MOCKING WATER-CHAT. 103 



general systems, and to rectify them all would be 

 the labour of a life. Hence arises the necessity or 

 imposing new names upon species which, although 

 long known, still remain so confounded with others, 

 that if we aim at precision, we can hardly quote 

 their former names even as synonymes. 



In general structure the bird before us perfectly 

 agrees with the typical Flumcolince. The third and 

 fourth quills are equal and longest, the two first 

 being a little graduated, and slightly narrowed at 

 their tips, especially the outermost; the general 

 colour above is cinereous grey, which tips all the 

 black tail-feathers, and margins those of the wing- 

 covers and tertials, although these two latter are 

 blackish- brown in the middle : the primaries, se* 

 condaries, and spurious wings are deep black, but 

 the ninth and tenth quills are entirely pure white, 

 which colour also forms a band at the base of the 

 other primaries, narrowest on the longest and 

 broadest on the shortest of these quills; the se- 

 condaries are merely tipt with white : the lores and 

 maxillary stripe are black, but above the former is 

 a white line, and the latter is varied with grey ; 

 under plumage white, but grey on the breast and 

 flanks ; tail black, tipt with greyish-white, the edge 

 of the outer tail-feather being white. 



Total length, 9 inches ; bill, gape, 1 ; front, f ; 

 wings, 5 T % ; tail beyond, 1^ ; base, 4; tarsus, Ij 1 ^. 



We have now traced the greatest part of the circle 

 of the Fluvicolince, yet there still remains two types 

 undetermined ; and one of these is the tenuirostral 



