palustris ; coloration olivaceous instead of rufous brown; under parts darker; upper and under tail-coverts and flanks barred. A dark form, apparently resident. Tarpon Springs, southwestern Florida. Cistothorus mariane, Scott, Auk, April, 1888, p. 188. No. 111 a, p. 298. Dendroica [lege Den- dreeca] estiva sonorana, Brewster, Auk, Aprii, 1888, p. 1387, of western Texas, southern Arizona, and northwestern Mexico, is ad- mitted by the Commitiee. No. 141 a,p. 310. Geothlypis trichas ignota is described by Chapman, Auk, Jan. 1890, p- 11, from Florida and Georgia, as like G. trichas, but with longer tarsus, tail, and hill, shorter first primary, and deeper colora- tion. This local race is admitted by the Committee. The G. trichas roscoe revived by Has- brouck, Auk, April, 1889, p. 167, is rejected by the Committee, on the ground that ‘* Sylvia”? roscoe of Audubon is a mere syn- onym of G. trichas, and that what Mr. Has- brouck called G. t. roscoe should be G. t. wgnota. No. 158, p. 817. Certhiola bahamensis be- SECOND APPENDIX. comes Coareba bahamensis. See Ridgway, Man. N. A. Birds, 1887, p. 590. No. 157 bis, p. 318. Piranga rubriceps. A South American Tanager which has acci- dentally occurred in Santa Barbara Co., Cali- fornia. See Bryant, Auk, Jan. 1887, p. 78. It was originally named by the late Mr. George Robert Gray, in Gray and Mitchell’s Genera of Birds, Vol. I1., 1844, and figured on plate 89 of that great work. No. 165 bis, p. 8325. Progne eryptoleuca of Baird, Rev. Am. Birds, May, 1865, which I have never admitted to the Kany, and which was not allowed in the Union List of 1886, is now recognized by the Committee as a good species. It may perhaps stand as a smaller race of the common house martin, to be known as P. subis eryptoleuca. The tail is said to be narrower, and relatively more deeply forked ; and the adult male to have the feathers of the ventral region marked beneath the surface with white, whence the name eryptoleuca. The size is less than that of P. subis. This race occurs in Florida, Cuba, and probably in Central America. No. 165 ter, p. 325. Progne subis hesperia. This western Martin is described from Cali- fornia by Brewster, Auk, April, 1889, p. 92. The male is said to be indistinguishable from the ordinary P. subis, and the female to differ from that of P. subis in having the belly, vent, and crissum white, nearly or quite im- maculate; the flanks, breast, throat, forehead, and nuchal collar grayish-white, the feathers of the back and rump edged with grayish or pale brown, the bend of the wings and un- der wing-coverts spotted with white. No. 177 bis, p. 872. Vireo solitarius alticola, Brewster, Auk, Jan. 1886, p. 111, admitted -to the Key in 1887, is confirmed by the Committee. No. 181 bis, p. 872. Vireo noveboracensis maynardi, Brewster, Auk, April, 1887, p. 148, admitted to the Kry in 1887, is confirmed by the Committee. No. 188 a, p. 338. Lanius ludovicianus gambeli, Ridgway, Man. N. A. Birds, 1887, p. 467, is named as a new subspecies from the coast of California, and approved by 899 the Committee. The author names and at- tempts to characterize it ‘‘ with extreme reluctance,” yet has felt ‘‘compelled to do so, or else drop L. excubitoroides.” No. 196, p. 347. Carpodacus frontalis is reduced to C. mexicanus frontalis, Ridgway, Man. N. A. Birds, p. 391. No. 196, p. 847. A new subgenus Burrica is based on Carpodacus mexicanus (Fringilla mexicana, Miiller, Syst. Nat. Suppl. 