The nest may be a thin or fairly substantial cup of grasses, bed-straw

(_Galium_) and the like, occasionally lined with hair, and placed in bushes

or rank herbage, as in the Black-cap, Garden-Warbler and White-throats

(_Sylvia_); or a firmer structure, including wool, moss, feathers,

reed-flowers, or even lichens, built on the ground, in shrubs, in sedge, or

between reed-stems, as is the case in _Locustella_, _Acrocephalus_,

_Aedon_, and _Hypolais_. _Phylloscopus_, as well as some African and many

Indian and Australian members of the Sub-family, fashion a round ball of

grass and a little moss, lined with finer grasses, hair, down, or feathers,

and generally place it close to the earth; _Regulus_ hangs a cup of moss

and spiders' webs, bedded with feathers, below the end of a conifer or

other {518}branch, or even builds it in creepers. Savi's Warbler

(_Locustella luscinioïdes_) makes a Rail-like nest of broad grass-blades

(_Glyceria_) in sedges, _Myiomoira_ one of bark, grass, wool, moss, and

fibres in holes in trees, _Miro_ a similar fabric on their branches,

_Acanthiza_ a domed hanging structure of like materials, _Origma_ a ragged

pendent mass of moss and roots, lined with fur or feathers, under rocks.

_Orthotomus_ (Tailor-bird) and some species of _Franklinia_, _Prinia_, and

_Cisticola_ stitch together the edges of a leaf or leaves to sustain their

nest of grass, cotton, wool, and hair.

The number of eggs is generally from three to six, but as many as twelve

are found in _Regulus_. The colour is buffish-white with brownish and

violet-grey spots in Savi's Warbler; pinker with delicate red-brown

freckling in the Grasshopper-Warbler; rich red-brown in _Cettia_ and

_Chthonicola_; similar or varying to blue, green, white or pinkish, with or

without red or brown spots, in _Prinia_–even in the same species; little

different in _Cisticola_; bronzy-brown in _Pyrrholaemus_; white or purplish

with dark markings in _Sericornis_; white in _Origma_ and _Cryptolopha_. In

_Sylvia_ the eggs are greenish- or yellowish-white with olive, brown,

green, or reddish spots; in _Acrocephalus_ they are decidedly greener; in

_Aedon_ greyer with brown and dull violet markings; in _Phylloscopus_ and

_Acanthiza_ white, usually with dark red or purplish spotting; in

_Hypolais_ lilac-pink with blackish or brown blotches or streaks; in

_Regulus_ white, freckled or entirely suffused with yellowish or ruddy

dots.

_Myiodectes_ frequents woods and thickets, and has somewhat Thrush-like

habits; the voice is powerful, clear and metallic; while the food consists

chiefly of berries, though insects are hawked for in the air. The nest,

placed on bushes, stumps, banks or rocks, is made of sticks lined with soft

materials, or of twigs, roots, and moss, and contains from three to six

eggs, not unlike those of the Redbreast.

_Polioptila_ haunts tall trees or shrubs in pairs or small companies; the

habits are restless, the flight is quick, the food consists of gnats and so

forth, commonly captured on the wing. The purse-like nest is felted with

bark, fibres, and down, and decorated with lichens; it is woven to boughs,

stems, or creepers, and contains four or five greenish- or bluish-white

eggs, marked with red-brown, lilac, and grey.

Of the Miminae, _Mimus polyglottus_ is the Mocking-bird in {519}chief; the

natural song being rich, varied, and powerful, and the imitations ranging

from the yelp of the Eagle to the noises of the farm-yard. It is found from

the United States to Mexico and the Antilles, where in isolated trees,

hedges, or brambles it makes a bulky platform of rough twigs to support the

cup of roots, wool, and so forth, which contains the four to six pale

greenish-blue–or rarely buffish–eggs, with brown and purplish markings. The

movements are energetic but graceful, the flight Thrush-like; the food

consists of insects, often taken in the air, and fruit. _Mimus modulator_,

the "Calandria," of Argentina, Brazil, and Bolivia, feeds chiefly on the

ground, and can hardly be said to mock, though _M. triurus_ of the same

countries does so. _Galeoscoptes carolinensis_, the Cat-bird, besides an

attractive song, utters clucks, whistles, and mewing sounds; it feeds

chiefly on insect-larvae, and deposits from three to five deep

greenish-blue eggs in a nest of twigs, bark, and plant-stalks lined with

grass. _Oreoscoptes_, of the North American sage-brush districts, resembles

_Mimus_ in its habits, nest, and eggs, but is no mimic; nor, it may be

added, are the shy Thrashers (_Harporhynchus_), which commonly haunt arid

situations, placing their large, flattish nest of coarse twigs, leaves,

fibres, bark, grass, and moss, lined with softer materials, in low trees or

thorny scrub. Their three to six eggs are white, bluish, greenish, or buff,

with yellowish, purplish, or red-brown spots or specks, those of the more

terrestrial _H. crissalis_ being uniform pale greenish-blue. _Donacobius_

frequents reeds, but possibly does not belong to this group; _Melanoptila_

has a harsh or mewing note, and lays blue eggs, as does _Melanotis_.

Fam. VIII. CINCLIDAE.–The Dippers or Water-Ousels form a single genus,

_Cinclus_, probably more akin to the Wrens than to the Thrushes. The bill

is moderate and straight, without bristles at the gape, the maxilla being

slightly curved and notched; the smooth metatarsi are fairly long and

strong; the wings are abbreviated, rounded, and concave; the tail is

extremely short, and the whole body peculiarly squat-looking. The colour

above is normally greyish-black or brown, _C. ardesiacus_ being, however,

delicate grey; the lower parts are similar or white, commonly with a black

belly, while a chestnut band crosses the breast in the British _C.

aquaticus_ and in _C. albicollis_. White spots often occur above and below

the eye; _C. leuconotus_ and _C. leucocephalus_ have nearly white heads,

and the former shews white on the back. {520}The sexes are alike, but the

young are spotted. Both plumage and down are close and nearly impervious to

water.

These birds range throughout the Palaearctic Region, just reaching the

southern slopes of the Himalayas, China, and Formosa. One species occupies

the Atlas Mountains, while others occur along the heights of Western

America, and the Andes southwards to Peru. Individuals of a dark form from

Northern Europe occasionally stray to Britain, but such migration is

exceptional.

[Illustration: FIG. 113.–Dipper. _Cinclus aquaticus._ × 5/13.]

Dippers frequent rapid streams in hill-country, which seldom freeze, and

appear as cheery in winter as in summer; their flight is powerful, rapid,

and direct, with quick wing-strokes and sudden descent; their cry upon the

wing is loud and clear, their song when stationary Wren-like. They sit on

stones in the water, bobbing up and down and jerking their tails, while

they use both legs and wings below the surface, whither they dive

noiselessly in search of insects, their larvae and pupae, or molluscs.

Fish-spawn has not been found in the stomach. The domed, but flattened,

nest is composed chiefly of moss or grass, with an inner bed of dry

materials, which are generally oak or beech leaves, though in India

sometimes ferns and roots. It is affixed to rock-faces, ledges, or boulders

in streams, placed in crevices of masonry, or even built in holes in the

soil or in débris caught on bushes, common situations being behind

water-falls, under bridges, or beside mill-wheels. _C. albicollis_ seems to

make an open fabric in Italy. From four to seven dull white eggs are laid

very early in the season, two or even three sets being often

produced–occasionally in the same nest. This the young sometimes leave by

the end of March, being able to swim before they are fully fledged.

{521}Fam. IX. TROGLODYTIDAE.–The Wrens have their headquarters in Tropical

America, but even reach Greenland, Patagonia, and the Falkland Islands.

Four genera with some eight species inhabit the Himalayas, the hills of

West China, the Burmese countries, Sumatra and Java; while _Troglodytes_,

including the common Wren, occupies most of the Palaearctic and Nearctic

Regions. An altitude of eleven thousand feet is attained in certain cases.

