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192 ORNITHOLOGY AND OOLOGY. 
Famity TROGLODYTIDZ. Tue Wrens. 
“Rictal bristles wanting; the loral feathers with bristly points; the frontal feathers 
generally not reaching to nostrils; nostrils varied, exposed or not covered by 
feathers, and generally overhung by a scale-like membrane; bill usually without 
notch; wings much rounded, about equal to tail, which is graduated; primaries ten, 
the first generally about half the seeond; basal joint of middle toe usually united to 
half the basal joint of inner, and the whole of that of the outer, or more; lateral 
toes about equal, or the outer a little the longer; tarsi scutellate.’”” — BAIRD. 
CISTOTHORUS, Casanis. 
Cistothorus, CABANIS, Mus. Hein. (1850-51), 77. (Type Troglodytes stellaris.) 
Bill about as long as the head or much shorter, much compressed, not notched, 
gently decurved from the middle; the gonys slightly concave or straight; toes 
reaching to the end of the tail; tarsus longer than the middle toe; hind toe longer 
than the lateral, shorter than the middle, lateral toes about equal, hind toe longer 
than or equal to its digit; wings rather longer than the tail, all the feathers of which 
are much graduated, the lateral only two-thirds the middle; the feathers narrow; 
back black, conspicuously streaked with white. 
CISTOTHORUS PALUSTRIS. — Cabanis. 
The Long-billed Marsh Wren. 
Certhia palustris, Wilson. Am. Orn., II. (1810) 58. 
Troglodytes palustris, Bonaparte. Obs. Wils. (1824), No. 66. Aud. Orn. Biog., 
I. (1831) 500; V. (1839) 467. 
Thryothorus palustris, Nuttall. Man., I. (1832) 439. 
DESCRIPTION. 
Bill about as long as head; tail and wing nearly equal; upper parts of a dull 
teddish-brown, except on the crown, interscapular region, outer surface of tertials, 
and tail feathers, which are almost black, —the first with a median patch like the 
ground-color; the second with short streaks of white, extending round on the sides 
of the neck; the third indented with brown; the fourth barred with whitish, de- 
creasing in amount from the outer feather, which is marked from the base to the 
fifth, where it is confined to the tips; the two middle feathers above like the back, 
and barred throughout with dusky; beneath rather pure-white, the sides and under 
tail coverts of a lighter shade of brown than the back; a white streak over the eye. 
Length, five and fifty one-hundredths inches; wing, two and eight one-hundredths 
inches; tail, two inches. 
Hab.— North America from Atlantic to Pacific, north to Greenland. —ReErn- 
HARDT. 