1766, p. 165) of Ridgway (Pr. Biol. Soc. Washing- ton, 1885, p. 111), Man. N. A. Birds, 1887, p. 890. No. 196 a, p. 847. Carpodacus mexicanus ruberrimus is doubtfully named by Ridgway, Man. N. A. Birds, 1887, p. 392, as the St. Lucas House Finch, a subspecies inhabiting Lower California and parts of Sonora. No. 197, p. 848. Carpodacus frontalis rhodocolpus, which IJ reluctantly admitted as an ‘alleged variety,’”’ is properly eliminated by the Committee. No. 219 a, p. 356. Plectrophanes nivalis townsendi is described from the Prybilof and Commander Islands by Ridgway, Man. N. A. Birds, 1887, p. 403, as a new subspecies of Plectrophenaz, differing from P. nivalis in being larger, with a longer bill. No. 283 a, p. 865. Poocetes [lege Pow- cetes] gramineus affinis, Miller, Auk, Oct. 1888, p. 404, is admitted from California and western Oregon, as the Oregon Vesper Sparrow. It is compared with the eastern form in the color of the upper parts, and with the western conjinis in the slender bill and narrow dorsal streaks. No. 239 a, p. 869. Ammodramus maritimus peninsule, Allen, Auk, July, 1888, p. 284, is a new subspecies of the Seaside Finch described from southwestern Florida and along the Gulf coast to Louisiana. It is compared with A. nigrescens. No. 289 6, p. 868. Ammodramus maritimus sennetti, Allen, Auk, July, 1888, p. 286, is described as a new subspecies from Corpus Christi, coast of Texas. In this form, as in A. m. peninsule, the young birds appear to be more readily distinguishable from allied races than the adults are. No. 240 a, p. 368. Ammodramus caudacu- 900 tus subvirgatus, the Acadian Sharp-tailed Sparrow, is described as a new subspecies by Dwight, Auk, July, 1887, p. 233, and the Committee give its range as the coast of southern New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, probably Nova Scotia, and south- ward at least to Long Island. It is said to be ‘similar in size and coloring to A. eaudacutus, but paler and much less conspicu- ously streaked beneath with pale greenish gray instead of black or deep brown. Bill averages smaller. Compared with nelsoni it is much paler and grayer, generally larger and with a longer bill.’’ No. 242 bis, p. 370. Add: Melospiza lincolni striata. Forpusn’s Sparrow. Similar to M. lincolni; superciliary stripe and whole upper parts more strongly olivaceous, with the dark streaks coarser, blacker, and more numerous, especially on the pileum, back, and upper tail-coverts. British Columbia. Brewster, Auk, April, 1889, p. 89. No. 247 a, p. 872. Melospiza fasciata rivu- laris, Bryant, Proc. Cala. Acad. Sci., Sept. 1888, p. 197, is a new subspecies of Song Sparrow described from Lower California, and recognized by the Committee. No. 261 a, p. 874, note. Junco hiemalis caro- linensis, Brewster, Auk, Jan. 1888, p. 108, is now recognized by the Committee as a valid species under the name J. carolinensis. It is that form of eastern Snowbird which breeds in the southern Alleghanies. No, 267 quater, p. 379. Junco hiemalis townsendi. Anthony, Proc. Cala. Acad. Sci., 2d ser., Oct. 1889, p.76, describes a new Snow- bird from the San Pedro Mountains as J. townsendi, the full specific rank of which is allowed by the Committee in the Second Sup- plement, 1889. No. 271 bis, p. 875. This subspecies, ad- mitted to the Kry in 1887, is confirmed by the Committee, under the name Spizella pusilla arenacea, Western Field-Sparrow. No, 291 bis, p. 890. Add: Guiraca cerulea eurhyncha, described by me in Amer. Nat., Sept. 1874, p. 578, but never taken into the Key, through deference to the opinion of the Committee, is now recognized by them as a valid subspecies inhabiting Mexico, north to SECOND APPENDIX. Colorado and California. It is somewhat larger than the common Blue Grosbeak, of a rather paler blue, and has a disproportionately larger bill, as implied in the name. No. 293 a, p. 891. Passerina versicolor pul- chra, the “ Beautiful Bunting,’’ is described as a new subspecies from Lower California and northwestern Mexico by Ridgway, Man. N. A. Birds, 1887, p. 448. The length as- signed (5.50 inches) is identical with that ascribed to P. versicolor; the wings and tail are said to be shorter; the male is said to have the ‘red on occiput brighter, purple on throat less reddish (never decidedly red ?), flanks brighter plum-purple, and rump more purplish-blue or lavender.’’ No, 296, p. 892. Spermophila moreleti be- comes Sporophila morelleti sharpei, Law- rence, Auk, Jan. 1889, p. 53. No. 277, p. 388. Zonotrichia leucophrys in- termedia. The Committee now revert to this nomenclature, which the Kry has preserved in its 2d and 3d editions, 1884 and 1887, against the Union List of 1886. No. 278, p. 883. Zonotrichia gambeli. The Committee now revert to Z. leucophrys gam- beli of the orig. ed. of the Kny, 1872, p. 145. No. 297 bis, p. 392. Add: Euetheia canora, MeELopious GrassquiT. A small West Indian Grassquit, originally named Loxia canora by Gmelin in the 18th edition of the Systema Naturg, 1788, p. 858, and referred to its proper genus by Dr. John Gundlach in Cabanis’ Journal fiir Ornithol- ogie, 1874, p. 123, has been found on Som- brero Key in southern Florida. See Merriam, Auk, July, 1888, p. 322. So far as known it is only a straggler to our fauna. No, 298 a, p. 8938. Pyrrhuloxia sinuata beckhami, Ridgway, Auk, Oct. 1887, p. 347, is a@ new subspecies described from western Texas to southern Arizona and south into northwestern Mexico. No. 298 6, p. 398. Pyrrhuloxia sinuata pen- insule, Ridgway, Auk, Oct. 1887, p. 347, is a new subspecies described from Lower Cali- fornia. No. 315, p. 408. Molothrus eneus becomes Callothrus robustus, Ridgway, Man. N. A. Birds, 1887, p. 589. (See Cabanis, Mus. : SECOND APPENDIX. Hein., I., 1851, p. 198, note.) The genus Catlothrus of Cassin, Pr. Phila. Acad., 1866, p- 18, is adopted. No. 316 a, p. 404. Ageélaius [lege Ageleus] pheeniceus bryanti is named by Ridgway, Man. N. A. Birds, 1887, p. 370, as a subspecies, the Bahaman Redwing, occurring also in southern Florida. It is said to be smaller than the common Marsh-blaékbird, and the female to be lighter colored. No. 3168, p. 404. Agelaius [lege Ageleus] pheniceus sonoriensis is also named by the same author in the same place. It is said to differ from A. pheniceus in the same way that A. p. bahamensis does, but to be larger than the latter, with a smaller bill, and to have the upper parts lighter colored. No. 888 a, p. 416. Corvus coraz principalis is a large northern Raven named by Ridgway, Man. N, A. Birds, 1887, 861, but the assigned dimensions are well within the known range of individual variation of the common Amer- ican bird. I am inclined to think that the latter is distinguishable from C. coraz of Europe, and its tenable subspecific name is probably sinuatus of Wagler, failing which for any reason the next appears to be carni- vorus of Baird, 1858. No. 350, p. 421. The Committee decline to recognize Cyanocitta stelleri litoralis of May- nard, Ornith. and OGl., April, 1889, p. 59. No. 851, p. 422. Cyanositta stelleri annecténs of Baird (1874), which is in both the later editions of the Key, but was rejected from the Union List of 1886, is now confirmed by the Committee. No. 856 a, p. 424. Aphelocoma californica hypoleuca is described by Ridgway, Man. N. A. Birds, 1887, p. 356, from Lower California, in the vicinity of Cape St. Lucas; it is said to be smaller than A. californica, with larger bill and feet, paler blue back and whiter under parts. “901 No. 356 6, p. 424. Aphelocoma floridana vbscura is described from the San Pedro Mountains of Lower California as A. cali- Jornica obscura by Anthony, Proe. Cala. Acad. Sci., 2d ser., Oct. 1889, p. 75, and admitted by the Committee, under the latter name, in their Second Supplement, 1889. No. 356 bis, p. 878. Aphelocoma floridana insularis is now recognized by the Conimittee as of specific validity. No. 380, p. 488. A new subgenus Nuttal- lornis, Ridgway, Man. N. A. Birds, 