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Subfamily PTILOGONATINÆ
Char. Legs moderate. Nostrils oval, with wide naked membrane above and to some extent behind them; the frontal feathers not reaching to their border, and rather soft. Wings graduated, shorter than the somewhat broad, fan-shaped tail; the first quill nearly half the second. Adults plain.
Although we find it convenient for the present to retain the genera Ptilogonys and Myiadestes in the same subfamily, there seems little doubt that they belong to very different families, the latter being more properly placed in Turdidæ, as shown in Rev. Am. Birds. It is not necessary that the subject be discussed here, however, and we merely give the diagnosis of the two groups of which these genera are the types respectively:—
Ptilogonateæ. Tarsi scutellate anteriorly; not longer than middle toe and claw.
Myiadesteæ. Tarsi with a continuous plate anteriorly; longer than middle toe and claw.
Section PTILOGONATEÆ
Char. Tarsus stout, shorter, or not longer than the middle toe and claw; conspicuously scutellate anteriorly, and frequently on one or other or on both sides; sometimes with a row of small plates behind. Wings much graduated; the second quill not longer than secondaries. Outline of lateral tail-feathers parallel or widening from base to near tip. Tail unvaried, or else inornate at end. Quills without light patch at base. Head crested. Young birds not spotted. Not conspicuous for song.
There are two genera of this section having in brief the following characters:—
Crest narrow, pointed, its feathers stiff, their webs compact; outer primaries broad. Tail rounded … Phænopepla.
Crest broad, decumbent, soft, the feathers loose; outer primaries attenuated. Tail even or cuneate … Ptilogonys.
The genus Ptilogonys has two species, one Mexican, the other Costa-Rican, neither coming within the limits of the United States. The type is P. cinereus, Swainson (Baird, Rev. Am. Birds, 412), a species of the tablelands of Mexico, which may yet be found within the southern borders of the United States in New Mexico or Arizona.
Genus PHÆNOPEPLA, Sclater
Phænopepla, Sclater, P. Z. S. 1858, 543. (Type, Ptiliogonys nitens, Swains.)
Gen. Char. Crest narrow, pointed behind. Outer primaries broad, not attenuated nor pointed at end; the first half the second. Tail rounded, fan-shaped; feathers very broad, wider towards end. Bill feeble, rather narrow, well bristled; nostrils somewhat overhung by frontal feathers. Sexes dissimilar; male black; quills with median white patch on inner webs; tail not varied.
The single known species is glossy black in the male; the female brownish-ash.
Phænopepla nitens, Sclater
SHINING-CRESTED FLYCATCHER
Ptiliogonys nitens, Sw. An. in Menag. 1838, 285.—Bon. Consp. 1850, 335.—Heermann, Jour. A. N. Sc. Phila. II, 1853, 263.—Cassin, Ill. Birds Texas, etc. 1854, 169, pl. xxix. Cichlopsis nitens, Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 320, 923. Phænopepla nitens, Sclater, P. Z. S. 1858, 543; 1864, 173 (City of Mexico).—Baird, Rev. Am. B. 1864, 416.—Cooper, Orn. Cal. 1, 1870, 131. “Lepturus galeatus, Less.”
Sp. Char. (No. 8,275 ♂.) Tail broad, almost fan-shaped; graduated slightly; not at all emarginate, and longer than wing. First quill broad, slightly falcate, scarcely attenuated; more than half the second, which about equals the tenth; sixth longest; third equal to seventh. Feathers on nape rather full, with a lengthened, pointed, narrow, occipital crest.
Male (No. 8,275) entirely glossy greenish-black; the inner webs of all the primary quills with a large, lengthened patch of white, which does not reach the inner margin; their outer webs very narrowly edged with ashy, as are also lateral tail-feathers externally.
Female (No. 8,274) brownish-ash, paler below; the white of inner webs of quills obsolete; the greater coverts and quills edged externally with whitish, the anal and crissal feathers edged and tipped with the same; the outer tail-feather with narrow edge of white externally towards end.
