TURDIDA. — CLXXIX. ove 
orange red in the centre in ¢; forehead and line over eye whitish; 
a vague dusky blotch at base of secondaries. L.4. W.24, T. 14. 
N. Am.; not rare. (oarpdmns, a ruler.) 
a. Nostril with a tuft of small bristle-like feathers. (Phyllobasileus Cabanis.) 
1016. R. calendula (L.). RuBy-cROWNED KINGLET. Oliva- 
ceous ; crown with a scarlet patch in both sexes, wanting the first 
year; no black about head. L..44. W. 24. T. 13. N. Am.. 
common. (Lat., a little fire.) 
530. POLIOPTILA Sclater. (qodtds, hoary ; rridov, feather.) 
1017. P. ceerulea (L.). Briur-Gray GNAT-CATCHER. Clear 
ashy blue, brightest on head; whitish below; @ with forehead and 
sides of crown black; outer tail feathers chiefly white. L.44. W. 2. 
T. 24. U.S., chiefly southerly; N. to Mass. and L. Mich A 
sprightly little bird with a squeaky voice, but really a fine singer. 
Famity CLXXIX. TURDIDAG! (Tue THrusuHes.) 
Primaries 10, the first short or spurious; bill generally rather 
long, not conical, usually with a slight notch near the tip; nostrils 
oval, not concealed, but nearly or quite reached by the bristly 
frontal feathers ; rictus with bristles, which are well developed in 
most of our species; tarsus always “booted,” 7. e., enveloped in a 
continuous plate, formed by the fusion of all the scutella except 2 
or 3 of the lowest. Toes deeply cleft, the inner one free, the outer 
united to the middle one, not more than half the length of the first 
basal joint. 
A large family of about 300 species, found in most parts of the 
world, and embracing quite a wide variety of forms. Nearly all 
of them are remarkable for their vocal powers. Their food consists 
of insects and soft fruits. 
a. Bill short, depressed, notched and slightly hooked at tip; gonys not more 
than 4 the commissure; tail about as long as wings. (JJyadestine.) 
MYADESTES, 531. 
aa. Bill not depressed nor hooked; gonys more than 4 the commissure. 
(Turdine.) 
6. Wings moderate; (no blue). 
c. Tarsus longer than middle toe with claw; nostrils exposed; nasal fosse 
without feathers; bill notched near its tip; sexes similar. 
d. Bill much widened at base; (breast spotted). . . . Turpus, 532. 
dd. Bill little widened at base; (breast in adult unspotted). 
MERULA, 533. 
1 One of the most remarkable of the thrush-like birds is the Ouzel or Dipper 
(Cinclus mexicanus Swainson), an aquatic thrush which swims (or rather flies) freely 
under water, although not web-footed. Itis a fine singer, living about mountain 
torrents in the Rocky Mountain regions; a similar species (C. merula) occurs in 
Europe. They are now placed in a separate family, Cinclide. 
