138 



NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



fifth. Tail-feathers very broad and perfectly plane ; tail nearly even ; the two lateral 

 graduated ; the outer about eleven twelftlis of the middle. 



This genus agrees witli Saljnndcs in 

 the broad, plane tail-feathers, but the 

 bill is much longer, the nostrils linear, 

 not oval, the feet much stouter, the 

 outer toe rather longer; the tarsus short- 

 ei', being equal to the middle toe, not 

 longer ; the hind toe much longer than 

 the outer lateral, instead of equal to it. 

 The wings are but little longer tlian the 

 tail, and shorter than in Saljnnctcs. 



This genus is confined to the western 



portions, where a single species, C. mexkaniLs, occurs in two well-marked 



varieties : — 



CatAerpes mexieanits. 



C. mexicanus. 



Culmen almost straiglit, the tip decurvod, ponys straight. Al.iove blackish- 

 brown ; wings and back sparsely sprinkled with minute wliite specks; no such 

 markings on head or neclc. Bars on tail very broad, .12 in width on outer 

 feathers. Wing, 2.84; tail, 2.40; culmeu, .96; tarsus, .75 ; middle toe, .68; - 

 posterior, .47 ; outer, .52 ; inner, .49 (52,791, Mazatlan, Mexico). Ilab. Mex- 

 ico ............ var. mexi canus. 



Culmen and gonys both gently curved, the latter somewhat concave. Above 

 cinnamon-ashy, more reddish on rump and wings ; head and neck above with 

 numerous dots of wliite ; verj' few of these on liack and wings. Tail-bars 

 very narrow and thread-like. Wing, 2.48; tail, 2.12 ; culmen, .83 ; tarsus, .56; 

 middle toe, .52 ; posterior, .35 ; outer, .44 ; inner, .36 (53,425 J, Fort Churchill, 

 Nevada). Hah. Middle (and Pacific?) Province of United States. \sxv. conspersus. 



In var. mcxieanns the white of throat is more abruptly defiiiod acrainst the 

 rufous of abdomen than in var. ron- 

 spersua, in which the transition is very 

 gradual. The latter has the seconda- 

 ries rufous with narrow isolated bars 

 of black ; the former has them black- 

 ish, indented on lower webs with dark 

 rufous. In memcanus the feet are 

 very stout, and dark brown ; in con- 

 spersus they are much weaker, aud 

 deep black. 



All specimens from south of the 

 United States (including Giraud's type 

 of Ccrthia alhifrons) lielong to the re- 

 stricted meodcanuH, while all from tlie 

 United States are of the var. consposits. 



Calhcrpes mezicanus- 