Immature birds show every gradation of color between the two extremes described above.
Total length, 7.60; wing, 3.80; tail, 4.35; length of bill from forehead, .46, from nostril .31, along gape, .66; tarsus, .70; middle toe and claw, .65.
Phænopepla nitens.
8275
Hab. Mountainous region of the southern portions of Western and Middle Provinces of United States, and south to Orizaba; Cape St. Lucas; Plateau of Mexico (resident, Sumichrast).
Habits. So far as known, this bird occurs in the mountainous portions of the United States, from Fort Tejon, Cal., to Mexico, and from the Rio Grande to San Diego. It is closely allied, in its appearance, as also in many of its habits, both with the Waxwings and the Flycatchers.
Phænopepla nitens.
This species was first detected within the United States by Colonel McCall, who obtained it in California in 1852. Its habits, as he observed them, partook of those of the true Flycatcher. They are said to be remarkable for their slender, active form, in which their long and ample tail, and the elongated feathers of their head, capable of being erected into a crest, are conspicuous features. Colonel McCall first met with them in a clump of trees on the borders of a mountain brook, between Valliecita and El Chino. A number of them were together actively engaged in the pursuit of insects. They were light and graceful on the wing, though less swift and decided in their motions than the true Flycatchers. In these evolutions the bright white spot on the wing, visible only when the wing is spread, was quite conspicuous, and in fine contrast with the glossy black of the general plumage. In his journey Colonel McCall afterwards met this bird several times, either in small companies or singly. They were always either on mountain sides, or in the timbered borders of mountain streams.
Dr. Henry met with this species near the Little Lagoon, on the Colorado Desert. It was perched on a mezquite-tree, jerking its tail almost incessantly, as do other kinds of Flycatchers, and, from time to time, dashing in irregular curves high into the air in pursuit of insects. It became quite abundant as he approached the Colorado, occurring in companies of twenty and thirty. At Fort Yuma he also met with them in considerable numbers late in November, as they were migrating southward. Dr. Henry describes its note as a low, plaintive whistle. He ascertained that it breeds in California by finding specimens of young birds. He likewise met with this species near Fort Webster, in New Mexico; and Dr. Kennerly also noticed it, in February and March, between Big Sandy Creek and the Colorado River.
Mr. Dresser obtained two specimens of this species at Eagle Pass. One of these had its stomach filled with the berries of a species of mistletoe that grows abundantly on the mezquite-trees. He noticed that it carries its crest erect and much recurved, after the manner of the European Parus cristatus.
Sumichrast states that this species, called Reyecito, is well distributed throughout the Plateau of Mexico, but only ranges in the valley of the Orizaba, to the height of about 1,500 metres, rarely coming as far as that. It is also common at Tehauntepec and other places.
Dr. Cooper found them quite numerous, in winter, near the Colorado. He also found them common, in December, about the Mohave River, and in summer, from Los Angeles to San Diego. They were found to prefer the trees in which the mistletoe grows, on the berries of which they largely feed, though they occasionally pursue insects in a zigzag course similar to that of the Sayornis nigricans.
They almost constantly utter a loud cry of alarm, and when pursued are very wild. When wounded, they conceal themselves so closely in the thick tufts of the mistletoe as to be found with difficulty. Many left the Colorado Valley in April, but a few remained. Their notes Dr. Cooper describes as similar to those of the Crested Flycatchers, but sweeter.
It was found by Feilner, at Fort Crook, in April, 1860, but has not been met with near the coast so far to the north.
A nest of this bird, obtained by Dr. Cooper, on the 27th of April, was built on a horizontal branch of the mezquite (Algarobia), twelve feet from the ground. It was found near Fort Mohave, on the Colorado River. The nest is a very flat structure, four inches in diameter, and less than two in height. The cavity is less than an inch in depth. The nest is made almost entirely of hempen or flax-like fibres of plants, interwoven with fine grasses, stems of plants, and stalks of a larger size. It is lined with a soft downy substance of a vegetable character.