The bill is generally moderate, slender, and somewhat arched; being,

however, stouter and almost hooked in _Thryothorus_ and _Campylorhynchus_,

much elongated in _Catherpes_, _Salpinctes_, and _Microcerculus_, high and

compressed in _Cyphorhinus_, remarkably conical, straight, and pointed in

_Sphenocichla_. The maxilla may be notched, but rictal bristles are almost

entirely absent. The long robust metatarsi are scutellated anteriorly,

except in _Pnoëpyga_; _Salpinctes_ shews scales behind; _Cistothorus_ has a

very large hind claw. The wings are rounded and concave; the tail is

usually short and graduated, though it is exceptionally long in

_Cinnicerthia_, _Sphenocichla_, and _Urocichla_, and is hardly visible in

three species of _Pnoëpyga_. The last-named genus has only six rectrices,

_Urocichla_ has ten. The coloration is ordinarily brown, with a great

tendency to barring; spots, stripes, and streaks are not uncommon;

chestnut, bay, orange, and grey often relieve the dulness; _Troglodytes

formosus_, _Catherpes_, and _Henicorhina_ exhibit white spots above or even

below; and two species of _Microcerculus_ have a white alar bar.

[Illustration: FIG. 114.–Wren. _Troglodytes parvulus._ × 4/7.]

Wrens frequent marshy, as well as dry or rocky localities, being familiar

and yet wary; they habitually hop about with upturned tails, fly sharply

from cover to cover, and hunt for insects, their larvae, and spiders, among

fallen leaves, in crevices of rocks, and so forth, while they occasionally

eat worms, small molluscs, crustaceans, and seeds. The characteristic note

is shrill and Warbler-like, though harsher sounds accompany it, but

_Cyphorhinus cantans_, the {522}Organ-bird of the Amazons, _Troglodytes

domesticus_ (_aedon_), _Microcerculus_, and other American forms utter

melodious flute-like strains. The nest is usually a domed structure of

ferns, grass, moss, leaves, or even twigs, often lined with hair or

feathers, which is placed in bushes, hedges, cacti, reeds, and cavities of

masonry, or on trees, rocks, banks, and the like; _Salpinctes_,

_Catherpes_, _Urocichla_ and sometimes _Pnoëpyga_ make no covering;

_Campylorhynchus_ fashions a large purse-like structure, with a long

passage for entrance. The eggs vary in number from three to nine, and are

white, with or without spots or freckles of red, purplish, or brownish; in

_Thryophilus pleurostictus_ they are said to be blue.

Fam. X. CHAMAEIDAE.–This contains only _Chamaea fasciata_ and _C. henshawi_

of California, which by various American authorities have been referred to

the Wrens or the Tits, though not agreeing closely with either. This is the

only _Family_ of land birds peculiar to the Nearctic Region. In both sexes

the lax plumage is brown above and buffish below, with faint tail-bars and

pectoral streaks; the bill is short, straight, and compressed, and is

furnished with rictal bristles; the metatarsi are stout and nearly smooth;

the wings are rounded and concave; the tail is graduated. _Chamaea_

inhabits dry plains and bushy hill-sides, flits about or searches for

insects with elevated tail, utters a Wren-like trill, and builds a nest of

twigs and grass in low bushes, adding hair or feathers to the lining, and

laying three or four pale greenish-blue eggs.

Fam. XI. HIRUNDINIDAE.–The Swallows and Martins compose a well-defined

cosmopolitan Family, certainly far removed from the Swifts (p. 420), with

which they used to be joined. The latter have ten tail-feathers, and hardly

any scutellation on the legs, the former twelve rectrices, and an

anteriorly scutellated metatarsus. The bill is short, broad, and usually

much depressed, being notched at the tip and split nearly to the eyes. The

feet are very small and weak, with the middle digit more or less adherent

to its neighbours; _Tachycineta_ has a stoutish hallux, _Chelidon_

feathered toes, and _Cotile riparia_ a tuft at the back of the metatarsus.

The wings are extremely long and pointed, while the exterior margin of the

outer primary has hooked barbs in the males of _Psalidoprocne_ and

_Stelgidopteryx_. The tail varies in length, and is often very deeply

forked, _Petrochelidon_, _Stelgidopteryx_, _Chelidon dasypus_ and

_Psalidoprocne_ nitens having it {523}exceptionally square; while the

lateral feathers may be almost linear, as in _Hirundo rustica_, or even

wire-like, as in _H. smithii_.

_Chelidon_ is purplish- or bluish-black, or brown, having a white rump

occasionally barred with black, and white or buffish under parts;

_Tachycineta_ is similar, or greener and somewhat bronzy, in certain cases

lacking the white rump, in others shewing white mottlings above. _Hirundo_

is glossy metallic black, with a variable amount of chestnut or rufous on

the head, rump, or lower surface; the last of these regions exhibiting much

white or having a black pectoral band, while streaky markings are not

uncommon. _Cheramoeca_ is blue, black, white, and brown above, and white

below with a black breast-patch; _Procne_ is either entirely blue-black or

has some white beneath, _P. tapera_ alone being brown, with a longitudinal

band of the same colour on the white lower surface. _Atticora_ is

blue-black or greenish above, black and white or brown underneath;

_Petrochelidon_ is steel-blue with concealed white striations, the

forehead, nape, rump, and most of the lower surface being chestnut, rufous,

or buff, with or without stripes; _Psalidoprocne_ is uniform blue,

green-black, or sooty, _P. albiceps_ having a white crown and chin.

_Cotile_, _Phedina_, and _Stelgidopteryx_ are dull brown above, the first

being white, grey, brown, or rufous below, the second white with

longitudinal brown streaks, and the third white and rufous with yellow

middle to the breast and abdomen in two species. The plumage of most

Swallows is very metallic, and white spots are often prominent on the tail

feathers in _Hirundo_, _Chelidon_, _Cotile_, and _Petrochelidon_. The

female is duller than the male in _Procne_ only.

The range of _Hirundo_ and _Cotile_ is practically worldwide, reaching from

beyond the Arctic Circle in summer to South Africa, India, and Brazil in

winter, not to mention resident southern species; no Swallow, however,

occurs in New Zealand, nor is _Cotile_ found in the Australian Region. Four

species of _Petrochelidon_ are found in America, two in Southern Africa,

two in the Australian Region, and one in India–a remarkable distribution.

_Psalidoprocne_, _Phedina_, and _Cheramoeca_ are Ethiopian, Mascarene (with

Madagascar), and Australian respectively: _Tachycineta_ and _Procne_ extend

over the New World from its Arctic portions to Patagonia, _Atticora_ from

that country to Guatemala, _Stelgidopteryx_ from Canada and British

Columbia to Bolivia and Brazil. _Chelidon_ is confined to the Old World,

migrating in autumn to Central {524}Africa, Borneo, and Burma. The summer

migrants to Britain are _Hirundo rustica_, the Swallow, _Chelidon urbica_,

the Martin, and _Cotile riparia_, the Sand-Martin. Swallows traverse

immense distances on their periodical journeys, while all perhaps shift

their quarters to some extent for the winter.

[Illustration: FIG. 115.–Swallow. _Hirundo rustica._ × ½.]

Hardly any sort of country comes amiss to these birds, though the

neighbourhood of water is preferred, and for some species seems necessary.

Spending their life chiefly in the air and alighting comparatively little,

they rapidly dart, twist, double, sail aloft, or skim the water's surface

in company, at times chasing each other in sport or even fighting savagely.

Insects, which form the whole of their sustenance, are habitually taken on

the wing, and the young are sometimes fed, or building materials snatched

up, in full flight. A few species not uncommonly perch on trees, as

_Hirundo rustica_, _Tachycineta albiventris_, _Petrochelidon nigricans_,

_Psalidoprocne nitens_ and _Procne tapera_; the last-named, moreover, is

exceptional in being non-gregarious, while it flits about with depressed

wings and slow butterfly-like flight when not hawking. The majority are

rarely seen on the ground, unless they are procuring mud for nidification;

but many roost on reeds or in their nests, and just before migration they

settle in crowds on branches, fences, wires, and ridges of roofs.

