MOTACILLIDtE. 
17 
White streaks on back extending to rump; rump distinctly barred with 
brown, and speckled with whitish; juguluin tinged with ochraceous ;' sides 
speckled with whitish; lining of wing pale ochraceous. Wing, 1.75; tail, 
1.60 ; bill, .40 ; tarsus, .65. Hab. Eastern Province of United States var. stellar is . 
White streaks of the back not extending to the rump ; rump plain rufous, 
without bars or specks; jugulum not tinged with ochraceous; sides not 
speckled with whitish; lining of wings snowy white. Wing, 1.75; tail, 
1.50 ; bill, .45 ; tarsus, .72. Hab. Mexico and Guatemala ; Brazil ? var. elegans. 
Subgenus TELMATODYTEB. 
T. palustris. Above olive-brown, more rufescent on the rump ; interscapulars 
black, streaked with white ; tertials spotted with black, and tail barred with the 
same; crown with a dusky tinge laterally. Beneath brownish-white, tinged 
with grayish-brown on the jugulum and sides ; a white superciliary stripe ; cris- 
sum barred with darker. Length about 5.50 inches. Nest in situation and form 
similar to that of C. stellaris ; eggs chocolate-brown, uniform or in dense specks 
upon a paler ground. ( Long-billed Marsh Wren.) 
Bill equal to tarsus ; tail-coverts (above and below) very obsoletely barred 
or plain ; bars on tail broken ; those on middle feathers obsolete. Wing, 
2.10 ; tail, 1.85 ; bill, .60. Hab. Eastern Province of United States. (East- 
ern Marsh Wren.) var. p alustris . 
Bill shorter than tarsus; tail-coverts distinctly barred with darker; bars 
on tail continuous, those on middle feathers distinct. Wing, 2.15; tail, 1.90 ; 
bill, .50. Hab. Western Province of United States. (Tule Wren.) var. p aludi cola. 
Family MOTACXLLID.ZE. — The Wagtails. 
Families allied to Motaeillidas. 
Common Characters. Primaries nine ; the first quill nearly as long as the second or 
third. Tarsi distinctly scutellate the whole length anteriorly. Bill conical, but slender or 
depressed, usually, except in Ccerebidce , half the length of the head ; more or less bristled, 
or notched. Nostrils oval or rounded. Lateral toes nearly or quite equal, and shorter 
than the middle ; the basal joint of the middle free nearly to its base externally, united 
for about half internally. 
Motacillidse. Bill slender. Culmen slightly concave at base. Legs long ; claws but 
little curved. Hind toe considerably longer than the middle one ; its claw much longer 
(twice) than the middle claw ; all the claws but slightly curved. Innermost secondaries 
(so-called tertials) elongated, much longer than the outer secondaries ; and the fifth pri- 
mary emarginated at end. Nest on ground. 
Sylvicolidce. Bill rather slender, conical, or depressed. Culmen straight or convex. 
I Hind toe shorter than the middle ; the claws all much curved. . Hind claw not conspic- 
uously longer than the middle one. When the hind toe is lengthened, it is usually in the 
digit, not the claw. Tertials generally not longer than the secondaries, and not emargi- 
nated. G-ape wide ; tongue slightly split at end. Nest variously placed. 
Caerebi&ae. Similar to Sylvicolidce. Bill generally longer; equal to head or more. 
Gape of mouth narrow ; tongue generally much fringed at the end. Nest on trees. 
