138 



NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



Catherpes mexicanus 



fifth. Tail-feathers very broad and perfectly plane ; tail nearly even ; the two lateral 

 graduated ; the outer about eleven twelfths of the middle. 



This genus agrees with Salpindes in 

 the broad, plane tail-feathers, but the 

 bill is much longer, the nostrils linear, 

 not oval, the feet much stouter, the 

 outer toe rather longer; the tarsus short- 

 er, being equal to the middle toe, not 

 longer ; the hind toe much longer than 

 the outer lateral, instead of equal to it. 

 The wings are but little longer than the 

 tail, and shorter than in SaljnJictes. 



This genus is confined to the western 



portions, where a single species, C. mexicanus, occurs in two well-marked 



varieties : — 



C. mexicanus. 



Culmen almost straight, the tip decurved, gonys straight. Above blackish- 

 brown ; wings and back sparsely sprinkled with minute white specks ; no such 

 markings on head or neck. Bars on tail very broad, .12 in width on outer 

 feathers. Wing, 2.84 ; tail, 2.40 ; culmen, .96 ; tarsus, .75 ; middle toe, .68 ; 

 posterior, .47 ; outer, .52 ; inner, .49 (52,791, Mazatlan, Mexico). Hah. Mex- 

 ico ............ var. m exi canus. 



Culmen and gonys both gently curved, the latter somewhat concave. Above 

 cinnamon-ashy, more reddish on rump and wings ; head and neck above with 

 numerous dots of white ; very few of these on back and wings. Tail-bars 

 very narrow and thread-like. Wing, 2.48; tail, 2.12 ; culmen, .83 ; tarsus, .56; 

 middle toe, .52 ;.posterior, .35 ; outer, .44 ; inner, .36 (53,425 $, Fort Churchill, 

 Nevada). Hah. Middle (and Pacific ?) Province of United States. \ar. conspersus. 



In var. mexicanus the white of throat is more abruptly defined against the 

 rufous of abdomen than in var. con- 

 spersus, in which tlie transition is very 

 gradual. The latter has the seconda- 

 ries rvifous with narrow isolated bars 

 of black ; the former has them black- 

 ish, indented on lower webs with dark 

 rufous. In mexicanus the feet are 

 very stout, and dark brown ; in con- 

 spersiis they are much weaker, and 

 deep black. 



All specimens from south of the 

 United States (including Giraud's type 

 of Certhia alhifrons) belong to the re- 

 stricted mexicanus, while all from the 

 United States are of the var. coiispcrs^is. 



Catherpes mexicanus. 