The eggs, two in number, are of an oblong-oval shape, nearly equal at either end, and with a ground-color of a light slate, tinged with a yellowish-green. They are marked and blotched equally over the entire egg, with spots and blotches of various lines, from a light, faint, obscure purple to deeper tints of purplish-brown, even to black. It is a very marked egg, and unique in its appearance. They measure .90 by .60 of an inch.
Dr. Coues found this species a summer resident in Arizona, somewhat rare about Fort Whipple, but found very abundantly a little farther south, and a permanent resident in the southern portions of that Territory. It inhabits rather open country in preference to densely wooded regions. He describes it as a shy, wild, and restless bird, with a superb song, powerful and finely modulated. Dr. Coues appears to think that this species has but little affinity with the forms with which it is usually grouped.
Section MYIADESTEÆ
Char. Tarsus slender, longer than middle toe and claw; undivided as in Turdidæ. Toes deeply cleft. Wings more pointed; second quill much longer than secondaries. Lateral tail-feathers cuneate, or narrowing from base towards tip; generally whitish at end of inner web. Quills with their extreme bases, especially of inner webs, buffy yellow, showing a light patch inside. Head not crested, though the feathers sometimes full. In the young all the feathers with light rounded spots. Pre-eminent as melodious singers.
But a single genus of this group belongs to the United States, although two others (Cichlopsis and Platycichla?) occur in South America. As already stated, the affinities of Myiadesteæ are much closest to Turdidæ, and this would seem the proper family for it.
Genus MYIADESTES, Swainson
Myiadestes, Swainson, Jard. Nat. Library, XIII. Flycatchers, “1838,” 132. (Type, M. genibarbis, Sw.)
Myiadestes townsendi
38426
16168
Gen. Char. Occipital feathers full and soft. Plumage rather loose. Bill weak, much depressed. Commissure nearly straight. Hind toe longer than inner lateral. Toes deeply cleft. Closed wing externally with an exposed light band across the base of the quills, and another nearer the end, separated by a darker one. Tail somewhat graduated on the sides.
Of the ten or more described species of this genus, only one belongs to the limits of the United States, although several others occupy adjacent territory in Mexico. Several are peculiar to islands of the West Indies.
The only two species closely related to the M. townsendi are the M. unicolor and M. obscurus, which belong to Mexico. They may be distinguished as follows:—
An ochraceous band across base of secondaries and upper primaries, conspicuous on outer surface.
1. M. townsendi. Generally dull ashy, paler beneath. Throat and abdomen whitish. Hab. Middle and Pacific Provinces of United States only.
No ochraceous on outer webs of secondaries and primaries.
Myiadestes townsendi, Caban
TOWNSEND’S SOLITAIRE
Ptiliogonys townsendi, Aud. Orn. Biog. V, 1839, 206, pl. ccccxix, fig. 2. (For other references see Birds N. Am. 321.)—Newberry, P. R. Rep. VI, Whipple’s Rep. Zoöl., 82. Culicivora towns. De Kay, N. Y. Zoöl. II, 1844, 110. Myiadestes towns. Cabanis, Wieg. Arch. 1847, I, 208.—Sclater, P. Z. S. 1857, 5; 1858, 97.—Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 321; Rev. 429.—Cooper & Suckley, P. R. Rep. XII, II, 187.—Kennerly, P. R. Rep. X, Whipple’s Rep. 25.—Lord, Pr. R. Art. Inst. Woolwich, IV, 116 (Br. Col.).—Cooper, Orn. Cal. 1, 1870, 134.
Sp. Char. Tail rather deeply forked. Exposed portion of spurious quill less than one third that of the second; fourth quill longest; second a little longer than the sixth. Head not crested. General color bluish-ash, paler beneath; under wing-coverts white. Quills with a brownish-yellow bar at the base of both webs mostly concealed, but showing a little below the greater coverts and alulæ; this succeeded by a bar of dusky, and next to it another of brownish-yellow across the outer webs of the central quills only. Tertials tipped with white. Tail-feathers dark brown; the middle ones more like the back; the lateral with the outer web and tip, the second with the tip only, white. A white ring round the eye. Length, 8 inches; wing, 4.50; tail, 3.85. (8,234).
