BROWN CREEPER. 



125 



whitish ; the tail is as long as the body, of a light drab color, with 

 the inner webs dusky, and consists of twelve quills, each sloping 

 off and tapering to a point in the manner of the Woodpeckers, 

 but proportionably weaker in the shafts; in many specimens the 

 tail was very slightly marked with transverse undulating waves of 

 dusky, scarce observable ; the two middle feathers the longest, the 

 others on each side shortening by one sixth of an inch to the outer 

 one; the wing consists of nineteen feathers, the first an inch long, 

 the fourth and fifth the longest, of a deep brownish black, and 

 crossed about its middle with a curving band of rufous white, a 

 quarter of an inch in breadth, marking ten of the quills; below this 

 the quills are exteriorly edged to within a little of their tips with 

 rufous white, and tipt with white; the three secondaries next the 

 body are dusky white on their inner webs, tipt on the exterior 

 margin with white, and above that alternately streaked laterally 

 with black and dull white; the greater and lesser wing coverts are 

 exteriorly tipt with white, the upper part of the exterior edges of 

 the former rufous white; the line over the eve and whole lower 

 parts are white, a little brownish toward the vent, but on the chin 

 and throat pure, silky and glistening; the white curves inwards 

 about the middle of the neck; the bill is half an inch long, slender, 

 compressed sideways, bending downwards, tapering to a point, 

 dusky above and white below; the nostrils are oblong, half cover- 

 ed with a convex membrane, and without hairs or small feathers; 

 the inside of the mouth is reddish; the tongue tapering gradually 

 to a point, and horny towards the tip; the eye is dark hazel; the 

 legs and feet a dirty clay color; the toes placed three before and 

 one behind, the two outer ones connected with the middle one to 

 the first joint; the claws rather paler, large, almost semi-circular, 

 and extremely sharp pointed ; the hind claw the largest. The 

 figure in the plate represents a male of the usual size in its exact 

 proportions, and, but for the satisfaction of foreigners, might have 

 rendered the whole of this prolix description unnecessary. 



K k 



