MOCKING WATER-CHAT. 
103 
general systems, and to rectify them all would be 
the labour of a life. Hence arises the necessity or 
imposing new names upon species which, although 
long known, still remain so confounded with others, 
that if we aim at precision, we can hardly quote 
their former names even as synonymes. 
In general structure the bird before us perfectly 
agrees with the typical Fiuvicolince. The third and 
fourth quills are equal and longest, the two first 
being a little graduated, and slightly narrowed at 
their tips, especially the outermost; the general 
colour above is cinereous grey, which tips all the 
black tail-feathers, and margins those of the wing- 
covers and tertials, although these two latter are 
blackish-brown in the middle : the primaries, se- 
condaries, and spurious wings are deep black, but 
the ninth and tenth quills are entirely pure white, 
which colour also forms a band at the base of the 
other primaries, narrowest on the longest and 
broadest on the shortest of these quills ; the se- 
condaries are merely tipt with white : the lores and 
maxillary stripe are black, but above the former is 
a white line, and the latter is varied with grey ; 
under plumage white, but grey on the breast and 
flanks ; tail black, tipt with greyish-W'hite, the edge 
of the outer tail-feather being white. 
Total length, 9 inches ; bill, gape, 1 ; front, f ; 
wings, 5}% ; tail beyond, 1^; base, 4; tarsus, l T \j. 
We have now traced the greatest part of the circle 
of the Fiuvicolince , yet there still remains two types 
undetermined ; and one of these is the tenuirostral 