_Hirundo_, _Chelidon_, and _Psalidoprocne_ bask in the sun on gravelly

places. The twitter or warble of Swallows–uttered on the wing or at

rest–and their squeaks of anger or alarm, are well-known; the scream of

_Procne_ and the chirp of _Stelgidopteryx_ being somewhat exceptional; when

excited, however, the bill is not uncommonly snapped noisily. The nest may

be cup-shaped as in our Swallow, _Cotile rupestris_, _C. fuligula_, and

{525}_C. concolor_, and made of agglutinated pellets of mud with a lining

of straw, chaff, leaves, or feathers; it may be similarly constructed but

semi-ovate, with a hole near the top, as in the Martin; or retort-shaped

with a tube for entrance at the side, as in several members of the genera

_Hirundo_ and _Petrochelidon_: in these cases it may be placed inside

buildings, under eaves, against rocks or walls. _Procne_–when not

accommodated with a box–some species of _Tachycineta_, _Petrochelidon

nigricans_, and other forms, not uncommonly prefer holes in trees, lining

them as usual, if at all; while many species of _Cotile_, _Psalidoprocne_,

and _Cheramoeca_ tunnel in banks, or, more rarely, choose holes in masonry.

_Procne furcata_ utilizes the holes of _Conurus patachonius_; _P. tapera_

the nests of _Furnarius rufus_ in Argentina; _Tachycineta leucorrhous_

occasionally that of _Anumbius_; _Atticora cyanoleuca_ that of the

Dendrocolaptine _Geositta_, itself within that of a biscacha. The eggs are

from four to seven in number, generally pure white in Martins, and whitish

with reddish-brown, grey, and lilac markings in Swallows; but the cases are

occasionally reversed. Two or even three broods are reared in a season, and

tended with the greatest care. Colonies are frequently formed, especially

by Bank- and Cliff-Swallows. In Britain the Sand-Martin arrives first, but

the Swallow comes early in April, while individuals have even been obtained

in winter.

Fam. XII. CAMPEPHAGIDAE.–The "Cuckoo-Shrikes" are commonly placed near the

_Laniidae_, but are possibly connected with the _Muscicapidae_ or the

_Corvidae_. The bill is usually strong, and of moderate length, being

hooked, arched, and wide at the base; it is especially stout in

_Artamides_, decidedly weaker in _Campephaga_, long and thin in

_Edoliisoma_. The metatarsus may be elongated and comparatively robust as

in _Pteropodocys_, _Lalage_, and _Symmorphus_, or short and less powerful,

as in _Pericrocotus_; the wings are normally long and pointed, and more

particularly so in _Pericrocotus_, _Lalage_, _Symmorphus_, and _Graucalus_.

The tail is also fairly long, and frequently rounded, though it may be

forked, as in _Pteropodocys_, and to a less extent in _Campechaera_, or

graduated as in _Pericrocotus_, _Campephaga_, and _Graucalus_. The plumage

is soft, with characteristically stiff shafts on the lower back; the

nostrils are nearly concealed by the feathers; the rictal bristles are

feeble. The usual coloration is either bluish-grey with a certain amount of

black and white, or chiefly black and white. The black has generally a

purplish or {526}a greenish gloss; while barring occurs occasionally in the

cocks, and much more commonly in the hens, where the tints are duller, the

grey lighter, and the hue in some cases brown or even rufous. The Mascarene

_Oxynotus_ is almost unique among Birds in having the males of the two

species alike, the females very different. Shaft-streaks on the feathers

are fairly frequent; two species of _Lalage_ have a chestnut lower surface,

and one the rump similar; while _Symmorphus_ is either brown above and

whitish below, or black and white with buff rump and under parts.

_Campechaera_ is green and golden-yellow in both sexes, but shews some

black, white, and grey as well; _Lobotus_ is olive-yellow with dark green

head and throat, orange-chestnut rump and breast, greenish tail, and an

orange lobe at the gape. _Pericrocotus_ is usually black, adorned with

lovely scarlet, crimson, orange, or yellow markings, and with a little

white, but two species lack the brilliant tints, and others replace the

black by brown or grey; the females in this genus usually have yellow where

the males have red, though they also shew red in two cases. Three African

species of _Campephaga_ vary from the ordinary grey or blackish coloration

in being glossy bluish-black, with scarlet, orange, and yellow

shoulder-patches respectively, and one in being steel-green, with purple

face and neck, and steel-blue lower surface. In these forms the females

have yellow markings. Finally, _Graucalus azureus_ is azure and black, with

a shade of cobalt.

The restless and active members of this Family are generally seen in small

flocks in wooded country, gardens, orchards, and hedge-rows. They are found

up to an altitude of ten thousand feet throughout the Ethiopian, Indian,

and Australian Regions, and even reach Amurland; _Graucalus_ inhabits all

three Regions, but _Oxynotus_ is peculiar to Mauritius and Réunion. The

flight is easy, undulating, and strong, though of brief duration; while the

birds hop and frisk about the branches, or move briskly from tree to tree,

as they examine the crevices of the bark or the leaves, and occasionally

pluck the fruit. They may occasionally be noticed darting to the earth to

secure caterpillars, of which they are extremely fond, or sallying into the

air after insects, like Flycatchers. _Pericrocotus_ is said to hang to the

boughs like a Tit; _Pteropodocys_ lives chiefly on the ground. The mellow

and lively notes are of a whistling or twittering nature, varied by jarring

sounds; but all the species are rather silent. The nest, {527}composed of

twigs and grass, or of moss and leaves, is usually very shallow, and is

covered with lichens and spiders' webs; it is placed on slender branches of

trees, or more rarely in bushes. The two to five Shrike-like eggs are

brownish, whitish, or apple-green, with markings of brown, rufous, or

purple. Those of the isabelline-coloured _Hypocolius ampelinus_, which

possibly belongs to the Ampelidae, are white with plumbeous spots.

[Illustration: FIG. 116.–Grey "Coly-Shrike." _Hypocolius ampelinus._ ×

5/12. (From _Nature_.)]

Fam. XIII. DICRURIDAE.–The Drongos, usually associated with the _Laniidae_,

range throughout the Ethiopian, Indian, and Australian regions, as far east

as New Britain and New Ireland {528}(_Dicranostreptus_). _Chibia bracteata_

is the only species in Australia, while _Buchanga leucogenys_ is said to

reach Japan; _B. waldeni_ is peculiar to Mayotte, and _Edolius forficatus_

to Madagascar and Joanna Island. Both sexes are typically black, with a

metallic gloss of blue, purple, or green, though a few are greyer or

browner, or have a little white below. The variable bill is usually large

and more or less curved, with a hooked tip, a notched maxilla, and fairly

strong rictal bristles–much developed in _Chaetorhynchus_. The metatarsi

are short, the toes small, the wings long. The tail has only ten rectrices,

and is generally very deeply forked, though less so in _Dicrurus_,

_Chibia_, and _Chaetorhynchus_. In _Chibia_ the two outer feathers are

slightly elongated and turned up, in _Dissemuroïdes_ they are produced and

recurved at the tip, in _Dicranostreptus_ they are extraordinarily

lengthened and turned to face one another. In _Bhringa_ and _Dissemurus_

the long bare shafts terminate in racquets, and have a twist that brings

the upper side inwards in the former, and one in the racquet itself in the

latter. On the forehead a large, erect tuft occurs in _Edolius_, a still

more extensive recurved crest in _Dissemurus_, a bunch of long, silky hairs

in _Chibia hottentotta_. A few similar hairs are found in _C. pectoralis_,

and scanty plumes in _C. bimaënsis_; _Dissemuroïdes_ having the one or the

other. Various species exhibit a tendency to lanceolate hackles on the head

and neck, while the feathers of the former are scaly-looking in

_Chaetorhynchus_. The bill and feet are black; the eyes red, white, or

brown.