Hab. Mountainous regions of Middle and Western United States. (Not found at Cape St. Lucas nor in Mexico.)
Young birds have a large triangular pale-ochraceous light spot on the end of each feather (rather paler below), bounded externally by a narrow border of blackish; the quill and tail feathers as in the adult.
Habits. The first specimen of this somewhat remarkable bird was shot by Captain Brotchie, at Fort George, Astoria, and presented to Mr. Townsend, and by the latter given to Mr. Audubon. For some time this remained unique, and the habits of the species unknown. Through the government explorations, however, we have been made more familiar with its habits and peculiarities.
Myiadestes townsendi.
Dr. Newberry, in his report on the Zoölogy of Lieutenant Williamson’s explorations, mentions finding this bird very abundant in the Des Chutes Basin. It did not frequent either dense forests or prairies destitute of trees, but seemed to select surfaces covered with a scattered growth of pine and cedar. His party first met with it at the base of Mount Jefferson, in the cañon of Mpto-ly-as River. In picking his way with infinite difficulty down this gorge, his attention was drawn by its new and attractive song. There were several of them in the pines and cedars growing on the face of the cliff. He describes its song as clear, full, and melodious, like that of a true Mimus. The next day, as he followed down the river, in the bottom of the cañon the deep gorge was filled with a chorus of sweet sounds from thousands of these birds. He describes them as having a habit of sitting on the branch of a tree projecting over a stream, or hanging from some projecting crag, and at times flying out in narrow circles, after insects, precisely in the manner of Flycatchers.
Afterwards, in another cañon, the terraced banks of which were sparsely set with low trees of the Western cedar, he again found these birds quite numerous, and had every opportunity both of hearing and of seeing them, watching them for hours while feeding and singing. They began their songs with the first dawn of day, and at sunrise the valley was perfectly vocal with their music. He describes their song as not greatly varied, but speaks of all their notes as particularly clear and sweet, and with strains of pure gushing melody that were both spontaneous and inspiring. At that time, September 30, they were feeding on the berries of the cedar. They were very shy, and could only be obtained by stratagem.
Dr. Kennerly, in his Report on the birds observed in the explorations under the charge of Lieutenant Whipple, speaks of meeting with these birds in the Rocky Mountains, in the vicinity of the Pueblo of Zuñi, in New Mexico. Thence, westward, he occasionally met with it, and usually in the cedar thickets.
Dr. Suckley mentions, in his Report on the Zoölogy of Washington Territory, obtaining a specimen of this species at Fort Steilacoom, April 28, 1856. It was very wild and difficult of approach. It was the only specimen obtained, and he considered it accidental west of the Cascade Mountains. Dr. Cooper, in the same Report, speaks of obtaining a specimen near Fort Laramie in October, where it seemed to be not uncommon.
Dr. Cooper, in his Birds of California, dwells with much emphasis upon the delightful melody of this species. Having always found them silent, and with habits like the Flycatchers’, he was quite unprepared to hear them singing in the Sierra Nevada, and, if he had not obtained the bird, would not have believed that one of this family was capable of singing with such power. Their song, he says, can be compared with nothing uttered by any other bird he has ever heard in the United States; for, he adds, it excels that of the Mocking-Bird in sweetness, besides being entirely original.
He met with only a few of this species among some junipers on the western slope near the summit, in September, 1863. He has always met with them nearly singly. Dr. Henry found them at Fort Webster, New Mexico, in large numbers, both in fall and in winter. Their home, Dr. Cooper thinks, seems to be in the vicinity of the great deserts of the central regions, or the cedar-covered mountains that intersect them.
Dr. Woodhouse obtained several specimens on the Zuñi Mountains in New Mexico, and from there westward found it exceedingly abundant. Its food seemed to be exclusively berries, and chiefly those of the cedar.
Dr. Coues also found these birds rare summer residents in Arizona, and confirms its possession of rare local powers, producing a rich, sweet, and finely modulated song.
