376 THRASEIERS, WRENS, ETC. 



seconds in an undecided way, they will return to or near the place 

 from which they rose. 



Their flight is light and airy, and in loose companies they undulate 

 gently through the air without apparent effort, uttering their faint 

 dee-dee as they fly. 



Sprague's Pipit {700. AntJius spragueii)., a species of the Great Plains, has 

 been ouce recorded froui near Charleston, S. C. (Wayne, Auk, xi, 1894, p. 80). 



The European White Wagtail {694. Motacilla alba) and European 

 Meadow Pipit {698. Anthus pratensis) have been recorded as of accidental 

 occurrence in Greenland. 



=--^ Family Troglodytidjs. Thrashers, Wrens, etc. 



Two quite different subfamilies are included under this head, the 

 Thrashers and Mockingbirds, numbering some flfty species, and com- 

 prising the subfamily Jlinmice, and the subfamily Troylodytinm, which 

 includes the one hundred and fifty known species of Wrens. The 

 former is a distinctively American group, most numerously represented 

 in the tropical and subtropical parts of the continent, only a dozen spe- 

 cies reaching the United States. Generally speaking, they are inhab- 

 itants of scrubby growths and bushy borders of woods. They are pos- 

 sessed of remarkable vocal ability, and the Mockingbirds, of which 

 there are sixteen species, are universally conceded first rank among 

 cur song birds so far as powers of execution are concerned. 



The Wrens have a few representatives in the Old World, but by 

 far the greater number inhabit America, where they are most abundant 

 in the tropics. Wrens, as a rule, are thicket haunters. They are 

 active, nervous, excitable birds, and most of the species have charac- 

 teristic scolding notes with which they express displeasure or alarm. 

 The majority are highly musical. 



KEY TO THE SPECIES. 



A. Wing over 3"50 ; tail without black bars. 



a. Back slate-color; cap black; under tail-coverts rufous-brown. 



704. CATP.iRn. 



b. Back and crown grayish ; under parts whitish ; outer tail-feathers white. 



703. MoCKINGr>IRD. 



c. Back rufous ; under parts spotted with black . 705. Brown Thrasher. 



B. Wing less tlian 3-00 ; tail with numerous small bars. 



a. Upper parts rufous, a long, conspicuous whitish line over the eye ; under 

 parts cream-buff or ochraceous-bufi'; wing 2-25 or over. 



718. Carolina Wren. 718a. Florida Wren. 



h. Upper parts uniform dark, reddish olive-brown ; back without white 

 streaks. 