[Illustration: FIG. 117.–Drongo. _Dissemurus paradiseus._ × 2/9.]

These wary, active birds frequent gardens, open country, and forests up to

at least eight thousand feet, more usually in pairs {529}than in companies;

their flight is strong and rapid, but undulating and not sustained, while

they are often seen perched on bushes or exposed branches, and occasionally

hover like a Kestrel. The song or whistle is ringing and melodious, varied

by harsh chattering or creaking sounds; the food consists of insects of all

kinds, which are captured on the ground, on leaves or flowers, on the backs

of cattle, or at times upon the wing, individuals often returning to their

perches like Flycatchers. Drongos are good mimics, fight viciously, and are

very courageous, mastering even Hawks and Crows. The nest is a shallow cup

of twigs, roots, leaves, fine grass, lichens, hair, and cobwebs, often so

slight that the contents can be seen from below: it is usually woven into a

horizontal fork like that of an Oriole, but may be fixed among bamboos, and

often overhangs water. The eggs, rarely more than three or four in number,

are sometimes plain white, but usually pink, buff, or white, with red,

brown, claret, purplish, or grey spots and blotches. Not uncommonly a

second set is found in a nest whence the first has been taken. A curious

instance of "unconscious mimicry" is that of _Buchanga atra_ and the Indian

Cuckoo _Surniculus dicruroïdes_, the plumage being exactly the same, though

the feet distinguish them at once.

Fam. XIV. AMPELIDAE.–In this group most forms have a short, depressed bill,

though it is longer with bristly gape in _Phaenoptila_, and stouter in

_Dulus_; they have abbreviated metatarsi, not scutellated in _Phaenoptila_;

the wings are long and pointed in _Ampelis_, shorter and roundish

elsewhere; the tails vary from short and even in _Ampelis_ to long and

rounded in _Phaenopepla_, or cuneate with elongated median feathers in

_Ptilogenys caudatus_.

Both sexes of our irregular winter-visitor the Waxwing (_Ampelis garrulus_)

are silky greyish-brown, with blackish wings, and tail relieved by yellow

and white; a black forehead, eye-stripe, and throat; chestnut under

tail-coverts and basal margin of the erectile crest; and, in the adults,

flattened wax-like tips to the shafts of the secondaries or even the

rectrices. The young are streaked below. Breeding near the Arctic Circle,

and changing its quarters erratically, it occurs in the New as well as in

the Old World, while in winter it migrates southwards to at least lat. 43°

N. The flight is easy, graceful, and often high; the notes are of a

trilling or of a chirping nature; the food consists of insects, berries,

and other fruit. The nest of twigs and fibrous lichens, or {530}of grass

and bark, is placed on firs or birches, and contains from five to seven

purplish-grey or drab eggs, with spots of black, brown, or lilac. The

smaller North American _A. cedrorum_ lacks the yellow and white on the

wing; _A. phoenicoptera_, of Japan, North China, and East Siberia, has red,

but not wax-like, tips to the remiges and rectrices.

_Dulus dominicus_, of San Domingo, is dark brown, varied with greenish and

yellow, the yellowish-white lower surface shewing broad brown streaks.

Several pairs often join their nests of twigs into a circular mass.

_Phaenoptila melanoxantha_, of the Costa Rican hill-valleys, is glossy

black, having an olive rump-band, and similarly coloured under parts with

yellow sides and grey middle. The female is olive above with black crown.

_Phaenopepla nitens_, of Mexico and the Southern United States, is

bluish-black, with white on the primaries and vent-region; it has an

erectile occipital crest. The hen is dark grey, with brown abdomen and a

different distribution of white. This shy, active bird has the graceful

movements of a Flycatcher, with a habit of jerking the tail; the song is

plaintive or whistling; the food consists of insects and fruit. The flat

nest, of fibres, grass, and down, contains from two to five greyish eggs,

speckled with brownish-black and neutral tints: _Ptilogenys cinereus_, of

the highlands of Central America, is plumbeous, with black remiges, black

and white rectrices, loose broad lavender crest-plumes, and yellow under

tail-coverts and flanks; the female is chiefly brown.

[Illustration: FIG. 118.–Waxwing. _Ampelis garrulus._ × ⅓. (From _Bird Life

in Sweden_.)]

Fam. XV. ARTAMIDAE.–The "Wood-Swallows" constitute a group of very doubtful

position, ranging from the Australian to the Indian Region and in one case

(_Pseudochelidon_) to West Africa. In the last-named the bill is broad, but

elsewhere it is {531}long, pointed, and slightly curved, with wide gape.

The metatarsi are short and strong; the wings are much elongated; the tail

is short and occasionally emarginate, with soft, exserted shafts to the

rectrices in _Pseudochelidon_, which is glossy greenish-black with red beak

and feet. _Artamus_, where powder-down patches occur on the sides, thighs,

and lower back, exhibits black, brown, rufous, or grey tints, relieved by

white–especially below, or towards the tip of the tail; the bill is blue

with black extremity, the feet are greyish. The sexes hardly differ.

These woodland birds often float nearly motionless in the air, occasionally

moving ahead with a few strokes of the wing; at other times they wheel and

twist about like Swifts. They hawk for insects, or sally after them from

their perches, feeding also upon the ground, on the larvae and on seeds.

Congregating like Swallows, they have in Australia a curious habit of

hanging in ball-like masses from the branches; the note is plaintive or

chirping. The nests, often found in close proximity, are placed in forks of

trees, on their side-shoots, in holes, behind loose bark, in deserted

habitations of other birds, or in bushes; the outer materials being twigs

and grass, those of the lining fibres and feathers. From two to four white,

greenish, or flesh-coloured eggs are deposited, spotted and streaked with

umber, red-brown, grey, lilac, or occasionally black.

Fam. XVI. LANIIDAE.–Few Families are more difficult to define than this. A

typical Shrike is easily recognised; but such forms as _Pachycephala_ and

_Hemipus_ are closely connected with the _Muscicapidae_; _Calicalicus_ and

_Neolestes_ with the _Pycnonotidae_; _Gymnorhina_ and its allies with the

_Corvidae_; while some authors include the _Campephagidae_. Dr. Gadow[287]

recognises five Sub-families: (1) _Gymnorhininae_, (2) _Malaconotinae_, (3)

_Pachycephalinae_, (4) _Laniinae_, and (5) _Vireoninae_; but the last-named

is here allowed Family rank, while _Prionopinae_ is admitted in its place.

The bill is stout, notched, and often strongly hooked, while it is either

curved or straight; in _Falcunculus_ it is more than usually compressed, in

_Rhectes_ the maxilla has the edge finely serrated, in _Xenopirostris_ the

mandible is upcurved, leaving a distinct gap above it. In the

_Gymnorhininae_ the culmen is long, straight, and slightly rounded, with

slit-like nostrils near {532}the middle. The variable metatarsus is very

strong in the larger forms, and much weaker in the _Prionopinae_; it is

perhaps shortest in the _Malaconotinae_, where–as in all the Family–the

scutes tend more or less to fuse. In _Calicalicus_ and _Nicator_ the basal

joints of the third and fourth toes are united. The wings–usually

moderate–may be very long and pointed, as in _Gymnorhina_ and _Pityriasis_,

or abbreviated and much rounded, as in _Telephonus_ and _Laniarius_; the

rather short tail is rarely emarginate, but frequently has acuminate

feathers; while it may be square or rounded, or at times graduated, as in

_Laniarius_, _Laniellus_, _Paeoptera_, _Telephonus_, _Ptererythrius_, some

species of _Lanius_, and still more _Urolestes_, where the two median

rectrices are exceptionally elongated. _Falcunculus_ and _Oreoeca_ have

well-developed erectile crests; _Rhectes_, _Sigmodus_, _Pseudorhectes_, and

_Melanorhectes_ also exhibit lengthened head-plumes; _Platylophus_ has

these feathers broad and extraordinarily long; while _Prionops_ has in

addition frontal feathers overhanging the nostrils. _Pityriasis_ has a bare

yellow crown, the ear-coverts and lower throat being covered by brown

bristles with red bases: _Leptopterus_, _Prionops_, and _Sigmodus_ have a

fleshy wattle round the eye. Rictal and nasal hairs may be highly developed

or absent. The sexes are generally similar, except in the Pachycephalinae,

and to some extent in the Prionopinae.

