372 



U. S. p. R. R. EXP. AND SURVEYS — ZOOLOGY — GENERAL REPORT. 



Family CEHTHIADAE. 



First primary very short, less than half the second ; outer lateral toe much longest ; hind toe exceeding both the middle toe 

 and the tarsus, which is scutellate anteriorly, and very short. Bill slender, as long as or longer than the head, without any 

 notch. Entire basal joint of the middle toes united to the lateral. 



This family in the United States embraces but two genera, each the type of a sub-family, and 

 so widely different from each other as not to require any comparison. The characters of the 

 sub-families are as follows : 



Certhianae. — Bill much compressed and greatly decurved ; gonys concave. Tail long, 

 cuneate ; the feathers stiffened at the tips. 



SiTTiNAE. — Bill straight ; gonys ascending, convex. Tail short, soft, and even. 



Sub-family CERTHIANAE. 



CERTHIA, Linnaeus. 



Certhia, Linnaeus, Syst. Nat. 1735, (Gray). Type C. familiaris , 



Ch. — Bill as long as the head, slender, much compressed and decurved from the base ; without notch or rictal bristles. Tarsi 

 distinctly scutellate ; very short ; not longer than the outer lateral toes, which much exceeds the inner, reaching nearly as far 

 as the middle toe. Hind toe longer than the middle one ; its claw more than half the total length. Claws all very long and 

 acute. Tail rather longer than the wings, arched or vaulted, graduated or cuneate ; the feathers very acute at the tips, the 

 shafts stiffened. First primary rather more than one-third the fourth or longest one. Color above brown, streaked with white ; 

 beneath white . 



This genus embraces species which resemble each other so closely as to render it a matter of 

 much uncertainty how many really exist. 



Comparative measurements of species. 



CEKTHIA AMERICANA, B o n a p . 



American Creeper. 



Certhia americana, Bonap. Consp. List, 1838. — Reich. Handb. I, 1851, 2G5 ; pi. dcxv, fig. 4102, 3. 



Certhia familiaris, Vieillot, Ois. Am. Sept. II, 1807, 70. — Wilson, Am. Orn. I, 1808, 122 ; pi .viii. — Aud. Dm. 



Biog. V, 1839, 158 ; pi. 415.— Ib. Syn. 1839, 73.— 1b. Birds Amer. II, 1841, 109 ; pi. (15. 

 ? Certhia mexicana, " Gloger, Handbuch," Reichenbach, Handliuch Spec. Orn. 1, 1851, 265 ; pi. dlxii, fig. 3841, 

 2.— 1b. Sclater, Pr. Zool. Soc. 1856, 290. 



Sp. Ch. — Bill about tho length of the head. Above dark brown, with a slightly rufous shade, each feather streaked centrally 

 but not abruptly witli whitish ; rump rusty. Beneath almost silky white ; the under tail coverts with a faint rusty tincre. A 

 while streak over tho eye ; the ear coverts streaked with whitish. Tail feathers brown centrally, the edges paler yellowish 

 brown. Wings with a transverse bar of pale reddish white across both webs. 



Length, 5.50 ; wing, 2.60 ; tail, 2.90. (No. 827.) 



Hub. — North America generally. 



The wings of this species are greatly variegated. Thus, when closed, the outer edges and 