Mr. Robert Ridgway, in accompanying Mr. King’s party of explorations, writes that he found this curious bird only occasionally, most frequently among the pines of the Sierra Nevada, and only once or twice among the mountains east of that range. In July, 1867, he found a nest of this bird. It was in a deep ravine on the western slope of the Sierras, at an altitude of five thousand feet. It was placed in a cavity of the rocks forming the perpendicular upper bank of a sluice constructed for mining purposes, through which ran the waters of a considerable mountain stream. The nest was about a foot above the water, and was as bulky as that of the Harporhynchus rufus, and similarly constructed, being composed almost entirely of sticks. It contained four young. When he approached, the female was much excited, flying before, or running on the ground in the manner of a true Thrush. Mr. Ridgway makes no mention of its song.
Mr. Lord met with these birds only once, and then at Colville, towards the end of November. All the leaves had fallen, the ground was deeply covered with snow, and the cold was intense. His attention was first attracted by hearing a low sweet song, not unlike that of the Song Thrush of Europe, which at that season was a most unusual sound. On looking around he saw about twenty of these birds perched on the top sprays of some white thorn-bushes. In their mode of darting off and returning again they reminded him of a Shrike. He shot six, and could detect no material difference in plumage between males and females. In the stomachs of those he opened were the remains of small coleopterous insects and a few haws.
Family LANIIDÆ.—The Shrikes
Char. Bill very powerful, strong, and much compressed, the tip abruptly hooked, deeply notched, and with a prominent tooth behind the notch; both mandibles distinctly notched, the upper with a distinct tooth behind, the lower with the point bent up. Tarsi longer than the middle toe, strongly scutellate. Primaries ten; first primary half the second, or shorter (occasionally wanting). Wings short, rounded; tail long and much graduated. Sides of tarsi with the plates divided on the outside.
Of this family only a single genus is known in North America.
Genus COLLURIO, Vigors
Collurio, Vigors, Pr. Zoöl. Soc. 1831, 42. (Type, Lanius excubitor, L.)
Lanius, Auct. (not of Linnæus, whose type is L. cristatus).
Collyrio, G. R. Gray.—Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 323.
Collurio excubitoroides.
38423
Gen. Char. Feathers of forehead stiffened; base of bill, including nostrils, covered by bristly feathers directed forward. Bill shorter than the head, much compressed, and very powerful. Culmen decurved from base, the mandible abruptly bent down in a powerful hook with an acute lobe near the tip. Tip of lower mandible bent upwards in a hook; the gonys very convex. Rictus with long bristles. Legs stout; the tarsi rather short, and longer than the middle toe; the lateral equal; the claws all very sharp and much curved. Wings rounded; the first primary about half the second, which is equal to the sixth or seventh. Tail longer than the wings, much graduated, the feathers broad.
But few species of this genus belong to America, and these are confined to the northern portion. For the purpose of more readily identifying the species we present a brief diagnosis, and then furnish descriptions of all (including a European ally) in a single table.
Species
A. Outer webs of secondaries wholly white for basal half (mostly concealed by coverts, however). Upper eyelid white.
C. excubitor. 82 Nasal tufts grayish-white. In other respects, as regards colors, like excubitoroides. Wing, 4.20; tail, 4.00; tarsus, .95. Hab. Europe.
B. Outer webs of secondaries black to the base. Upper eyelids black.
a. White crescent on lower eyelid. Beneath with wavy bars of dusky in all stages. Tarsus less than 1.00; wing more than 4.50.
C. borealis. Upper half of nasal tufts white. Black spectacle bordered above the ear-coverts by hoary whitish. Scapulars and upper tail-coverts approaching white. Wing, 4.70; tail, 4.70; tarsus, .93. Hab. Arctic America; in winter south into United States, especially into the northern portions.
b. No white crescent on lower eyelid. Beneath without bars, except in young. Tarsus more than 1.00; wing less than 4.50.
