372 
U. S. P. R. R. EXP. AND SUEYEYS—ZOOLOGY—GENERAL EEPORT. 
Family 0 E R TIIIA D A E . 
First primary very short, less than half the second ; outer lateral toe much longest; hind toe exceeding both the middle toe 
and the tarsus, which is scutellate anteriorly, and very short. Bill slender, as long as or longer than the head, without any 
notch. Entire basal joint of the middle toes united to the lateral. 
This family in the United States embraces hut two genera, each the type of a sub-family, and 
so widely different from each other as not to require any comparison. The characters of the 
sub-families are as follows : 
Certiiianae. —Bill much compressed and greatly decurved; gonys concave. Tail long, 
cuneate ; the feathers stiffened at the tips. 
Sittinae. —Bill straight; gonys ascending, convex. Tail short, soft, and even. 
Sub-family CERTHIANAE. 
CERTHIA, Linnaeus. 
Certhia, Linnaeus, Syst. Nat. 1735, (Gray). Type C. familiaris . 
Ch. —Bill as long as the head, slender, much compressed and decurved from the base ; without notch or rictal bristles. Tarsi 
distinctly scutellate ; very short; not longer than the outer lateral toes, which much exceeds the inner, reaching nearly as far 
as the middle toe. Hind toe longer than the middle one ; its claw more than half the total length. Claws all very long and 
acute. Tail rather longer than the wings, arched or vaulted, graduated or cuneate ; the feathers very acute at the tips, the 
shafts stiffened. First primary rather more than one-third the fourth or longest one. Color above brown, streaked with white ; 
beneath white. 
This genus embraces species which resemble each other so closely as to render it a matter of 
much uncertainty how many really exist. 
Comparative measurements of species. 
Jatal. 
No. 
Species. 
Locality. 
Sex. 
Length 
Stretch 
ofwings. 
Wing. 
Tail. 
Tarsus. 
Middle 
toe. 
rts claw 
alone. 
Bill 
above. 
Along 
gape. 
Specimen 
measured. 
827 
<? 
5.26 
2.52 
2.84 
0.56 
0.64 
0.22 
0.58 
0.66 
5.41 
7.83 
2.58 
1337 
9 
5.00 
2.46 
2.46 
0.56 
0.62 
0.22 
0.54 
0.66 
.do. 
5.00 
7.58 
2.50 
7154 
5.00 
2.42 
2.66 
0.56 
0.62 
0.20 
0.68 
0.76 
9520 
4.80 
2.62 
2.30 
0.58 
0 66 
0.20 
0.60 
0.68 
4.75 
7.50 
2.75 
8176 
Certhia mexicana ?. 
5.14 
2.44 
2.73 
0.56 
0.52 
0.20 
0.62 
0.70 
CERTHIA AMERICANA, Bo nap. 
American Creeper. 
Certhia americana, Bonap. Consp. List, 1838.— Reich. Handb. I, 1851, 265 ; pi. dcxv, fig. 4102, 3. 
Certhia familiaris, Vieillot, Ois. Am. Sept. II, 1807, 70.— Wilson, Am. Orn. I, 1808, 122 ; pi .viii.—Aun. Orn. 
Biog. V, 1839,158 ; pi. 415.—In. Syn. 1839, 73.—In. Birds Amer. II, 1841, 109 ; pi. 115. 
? Certhia mexicana, “ Gloger, Handbuch,” Reichenbach, Handbuch Spec. Orn. I, 1851, 265; pi. dlxii, fig. 3841, 
2.— Ib. Sclater, Pr. Zool. Soc. 1856, 290. 
Sp. Ch. —Bill about the length of the head. Above dark brown, with a slightly rufous shade, each feather streaked centrally 
but not abruptly with whitish ; rump rusty. Beneath almost silky white ; the under tail coverts with a faint rusty tinge. A 
white streak over the eye ; the ear coverts streaked with whitish. Tail feathers brown centrally, the edges paler yellowish 
brown. Wings with a transverse bar of pale reddish white across both webs. 
Length, 5.50 ; wing, 2.60 ; tail, 2.90. (No. 827.) 
Hub .—North America generally. 
The wings of this species are greatly variegated. Thus, when closed, the outer edges and 