Sub-fam. 1. _Gymnorhininae._–The remarkable red and black _Pityriasis

gymnocephala_ inhabits Borneo; the black and white _Gymnorhina_ Australia,

with Tasmania; the black, white, and grey _Strepera_ the same countries,

_Cracticus_ Papuasia also. _Gymnorhina_ and _Cracticus_ have the beak

bluish-white. _Strepera_ occurs in parties in open wooded districts or

swamps, feeding chiefly upon the ground on insects, their larvae, and a

little fruit; while it runs, hops, or leaps from branch to branch with

great agility, but generally flies low and feebly. It is a bold bird with a

shrill, ringing, oft-repeated cry. The nest, as large as that of a Crow, is

placed in the fork of a low tree, and is formed of sticks and twigs with a

lining of bark, grass, leaves, wool, or hair; three or four pale chocolate-

or reddish-brown eggs, with faint red or lilac markings, being deposited.

_Gymnorhina_, the Piping Crow, resembles _Strepera_ in habits, though its

single, clear notes are somewhat different, and it can be taught to whistle

or mimic. _G. hyperleuca_ of Tasmania is called the Organ-bird, as

_Cyphorhinus_ (p. 522) is in Amazonia. The eggs vary from brown to whitish,

{533}bright green, or sky blue, with smears, dashes, spots, or freckles of

lilac and brown. The shy _Cracticus_ is more arboreal, and eats mice, young

birds, lizards, and even crabs, in addition to insects, upon which _C.

destructor_ darts like a Flycatcher, impaling its prey subsequently after

the fashion of a Shrike. The cry in this genus bears a general resemblance

to that of the above forms; the eggs are equally variable, and may have

zonal markings.

Sub-fam. 2. _Malaconotinae_.–These African and Indian birds are commonly

black, white, and chestnut; _Laniarius_, however, is chiefly red, green,

and yellow; _Nicator_, _Neolestes_, and several species of _Ptererythrius_

shew much yellow and green; while _Artamia leucocephala_ is greenish-black,

and _A. bicolor_ chiefly cobalt, both having the head and under parts

white. The feathers of the back are very broad, soft, and fluffy. _Vanga_,

_Artamia_, _Xenopirostris_, and _Calicalicus_ are peculiar to Madagascar;

unless _Clytorhynchus pachycephaloïdes_ of New Caledonia and the New

Hebrides be referred to _Xenopirostris_. Between _X. polleni_ and _Tylas

eduardi_ (Pycnonotidae) a most curious instance of "unconscious mimicry"

exists. The retiring members of this Sub-family are commonly seen hopping

or climbing about thick undergrowth in search of insects and their larvae,

or hunting for worms and spiders on the ground; they run well and fly

fairly, while some forms, as _Dryoscopus cubla_ and _D. rufiventris_, puff

out their feathers until the body resembles a black and white ball. The

voice of _Laniarius rubiginosus_ has been compared to that of a

Nightingale, and other species utter ringing notes, sweet or melancholy

whistles, or at times loud, discordant cries or "churrs." The nest–where

known–consists of twigs, grass, wool, hair, and feathers, and contains from

three to five greenish-white eggs with brown spots; it is placed in a bush,

or among close-growing plants. The male occasionally incubates.

Sub-fam. 3. _Pachycephalinae_.–This group, which extends from most of

Polynesia and Australia to Tenasserim and the Great Sunda Islands, shews

brown, black, white, grey, yellow, and olive hues, the yellow being

somewhat characteristic. The majority of the members hop actively about

leafy trees, or search the ground for insects, their larvae, and berries;

_Falcunculus_ takes short, quick flights, clings to the boughs like a Tit,

and often tears off the bark; while _Pachycephala simplex_ prefers swampy

ground, and behaves like a Flycatcher. Some species have a low, mournful,

reiterated note, others a continuous whistle, often ending with a

{534}smacking sound, others again have a sweet song. The nest of

_Pachycephala_ is a neat, though sometimes frail, cup of twigs, roots, and

grasses, often placed on horizontal boughs, and containing three or four

creamy or brownish eggs, with scattered or zonal umber markings and a few

lilac spots; _Falcunculus_ usually selects a gum-tree, and uses bark,

grass, and cobwebs, laying two or three elongated whitish eggs, with olive,

black, and greyish dots or lines; those of _Oreoeca_ are bluer.

[Illustration: FIG. 119.–Great Grey Shrike. _Lanius excubitor._ × 5/13.]

Sub-fam. 4. _Laniinae._–The Shrikes proper extend over the Palaearctic,

Indian, and Ethiopian Regions, and alone of the Family occur in the New

World, _Lanius borealis_ and _L. ludovicianus_ inhabiting North America.

The lax plumage is either black, grey, and white, or is varied with rich

red-brown. _Urolestes_ has the feathers of the crown and neck lanceolate,

and those of the sides long and fluffy; _Laniellus_ is exceptional in being

spotted. The young are browner, and are often transversely barred below, a

fact also true of the _Gymnorhininae_. In the large genus _Lanius_ are

included all the British Butcher-Birds, _L. excubitor_, _L. minor_, _L.

pomeranus_, _L. collurio_, the Great Grey, Lesser Grey, Woodchat {535}and

Red-backed Shrikes, of which only the last-named breeds in our island. The

Sub-family contains many of these quarrelsome, rapacious birds, often seen

perched on the tops of bushes, or chasing each other along the hedge-rows.

The flight is strong and rapid, but undulating and brief; the food, which

may be taken on the wing, or procured upon the ground, consists of small

mammals and birds, insects, snakes, lizards, frogs, or even crabs and

fruit, the creatures not devoured at once being impaled on thorns or spiky

leaves. The larders are usually near the nest, which is a bulky mass of

twigs, grass, and the like, with a softer lining, placed in a thick bush or

fairly high up a tree; the four to seven eggs vary from green to

reddish-buff or whitish, and are spotted, blotched, and generally zoned,

with brown, red, olive, green, or a little grey. Sometimes the male

incubates. The usual note is harsh and grating, but shriller cries or

sweeter songs are not uncommon, while certain species are good mimics.

Pellets of the indigestible portions of the food are ejected after eating,

as in Birds of prey, and elsewhere.

Sub-fam. 5. _Prionopinae._–The "Wood-Shrikes" are usually dull in colour,

though some have the normal browns, greys, and blacks relieved by bright

chestnut, fawn, or yellowish-white, and several are black and white, or

uniform black. They frequent trees and bushes, and eat molluscs and fruit;

but live chiefly upon insects captured on the branches or on the ground, if

not by darting into the air from a perch. Their flight, rapid but short, is

commonly performed with quivering wings; they hop easily upon the ground;

while their notes take the form of a rather pleasing Thrush-like song or a

harsh chatter. The slight, loose nest, built in a low fork, in the hollow

of a stump, or even on a rocky ledge, is made of moss, grass, bark, roots,

wool, feathers, lichens, cobwebs, or downy seeds; the three eggs being

white, greenish, or buff, often with brown, black, and grey blotches,

dashes, freckles, or zones.

