BIRDS — LIOTRICHIDAE — MIMllS 343 



Faiuily LlOTRrClHDAE. 



Wings iiliurt, concave, and rounded, tho outer four or live primaries frrudunled ; tlio lirst usually more tliau liulf llic second. 

 Tarsi lung and generally very strongly scutellate ; tlio basal joint of llio middle tou free nearly to tho base internally, and liulf 

 way externally. Bill slender, gtraiglit or curved, generally oa long as or longer than tlie head ; but little notched, or nut at ull. 



This extensive family embraces many forms highly varied in character, and distributed 

 originally very widely in ornithological systems. The credit of rearranging these in a natural 

 series is, in a great measure, due to Dr. Cabanis. 



The following sub-families are included in the North American species of this family : 



MiMiNAE. — Tail long, vaulted at the base ; the feathers more or less graduated. Size large ; 

 general appearance Thrush-like. Rictus with distinct bristles. Frontal feathers normal, 

 direct<?d backwards. Anterior half of outer side of tarsi distinctly scutellate. 



CAMi'YLoRUYXcmN.\E. — iSize medium. Tail feathers broad, plane ; tail rounded ; rictus without 

 bristles. 



Troqlodytinae. — Size very small. Tail graduated, convex above. Rictus without bristles. 



Cn.iM.\E.^NAE. — Size small. Tail very greatly graduated, much longer than the wings. 

 Rictus with long bristles ; frontal feathers bristly, directed forward. Whole outer side of tarsi 

 continuous and undivided. 



Sub-Family MLMINAE. 



The Miminae are all of large size, and, as already stated, have a Thrush-like appearance, 

 which has caused them to be placed by most authors among the Turdidae. From these, how- 

 ever, they are readily distinguished by the usually much longer, or decurved bill, the short and 

 graduated wings, the long graduated tail, and the strongly scutellate legs. The frontal 

 feathers, and, to a certain extent, the loral, are all soft, compact, and, like the rest, without any 

 inversion or extension into bristly points. As in the wrens (but not in Chamaea,) the entire 

 anterior half of the tarsi is embraced by a succession of scutellae which bend round to the 

 middle of the sides, where their lateral margins are distinctly defined. 



It is very difficult to draw the line between this sub-family and the wrens ; the chief difference 

 lies in the larger size and bristled gape. The nostrils are round or broadly oval, with but little 

 of a membrane above them, such as is seen in the wrens, where the nostrils are more linear. 



Of the subdivisions of this group, Mimus has a bill shorter, or not longer than the head, and 

 distinctly notched ; while in Harporhynchus and its sub-genera the bill is longer, more decurved, 

 and without notch. Oroscoptes difters from both in the longer and more pointed wings, and 

 much less graduated tail. 



MIMUS, Boie. 



Mimus, BoiE, Isis.Oct. 1826, 972. Type Turdus polyglottus 

 Oipheta, SwAiMSON, Zool. Jour. Ill, 1627, 1()7. Same type. 



Cii — Bill shorter than the head, decurved from the base; distinctly notched at tip. Tarsi longer than the middle toe; 

 lateral toes equal, net reacliini; the base of the middle cl-nv, and shorter than the hind loe, the claw of which is half the total 

 length. Tail variable ; equal to or longer than the wings, moderatoly graduated. Wings rounded ; the exposed portion of the 

 first nearly or quite half that of the second, which is considerably shorter than the third. 



This genua is distinguished from Harporhynchus by the shorter bill, (less than the length of 

 the head,) and with a more distinct notch. The lower jaw is smooth, without the distinct 



