72 



NORTH AMERICAN lURDS. 



The European warMers of tlie i^oims Phi/fhpnnisfr are all insect -eatincj 

 l)ircls, cai)turin«4 their ]>rey while on tlie win«;, and also feeding on their 

 larvie. Tliey fret^uent the woodlands dnring their breeding-season, but at 

 all other times are much more familiar, keeping al>out dwellings and sheep- 

 folds. 



The P. trochilm is a resident tliroughout the entire vear in Southern 

 Europe and in Central Asia. That species builds at the foot of a bush on 

 the ground, and constructs a domed nest with the entmnce on one side. 

 Their eggs are five in number, have a i)inkish-white ground, and are spotted 

 witli well-define<l blotches of reddish-brown, measuring 0.G5 by 0.50 inch, 

 and are of a rounded oval shape. 



SuBF.xMiLY REGULINiE. 



Char. Wings longer than the cniarjiinated tail. Tarsi booted, or without .scutellar 

 divisions. 



This subfamily embraces but a single well-defined North American 

 genus. 



CiKsus RXjOXTLUS, Cuv. 



licgulns, Cvv. "Leoons d'Anat. Conip. 1799, ISOO." (Type Motacilla rcgulus, LiNN.) 

 Rcfjuloide^y Blvth. lSi7. (TyjK' ''It. proregidus. Pall." Okay.) 



Plnfllohnsihu.s, Cab. Mns. Heiii. I, 1850, 33. (Type Motacilla calendula^ LiXN.) — Cor- 

 thi/lio. Cab. Jour. Orn. I, 1853, 83. (Same type.) 



Gen. Cuar. Bill slender, mueh shorter than the hea<l. depressed at base, but beconiini? 



r.apidly compressed ; moderately notched at tip. 

 Cnlmen straijrht to near the tip, then gently 

 carved. Commissure straijrht ; .ffonys convex. 

 Rictus well provided with bristles ; nostril cov- 

 ered by a sinjrle bristly feather dire<-ted forwarls 

 (n«)t distinct in cahnduhi). Tarsi elonjjated. ex- 

 ceediuL' considerably the mi<Ulle toe, and without 

 scutelhe. Lateral trtes about equal ; hind toe with 

 the claw, lonjrer than the middle one by about 

 half the claw. Claws all much curved. First 

 primary about one third as lonjj as the lonijest; 

 second equal to fifth or sixth. Tail shorter than the wings, moderately forked, the feath- 

 ers acuminate. Colors olive-jrreen above, whitish beneath. Size very small. 



AVe are unable to ap])reciate '^ny such difference between the common 

 North American Rcffvli as to warrant Cabanis in establishing a separate 

 genus for the calendula. The bristly feather over the nostril is perhaps less 

 compact and close, but it exists in a rudimentary condition. 



RfSivlus satrapa. 



