158 MOTACILLIN.E. MOTACILLA. 



straight, the edges inflected, the tip acute ; gape-line 

 straight. Both mandibles internally concave and narrow, 

 with a median prominent line ; tongue very slender, emar- 

 ginate and finely papillate at the base, flat, tapering to a 

 slit point ; oesophagus narrow, uniform ; proventriculus 

 oblong ; stomach a gizzard of considerable power, round- 

 ish or elliptical, with distinct lateral muscles, and dense, 

 thin, longitudinally rugous epithelium ; intestine short, 

 of moderate width ; coeca very small, cylindrical. Nos- 

 trils elliptical, or oblong, in the lower and fore part of the 

 nasal depression, which is feathered at the base. Eyes 

 of moderate size. Aperture of ear large, transversely oval. 

 Feet of ordinary length, slender; tarsus much compressed, 

 the outer slightly united at the base ; claws of moderate 

 length, curved, or long and slightly curved, extremely 

 compressed, acute. Plumage soft and blended, the fea- 

 thers ovate, of loose texture ; wings rather long, broad, 

 of eighteen quills, the first obsolete, the next three nearly 

 equal, and longest; one of the inner secondaries very long; 

 tail long, of twelve narrow feathers. 



These birds reside in pastures and meadows, frequent 

 the sides of streams and lakes, or the sea-shore, run with 

 great celerity, and almost constantly vibrate their body, 

 like the Totani. Their flight is rapid and undulating ; 

 their voice- shrill. They feed on insects, larvse, and small 

 Crustacea and mollusca. They are allied to the Saxicoloe 

 and Sylvise on the one hand, to the Alaudinse on the other. 



GENUS LI. MOTACILLA. WAGTAIL. 



Bill of moderate length, slender, straight, a little broader 

 than high at the base, compressed toward the end, its upper 

 outline slightly decimate at the base, then straight, and at 

 the end very slightly decurved, the notches obsolete, the tip 

 acute. Tongue very slender, sagittate and papillate at the 

 base, tapering to a slit point ; oesophagus of moderate width ; 

 stomach oblong, compressed, with the muscular coat thick, 



