- PARLANAE. — SYLVICOLA. AS 
pages of Wilson, one of the most watchful and most 
accurate observers of nature that has ever existed in 
any age or in any country. | 
(48.) The subgenera of this extensive genus are 
not only all known, but contain many striking examples, 
arranged under the following divisions: —1. Vermi- 
vora Sw., the worm-eaters ;— 2. Sylvicola Sw., the 
titmice-warblers ; — 3. Dumecola Sw., the bush-war- 
blers ; — 4. Zosterops Vig., the white-eyed warblers ; — 
5. Mniotilta Vieil., the creeping warblers. The pecu- 
liarities of each, and their connection among themselves, 
will be now explained. Viewing these lesser groups col- 
lectively, we discover a strong peculiarity in the form of 
the wing ( fig. 130. b.), which at once separates them from 
all the neighbouring groups. ‘The first quill feather is 
invariably long, and is generally equal, or but very little 
inferior to the second and third. Whereas, in the five 
subgenera of the titmice (Parus), as already observed, 
the wings are as invariably rounded, and the first quill 
is not more than half the length of the third (fig. 130. 
a@): this is the easiest, as it is the best, mark of dis- 
crimination between the two groups. 
(49.) The subgenus Vermivora, or worm-eaters, 
includes a few species peculiar to North America ; 
by their pointed and entire bills, they give us a repre- 
sentation of the conic-billed titmice (Kgithalus Vig.), 
and they represent, at the same time, the order Coni- 
mostres in their own circle. The difference between 
this group and Lgithalus is sufficiently marked by the 
structure of the wings, for their bills are precisely alike. 
The worm-eating warblers, depend for locomotion more 
upon their wings than on their feet ; hence we find, 
that the former are more adapted for flight, and that 
the latter are more slender and feeble than those of 
Egithalus. 'The peculiar manners of this group was 
_ first made known by Wilson ; and although we defined 
it from its external characters many years ago, subse- 
quent writers have still continued to confound the 
worm-eaters with the-honey-sucking Nectarine of the 
