276 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS.— PASSEBES— OSCINES 
showing obsolete wavy bars of dusky. Rump cinnamon-brown ; a whitish superciliary line. 
Beneath, soiled white, shading behind into pale cinnamon, the throat and breast obsoletely 
streaked, and the under tail-coverts barred, with dusky. Quills of the wings rather darker than 
the back, with similar markings on the outer webs. Middle tail-feathers like the back, with 
many dark bars of equal width with the lighter ones; lateral tail-feathers similarly marked on 
the outer webs, plain on the inner webs, with a broad subterminal black bar on both webs, and 
cinnamon-brown tips, the latter usually marbled with dusky ; outer feathers with several black- 
ish and cinnamon bars on both webs. Bill and feet dark horn color, the former paler at base 
below. Length 5.50-6.00; wing 2.60-2.80; tail 2.20-2.40 ; bill 0.66-0.75 ; tarsus 0.75-0.80. 
Most of the markings blended and diffuse. Shade of upper parts variable, from dull grayish to 
a more plumbeous shade, often with a faint pinkish tinge. Specimens in worn and faded plu- 
mage may fail to show the peculiar dotting with black and whitish ; but in these the cross- 
wise dusky undulation, as well as the streaks on the breast, are commonly more distinct than 
in fresher-feathered examples. The rufous tinge of the under parts is very variable in shade ; 
that of the rump, however, being always well marked. Western U. S., E. to Iowa; common, 
haunting rocky places, where it is conspicuous by its restlessness and loud notes ; nest of any 
rubbish in a rocky nook ; eggs numerous, 5-8, of crystalline whiteness, sparsely sprinkled with 
reddish-brown dots, 0.75 X 0.62. 
21. CATHER'PES. (Gr. KadepTrrjs, katherpes, a creeper; Kara, Tcata, down, epTro), herjJO, I creep.) 
Canon AYrens. Bill singularly attenuate, about as long as head, nearly straight in all its 
outlines, with such direction of its axis that the bill as a whole appears continuous with the 
• line of the forehead. Tarsus not longer than middle toe and claw, with tendency to subdivision 
of the lateral tarsal plate. Lateral toes of unequal lengths, the outer longest. Wings and 
tail as in Salpinctes, and general features, even to system of coloration, much the same as in 
that genus. One known species, with several varieties. 
66. C. mexica'nus. Mexican Canon Wren. Similar to the form next described ; much darker 
colored both above and below, with sharper contrast of the white throat ; the white speckling 
mostly restricted to the back and wings ; the black tail-bars broader and more regular, and the 
light markings of the wings mere indentations instead of complete bars. Bill straight, more 
abruptly decurved at extreme tip. Feet stouter, dark brown. Size greater; length about 
6.00; wing 2.80; tail 2.40 •, bill nearly 1.00 long, only about 0.12 deep at base. Specimens 
vary much in sharpness and extensiveness of the speckling of the upper parts. In best-marked 
cases, the spots quite white, almost lengthened into streaks, each one completely set in black ; 
other examples, small, sparse and restricted, these specimens also showing wavy transverse in 
bars of blackish. Mexico, to Texan border. 
67. C. m. conspeWsus. (Lat. conspersus, speckled.) Speckled Ca55on Wren. $ 9 ? adult : 
Upper parts brown, paler and grayer anteriorly, behind shading insensibly into rich rufous, 
everywhere dotted with small dusky and whitish spots. Tail clear cinnamon-brown, crossed 
with numerous very narrow and mostly zigzag black bars. Wing-quills dark brown, the outer 
webs of the primaries and both webs of the inner secondaries barred with the color of the back. 
Chin, throat, and fore breast, with lower half of the side of the head and neck, pure white, 
shading behind through ochraceous-brown into rich deep ferruginous, and posteriorly obsoletely 
waved with dusky and whitish. Bill slate-colored, paler and more livid below ; feet black ; 
iris brown. Length about 5.50; extent 7-50; wing 2.30; tail 2.12; tarsus 0.60; bill 0.80. 
Throughout New Mexico and Arizona, and portions of Texas, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and 
California ; N. to at least 40°. A remarkable bird, famous for its ringing notes, inhabiting 
canons and other rocky places. Nesting and eggs like those of the rock wren; eggs 5 or 
more, 0.75 X 0.55, crystal white, fairly sprinkled and blotched with reddish -brown. 
6Ta. C. m. punctula'tus. (Lut. ptinctulatus, dotted.) Dotted Canon Wren. Smaller than 
either of the foregoing : length about 5.00 ; wing 2.10 ; tail 1.90 ; bill 0.75. Coloration inter- 