1887, p. 337, is adopted for that section of the genus Contopus of which C’ borealis, the Olive- sided Flycatcher, is the type. No. 3889 bis, p. 442. Add: Empidonax cineritius. St. Lucas FrycatcHer. Most like E. difficilis: general coloration much duller; upper parts scarcely tinged with greenish ; no decided yellow below, except- ing on jugulum and abdomen; wing-bands brownish-white. Sexes similar, Wing 2.65; tail 2.40; tarsus 0.68. Lower California. Brewster, Auk, Jan. 1888, p. 90. No. 391, p. 448. Empidonaz obscurus, The alternative name E. wrighti (after Baird, B. N. A. 1858, p. 200) is now adopted by the Committee (see Brewster, Auk, April, 1889, p. 89). This is best, because Swainson’s name obscura (Phil. Mag., 1827, p. 367) is not accompanied by a description which en- ables us to identify his bird. No, 391 bis, p. 448. Add: Empidonax griseus. Gray FLycatcHer. Nearest E. wrighti (of Baird; obscurus of American orni- thologists) ; larger and much grayer, the bill longer, the lower mandible fiesh-colored on the basal half, in contrast with the blackish terminal portion. #, wing 2.68; tail 2.45; tarsus 0.72; bill 0.62; 9 somewhat smaller. Lower California and probably Arizona. Brewster, Auk, April, 1889, p. 87. 20 A. Family COTINGIDA: Cotingas. An extensive family of tropical and sub- tropical American Clamatorial Passerine Birds, to be now formally added to the North American Fauna, in which the Clamatores have long been held to be represented only by the Tyrannide. The Cotingide, though related to the Tyrannide, may be distin- guished, so far as the two following genera 902 are concerned at least, by the extensive co- hesion of the inner and middle toes, the reticulation of the posterior face of the tar- sus, and especially by the shortness of the first primary in the male, together with. the slight hooking of the bill. 126.4. PLATYPSARIS, (Gr. mharis, platus, broad; dp, psar, a starling. Bona- parte, 1854; Sclater, P. Z.S.,1857, p.72. Type Pachyrhamphus latirostris, Bonap.) BECARDS. Nostrils hidden by bristly feathers; hook of bill very slight, and bill not much flattened; rictal bristles long ; head somewhat crested; Ist primary short; 2d emarginate in the male; tail rounded; tarsus with large scutella on the inner side. Sexes dissimilar. Two species occur on the Mexican border of the United States. No. 394 bis, p. 444. Add: Platypsaris aglaiz. RosE-THROATED BEcARD. ¢ adult: above, slate-gray, with the crown glossy black; below, ashy-gray, with a rosy patch on the throat. 9 above dark rusty brown, becoming slaty on the crown. Length 6.60; wing 3.50; tail 2.75; bill 0.65. Eastern Mexico, north to the valley of the Rio Grande. (Pachyrhynchus aglaie, Lafresnaye, Rev. Zool., 1839, p. 98; Pachyrhamphus aglaie, Baird, Birds North America, 1858, p. 164, and Mex. Bound. Survey, 1859, II., pt. ii., pl.” ix., fig. 1; Platypsaris aglaie, Sumichrast, Mem. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist. I., 1869, p. 558.) No. 394 ter, p. 444. Add: Platypsaris albiventris, WHITE-BELLIED Brcarp. @ adult: resembling the preceding, but lighter and more ashy-gray above, the crown slaty, the under parts pale grayish, whitening on the belly. 9 correspondingly paler than that of P. aglaie. Western Mexico, north into southern Arizona. (Hadrostomus albi- ventris, Lawrence, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist., VIII, 1867, p. 475; Platypsaris albiventris, Ridgway, Man. N. A. Birds, 1887, p. 325.) 