TURDID^. — CLXXIX. 311 



orange red in the centre in ^•, forehead and line over eye whitish-, 

 a vague dusky blotch at base of secondaries. L. 4. W. 2^. T. If. 

 N. Am. ; not rare. (o-aT/jaTrr/s, 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. 4|. W. 2^. T. If. N. Am., 

 common. (Lat., a little fire.) 



530. POLIOPTILA Sclater. (noXios, hoary ; ittIXov, feather.) 



1017. P. ceerulea (L.). Blue-gray Gnat-Catcher. Clear 

 ashy blue, brightest on head; whitish below ; <$ with forehead and 

 sides of crown black; outer tail feathers chiefly white. L. 4^. W. 2. 

 T. 2i. U. S., chiefly southerly ; N. to Mass. and L. Mich. A 

 sprightly Uttle bird with a squeaky voice, but really a fine singer. 



Family CLXXIX. TURDID^.i (The Thrushes.) 



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," i. 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 J the commissure ; tail about as long as wings. {Myadestince.) 



Myadestes, 531. 

 aa. Bill not depressed nor hooked; gonys more than J the commissure. 

 (Turdinm.) 

 b. Wings moderate; (no blue). 



c. Tarsus longer than middle toe with claw; nostrils exposed; nasal fossas 

 without feathers; bill notched near its tip; sexes similar. 

 d. Bill much widened at base ; (breast spotted). . Hylocichla, 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 

 {CUidus mexicanvs Swainsoii), an aquatic tlirush which swims (or rattier flies) freely 

 under water, although not web-footed. It is a tine singer, living about nioiintaiu 

 torrents in the Rocl<y Mountain regions; a similar species (C merula) occurs iu 

 Europe. They arc now placed in a separate family, CiiicUda:. 