C. ludovicianus. Black spectacle not bordered over ear-coverts with whitish.
White patch on primaries reaching nearly as far as end of first quill. Nasal tufts entirely black
Black of lores and nasal tufts bordered above with hoary whitish. Tail white at base; inner webs of secondaries paler toward margin, but not abruptly white. Beneath entirely white, without ashy tinge laterally, or across breast. Axillars whitish. Upper tail-coverts ashy-white, scapulars pure white. Wing, 4.10; tail, 4.20; tarsus, 1.10; bill, .50. Hab. Western North America from Pacific Coast east to a little beyond the Mississippi, and to Texas. Nearly all of Mexico … var. excubitoroides.
Black of lores, etc., not bordered above by whitish. Tail black at base. Inner webs of secondaries pure white to the shaft on basal half. Beneath tinged with ashy laterally and across breast. Scapulars and upper tail-coverts hardly different from back. Bill, .60. Hab. California and fur countries … var. robustus.
White patch on primaries reaching only about half-way to end of first quill. Nasal tufts hoary-grayish above
Black of lores bordered above by hoary-whitish. Tail as in elegans,—secondaries as in excubitoroides. Beneath very strongly tinged with plumbeous laterally and across breast. Upper tail-coverts like the back, posterior scapulars only inclining to white. Axillars plumbeous. Wing, 3.80; tail, 3.95; tarsus, 1.00; bill, .50. Hab. South Atlantic and Gulf States … var. ludovicianus.
We now proceed to give a more detailed table of these species, and under the heading of each shall omit any further description:—
General Color. Bluish or plumbeous ash above; the outer edges of scapulars, sometimes the forehead and rump, paler. Beneath white, sometimes with waved transverse dark lines. A broad black stripe from side of upper bill through eye (extending more widely beneath than above it, sometimes wanting above) to end of ear-coverts. Wings (except lesser coverts) and tail black; the former with a white patch across base of primaries, sometimes on inner webs of secondaries; the secondaries tipped with white; the tail with broad white tips to the lateral feathers, the concealed bases of which are also usually white.
A. Black cheek-stripes involving eyelid only on upper border of eye, and not meeting across the forehead. A crescentic patch of white in the black below the eye; upper edge of black stripe behind the eye bordered by hoary whitish. Breast and belly always with distinct, transverse waved lines of dusky. Bill, when mature, entirely black. Length about 10 inches.
Above light ash. Upper tail-coverts and forehead much paler than the back, the former without waved lines. Axillars whitish.
Inner webs of secondaries paler towards edges, but not of well-defined white. Concealed bases of tail-feathers, except sixth, white. Tarsus shorter than the gape of mouth. Length, 10.00; extent, 14.50; wing, 4.70; tail, 4.70; bill above, .85; tarsus, .93 … borealis.
B. Black cheek-stripes not involving upper border of eye or upper eyelid, which is whitish, and not meeting across the forehead, its upper edge behind the eye with scarcely a lighter border. No patch of white on lower eyelid. Under parts unvaried white; in female obscurely waved. Base of under mandible whitish. Length about 9 inches.
Above light ash. Upper tail-coverts and forehead decidedly paler than the back. Axillars whitish.
Inner webs of all secondaries (except innermost) white to shaft, except for less than terminal half, which is black along the shaft. Concealed base of tail white, except on sixth feather. Tarsus equal to the gape … excubitor.
C. Black cheek-stripes involving upper eyelid, as in A, but without patch of white below the eye; meeting in a narrow, sometimes inconspicuous, line across the forehead, its upper edge behind the eye not bordered by lighter. Beneath plain white, or very obscurely waved in ludovicianus (the female?). Bill, when mature, entirely black. Length about 8.50 inches.
Above dark plumbeous-ash. Upper tail-coverts and forehead scarcely paler than the back. Sides and breast tinged with bluish-gray.