126 B. PACHYRHAMPHUS, (Gr. rays, pachus, thick; pdydos, rhamphos, beak. G. R. Gray, List Genera Birds, 1838, p, 41.) Re- sembling the preceding; bill more flattened, with shorter rictal bristles; tail graduated about 4 an inch; tarsus naked on inner side. SECOND APPENDIX. Sexes very unlike. One species found on the Mexican border of the United States. No. 394 quater, p. 444. Add: Pachy- rhampus major. GREATER BecarpD. ¢ ad- ult : above, ashy-gray, becoming glossy black on the back and crown, and white on the scapulars; below, pale ash, whitening on throat, belly, and crissum; wings black, with white edging or tipping of the coverts and some inner secondaries ; tail black, with white tips of the feathers. 9 mostly chest- nut brown, paler below, black on the crown and ends of the tail-feathers.. Length 6.50; wing 3.25; tail 2.65; bill 0.60. Eastern Mexico, north to the valley of the lower Rio Grande ; introduced to our fauna by Baird in 1858 under the name of Bathmidurus major, and figured in Report of the Mexican Boun- dary Survey, 1859, pl. ix, fig. 2, but like Platypsaris aglaie lost sight of for some years, and not yet recognized in the Committee’s list. (See Sclater, P. Z. 8., 1857, p. 78; Ridgway, Man. N. A. Birds, 1887, p. 326.) No. 395, p. 450. Nyctidromus albicollis be- comes WN. a. merrilli, Sennett, Auk, Jan. 1888, p.44. The Texan form is distinguished by its larger size (wing and tail each averag- ing 7.00 inches), prevailing gray coloration of the upper parts, and in the male the re- duction or extinction of the white on the outer tail-feather. No. 398 bis, p. 879. Phalenoptilus nuttalli nitidus, the Frosted Poor-will, is confirmed by the Committee. No, 898 bis, a, p. 453. Phalcenoptilus nuitalla californicus is proposed as a new subspecies from the coast of California by Ridgway, Man. N. A. Birds, 1887, p. 588, note, and confirmed by the Committee. Two skins are said to be “altogether darker than any from elsewhere.” No. 400 bis, p. 454. Add: Chordediles popetue sennetti, Coues, Auk, Jan. 1888, p. 37. This is that pale subspecies of the Night- hawk which is characteristic of the un- wooded country from Texas to Dakota. It is recognized by the Committee under the name of Chordeiles virginianus sennetti after- ward bestowed by Chamberlain, Syst. Tabl. Canadian Birds, 1888, App. A, p. 14. SECOND APPENDIX. No. 401, p. 454. Chordediles popetue minor becomes Chordeiles virginianus chapmani, (Sennett MSS.), Coues, Auk, Jan. 1888, p. 37. | No. 410 dis, p. 462. Add: ‘ Trochilus violijugularis. V1ioLET-THROATED Hum- MING-BIRD. @ adult: above, metallic golden green; sides dull green; flanks less green, the feathers tipped with brown; gorgelet violet glancing to steel-blue; wings dusky purplish with a buff line along the edge of the manus, the coverts dull green ; primaries broad to the tip, that of the first recurved; tail slightly forked; its feathers broad ex- cept the last pair, which are narrowly linear ; shafts of the outer pair abruptly angulated ; middle feathers and base of second pair metal- lic green ; rest dusky purplish ; under tail- coverts white with green spots. Length 3.60; wing 1.80; tail 1.20; bill 0.75. Santa Bar- bara, coast of southern California. Trochilus violajugulum [sic] Jeffries, Auk, April, 1888, p- 168; A. O. U. Committee’s Suppl. List, 1889, p. 10. No. 413 bis, p. 464. Add: Selasphorus floresii, FLOREsI’3 HUMMING-BIRD. A Mexican species which has also been found in California near San Francisco. (Gould, Mon. Troch., III., Sept. 1861, pl. 1389; Trochi- lus floresii. Loddiges), Gray, Handl., I., 1869, p. 144; A. O. U. Committee’s Suppl. List, 1889, p.10. See Bryant, Forest and Stream, dune 24, 1886, p. 426.) No. 429 a, p.476. Coccyzus (or Coccygus) americanus occidentalis is described by Ridg- way, Man. N. A. Birds, 1887, p. 278, as larger than C. americanus, with proportion- ally larger and stouter bill. Its habitat is given as the: western United States, east to New Mexico and Colorado, north .to Oregon, and south over the tablelands of Mexico. No. 480 a, p. 476. Coccygus seniculus maynardi is a subspecies inhabiting the Bahamas and Florida Keys, possibly