OF NEW ENGLAND. 71 



scutellate ; " bind toe considerably longer than the middle one ;" 

 primaries nine. The wagtails are virtually terrestrial warblers, 

 closely allied to the Seiuri. 



It may be observed that our land-birds, as at present arranged, 

 form a series, which may be artificially classified hy food. Thus 

 the higher Oscines are chieflj^ insectivorous, the shrikes partly 

 insectivorous, but otherwise carnivorous, while the subsequent 

 families are chiefly granivorous. The Clamatores and Picarice, 

 the Baptores, and the Columhce, form a very similar sequence, 

 the pigeons being, so to speak, vegetarians. 



I. TROGLODYTES 



(A) HYEMALis.i^ Winter Wren. Wood Wren. 

 (Quite common in Massachusetts, during the migrations, in 

 April and October.) 



Fig. 3. Winter Wren. 



(a). About four inches long. Tail rather short. Essen- 

 tially like the next species in coloration ; but superciliary line, 



1^ This species has been placed by Baird in this genus (subgenus Anorthura), 

 by other authors in the genus Anorthura, with the specific name hyemalis or troglo- 

 dytes. Prof. Baird has recently called it a variety of the European T. parvulus. 

 I have here called it the AVood Wren, because Audubon's so-called '"Wood Wren " 

 (T. Americanus) is now known to be the same as the House Wren (T". cedon), 

 and because the Winter Wrens inhabit woods, almost exclusively, whereas our 

 other wrens do not. The name is tlierefore extremely appropriate. For the Great 

 Carolina Wren ( Thryothorus Ludovicianus) see a note at the end of this biography. 