Black of loral space rather hoary along upper border. Frontal dark line inappreciable or wanting. Inner webs of secondaries paler only along the marginal half, and not abruptly white. Axillars plumbeous. Tail-feathers, except the innermost, with a concealed well-defined white patch at base, largest on the more exterior one. Bill from nostril, .50. Under parts often with very obscure faint waved lines (in the female?). White patch on wing reaching about to middle of first primary. Tarsus equal to the gape. Length, 8.50; wing, 3.72; tail, 4.10; bill above, .82; tarsus, 1.00 … ludovicianus.
Black of loral space without any lightening above it. Frontal black band well marked. Inner webs of secondaries (except innermost) pure white to shaft, except along rather more than terminal half, where the shaft is bordered by black. Axillars whitish. Tail-feathers black to base, except the loose fibres, which are grayish. Bill from nostril, .60. Under parts without waved lines. White patch on wing reaching nearly opposite to end of first primary. Tarsus about equal to the gape. Length, 8.75; wing, 4.20; tail, 4.40; bill above, 1.00; tarsus, 1.20 … elegans.
Above light ash-color. Upper tail-coverts and forehead much lighter than the back, the former sometimes almost white. Sides and breast generally nearly pure white.
Black of loral space with conspicuous hoary margin above it. Inner web of secondaries much as in C. ludovicianus. Axillars whitish. Tail-feathers with concealed white patch at bases of all the feathers. Bill from nostril about .50. No waved lines beneath. White patch on wing reaching nearly opposite to end of first primary. Tarsus longer than the gape. Length, 8.50; wing, 4.05; tail, 4.25; bill above, .83; tarsus, 1.12 … excubitoroides.
PLATE XIX.
1. Collurio borealis, Vieill.♂ H. B. T., 19549.
2. Collurio borealis, Vieill. juv., 17192.
3. Collurio excubitoroides, Swains. Neb., 38423.
4. Collurio ludovicianus, Linn. ♂.
5. Certhiola bahamensis, Reich. ♂ Bahamas, 11951.
Collurio borealis, Baird
GREAT NORTHERN SHRIKE, OR BUTCHER-BIRD
Lanius borealis, Viellot, Ois. Am. Sept. I, 1807, 90, pl. 1.—Sw.—Aud. Syn.—Ib. Birds Am. IV, 1842, 130, pl. ccxxxvi.—Cassin.—Max. Cab. Jour. VI, 1858, 190 (Upper Missouri).—Jones, Nat. Bermuda, 1857, 51 (Bermuda).—Dresser & Sharpe, P. Z. S. 1870, 590. Collyrio borealis, Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 324.—Cooper & Suckley, P. R. Rep. XII, II, 1860, 188 (Washington Territory).—Dall & Bannister, 280 (Alaska).—Samuels, Birds N. Eng. 268. Collurio borealis, Baird, Rev. Am. B. 1864, 440. Lanius excubitor, Forster, Phil. Trans. LXII, 1772, 382 (not of Linnæus).—Wilson, I, 1808, 74, pl. v, fig. 1. Lanius septentrionalis, Bon. Syn. 1828, 72 (not of Gmelin, which cannot be identified as an American species).—Cooper, Orn. Cal. 1, 1870, 137.—Cassin, Pr. A. N. Sc. 1857, 213.—Murray, ed. New Phil. Jour. XI, 1859, 223 (H. B. T.).
Hab. Whole of America north of United States; in winter south to Washington, St. Louis, Prescott (Arizona), and North California; Bermuda (winter, Jones).
Collyrio excubitoroides.
The description of this and the succeeding species will be found on page 413. In winter, the colors, especially of the immature birds, are quite different from those described. The plumage of the adult, in winter, differs from that of spring as follows: the lores and nasal tufts are whitish, instead of pure, sharply defined black, with, however, some of the hair-like fibres blackish. The ash above is a little less clear, the white beneath less pure; the under mandible whitish at the base. An immature bird, in winter, has the ash above overlaid by a wash of reddish-brown, producing a prevailing uniform light-brown tint; the black on side of head is reduced to an obsolete patch on the ear-coverts. The dull white beneath is everywhere—sometimes even on the lower tail-coverts—covered with numerous bars of dusky, more sharply defined, and darker than in the adult.
