Passerine Birds. 67 



To this family belongs the mocking bird of America, 

 which can mimic the song of any other bird. The 

 birds of the wagtail family are recognisable by their 

 slender forms, long legs, long tails, and moderate 

 wings with nine primary feathers. They include the 

 common pied wagtails, the yellow-breasted wagtail ; 

 closely allied to which are the hedge-sparrows (Ac- 

 centor) with strong, sub-conical, straight bills, and 

 wings with a very short first quill, the third and fourth 

 primaries being the longest. The warbler family, 

 consisting of small singing birds with awl-shaped 

 beaks flattened at base, are also closely allied ; of 

 these the most familiar examples are the nightingales 

 (Philomela) \ robin red-breasts of Europe ; red-starts 

 (Phanicura) ; sedge and grasshopper warblers (Sal- 

 icaria) ; white-throats, black-caps (Curruca) ; and 

 willow-wrens (Sylvia). The gold-crested kinglet 

 (Regulus) is the smallest American bird of this order, 

 its length being under 4 inches. The pipits (Anthus), 

 have awl-shaped bills, keeled at the base above, with 

 two long scapular feathers and long hind claw. In 

 North America the warblers (SilviidcB) of Europe are 

 represented by the Silvicolida or American warblers. 

 The crow family (Corvida) constitute a group of 

 much larger birds ; they have strong conical bills with 

 no notch, and robust feet. This family includes the 

 jackdaw, crow, raven, jay, and magpie, and the star- 

 ling is a nearly related form. These have ten pri- 

 mary feathers, while the birds of the conical-billed 

 finch family possess only nine. This family consists 

 of the house-sparrows, hawfinches, linnets, bullfinches, 

 and nearly related are the larks and buntings. 



