BIRDS — TURDIDAE — HYDEOBATA MEXICANA. 229 



description of Audubon, being one of several other species not found in the United States by 

 any one else. It differs mainly from B. satrapa in having two black bands (not one) on the 

 crown anteriorly, separated by a whitish one ; the extreme forehead being black instead of 

 white, as in satrapa. The specimen was killed in June, 1812, on the banks of the Schuylkill 

 river, in Pennsylvania. 



Sub-Family CINCLINAE. 



HYDROBATA, Vieillot. 



Hydrobttta, Vieillot, Analyse, 1816, (Ag.) 



Cinclus, Bechstein, Gemein. Naturg. 1802, (Agassiz. Not of Moehring, 1752.) (Type Sturnus cinclus, h.) 



Ch. — Bill without any bristles at the base; slender, subulate; the mandible bent slightly upward ; the culmon slightly 

 concave to near the tip, which is much curved and notched ; the commissural edges of the bill finely nicked. Feet large and 

 strong, the toes projecting considerably beyond the tail ; the claws large. Lateral toes equal. Tail very short and even ; not 

 two-thirds the wings, which are concave and somewhat falcate. The first primary is more than one-fourth the longest. 



The tomia of this genus are nicked on the terminal half, a character I have only noticed in 

 specimens of the robin, and possibly not permanent in the latter. The slightly upward bend of 

 the bill, somewhat as in Antlms, renders the culmen concave, and the commissure slightly 

 convex. The maxilla at base is nearly as high as the mandible ; the whole bill is much 

 compressed and attenuated. The lateral claws barely reach the base of the middle one, which 

 is broad ; the inner face extended into a horny lamina, with one or two notches or pectinations 

 somewhat as in Caprimulgidae. The stiffened sub-falcate wings are quite remarkable. The 

 tail is so short that the upper coverts extend nearly to its tip. 



If the genera of Moehring are to be retained and used in ornithology, there is no reason why 

 his Cinclus should not be used for a grallatorial genus, and that of Bechstein be superseded by 

 Hydrohaia of Vieillot. 



HYDROBATA MEXICANA, Baird. 

 American Dipper; Water Oiizel. 



Cinclus fallasii, Bonap. Zool. Jour. II, Jan. 1827, 62. — Ib. Amer. Orn. II, 1828, 173 ; pi. xvi, f. 1. (not the Asiatic 

 pallttsii.) 



Cinclus mexicanus, Swainson, Syn. Mex. Birds, in Phil. Mag. I. May, 1827, 368. 



Cinclus amerUanus, Sw. & Rich. F. Bor. Am. II, 1831, 173. — Nuttall, Man. II, 1834, 569. — Ann. Orn. Biog. IV, 

 1838,493: V, 1839, 303 ; pi. 370, 435— Ib. Synopsis, 1839, 86.— Ib. Birds Araer. II, 1841, 

 182 ; pi. 137.— Newberry, Zool. Cal. & Or. Route 80 ; Rep. P. R. R. Surv. VI, iv, 1857. 



Cinclus unicolor, Bonap. List, 1838. 



Cinclus morloni, Townsend, Narrative, 1839, 337. 



Cinclus townsendii, "AcnuBON," Townsend, Narr. 1839, 340. 



Sp. Ch. — Above dark plumbeous, beneath paler ; head and neck all round a shade of clove or perhaps a light sooty brown ; 

 less conspicuous beneath. A concealed spot of white above the anterior corner of the eye and indications of tlie same sometimes 

 on the lower eyelid. Immature specimens usually with the feathers beneath edged with grayish white ; the greater and middle 

 wing coverts and lesser quills tipped with the same. The colors more uniform. Length, 7.50 ; wing, 4.00; tail, 2.55. 



Hab. — Rocky mountains from British America to Mexico. 



With a large number of specimens of the American Dipper before me, I find considerable 

 variations, without being at all satisfied of the existence of more than one species. In all, the 

 white spot above the eye is evident, though its extent varies. Sometimes tlie brown of the 

 head and neck is but slightly different from the plumbeous of the back. 



