SYLVICOLIDA| — SYLVICOLINA: TRUE WARBLERS. 289 
Wing shorter than tail) or'equal and headiasiys swf is) we i ta a ow we Sele Geothlypis 42 
Wing longer than tail, or equal and head not ashy 
Marsusisnorter, than middle top andclawec 4. .  - « « « . « 6 « « 6 « « © a « MMMOtty 3S 
Tarsus not shorter than middle toe and claw. 
Rictal bristles evidently reaching far beyond nostrils. 
Tail black and orange, or black and white, or darkand yellow ..... . .. . Setophaga 46 
Tail ashy edged with white, and head withred . ......... +. . ~~. ~Cardellina 45 
Tail greenish, unmarked, or with white blotches Had ews Myiodioctes 44 
Rictal bristles evidently not reaching far beyond nostrils, or not evident at all. 
Tail-feathers all unmarked, 
Bill at least 0.50 inches long, very acute ; 4 black stripes on head, ornone . Helmintherus 36 
Bill not 0.50 inches long. 
Wing over 2.50 inches ; bill not acute; bright yellow below, or head ashy . Oporornis 41 
Wing not over 2.50 inches ; bill very acute ; nobristles . . . . . . Helminthophila 37 
Tail-feathers blotched with white, or yellow on inner webs. 
Rictal bristles not evident. 
Bill not 0.50 inch long; whole fore parts not yellow . . . . . . . Helminthophila 37 
Bill at least 0.50 inch long ; whole fore parts yellow . . . . . . . . Protonotaria 35 
Rictal bristles very evident. 
Back blue with gold spot, throat and legs yellow ......... . . Parula 34 
Head orange-brown with black bar through eye. ..... . . . . Peucedramus 38 
ColonahigniOtherwise A plics % 8-. casero eid ee wy ices. =) oct tedar ah eiLar eed» 39 
Diagnostics or Characteristics of some of the Genera of Sylvicolide. 
Genera Mniotilta, Parula, and Peucedramus are creeping warblers, with certain slight modifications of the 
feet, enabling them to scramble about the trees much like creepers or nuthatches. 
Gener, ; Geothlypis and Oporornis are ground warblers, with the feet modified in adaptation to terrestrial 
life. Ge /Sturus is similar in this respect; the species walk on the ground, and act in some respects like Mota- 
Genera Prgtonotaria, Helmintherus, and Helminthophila are ‘ worm-eating”’ warblers (the old genus Ver- 
yp), with sight rictal bristles or none. 
¢ Genera Setophaga, Cardellina, and Myiodioctes are jly-catching warblers, with strongly bristled bill and 
eg in some respects like species of Tyrannide. 
Genus Jcteria is isolated by its peculiarities of form and habits, and great size for this family. 
Genus Dendreca comprehends the wood warblers par excellence, —the largest genus, with over twenty 
species. 
BIuu : — Peculiarly stout, high, and compressed in Jcteria ;— Aattish, and strongly bristled in Setophaga, 
Cardellina and Myiodioctes ;— large, with straightish outlines, scarcely or not bristled, and very acute in Pro- 
tonotaria and Helmintherus ;— small, unbristled, and very acute in Helminthophila. 
FEET : — Tarsus longest, slenderest, and usually pale-tinted in the ground warblers ; — shortest in the creep- 
ing warblers, with relatively longest toes. 
WinGs :— Shorter than the tail in Jcteria and species of Geothlypis ; — about equal to the tail in species of 
Geothlypis, Siurus, Setophaga, and Cardellina ;— usually decidedly longer than the tail, 
TAIL :— The feathers (some or all) blotched with white in the following: Mniotilta, Parula, Protonotaria, 
species of Helminthophila, all Dendrace excepting D. westiva, Peucedramus, one Myiodioctes, one Setophaga. 
The feathers plain olivaceous, or otherwise like the back, unmarked, in species of Helminthophila, in Helmintherus, 
Oporornis, Geothlypis, Siurus, Icteria, species of Myiodioctes, Cardellina ; yellow and dark in one Setophaga and 
one Dendreca. 
15. Subfamily SYLVICOLINA:: True Warblers. 
Bill conoid-elongate, shorter than head, about as high as, or rather higher than wide oppo- 
site the nostrils, not hooked, and with but a slight notch, if any, at tip: commissure straight 
or slightly curved ; a few rictal bristles, reaching little, if any, beyond the nostrils, or none. 
Wings pointed, usually longer than the narrow, nearly even tail. 
This beautiful group, which comprehends the great majority of the Warblers, is specially 
characteristic of North America, and reaches its highest development in the eastern portions of 
. the continent, mainly through the preponderance of species of the largest genus, Dendreca. 
All the genera and most of the species of Sylvicoline are found in this country, mainly as mi- 
grants, which appear in the spring, pass the summer, and retire for the winter to Mexico, the 
West Indies, and Central or even South America; though some pass the inclement season 
within our limits, and one at least is found in winter in Northern States. 
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