dis- tinguishable from the ordinary Mangrove Cuckoo. It appears to be somewhat smaller, on an average, and paler buff on the under parts. It was named as a full species by Mr. Ridgway, Man. N. A. Birds, 1887, p. 274, and was reduced to a subspecies by Allen, 903 with the approval'of the Committee, under the name Coccyzus minor maynardi. No. 434, p. 481. Picus scalaris is changed to Dryobates scalaris bairdi (after Picus | bairdi, Sclater, in Majherbe’s Mon. Pic., 1861, p. 118, pl. 27). No. 487, p. 482. Picus stricklandi is changed to Dryobates arizone, Ridgway, Man. N. A. Birds, 1887, p. 286 (after Picus arizone, Hargitt, Ibis, April, 1886, p. 115). No. 489 bis, p. 483. Add: Picus villosus hyloscopus. (P. hyloscopus, Cabanis and Heine, Mus. Hein., IV., pt. ii:, 1863, p. 69; Dryobates villosus hyloscopus, Brewster, Auk, July, 1888, p. 252). This is the white-bellied race of Harris’s Woodpecker which occurs in most parts of the western United States and southward into Mexico, as distinguished from the smoky-bellied form from the north- west coast. The distinction is noted in the Key, p. 483, and I am inclined to think it worthy of recognition by name. No. 441, p. 483. The Committee decline to recognize Dryobates pubescéns fumidus of Maynard, Ornith. and Odl., April, 1889, p. 58, which they regard as a synonym of gairdneri. No. 441 a, p. 483. Add: Picus pubescens oreecus. BATCHELDER’S WooDPECcKER. Described by Mr. C. F. Batchelder in the Auk, July, 1889, p. 253, as Dryobates pubescens oreacus, from the Rocky Mountain region of the United States. As compared with pubescens or gairdneri, it seems to offer a parallel case with that of hyloscopus, and the Committee have probably been right in re- cognizing it in the Second Supplement. No. 458, p. 569. Under the name Colum- bigallina passerina pallescens, this pale form of the Ground Dove, which I have doubtfully kept in all the editions of the Kry, and which was rejected by, the Committee in 1886, is restored in the Supplementary List of 1889, with the assigned habitat of Mexico and ad- jacent border of the United States from Texas to Arizona. It was originally described by Baird in 1859 as Chamepelia passerina ? var. pallescens, from Cape St. Lucas, according to my recollection of the original Xantus speci- mens which I examined in that year. 904 No. 474, p. 509. Strix cinerea becomes Scotiaptex cinerea, Swainson, Class. B. 1837, p. 217. No. 475, p. 509. Strix cinerea lapponica be- comes Scotiaptex cinerea lapponica, Ridgway, Man. N. A. Birds, 1887, p. 260 (after Strix lapponica, Retzius, Fn. Suec., 1800, p. 79). No. 4844, p. 514. Glaucidium gnoma cali- fornicum (G. californicum Sclater, P. Z. S., 1857, p. 4) is recognized as the Pacific Coast form of G, gnoma, from California to British America. No. 485 bis, p. 515. Add: Glaucidium hoskinsi. Hosx1ns’s Premy Ow.. Simi- lar to the preceding, but smaller and grayer; upper parts less distinctly spotted; forehead and facial disk with more white. Wing 3.30; tail 2.50; tarsus 0.75; chord of culmen 0.50. An interesting addition to our fauna lately discovered in Lower California. G. gnoma hoskinsii, Brewster, Auk, April, 1888, p. 136, but later accorded full specific rank by its describer with the approval of the Committee. No. 486, p. 516. Micrathene whitneyi be- comes Micropallas whitneyi, Coues, Auk, Jan. 1889, p. 71, the generic name originally be- stowed being antedated by Micrathena of Sundevall, a genus of arachnidans. -No. 507 bis, p. 587. Add: Falco regulus. EuRoPEAN MERLIN. (fF. regulus, Pallas, Reise Russich. Reichs., II., 1773, p. 707; F. esalon of most authors.) This well-known European and Asiatic Falcon, belonging to the subgenus salon, is recorded as acciden- tal at sea off Greenland. See Kumlein, Auk, Oct. 1887, p. 345. No. 510 bis, p. 