SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS. 



181 



REVIEW OF AMERICAN BIRDS 



IN THE MUSEUM OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 



S. F. BAIRD 



PART I. 



NORTH AND MIDDLE AMERICA, 



OSCINES. 



Family TURDID^.^ 



The American Turdidse, Saxicolidse, and Cinclidse are all closely 

 related to each other by the presence of common characters, which 

 distinguish them from the other allied American families of Oscines 



' The present work is intended as a catalogue of the birds of Northern and 

 Middle America in the Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, with such 

 critical notices of the same as appear to be called for, and a list of the speci- 

 mens, or of such of them as best show the geographical distribution of the 

 species. Species not in the Smithsonian collection, but which I have had 

 the opportunity of personally examining and comparing, are also included. 

 Species mentioned oy authors, but which I have not seen, will be mentioned 

 at the end of the genera or families to which they are supposed to belong. 



As understood in the present work, the term " North America" is intended 

 to cover the region in and north of the valleys of the Rio Grande and Gila, or 

 north of a line drawn from the mouth of the Rio Grande on the Gulf of Mexico, 

 to that of the Yaqui, near Guaymas, on the east side of the Gulf of California, 

 and embraces the peninsulas of Florida and of Lower California and Greenland. 

 Middle America extends from the same line southward to the continental 

 part of South America, including Mexico, Guatemala, San Salvador, Nicaragua, 

 Honduras, Costa Rica, the Isthmus of Panama and of Darien, and the whole 

 of the West Indies, excepting Trinidad and perhaps Tobago, 



Any specimens which may serve to extend the list of the species enumerated 

 as belonging to the Institution, or furnish additional material for investigation, 

 will be thankfully received. 



2 For a synopsis of the American Tunlidae, See Sclater, Pr. Zool. Soc. 1859. 

 1 June, 1864. 



