138 



NOHTII AJIEKICAX BIRDS. 



fifth. Tail-fenthcrs very broad and perfectly plane; tail nearly even; the two lateral 

 graduated; the outer about eleven twelllhs ol'tlie middle. 



Tliis genus agrees with Sa^nnctes in 

 tlie broad, i)liiue tail-feathers, but the 

 bill is much longer, the nostrils linear, 

 not oval, the feet mucli stouter, the 

 outer toe ratlier longer; tlie tarsus short- 

 er, being equal to the middle toe, not 

 longer; the hind toe nuich longer tlian 

 the outer lateral, instead of equal to it. 

 The wings are but little longer than the 

 tail, and shoiler than in Salpindcs. 



Tliis genus is conhned to the western 



Catherpes mexicaniis. 



portions, wliere a single species, 0. mccicanm, occurs in two well-marked 

 varieties : — 



C. mezicanus. 



Culinen almost straight, the tip der-nrvcd, ponv-s straight. AIh.vr blackish- 

 brown ; wings and back sparsely sjirinkled with minute white specks; no s ch 

 murhui;,s on head or neck. Bars on tail very br.md, .12 in width on outer 

 feathers. Wmg, 2.84; tail, 2.40; cnlmen, .90; tarsu.s, .75 ; mi.ldle toe, .08; 

 posterior, .47 ; outer, .52 ; inner, .49 (52,791, Mazatlan, Mexico). Hah. Mex- 

 ico .. . 



„ , , var. ni ex I ran us. 



Cuhnen and gonys Imth gently curved, the latter somewhat concave. Above 

 cmnamon-ashy, more rc.idish on rnnip and wings; head and neck above with 

 numerous dots of while ; very (bw of these on liack ami win-^s. Tail-bars 

 very narrow and thread-like. Wing, 2,48; tail, 2.12 ; culmen, .8;!; tarsus, ..50; 

 middle toe, .52 ; posterior, ..•55 : outer, .44 ; iimcr, .30 (53,425 ^, Fort Churchill' 

 Nevada). JIab. Middle (and I'acilic?) I'lovince of United States, var. eon.sperxus. 



In var. mc.riemiv.9 the white of throat is more abruptly defined against the 

 rufous of abdomen than in var. ron- 

 spersus, in which the transition is very 

 gradual. The latter has the seconda- 

 ries rufous with narrow isolated bars 

 of black; the former lias them lilaik- 

 ish, hitkntcd on lower webs with dark 

 rufous. In nir.rivnnns the feet are 

 very stout, and dark brown ; in mn- 

 .'ipcr.vis tliey are much weaker, and 

 deej) black. 



All sj^ecimens from soutli of the 

 United States (inchuling ( Jiraud's type 

 of Certhia alhifrmis) belong to the re- 

 stricted mcKinnnis, wliile all from the 

 United States are of the var. <oiis/irrsi<K 



Ciilherpta mexitanus. 