588. Add: Falco tinnun- eulus. European Kestret. This well- known bird of Europe and Asia has been detected as a straggler in Massachusetts. See Cory, Auk, Jan. 1888, p. 110, and April, 1888, p- 205. No. 518, p. 542, The subgenus Tachytri- orchis of Kaup, Class. Siug. und Vég., 1844, recognized by Cassin in Birds N. A., 1858, p. 31, is now applied to that subgenus of Buteo of which B. albocaudatus of Vieillot (Falco pterocies of Temminck) is the type species. Nos. 882, 883, p. 549. Buteo “ fuliginosus,”’ SECOND APPENDIX. as here intimated, is the same as B. brachyurus, and it has been eliminated from the Union List. See Scott, Auk, July, 1889, p. 243; Ridgway, Auk, Jan. 1890, p. 90. No. 589 bis, p. 565. Add: Columba fasciata viosce. Vrosca’s Picron. Similar to C. fasciata, but with the tail-band wanting or only faintly indicated, the general coloration lighter and more uniform, the vinaceous tints, especially, being more or less replaced by bluish-ash. Lower California. Brewster, Auk, Jan. 1888, p. 86. No. 550 bis, p. 571. Add: Geotrygon montana. Ruppy QUAIL-DovE. (Columba montana, Linn., 1758; Geotrygon montana, Bonap., Consp. Av., I., 1850, p. 72.) A long and well known inhabitant of tropical and subtropical America, including the West Indies and Mexico, lately found at Key West, Florida. See Scott, Auk, April, 1889, 160; July, 1889, p. 246. No. 572 bis, p. 591. Adds Ortyx virginiana cubanensis. Cusan Bopwuits. Under the name Colinus virginianus cubanensis the Com- mittee recognize a second variety in Florida and identify it with the Cuban form. In this the black marking of the under parts is in great excess, the male having the breast chiefly . if not entirely black. No. 574 a, p. 591. Oreortyx picta confinis is described by Anthony, Proc. Cala. Acad. Sci., 2d ser., II., Oct. 1889, p. 74, from the San Pedro Mountains of Lower California, and accredited by the Union’s Committee as a recognizable subspecies in the Second Suppl. 1890. Ihave seen no specimens; but geographical considerations favor the view that this subspecies may be tenable. No. 596 bis, p. 606. Add: Hematopus frazari. FRazar’s OyYsTER-CATCHER. Re- sembling H. palliatus and H. galapagensis ; differs from both in the broad zone of mottled black and white feathers across the breast; differs from H. palliatus in the stouter and more depressed bill, little or no white on the eyelids, darker back and wings, less varied upper tail-coverts, and some other respects; from H. galapagensis in the rather shorter bill, brown instead of black mantle, dark markings on the under tail-coverts, and SECOND APPENDIX. greater amount of white on the under primary coverts. Both coasts of Lower California. Brewster, Auk, Jan. 1888, p. 84. No. 614 bis, p. 886. Fringa damascensis, the Long-toed Stint, which I admitted to the 8d edition of the Key, 1887, though the Union List of 1886 declined it, has been reafiirmed by the Committee. See Ridgway, Auk, April, 1886, p. 275, and Man. N, A. Birds, 1887, p. 158. No. 682 bis, p. 887. Symphemia semipal- mata inornata, admitted in the third edition of the Kxy, is confirmed by the Commitiee. Nos. 636, 637, p. 639. The name of the genus Rhyacophilus is changed~to Helodyro- mas, Kaup, Naturl. Syst., 1829, p. 144, No. 663 a, p. 662. Add: Butorides vires- eens frazari. FRrazar’s GREEN HERON. Larger than JZ. virescens; darker colored and more uniform in color; neck more purplish, its sides as well as the forehead strongly glaucous; the light throat line more re- stricted. Wing 7.00; tarsus 2.25; culmen 9.50. From Lower California, in the vicinity of La Paz, Ardeavirescens frazari, Brewster, Auk, Jan. 1888, p. 83. No. 665, p. 668. The name of the genus Nycterodius (or Nyctherodius) is changed to Nyctinassa, Stejneger, Pr. U. S. Nat, Mus., 1887, p. 295. ' No. 667 bis, p. 888.