BIRDS OF NORTH AND MIDDLE AMERICA. 437 



its claw distinctly shorter than the dig-it; outer toe (without claw) not 

 reaching- beyond middle of p(>nulthiiate i)halanx of middle toe, the lat- 

 ter with claw projecting- more than half its length l)eyond claw of 

 outer toe; tail nuich shorter than wing, even; outermost (tenth) pri- 

 mary less than one-third as long as ninth. 



Bill nearly as long as head (exposed eulmen nearl}', sometimes quite, 

 as long as tarsus), straight, but with at least the gonys perceptibly 

 convex, the latter more or less strongh' ascending- terminally. Nos- 

 tril roundish, or ])roadly oval, non-operculate, or with operculum 

 narrow and inconspicuous, « more or less concealed by antroi'se 

 bristly latcro-frontal i)lunuiles. Rictal bristles obvious,'' but rather 

 short, sometimes minute. AVing long, rather pointed; (Mghth, sev- 

 enth, and sixth, or ninth, eighth, seventh, and sixth primaries longest, 

 the ninth equal to or longer than fifth (equal to or longer than sixth 

 in jVeositta), the tenth very small, never one-third as long as ninth, 

 sometimes scarcely longer than primary coverts; wing-tip longer than 

 bill or tarsus. Tail much less to a little more than half as long as 

 wing, even or slighth' rounded, the rectrices broad, with rounded tip. 

 Tarsus about as long as exposed eulmen (approximately- one-fifth to 

 one-fourth as long as wing), decidedlv longer than middle toe without 

 claw (sometimes eciual to middle toe with claw), the acrotarsium dis- 

 tinctly scutellate, lateral toes very unequal, the inner (without claw) 

 reaching- only to second joint of middle toe, the outer reaching to 

 middle of penultimate phalanx of middle toe; l)asal phalanx of middle 

 toe joined to outer toe for greater part or the whole of its length, to 

 inner toe adherent for a less distance; hallux (without claw) equal to 

 outer toe (without claw), its claw decidedly shorter than the digit. 



Coloration. — (1) In subfamily Sittinse above plain bluish gray or blue, 

 including upper tail-coverts, the pileum and hindneck, at least partly, 

 sometimes ])lack or In-own; the rectrices partly black and white (with- 

 out white in g(Muis Callisitta); under parts white, butf, cinnamomeous, 

 grayish, vinaceous, or chestnut, or with a mixture of two or more of 

 these colors. (2) In sul)family Neosittinte above gray streaked with 

 dusky, or plain brown, the upper tail-coverts mostly white, the pileum 

 white, dark gray, or black; beneath whitish, with or without streaks; 

 inner webs of primaries with middle portion (broadly) cinnamon- 

 rufous; outermost rectrices broadly tipped with white. 



R<i))(ji. — Pahearctic Region (except African portion), Indo-Malayan 

 Region, and Nearctic Region; Australia, where represented by a dis- 

 tinct subfamily. 



"Except ill the Australian genus Xeositia Hellmayr {SitlcUa Swainson, 1837, not of 

 Rafinesque, 1815), in wliii-h the opercuUim is very (Ustinet (soinetiniea as broad as 

 the nostril itself), the wholly exposed nostril iiuu-h narrower or more elongate than 

 in SItta and Calliintta {Di'iHlnijihUd). 



'' Except in NeoKithi. 



