STLVICOLID^. — XXVII. 67 



A group of about one hundred species, mostly of the 

 Old World, connecting the AlaudidoB with the Sylvi- 

 colidcB. Most of them are terrestrial. They have a 

 habit (shared by various others) of moving the tail up 

 and down, as if "balancing themselves on unsteady 

 footing;" hence the name "Wagtail." 



* Tarsus longer than middle toe and claw ; outstretched feet 

 falling much, short of end of tail. . . . Asthxis, 1. 



/. AUTHUS, Bechstein. Titlaeks, 



1. A. ludovicianus, (Gm.) Licht. Beown Lake. Tit- 

 LAEK. Pipit. Dark brown, slightly streaked; superciliary 



, line and under parts bufiy; breast and sides streaked; 



■ outer tail feathers more or less white; L. 6^; W. 3^; T. 

 3. N. Am.; generally abundant. (The Missouri Sky 

 lark, Neocorys spraguei, is a near relative.) 



FAMILY XXVII.— SYLVICOLID^ 



{The Wa/rhlm-s) 



Primaries 9; inner secondaries not enlarged, nor the 

 hind toe long and straight, as in Alaudidoe and Motacil- 

 lidoB. Bill usually rather slender, notched or not; the 

 commissure not angulated at base, as in Fringillidoi, 

 nor toothed in the middle, as in our Tanagridae,; the 

 end not notched and abruptly hooked, as in VireomdcB 

 and Laniidae; the gape not broad and reaching to the 

 eyes, as in Hirundinidm. 



Our warblers are small birds; all (except Zcfena which 

 may not belong here) are less than six and a half inches 

 in length, and very many are less than five. The rictus 

 is generally bristled, but in several of our genera it is 

 not. The colors are usually brilliant and variegated, but 

 the sexes are unlike, and the variations due to age and 

 season are great, so that the study of the species is 



