180 



NORTH AMEUICAX BIRDS. 



Icteni.s hut/nrki. 



diversity ami lirilliiu'cy of pluiiia,i,'e as tlie others are (with few exceptions) 



for tiieir uniform soml>re ))liu-k, scarcely relieved by otlier colors. Of the 



f.iiir yenera of this snlifainily, reco.nnized liy Gray, uU l)iit C'dciciis are well 



represented in tlie I'liitcd States. This ditlers from all the re.st in hav- 



in<^ the culmen wideneil and much deprcs.sed towards the base, wliere 



it advances in a crescent on the forehead, separating- the i'rontal jjlumes. 



In the other j>enera the culmen advances somewluit on the forehead, but 



it is in a narrow acute jtoiut, and not dilated. 



In studying the North Ameri- 

 can Orioles we have foiuid it 

 exceedingly diHicult to arrange 

 them in any sharply defined 

 sections, as whatever characters 

 be taken as the basis of classi- 

 fication, the other features will 

 not correspond. Thus, species 

 with the bill of the same pro- 

 portions and amount of curva- 

 ture differ in the shape and 



graduation of the tail, while tails of the same form are accompanied by 



entirely dissimilar bills and wings The bill is sometimes much attenuated 



and decurved, as in /. viiculhiiiia, 



M'hile in inr/anuccp/id/wi and Ixdti- 



viorc it is stouter and straighter. 



The tail is usually much graduated ; 



in /. hdlfimure and hidlodi it is 



only moderately rounded. Tliese 



last-mentioned species constitute 



the iienus Jfi/p/udifcu. Many of the 



species have a naked sjiace round 



the eye, very evident in /. vulijaris, 



less so in iiic/iiixxrji/ni/us. I. vulgaris is jieculiar in having the feathers ol 



the throat jiointed and lanceolate, as in the ravens. 



In view of the dilliculties attendant upon the definition of subordinate 



groups among the United States litvrinir, we propose to consider tliem all 



under the single genus Ic/rrn'i, leaving it for some one with nio/e ingenuity 



to estal)lish satisfactory di\ isions into sub-genera.* 



* All atti-iii|it at ilivisiiin into siib^iciu'ra is as I'dllows : — 



Icterus, Iiill >l(iiit, rdiiiial, tlic culnii'ii and ^(onys nearly straislit. Tail graduated. Species : 

 Vltl(/rri.i, ituduhoiii, tnehninfiphnhi^. 



Xaiilhorai's, liill slender, sli^ditly dciurved. Tail graduated. Sjiecies : winjleri, parisonim, 

 spurius, eitciillii/iin. 



Hjiphdntex, liill stout, conical ; the eulinen and j;onys strai^lit. Tail slij^litly rounded. Six;- 

 cies : liiilliinniv, hid/'u-ki, ulu,//, i. 



We <lo not liiid, however, that tlie.se .suligenera are very tangible, excepting llijphatites, which 



ktfrtis bnlUtrki. 



