2 REVIEW OF AMERICAN BIRDS. ['PART I. 



having uncovered nostrils and with ten primaries, the first of which 

 is either spurious or much shorter than the second, agreeing in this 

 respect with the Sylvicolidas having nine primaries only. The most 

 striking of these common characters is seen in the deeply cleft toes, 

 of which the outer is united by the basal joint alone to the middle 

 toe, while the inner is separated almost to the very base of its first 

 joint.* The frontal feathers extend, with rare exceptions, to the 

 very nostrils. The bill is elongated and subulate, moderately 

 slender, and usually notched at tip ; the culmen moderately curved 

 from the base, and the mouth well provided with bristles, except 

 in a few cases. Usually the scutella? covering the front and sides 

 of the tarsus are fused into one continuous plate, or else scarcely 

 appreciable, except on the inner edge only ; in the Mocking Thrushes 

 they are, however, distinctly marked. The lateral toes are nearly 

 equal, the outer rather the longer. With these as some of the prin- 

 cipal characteristics, they may be distinguished from each other as 

 follows : — 



A. Nostrils oval. Loral and frontal feathers with bristly points, or inter- 

 spersed with bristles ; rictus with longer or shorter bristles. 



Sasicolidae. Wings very long and much pointed, reaching beyond the 

 middle of the short square or emarginated tail, and one and a half 

 times or more the length of the latter. The spurious primary very 

 short, the second quill longer than the fourth. In the closed wing the 

 outer secondary reaches only about two-thirds the length of longest 

 primary. 



Turdidae. Wings moderate, more rounded, not reaching beyond middle 

 of the often rounded tail, and not more than one and a third the 

 latter, usually more nearly equal. Spurious primary sometimes half 

 the length of second quill ; the second quill shorter than the fourth. 

 In the closed wing the outer secondary reaches three-fourths or more 

 the length of longest primary. 



' In a perfectly fresh specimen of Tnrdua mustelinns, the basal half of the 

 first phalanx of the inner toe is connected with the 1st joint of the middle toe 

 by a membrane which stretches across to within two-fifths of the end of the 

 latter ; there appears however to be no ligamentous adhesion. The basal 

 joint of the outer toe is entirely adherent, and a membrane extends from nearly 

 the basal half of the second joint to the distal end of the first joint of th^ 

 middle toe. When this connecting membrane becomes dried the division 

 of the toes appears considerably greater. 



When the toes are all extended in line with the tarsus, the hind claw 

 stretches a little beyond the lateral and scarcely reaches the base of the 

 middle claw. 



The plates at the upper surface of the basal joints of the toes are quadran- 

 gular and opposite each other. 



