SINGING BIRDS — OSCINES. 3 



"WiriiTs "Iciidrdly slioitiT tlian the tail, wliich is considcrablv frradnattM] ; 

 first quill iialfur iiiort.' than halt" the second. 



JJill ncjtrhed at tip, shorter than head: straiLdit. 



Seutelhe very distinct ; gonys strai<riit, or even deelinin;; at tip. Mimun. 



Seutelhe more or less obsolete; gonys convex, ascending at tip. (r'lleosionfes. 



Bill not notched at tip, lengthened; sometimes much decurvetl. Jlurp'n/iijuchus. 



Note. — In the liiview of Ainerican Birds, I., May, l^tJ^), 409, I liave advaiKt'd the siiggt'stion 

 tliat till' X. American genus MijiaiUstis, nsually placed under the AmjHliihr, really Indongs under 

 'J'linliif'j: in a group Mijiadiisliuvc. The relationships are certainly very (dos**, as is shown hy the 

 characters <jiven Iwdow. 



("oMMox CnAiiACTEKS. — Tarsi without regidar transverse scutell.x', except at lower end. 

 Wiuj^s acute, }M)i-.ited, as long as or longer than tail, which is hut sli<^htly gmduated. First 

 [•riniary rarely half second, which exce«'ds the secondaries. Base of i[uills buify yellow, as are 

 inner edges. Tail s[»otted or varied at the end. Young birds with many light si»ots. Very 

 melodious singers. 



Myiadestinae. Bill .short, much di'pressed ; niouth deejdy cleft : width at base al)Out eipiai 

 to the distance from nostril to tii», or greater ; commissure more than twice distance from nostrils 

 to tij) of bill, and nearly two ami a half times length of g<)nys. Legs weak ; tarsi rather longer 

 than miildle tot; and claw. Tail feathers tajn'ring slightly from base to near tip, giving a slightly 

 euneate ap|M'arance to the tail. 



Turdinse. Bill stouter, more lengthened ; narrow at base and more compressed ; width at 

 base less than distance from nostril to tijt ; comnnssure not more thaii twice disUmce from 

 nostrils to tip ->f bill, and about twice length of gonys.' Tarsi stouter, longer than nuddle to<' 

 and claw. Tail feathers widening slightly from base to near ti[t, giving a parallel-sided or 

 slightly fan-shaped appt'arance to the tail. 



Tin Mniiiiitf diller, as already mentioned, in the scutellate tarsi : more rounded wings, etc. — 

 S. F B. 



Subfamily TURDIN^. 



There are several American genera of Turdlncc not found north of 

 ^lexico as yet, althougli it is not impossible that one of these {Cathnrns) 

 may liereafter be detected within the limits of the United States. The 

 species of CathtiruH reseml>le the North American wood-thrushes {Hylocichla) ; 

 but the spurious or first jaimar}^ quill is longer (from one half to one tliird the 

 second <iuill), the wings are rounded, not pointed, the tarsus is longer than 

 the head, and tlie outstretched toes extend beyond the tail. The species to 

 l)e looked for are C. mclpomaic and occidcntalis} 



The Xorth American species of Turdiiur, while IBffiiied under the single 

 ,'eiui3 T Urdus, yet constitute several distinct groups, which we may call 



subgenera. 



Genus TURDXTS, Linn.eus. 



Turdiis, LiXN^us, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 17r.8, 108. (TyjK', Tunfits vm-ivoriis of EuroiK?.) — 

 Baird, Rev. Am. Birds, 



Gex, Char. Bill conical, subulate, shorter than the head; the tip gently decnrved and 

 notched (except in Ilesperocichla) ; tiie rictus with moderate bristles ; the wiugs rather 



* JSee Baii-d, Review American Biixis, I, 1864, 7, 8. 