_Grallina_, the "Magpie-Lark" of Australia and New Guinea, doubtfully

placed here, possesses vocal organs abnormal for an Oscinine bird.[288]

Graceful and tame, it frequents homesteads, stream-sides, and swamps,

having a heavy, flapping flight, uttering a shrill, plaintive whistle, and

plastering a nest of mud and grass on some horizontal bough. The three or

four eggs are white or pinkish, marked or zoned with red, brown, and lilac.

The Helmet-bird of Madagascar (_Euryceros prevosti_), a purplish-black

{536}and chestnut species, with a compressed, swollen and hooked steel-blue

beak exhibiting a pearly interior, should perhaps stand in a separate

Family, _Eurycerotidae_, and not with the Shrikes.

Fam. XVII. VIREONIDAE.–The small group of "Greenlets" ranges from Winnipeg

and Nova Scotia to Argentina. The compressed or depressed beak varies from

stout and strongly hooked, as in _Vireolanius_ and _Cyclorhis_, to small

and comparatively weak as in _Hylophilus_; both mandibles being notched,

and the gape bristly. The metatarsi are usually short and robust with

slightly united anterior toes, but are longer and more feeble in _Vireo_;

the wings may be elongated and pointed, as in _Vireosylvia_, or abbreviated

and roundish, as in _Vireo_ and _Neochloe_; the tail is normally short and

even, with narrow feathers, but is rounded in _Neochloe_. The frontal

feathers are somewhat erect. The coloration is olive, or green and grey

above–with a black, brown, ashy, or reddish cap–and is grey, whitish, or

yellow beneath; the wing frequently exhibits white bands, and the head

white, dusky, or rufous stripes. White or yellow orbital rings occur in

_Lanivireo_, a red-brown tail in _Hylophilus ochraceiceps_, a blue crown in

_Vireolanius pulchellus_, a chestnut pectoral band in _V. melitophrys_. The

bill and feet are sometimes red; the eyes white, red, or yellow. The sexes

frequently differ in colour.

These active and fearless birds inhabit forests up to an altitude of ten

thousand feet, as well as ravines, swamps, or even streets of towns; they

are usually observed in pairs among the higher branches of trees, creeping

and hanging to the twigs, or chasing one another about in play. Seldom do

they seek the ground, but they take fairly long flights, and dart out after

passing insects, which, with the larvae and a few berries and seeds, form

the diet. The continuous song consists of loud, reiterated, flute-like

notes, supposed in one case to resemble "Whip-Tom-Kelly"; some forms also

utter harsher chirps or mews. The nest, a deep, firm cup of leaves, grass,

bark, lichens, spiders'-webs and cottony materials, lined with fibres,

fir-needles, delicate stems, or rarely down, is supported by some

horizontal fork, over which the rim is commonly turned; the four or five

eggs are white, generally spotted with red-brown, black, or purplish.

Fam. XVIII. SITTIDAE.–The Nuthatches, though closely allied to the

_Paridae_, show a certain affinity to the _Certhiidae_ (p. 571). Typically

they are stout little birds with long, pointed wings, and short nearly

square tails; the bill is fairly long and strong, and is straight and

awl-like, being notched only in _Sitella_ and _Hypositta_, and slightly

upcurved in the former.

{537}[Illustration: FIG. 120.–Nuthatch. _Sitta caesia._ × 4/11. (From

_Natural History of Selborne_.)]

Bristles usually occur at the gape, while the nostrils are concealed by the

same or feathers. The metatarsi are short and powerful, the scutes being

fused in _Hypositta_; the hind toe is unusually developed; the claws are

long, curved, and sharp. The colours in _Sitta_, which ranges over nearly

all the Palaearctic and Indian Regions, and throughout North America to

Mexico, are slaty-blue and rusty-red of various shades, relieved by black

and white; the slaty tints shewing chiefly above, often in combination with

a black or brown cap. _Dendrophila_ and _Callisitta_, of the Indian Region

and Timor, are blue and black, with creamy or ochreous lower parts.

_Sitella_, of Australia and New Guinea, exhibits brown, grey, black,

rufous, and white, often having a white head, or a rusty or white

wing-patch; _Daphoenositta_, of the latter country, adds to these hues pink

at the base of the bill and on the graduated tail; _Hypositta_ of

Madagascar is greenish-blue, with browner head and under surface, and

coral-red bill.

{538}Nuthatches are quiet, non-migratory birds, which frequent forests or

open country with old timber, where they may be seen darting quickly from

tree to tree with undulating flight, or creeping jerkily in Tit-like

fashion up and down the trunks or over rocks. They seldom seek their food

upon the ground, but search every cranny, and dig in rotten wood for

insects, their larvae, and so forth, or collect nuts, acorns, beech-mast,

and seeds; while the nuts are cracked by fixing them in chinks and

hammering them with the whole weight of the body, which swings backwards

and forwards from the hip-joint. In winter they are exceedingly tame. The

spring call is a noisy, querulous "whit-whit," recalling that of the

Wryneck, but sibilant sounds and sweeter cries are not uncommon, few

persons being aware that the British species (_Sitta caesia_) has at least

four sets of notes, one of which is very Thrush-like. _Sitella_ has a weak,

piping voice. In England the nesting-cavity is usually chosen in a tree,

but occasionally in a wall, haystack, or the like; this is commonly lined

with scales from conifer trunks, and the entrance blocked up with a plaster

of clay pierced by a round hole: abroad, however, holes in rocks are often

utilized, and nests made of moss, bark, hair, and feathers. The Indian

species do not always plaster up their holes, and the American apparently

never do so. _Sitella_ forms a curious funnel-shaped nest with a very thin

rim, in forks or on branches, using as materials bark, moss, down, cobwebs,

and lichens, the bark being applied externally like shingles. The three or

four greenish or bluish-white eggs, with blackish, grey, or lilac markings,

are very unlike those of _Sitta_, which are white, with fine pinkish-red

and lilac spots or blotches, and number from five to eight.

Fam. XIX. PARIDAE.–The Tits usually have a moderate and slightly decurved

bill, though it is elongated in _Sphenostoma_ and _Certhiparus_,

abbreviated with roundish outline in _Acredula_, _Psaltria_, and

_Psaltriparus_, more pointed in _Aegithalus_ and _Auriparus_; the maxilla

having little trace of a notch, or the gape of bristles. The metatarsi are

short, except in _Acredula_, where the legs are longer and the scales tend

to fuse; the robust front toes are partially united, and possess strong

claws. The wings are rounded and abbreviated, especially in _Aegithalus_;

the tail varies considerably, being short and nearly square in _Parus_,

long and graduated in _Acredula_ and _Psaltriparus_, intermediate in

_Psaltria_ and _Sphenostoma_, and emarginate in _Aegithalus_. The nostrils,

generally hidden {539}by bristly feathers, are exposed in _Xerophila_ and

_Sphenostoma_. Crests occur in the last-named and at times in _Parus_.

The colour of the soft, lax plumage is commonly dull; but _Parus_ may be

glossy greenish-black and yellow, as in the Sultan-bird (_P. sultaneus_);

black with white on the wings, tail, or lower parts, as in _P. niger_ and a

few other African species; blue and white, with a little black and grey or

a yellow fore-neck, as in _P. cyanus_ and _P. flavipectus_; blue, black,

greenish, yellow, and white, as in the British Great and Blue Tits (_P.

major_ and _P. caeruleus_); olive, brown, or grey, varied with black,

white, chestnut, or buff, as in our Crested Tit (_P. cristatus_); or

lastly, the tints while including but little yellow or blue, as in our Coal

and Marsh Tits (_P. britannicus_ and _P. palustris_), may be greyish or

olive on the back, with a black head, white cheeks, and buffish-white under

parts, the former species having a white nuchal patch. _Psaltria_ is brown,

grey, white, and buff; _Psaltriparus_ is similar; _Xerophila_ and

_Sphenostoma_ are brown, with yellowish-white, buff, or brown and white

lower surface; _Certhiparus_ is red-brown, with a grey nape and dull white

breast. _Acredula_, containing the Long-tailed Tits, is black and white

with a more or less pronounced rosy wash, or may be rufous, or brown and

grey, with pinkish or fawn under parts, two species having chestnut heads.

