256 



SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. —PASS1<:BES — 08CINES. 



4. Subfamily SAXICOLIN>E ; 



Wheat-ear. (From Dixon.) 



Stone.chats and Blue.birds. 



Chiefly Old World ; repre- 

 sented in North America by- 

 two European species and thp 

 familiar Blue-birds; author 

 assign diflFerent limits to thv, 

 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 othe 

 groups of Passeres, it ha 

 never been defined with pre- 

 cision, being known conven- 

 tionally by the birds orni- 

 thologists put in it. The 

 following birds have booted 

 tarsi; oval nostrils; bristled 

 rictus ; rather short, square or 

 emarginate tail ; long, pointed 

 wings, with very short spuri- 



ous 1st quill ; tarsus not shorter (except in Sialia much longer) than middle toe and claw ; 

 biU much shorter than head, straight and acute. 



Analysis of Genera. 

 Bill slender. Tarsus much longer than middle toe and claw. Point of wing formed by 2d-4tb qnills. 



Lateral toes of equal lengths. Form slender. No blue. Terrestrial Saxicola 6 



Bill very slender. Tarsus much 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 



Cycmecula 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. saxum, a rock ; colo, I inhabit. Fig. 130.) Stone-chats. Bill shorter 



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

 pressed at end, notched. Wings long, pointed, the ti^ 

 formed by the 2d-41h quills, the 1st spurious, scarcely 

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

 shorter than wing, square. Tarsi booted, but with 4 

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

 ceeding the middle toe and claw ; lateral toes of about 

 equal lengths, very short., the tips of their claws not 

 reaching the base of the middle claw; claws little 

 curved ; feet thus adapted to terrestrial habits. A large 

 Pig. 130. -Generic details of SaawoJa. and widely distributed Old World genus, of some 30 



species, inhabiting Europe, Asia, and especially Africa. 

 26. S. oenan'the. (Gr. olvav6rj, oimanthe, name of a bird, from oivr), oine, the grape, and SvBos, 



anthos, a. &oweT. Pig. 129.) Stone-chat. Wheat-ear. Adult ,J: Ashy-gray; forehead, 



superciliary line and under parts white, latter often brownish-tinted ; upper taU-coverts white ; 



wings and tail black, 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 ; bO and feet black. 9 more 



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



