CLASS II. AVES: ORDER 2. PASSERES. 155 



the Columbia River. The Black-throated Gray Warbler, S. nl(/rescens, is five inches long; 

 upper parts bluish ash-gray ; portion of the breast black ; the lower parts white, tinged with 

 gray ; found on the Columbia River. The Black-throated Blue Warbler, S. Canadensis, is 

 five inches long; light blue above ; white beneath ; and found from Texas northward. The Black 

 and Yellow Warbler, S. maculosa, is five inches long ; neck and head ash-gray ; back and 

 upper tail-coverts black ; lower parts and rump yellow ; found from Texas northward. The Prai- 

 EiE Warbler, S. discolor, \s, five inches long; upper parts yellowish-green; lower parts bright 

 yellow ; found from Texas to Massachusetts. The Blue Mountain Warbler, S. montana, is four 

 and a half inches long; upper parts greenish-olive; lower parts yellowish-olive; found in the 

 Blue Mountains of Virginia, and west of the Rocky Mountains. The Connecticut Warbler, S. 

 agilis, is five and three-quarter inches long; olive-green above; breast ash-gray; rest of the lower 

 parts bright yellow; a rare species; found from Connecticut to New Jersey. The Orange- 

 breasted Warbler, S. olivacca, is found in Texas and Mexico. Kirtland's Warbler, S.Kirt- 

 landii, is found in Ohio. 



Genus MNIOTILTA : Mniotilta. — This includes the Black and White Creeping-Warbler, 

 M. varia, five and a half inches long; the back and breast streaked with black and white; found 

 throughout the United States. It builds its nest on the ground, lays from three to five eggs, and 

 seems to combine the habits of the creeper and warbler. 



Genus MYIODIOCTES, or WILSONIA : Myiodioctes.—Th\& includes the Fly-catching War- 



j hlers: the Hooded Warbler, M. mitratus, is five and a half inches long; upper parts yellowish- 



! olive; beneath yellow; found in the Middle and Southern States: the Canada Fly-Catcher, J/. 



C<5mac?e?is2s, is five and a quarter inches long; ash-gray above ; beneath yellow ; found in the West- 



I ern States: Bonaparte's Warbler, M. Bonapartii, five and a quarter inches long; upper parts 



j grayish-blue; lower parts ochre-yellow ; found in Kentucky : the Kentucky Warbler, 3/. /o?-?wo- 



I sus, is five and a half inches long ; upper parts yellowish-olive ; beneath bright yellow ; common 



in the Southern States ; rare in the AVestern : AVilson's AA^'arbler, M. WilsoriU, is four and a half 



inches long ; upper parts yellowish-green ; beneath bright yellow ; found from Texas to Labrador. 



In the birds of this division,^"' as already stated, the bill is of a more or less conical form — 

 sometimes short, very thick at the base, and rapidly diminishing at the tip; in other cases it is 

 more elongated and tapering, and sometimes slightly curved. The tip of the upper mandible is 

 usually entire, but occasionally there is a slight tooth on each side near the extremity. The 

 wings are generally rather long and pointed, the tarsi long, and the toes of moderate length, the 

 outer one being frequently united at its base to the middle one. This group includes the essen- 

 tially granivorous birds, but a considerable number of the species are not confined to a grain 

 diet ; many of them feed upon fruits and insects, and larvae form a portion of the nourishment of 

 most of the species. Some appear to feed upon almost any animal or vegetable substances that 

 come in their way, these constituting the greater part of the order of Omnivores, according to 

 some naturalists. Amono-the families and sub-families included in this extensive division are the 

 following : the Fringillid^, includino- the Weaver-Birds, Grosbeaks, Tanagers, Sparrows, Lin- 

 nets, Finches, Bantings, Larks, Bull-Finches, Cross-Bills, and Plant-Catters ; the Stuknid^, 

 including the Glossy Starlings or Bower-Birds^ Grackles, Ox-Peckers, the True Starlings, 

 Meadow-Lark, Blackbirds, Baltimore Oriole, Orchard Oriole, Red-winged Oriole, Cow-Bird, and 

 Boblink; the Bvc-^yhdmov Horn-Bills ; the Musofhagidje. or Plantain-Cutters ; the Coliid^ or 

 Colies ; the Corvid^, including the Piping- Crows, the Jays, the Tree- Crows, the True Crows, 

 the Raven, Rook, Jackdaw, Magpie, Chough, Birds of Paradise, &c. 



THE FRINGILLID^. 



Under this head we shall include the vast family of the Finches, a group of birds which in- 



* Cuvier, to whom we are indebted for the divisions of Conirosti-es, Dentirostres, Tenuirostres, and Fissirostres, 

 which we have adopted, added a fifth, that of the Syndactyli, in which the two outer toes are united for the greater 

 part of their length ; this group, however, included birds of very different descriptious, and has since been sup- 

 pressed by many authors. 