_Aegithalus_ and _Auriparus_ are rufous-brown, yellow-green, or greyish

above, with black and white, orange-red, or yellow heads; and are commonly

rufous and white, yellow, or whitish below, occasionally with bay marks.

The sexes are very similar, the young often yellower.

[Illustration: FIG. 121.–Great Titmouse. _Parus major._ × ⅝.]

Titmice are ordinarily non-migratory, _Parus_ occupying most of the globe,

except South America and the Australian Region east of Lombok and Flores;

_Psaltria_ is confined to Java, _Acredula_ to the Palaearctic and Indian

countries, _Aegithalus_ to {540}the same with the Ethiopian Region,

_Psaltriparus_ and _Auriparus_ to North America, _Xerophila_ and

_Sphenostoma_ to Australia, _Certhiparus_ to New Zealand.

These familiar birds, active and often noisy, are found in flat or hilly,

open or wooded districts, up to an altitude of ten thousand feet or more.

They are decidedly arboreal, seldom frequenting the ground, and usually

combining into flocks, except when breeding. The food consists mainly of

insects, their eggs, larvae, and pupae, but at times of conifer-seeds,

acorns, beech-mast, nuts, and the like; while in winter a suspended

meat-bone, fat, or crumbs, prove great attractions. No doubt a certain

amount of fruit is eaten in summer, and buds are plucked in spring; but the

latter commonly contain injurious grubs. The Great Tit will kill smaller

birds. The flight is weak and undulating, but on the trees the birds hop,

climb, cling head downwards, and pry into the crannies in most workman-like

style. _Xerophila_ is, however, more terrestrial. The sharp reiterated

notes are varied by sibilant sounds, those of the Blue Tit being fairly

representative; yet some are harsher; others, as in the Long-tailed Tits,

softer; while certain Crested Tits are credited with a song. The nest is

normally a mass of moss–and sometimes grass–with a felted lining of wool,

hair, or fur, containing from five or six to twelve or more white eggs,

which are in most cases spotted or freckled with various shades of red, but

rarely with purplish or chocolate-colour. Sometimes more than one is laid

in a day. The fabric is placed in holes in trees, stumps, rocks, walls, or

the ground; pumps, post-boxes, and so forth are frequently selected: nooks

behind loose bark, deserted habitations of other birds, or the foundations

of those of Hawks and Crows are sometimes chosen; while _Sphenostoma_, and

occasionally _Xerophila_, build open nests in shrubs. _Acredula_,

_Aegithalus_, and _Psaltriparus_ make a purse-shaped structure with an

entrance near the top; the first-named, thence called Bottle-Tit, placing

it in hedges, bushes, undergrowth, forks of trees, or even ivy, and using

as materials, moss, wool, lichens, and cobwebs, with a thick

feather-lining; the two latter generally suspend it to branches and fashion

it of grass, fibres, and leaves, often adding twigs externally or down

internally. _Aegithalus_ occasionally makes a tubular passage. _Auriparus_

deposits in a similar or bulkier nest pale bluish or greenish eggs with

red-brown specks, while those of _Sphenostoma_ are blue with blackish

{541}markings. _Acredula_ apparently incubates with its tail over its back.

The hen's bravery when sitting, her hissing challenge, and her speedy

return when driven off, are characteristic of Tits.

Fam. XX. PANURIDAE.–Family rank is now pretty generally accorded to

_Panurus biarmicus_, the "Bearded Tit" or "Reed-Pheasant," though its

affinities are still doubtful. Dr. Gadow,[289] judging from the internal

structure, inclines to the view that it is akin to the Finches, but others

place it next to the Tits. The bill is short, curved, rather conical, and

without a notch; the metatarsus is long and scutellated anteriorly; the

wings are short and rounded, the tail is extremely long and graduated. The

plumage is orange-brown above, with a grey crown and a black streak from

the lores down the cheeks, where the feathers are elongated and point

backwards; the wings are varied with black and white; the throat is

greyish, the breast pinkish; the abdomen coloured like the back; the under

tail-coverts are black, the bill is yellow. The hen has a buff head, while

she lacks the black "moustache" and under tail-coverts.

[Illustration: FIG. 122.–Reed Pheasant. _Panurus biarmicus._ × ½.]

This pretty species, which ranges through most of Europe, except

Scandinavia and Northern Russia, and reaches Central Asia, may be seen to

advantage on the Norfolk Broads, where it is resident, and still breeds in

diminished numbers. In windy weather the separate pairs keep hidden, but at

other times, though shy, a quiet observer may see them flitting above the

reeds, uttering their clear "ping-ping," or clinging to the flowering tops.

Insects and small molluscs, with seeds in winter, constitute the food. From

April to August a nest of broad grasses, sedges, and the like, lined with

reed-flowers, or exceptionally with vegetable-down, {542}is built in

aquatic herbage, or rarely in moderately high plants, to contain the round

creamy eggs with sparing brownish-black lines and scrawls. These number

from four to eight, or even ten, should two hens lay together. The

alarm-note is plaintive. Towards autumn the adults and young form large

flocks.

[Illustration: FIG. 123.–Golden Oriole. _Oriolus galbula._ × 3/7.]

Fam. XXI. ORIOLIDAE.–The Old World Orioles, not to be confounded with the

so-called "American Orioles" (_Icteridae_), inhabit the Palaearctic,

Indian, and Australian Regions, reaching eastward to Turkestan, China, and

Papuasia. The bill is strong, rather long, straight, and notched, or, in

_Sphecotheres_, curved; the metatarsus is short, the toes are small, the

wings are long, the tail is moderate and slightly rounded. _Sphecotheres_

has naked lores and orbits. The Golden Oriole (_O. galbula_) which breeds

exceptionally in England, is orange-yellow, with black lores and mainly

black wings and tail; the similar Indian Mango-bird (_O. kundoo_), has a

black post-ocular streak; other species shew black napes or heads. _O.

viridis_ and its allies are olive-yellow or brownish, often with dusky

streaks, _O. steerii_ being white beneath with broad black stripes; _O.

cruentus_ is blue-black, with crimson wing-bar and mid-breast; _O. ardens_

chiefly crimson, with black head and fore-neck; _O. trailli_ maroon, with

black head, throat, and wings; _O. hosii_ black, with {543}chestnut under

tail-coverts. The bill is crimson, pinkish, or bluish. _Sphecotheres_ is

yellow-green or olive-yellow, at times brighter below, and is relieved by

black, grey, and white, the orbits being yellowish or flesh-coloured, the

bill blackish.

These shy, restless, and quarrelsome birds frequent gardens, groves, and

mangrove swamps, avoiding the ground, flying heavily but swiftly from tree

to tree, and hopping among the higher branches. They eat insects and fruit;

and utter flute-like notes, varied by mewing calls or "churrs" of alarm.

The nest is a pocket of bark, grass, and fibres, with the rim woven over

two forking twigs–leaves, moss, and hair being occasionally added. The

three to five white or salmon-coloured eggs have dark purplish or

brown-pink spots, and more rarely streaks; those of _Oriolus viridis_ being

more dusky with brown and lilac markings. _Sphecotheres maxillaris_ makes a

shallow nest of twigs, and lays three olive or green eggs, blotched or

zoned with red-brown.[290]

Fam. XXII. PARADISEIDAE.–The Birds of Paradise have no rivals in splendour,

unless it be the Humming-birds, among which, however, there is no such

marvellous development of accessory plumes. They are undoubtedly allied to

the Corvidae, as is evidenced in particular by _Lycocorax_ and _Manucodia_,

while these also connect the more typical forms with the comparatively

plainly garbed Bower-birds, often placed in a separate Family,

_Ptilorhynchidae_. Few species are as large as Crows, and some are not

bigger than Thrushes. Whether known to earlier traders or not, the first

undoubted account of Birds of Paradise published in Europe was that of

Maximilianus Transylvanus (1523), followed by that of Antonio Pigafetta,

both relating to a couple of birds brought by Magellan's company from

Batchian,[291] where they were called Manukdewata, or "Birds of the gods."

