THE WARBLERS. 199 
Famity SYLVICOLID. Tor WARBLERS. 
Primaries nine, the first quill nearly as long as the second or third; tarsi dis- 
tinctly scutellate the whole length anteriorly; bill conical, slender, or depressed, 
usually half the length of head, more or less bristled or notched; nostrils oval or 
rounded; lateral toes nearly or quite equal, and shorter than the middle; the basal 
joint of the middle free nearly to its base externally, united for about half inter- 
nally. 
This family is well marked by its scutellate tarsi in front, the absence of any 
spurious or short first primary, and the rather weak, slender, conical, or depressed, 
sometimes decurved, bill. The base of the bill, with the nostrils, is not covered in 
any genera by sete, as in Parus, Alauda, &e. In many respects, there is a close 
relationship to some F’ringillide ; and there are some forms, such as the Tanagrida, 
which it is difficult to assign to the one family rather than to the other. The chief 
difference, however, is to be found in the longer, slenderer, and less abruptly conical 
bill of the Tanagers. 
The following synopsis will serve to point out the sub-families of the Sylvi- 
colide : — 
Moraciitiina.— Bill slender; culmen slightly concave at base; legs long; 
claws but little curved; hind toe considerably longer than the middle one; its claw 
much longer (twice) than the middle claw; all the claws but slightly curved; ter- 
tials elongated, much longer than the secondaries. 
SyLvicoLin&. — Bill rather slender, conical or depressed; culmen straight or 
convex; hind toe shorter than the middle; the claws all much curved; hind claw 
not conspicuously longer than the middle one; when the hind toe is lengthened, it 
is usually in the digit, not the claw; tertials generally not longer than the second- 
aries. 
TANAGRINE. — Bill very stout, conical, as high as broad, or considerably 
broader than high; tarsi short, not exceeding the hind toe; claws much curved, the 
hinder scarcely larger than the middle anterior. 
, Sub-Family Moractinuin2.—The Wagtails. 
ANTHUS, BrcustTEIn. 
Anthus, BECHSTEIN, Gemein. Naturg. Deutschl., 1802 (Agassiz). (Type Alauda 
spinoletta.) 
Bill slender, much attenuated, and distinctly notched; a few short bristles at the 
base; culmen concave at the base; tarsi quite distinctly scutellate, longer than 
the middle toe, inner lateral toe the longer; hind toe rather shorter than the tarsus, 
but longer than the middle toe, owing to the long, attenuated, and moderately 
curved hind claw, which is considerably more than half the total length of the toe; 
tail rather long, emarginate; wing very long, considerably longer than the length- 
ened tail, reaching to its middle; the first primary nearly equal to the longest; the 
tertials almost as long as the primaries. 
