346 



S YS TEMA TIC S YNOPSIS. — PA S SERES — OSCIXES. 



America and Mexico to Texas. An extralimital species admitted to our fauna in the 3d ed. of 

 the Key, 1887, p. 871, on the authority of Giraud, 1841, who called it muscicapa brasieri (for 

 brasheri) ; A. 0. U. Lists, 1886-95, No. [692]. 



B. bell'i. (To J. G. Bell of New York.) Bell's Fly-catching Warbler. Somewhat 

 similar to the foregoing, but readily distinguished, and belonging to the subgenus Idiotes. 

 Adult ^ 9 : Above, plain greenish-olive, or olive-green ; below, yellow, including the edge 

 of the wing, shaded with olivaceous on sides and lining of wings. Sides of head rich chest- 

 nut, blackening on the lores ; a long bright yellow superciliary stripe, extending on the side 

 of nape ; frontal bar and lateral stripe on crown black, enclosing a chestnut or rufous area. 

 Bill black; feet pale. Length 5.10 ; wing 2.40; tail rather more, graduated 0.3-3; bill 0.50 ; 

 tarsus 0.80. Central America and Mexico to Texas. Another extralimital species, admitted 

 to our fauna in the 3d ed. of the Key, 1887, p. 871, on the authority of Giraud, 1841; 

 A. 0. U. Lists, 1886-95, No. [693]. 



Family CCEREBID-^ : Honey Creepers. 



Primaries 9, and other external characters very nearly as in the last family ; but bill gen- 

 erally slenderer and sharper, often a little decurved. The line between the two families has 



never been drawn with precision, and has become 

 more difficult of expression since some of the Mniotil- 

 tidce have proven possessed of a peculiarity of the 

 CcerehidcB : deeply bifid, penicillate tongue. As com- 

 monly understood, it is a small group containing 

 perhaps 70 species of pretty little birds, of about a 

 dozen genera, which are arranged by Sclater (1880) 

 lu 4 subfamilies — Diglossince, Dacnidime, Coerebince, 

 and Glossiptilin(e. All are confined to tropical and sub- 

 trt>pical America, being especially numerous in the 

 West Indies. Our species is merely a stray visitor to 

 Florida. 



CCE'REBA. (Brazilian name of some guitguit or 

 small creeping bird, perhaps of this family. Fig. 204. ) 

 Honey Creepers. Bill little shorter than head, 

 stout at base, but rapidly tapering to the extremely 

 acute tip ; whole bill much curved, culmen very con- 

 vex, outline of under mandible concave from base to 

 tip. Rictus uubristled. Wings long, exceeding the 

 short rounded tail. Tarsus longer than middle toe 

 without claw. Contains about 19 species or varieties, 

 mostly West Indian. (Certhiola of previous eds. of 

 the Key, as of authors generally ; but Vieillot, 

 Ois. Am. Sept. i., 1807, p. 70, based his genus 

 Ccereba upon Certhia ^frtreo/aLiNN. and consequently 

 Certhiola of Sundevall, 1835, becomes a synonym.) 



C. bahamen'sis. (Lat., of the Bahamas.) Bahaman Honey Creeper. Dark brown above ; 

 long superciliary line and under parts dull white ; breast, edge of wing, and rump, bright yel- 

 low ; wings dusky, with a white spot at base of primaries, and whitish edging of quills ; tail 

 dusky, tipped with white ; bill and feet black ; eyes blue. Length 4.50 ; wing 2.33 ; tail 1-75. 

 Florida ; Bahamas ; closely related to the stock species, C. flareola. 



Fig. 204. —Honey Creeper (Ccrtehu jintenla ; 

 not distinguishable in a cut from C. ba/wmehiti), 

 J nat. size. (From Brehm.) 



