260 BIRDS. ANISODACTYLI. 



membrane ; tarsus longer than the middle toe ; the exterior 

 toe united to the second joint, the interior at the base ; wings 

 short ; tail with weak shafts. 



A. Guianensis, Tern. Plumage gray above ; wings and tail rufous; 

 under parts white ; tail very long. 6J inches long. Inhabits 

 Guiana. Shaw, x. 678. 



A. striolatus, Tern. Plumage above brown, with longitudinal red- 

 brown stripes ; chin and tail red ; cheeks, sides of the neck, and 

 body below olive-brown, longitudinally striped with white. 7 in- 

 ches long. Inhabits Brazil Tern. PL Col. 238, fig. 1. 



Gen. 7. OPETIORHYNCHOS, Tern. 



Bill longer than the head, slender, subulate, depressed at the 

 base, compressed at the point ; tongue short, cartilaginous ; 

 nostrils lateral, a little from the base, half shut by a naked 

 membrane ; tarsus twice longer than the middle toe ; lateral 

 toes equal, the exterior united at the base ; wings short, the 

 first three feathers graduated, the third and fourth longest ; 

 tail short, slightly graduated. 



O. rufus, Tern. (Merops, Lath.) Plumage rufous, deepest on the 

 upper parts, and inclining to paler yellow beneath ; large quill- 

 feathers brownish ; tail slightly rounded at the end. 8 inches 

 long. Inhabits S. America. Shan/, viii. 182, 



Gen. 8. CERTHIA, Lin. 



Bill long, or of mean length, more or less curved, triangular, 

 compressed, slender ; nostrils basal, naked, pierced horizon- 

 tally, and half closed by a membrane ; three toes before, the 

 outer united at its base to the intermediate one ; claws much 

 hooked, that on the hind toe longest ; tail graduated, with 

 stiff-pointed shafts ; fourth quill-feather longest. 



The birds of this genus climb trees like the Woodpeckers, supporting them- 

 selves by the stiff-pointed feathers of the tail. They nestle in the chinks and holes 

 of trees, and feed principally on small insects and seeds. Only one species is indi- 

 genous to Europe. 



C. familiar is, Lin. Common Creeper. Plumage above yellowish- 

 brown, intermixed with black brown and grayish white ; rump 

 reddish ; a white streak above the eyes j throat, breast, and belly 

 white ; tail yellowish-gray, tinged with brown, the feathers stiff, 

 long, and acuminated. 5J inches long. Inhabits Europe. B. 

 Selby, Illust. pi. 39, fig. 2. 



C. cinnamomea, Lath. Cinnamon-coloured above, tips of the quill- 

 feathers blackish ; white beneath, with subcuneated tail, the fea- 

 thers pointed. 5 inches long Shaw, viii. 224. 



Gen. 9- CCEREBA, Briss. Certhia, Lin. 

 Bill slightly arcuated, thick at the base ; edges of the mandibles 



