328 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS.— PASSEBES— OSCINES. 



the sides ; about as long as middle toe and claw ; hind toe remarkably short. Wings not 

 longer than the tail, much rounded, of 10 primaries ; the 1st spurious, less than half as long as 

 the 3d, which is only about as hmg as the 8th ; point of the wing formed by the 4th, 5th, and 

 6th or 3d quills. Tail long, nearly even, with broad plane feathers (Phamopepla) ; or much 

 graduated, with tapering central feathers (Ptilogonys). Head conspicuously crested ; sexes 

 (in our genus) dissimilar ; young not streaked or spotted. There are only two genera of the 

 subfamUy as thus restricted — Phamopepla and Ptilogonys, the latter with two strongly 

 marked species of Mexico and Central America. 



67. PHAINOPEP'LA. (Grr. cjiaetvos, phaeinos, shining; ncTrXos, peplos, a rohe.) SHINING Fly- 

 SNAPPEBS. BUI somewhat as in Ampelis, but slenderer for its length; nostrils naked, 

 scaled ; antiae bristly, reaching to nostrils ; a few short riotal bristles. Tarsus scutellate 

 anteriorly, and slightly subdivided on sides below. Hind toe very short ; middle toe and claw 

 about as long as tarsus ; lateral toes a little unequal, outer the longer, reaching a little beyond 

 base of middle claw, its basal joint adherent to middle ; inner lateral toe nearly free to the base ; 

 claws all much curved. Wings not longer than tail, rounded, of 10 primaries, the 1st spurious, 

 though more than half as long as the 3d, which about equals the length of the secondaries : 

 point of wing formed by the 4th, 5th, and 6th quills. Tail long and fan-shaped, not emargi- 

 nate, of broad plane feathers widening to their obtuse ends. Head with a long, thin, occipital 

 crest. Sexes dissimilar: ^ glossy black, with large white wing-patch ; 9 dull- colored ; young 

 not spotted or streaked. Fine songsters. Nidification arboreal ; eggs colored. 



168. P. ni'tens. (Lat. nitens, shining.) Shining Fly-snapper. $, adult: Entirely rich lus- 

 trous black, with steel-blue or greenish reflections. Primaries with a large white space on the 

 inner webs. Bill and feet black. Length about 7.50 inches ; " extent 11.50 " ; wing 3.50- 

 3.70; tail 3.50-4.13 ; biU 0.40-0.50; tarsus 0.60-0.66; middle toe and claw 0.66-0.75. ?, 

 adult : Crested, like the ^. Entirely brownish-gray, paler beneath, the wings and tail black- 

 ish, the white on the inner webs of the primaries much reduced or extinguished, and in its stead 

 much whitish edging of the quills and coverts, tail-feathers, and crissum. Young $ : Like 

 the 9 ; and during the progress to maturity every gradation between the characters of the two 

 sexes is observed. Sometimes nearly all the feathers are skirted with white. Middle and 

 Western Provinces, U. S., from Utah, Nevada, and Colorado southward ; a bird of remarkable 

 characters and appearance, restless and vigilant ; feeds on berries and insects ; sings beautifully. 

 Nest a slight shallow structure, about 4.00 in diameter by 3.50 high, with a cavity about 3.00 

 deep, saddled on a bough, loosely fabricated of twigs, plant-fibres, and down ; eggs 3-3 (rarely 

 single), averaging 0.93 X 0.65, greenish-white, distinctly and profusely speckled with blackish 

 or dark brown. 



20. Subfamily MYIADESTIN>E: Fly-catching Thrushes. 



BiU as in the last subfamily. Tarsus hooted, and toes deeply cleft, as in Turdidm. Lateral 

 toes very unequal in length, the tip of the inner claw falling short of the base of the middle. 

 Wings of 10 primaries, the 1st spurious, the 3d about as long as the 6th, the point of the wing 

 formed by the 3d, 4th, and 5th. Tail long, about equalling the wing, double-rounded, being 

 forked centrally, graduated externally ; all the feathers narrowing somewhat towards the end. 

 Head subcrested ; plumage sombre, variegated on the wings ; sexes alike ; young spottedr 

 Highly musical. Containing about a dozen species, mostly of the genus Myiadestes ; others 

 of Cichlopsis and Platydchla ; all except one are birds of Central and South America and the 

 West Indies. Though our species was formerly called "Ptilogonys," it has nothing to do 

 with the foregoing subfamily. The MyiadestmcB are in fact nearly related to the Turdidie. 

 Should they be placed in that family, as might be done without violence, the comparative 

 diagnosis would be : 



TUEDIN.(E. — BUI moderate, scarcely or not depressed, moderately cleft. Legs stout. 



