332 ZOOLOGY. 



Sub-fam. 2. Synallnxince, or Sharp-tailed Creepers. Bill rather short and 

 strong ; frontal feathers rather rigid. Wings very short and rounded ; tail 

 broad, more or less lengthened, and usually graduated or cuneated, with 

 the tips of the feathers lanceolate. Tarsi and feet large and strong ; claws 

 acute. 



Another sub-family of birds peculiar to South America and Mexico, and 

 which partake of the general characters of the last mentioned. They are 

 generally plain colored little birds, somewhat resembling wrens in general 

 appearance. 



Suh-fam. 3. Dendrocolaptincs, or Long-hilled Creepers. Bill usually long 

 and curved, compressed ; wings moderate, generally rounded ; tail long, 

 broad, and graduated, with the feathers ending in hard points. Tarsi and 

 feet strono; ; claws large and acute. 



This sub-family is also essentially South American. About fiprty species 

 are classed in it, which much resemble those of the two preceding sub- 

 families, but differ from them in being larger and ha^nng longer bills. The 

 greater part of the species inhabit the vast forests of South America, 

 and appear to have somewhat the habits of woodpeckers. In one genus 

 (Xiphorhi/nchus, or sword-bills) the bill is exceedingly long. The Cayenne 

 creeper [Dendrocolaptes cayennensis) and the white-throated creeper {D. 

 albicolUs) are commonly met with. 



Sub-fam. 4. CertliiancB, or Ci^eepers. Bill rather long, slender, curved ; 

 wing rather long ; tail lengthened, graduated, the feathers of which are 

 slightly rigid. Tarsi and feet slender ; claws moderate. Size small. 



Although not comprising more than a dozen species, the birds of this 

 sub-family are found in all parts of the world. They are very active and 

 shy little birds, subsisting upon minute insects, which nearly all the species 

 search for in the crevices of the bark of trees, after the manner of wood- 

 peckers. 



The CertJiia famlUaris, or the brown creeper {pi. 102, jig. 2), is fre- 

 quently met with in the forests of Europe and North America, It much 

 resembles, in general character, the small woodpeckers and nuthatches with 

 which it constantly associates in the forest, though >t is much smaller, 

 being, next to the golden-crested wren, the smallest of European birds. In 

 the United States it is not so common as in Europe. 



The rock creeper {C. muraria) of Europe also belongs here. It is 

 found exclusively in the mountains of Europe and Asia, and is usually 

 observed flitting from one projecting rock to another, in search of spiders 

 and other insects, of which its food consists. 



One genus (Climacteris) of this sub-family is peculiar to Australia, the 

 birds of which inhabit the woods and partake of the general characters of 

 the others with which they are classified. 



Sub-fam. 5. Sittina;, or Nuthatches. Bill rather short, very straight, 

 more or less cylindrical ; wings long and pointed ; tail very short ; tarsi 

 and feet rather long and slender. Size small. 



The nuthatches, though numbering scarcely more than twenty species, 

 are scattered over the whole world. Several species inhabit North America, 

 536 



