w 



w^ 



104 



REVIKW OF AMKBICAN 1JIUU8. 



[I'AIIT I. 



MElii^- 



4 



In further illustration of the charaottT of the tongue in tho Hi/lvi. 

 volidw, 1 here prenent the result of an exaniiuution of aleohojic 

 8pec'inic>n8 of other families, some of these, uufortuuately, iu puor 

 coudiliou. 



TTJiiDiDif!: Turdus migratorius and awawHoni have the tongue 

 rather acute, and fle.sliy, with horny edges and tip, whieh is almost 

 entire or very slightly bilid, and its sides very little, if at all, laeerated. 



Saxicolid^ : Sialia aialis. Tongue similar to last, perhaps still 

 less laeerated. 



SvLViiD^i: EeguluH mtrapa. Tongue rather broad ; vory Rlightly 

 lacerated around the ends of the horny part, but apparently not bilitl. 



These three families seem to agree pretty well in having the tongue 

 either entire at the end, or very slightly bilid or notched, with the 

 edges nearly entire. The appeara'nee of laceration may, to a con- 

 siderable extent, be due to the softening. of the membranes of the 

 horny portion of the tongue, which allows the apparently fibrous 

 basis to be liberated around the edges. 



In the Motacillidae and Sylvicolidae the tongue differs in being 

 more horny, more deeply bifid at tip, and the outer edges and tip 

 of the two portions lacerated or coarsely divided into a fringe, usu- 

 ally in the ends, to a less degree on the sides, and in a direction 

 nearly parallel with the axis of the tongue, or radiating from tlio 

 bottom of the notch. The horny part of the tongue is quite con- 

 siderable, and the notch involves generally about one-third or one- 

 fourth of it (less of the entire tongue). In making this generaliza- 

 tion I have examined the following species : — 



MoTACiLLiDiE : Anthus ludovijianus. 



SvLVicoLiDiE : Mniotilta varia ; Parula americana ; Profo- 

 notaria citrea ; Geothli/pis (rich as ; Ideria virens ; Teretrislis 

 /ornsii ; SeiuruH aurucapillus and noveboracensis ; Dendroica 

 X'lrens, canadensis, coronata, blackburnia, castanea, penn sylvan ica, 

 striata, aestiva, maculosa, " tigrina,^^ palmaruni, discolor; Helminlho- 

 phaga celata and ruficapilla; Myiodioctes mitratus, pusillus, cana- 

 densis ; Setophaga ruticilla — twenty-six species in all. I have not 

 had the opportunity of examining any species of Helmilhe.rus or 

 Oporornis ; nor of Dendroica superciliosa, which I much regret.' 



' I am indebted to Prof. Agassiz for the opportunity of examining Htlmin- 

 thophaga rujicapilla. 



