256 



SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS- —PASSEBES— OSCINES. 



26. 



Subfamily SAXICOLIN/E: Stone.chats and Bluebirds. 



Chiefly Old World ; repre- 

 sented iu North America by 

 two European species and the 

 familiar Blue-birds ; authors 

 assign different limits to the 

 group, and frequently trans- 

 pose the genera. As usually 

 constituted, it contains up- 

 wards of 100 species, com- 

 monly referred to about 12 

 genera. Like many other 

 groups ' of Passeres, it has 

 never been defined with pre- 

 cision, being known conven- 

 tionally by the birds orni- 

 thologists put iu it. The 

 fjlowing birds have booted 

 tarsi; oval nostrils ; bristled 

 rictus ; rather short, square or 

 emarginate tail ; long, pointed 

 wings, with very short spuri- 



FlG 



eitt'car. {From Dixon.) 



ouslstqnill; tarsuy not shorter (except in Sialia much longer) than middle toe and claw; 

 bill umcli shorter thau head, straiglit aud acute. 



Analysis of Genera. 

 Bill slender. T.arsus mucli longer tlum middle toe .and cl<i\v. Point of wing formed by 2d-4th quills. 



Latev.ll toes of equal lengths. Form slender. No blue. Terrestrial Saj:kola 6 



Bill very slender. Tarsus niueh longer than middle toe and claw. Point of wing formed by 3d-5th quills. 

 Lateral toes of unequal lengths. Form slender. Throat intense blue and chestnut; tail with chestnut 



Cyaneeula 8 

 Bill stouter Tarsus not longer than middle toe and claw. Point of wing formed by 2d-4th quills. Lateral 

 toes of unequal lengths. Blue the chief color. Form stouter. Arboricole Sialia 7 



SAXI'COLA. (Lat. sa.xiun, a rock ; colo, I inhabit. Fig. 130.) Stone-chats. WU shorter 



than head, slender, straight, depressed at base, com- 

 pressed at end, notched. Wings long, pointed, the tip 

 formed by the 2d-l-th quills, the 1st spurious, scarcely 

 or not one-fourth as Iting as the 2d. Tail much 

 shorter than wing, square. Tarsi booted, but with i 

 seutcUa below in front ; long and slender, much ex- 

 ceeding the middle toe and claw ; lateral toes of about 

 equal lengths, very short, the tip.s of their claws not 

 reaching the base of the middle claw ; claws little 

 cur\'ed ; feet thus adapted to terrestrial habits. A large 

 and widely ilistributed Old World genus, of some 30 

 species, inhabiting Europe, Asia, and especially Africa. 



S. oenan'the. (Gr. olvdvdrj, oinanthe, name of <a bird, from oiVi;, oine, the grape, and av6m, 

 aKW(0.<;, a tiower. Fig. 120.) Stone-chat. Wheat-ear. Adult ^: Ashy-gray ; forehead, 

 superciliary line and under part.s white, latter often brownish-tinted ; upper tail-coverts white ; 

 wings and tail blade, latter with most of the feathers white for half or more of their length ; 

 line from nostril to eye, and broad band on side of head, black ; bill and feet black. $ more 

 brownish-gray, the black cheek-stripe replaced by brown. Young without the stripe, above 



Flo. 130. — Generic details of Saxicola. 



