4. Certhiidæ: CREEPERS.
Smaller than English sparrow; bill slender and curved downward; wings
rather pointed, long as tail; tail graduated, stiff, with long,
sharp-pointed feathers; claws long and strongly curved. (Ridgway.)
Food: insects. Sexes alike, and young the same. Found circling tree
trunks.
5. Troglodytidæ: WRENS and MOCKING THRUSHES.
This family is divided into two subfamilies.
WRENS: Smaller than English sparrow; bill slender, sometimes long and
arched; no bristles at corner of mouth; wings rounded; tail usually held
up. (Ridgway.)
Parents and young alike. Food: insects. Singers. Found near the ground.
MOCKING THRUSHES: Larger than English sparrow; bill slender, mostly
rather long; bristles at corner of mouth; wings rounded; tail longer
than wings; appear like thrushes; fine singers. (Ridgway.)
Sexes nearly alike. Food, insects and fruit. Some of them found in bushy
borders of woods, some about gardens and houses, and others in various
places.
6. Cinclidæ: DIPPERS.
Larger than English sparrow; bill slender, shorter than head; wings
short, stiff and rounded; tail shorter than wings, soft and square;
claws strongly curved; plumage soft and compact; body stout, thickset.
Sexes alike. (Coues.)
Food: water insects and larvæ. Found in and about the brooks of the
Rocky Mountains and other mountains of the West.
7. Motacillidæ: WAGTAILS and PIPITS.
Larger than English sparrow; bill slender, cone shaped, nearly as high
as wide, at base; short bristles at corner of mouth; wings rather long
and pointed; tail narrow and slightly forked; legs rather long; hind
claw very long, sharp and slightly curved. (Ridgway.)
Sexes alike. Food: insects. Found on the ground, where they walk, and
wag their tails.
8. Mniotiltidæ: WARBLERS.
It is almost impossible to characterize this family, there are so many
varieties. With few exceptions they are very small and beautifully
colored birds, sexes unlike, and changes of plumage with age and season.
Some are found in the tops of trees, some on bushes, and some on the
ground. Food: insects. (Coues.)
9. Vireonidæ: VIREOS.
Generally smaller than an English sparrow, and more slender; bill
notched in both mandibles; tail rather short, nearly even, of narrow
feathers; front toes more or less united. (Ridgway.)
Food: insects. Constant singers. Sexes alike and young the same, without
spots or streaks. Some found in trees in the woods, and others about
towns where English sparrows are not too numerous.
10. Laniidæ: SHRIKES.
Larger than an English sparrow; bill powerful, tip hooked and notched;
wings short, rounded; tail long and much graduated. (Ridgway.)
Food: insects, small mammals, and sometimes birds. Sexes alike, and
young the same. Found on outside of low trees, fences, telegraph wires,
and peaks of roofs.
11. Ampelidæ: WAXWINGS, etc.
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