Natives when preserving the skins used to cut off the wings and the feet, a

fact which gave rise to absurd stories of Paradise-birds (_Paradisea

apoda_) never perching, gazing perpetually at the sun (_passaros de sol_),

suspending themselves by the tail-feathers, and so forth. The hen was also

said to lay her eggs on the back of her spouse.

{544}[Illustration: FIG. 124.–D'Albertis' Bird of Paradise. _Drepanornis

albertisi._ × ⅖. (From _Nature_).]

The bill is usually short and stout, but is Crow-like in _Manucodia_ and

_Lycocorax_, long and decurved in _Ptilorhis_, _Paryphephorus_,

_Ianthothorax_, _Seleucides_, and _Falcinellus_, and becomes slender and

sickle-shaped in _Drepanornis_; the maxilla is in some cases notched, and

in _Scenopoeetes_ bidentate. The metatarsi are strong and fairly long, the

outer and middle toes are slightly united, and the hallux is large. The

wings are moderate or short, being especially rounded in Bower-birds; the

tail may be enormously elongated and graduated, as in both sexes of

_Falcinellus_, _Astrapia_, and _Paradigalla_; less graduated and shorter,

as in _Drepanornis_; of medium length, {545}and square or rounded, as in

many forms; or much abbreviated, as in _Cicinnurus_. _Astrapia stephaniae_

has the two median rectrices concave and decurved over; those feathers in

the males of _Paradisea_, _Cicinnurus_, _Diphyllodes_, _Schlegelia_,

_Paradisornis_, and _Uranornis_ exhibiting more or less wire-like shafts,

which terminate in large racquets in _Cicinnurus_, smaller discs in

_Paradisornis_. They are broader, convex above, wavy, and horny in

_Uranornis_, and are curled outwardly in _Diphyllodes_ and _Schlegelia_,

while they cross each other twice in the last, but once in _Cicinnurus_.

_Pteridophora_ has an extraordinary streamer behind each eye. That these

however, are by no means the only remarkable developments, will be seen

from the following descriptions of the most striking species, all of which

are confined to Papuasia and Australia, except the Moluccan genera

_Semioptera_ and _Lycocorax_. The feathering often extends over part of the

bill.

_Manucodia_ and _Phonygammus_ are the only Passerine birds known to have a

convoluted trachea.[292]

_Ptilorhis paradisea_, the Rifleman-bird,[293] is velvety-black with a

purple gloss, having the head, throat, and median rectrices green, the

abdomen bronzy; the crown-feathers are scale-like, and the silky

flank-plumes considerably elongated. _P. magnifica_ is somewhat similarly

coloured, with a stiff pectoral shield of metallic green; _Ianthothorax_

and _Paryphephorus_, with erectile nuchal collars, are near allies.

_Seleucides ignotus_ the Twelve-wired Bird of Paradise, which has six long,

recurved and filiform appendages to the lax, projecting feathers of each

side, is black, with purplish head, wings, and tail, bronzy back, broad

erectile breast-plumes margined with emerald, yellow sides and belly.

_Drepanornis albertisi_ is rufous-brown, with green throat and ante-ocular

region, white belly and dusky breast; the sides of the last exhibit

dark-edged bronzy plumes, which can be expanded like a fan, succeeded by

long grey decomposed feathers with lilac margins; and small bluish tufts

surmount the bare orbits and post-ocular region. _Falcinellus speciosus_ is

black with rainbow-like reflexions; the broad plumes of the sides of the

upper breast being banded with metallic blue and green, and having wide

tips which open upwards into a fan; while the long pointed flank-feathers

compose similarly coloured tufts.

{546}[Illustration: FIG. 125.–Long-tailed Bird of Paradise. _Falcinellus

speciosus._ × ⅐. (From _Malay Archipelago_.)]

_Astrapia nigra_, the Paradise-Pie of old authors, is bronzy-black above

and green below, with golden-green occiput and nape, purplish black throat,

coppery fore-neck, and violet tail, the feathers round the head forming an

erectile frill. _A. stephaniae_ has the head and neck bluer, the breast

purplish-bronze. The smaller _A. splendidissima_ has a more brilliant

nape-region, red fore-neck, and much buff on the tail. _Macgregoria

pulchra_ is black, with mainly orange-buff primaries, and an orange wattle

covering most of the face. _Paradigalla carunculata_ is black, with green

and bronzy sheen above; the front of the head being naked, with three

wattles on each side–one broad and yellow above the bill, another moderate

and blue at the gape, a third small and red below it. _Paradisea apoda_,

the Great Bird of Paradise, is rich brown, becoming purplish beneath; the

head and neck are pale yellow, the forehead, lores, cheeks, and throat

metallic green. The wiry median rectrices have very slight apical and basal

webs, while long, thick, extensile tufts of delicate decomposed

golden-orange feathers, tipped with brown, grace the sides. Of its

congeners, _P. minor_ has the mantle straw-coloured; _P. raggiana_ has a

light yellow gorget, and red lateral plumes like those of _P._

(_Uranornis_) _rubra_, the Red Bird of Paradise. _P._ (_Paradisornis_)

_rudolphi_ is greenish-blue and dusky above, with blackish head, neck, and

under surface, and a purplish occipital patch. From the sides of the body

spring two series of elongated, decomposed feathers; the outer and stiffer

being ultramarine, changing terminally to lilac with a brown external

tinge, the inner smaller and deeper blue. Below these come a row of short

chestnut plumes and finally a set of black. The two long median rectrices

are violet-black with small blue racquet-tips.

{547}[Illustration: FIG. 126.–Magnificent Bird of Paradise. _Diphyllodes

magnifica._ × 3/7. (From _Malay Archipelago_.)]

_Cicinnurus regius_, the King Bird of Paradise, hardly seven inches long,

is glossy crimson, with a metallic green band dividing the throat from the

white lower parts. An expansible fan of ashy plumes tipped with emerald

arises from each side, while the long median tail-wires have the terminal

green inner webs coiled into discs. The feathering reaches far down the

orange bill; the feet are cobalt, contrasting with the black, yellowish, or

fleshy tints usual in the Family. _Diphyllodes gulielmi tertii_ is

orange-red with mainly dusky wings and tail; the long nuchal ruff being

orange, the lateral neck-tufts purplish-brown, the pectoral shield green

edged with emerald, the long side-plumes brown with green ends, the belly

purple. _D. magnifica_ has a brown head and under surface, green throat and

breast-shield, orange-brown back surmounted by a double cape of

straw-yellow upon red-brown, and long, curved steel-blue tail-wires.

_Schlegelia respublica_ is remarkable for its naked blue head, with two

lines of brown feathers crossing each other at right angles, and for its

blue feet. The upper parts are successively green, yellow, crimson, black,

and brown; the silky gular shield is green, with metallic blue spots above

and coppery marks below; the lateral breast-plumes shew coppery and green

hues. _Parotia sexpennis_, the Six-wired Bird of Paradise, is bronzy- and

purplish-black, having scale-like golden throat- and breast-feathers with

green and blue reflexions. A satiny white {548}patch crosses the forehead;

the occiput is green, blue, and purple, having two lateral tufts, from each

of which spring three wires terminating in small black discs; while large,

soft, erectile masses of black adorn each side of the body. _Semioptera

wallacii_, the Standard-wing, is mouse-coloured, with somewhat bronzy back

and violet head; the pectoral feathers have green edges; the green shield

on the fore-neck extends in lateral tufts to the flanks; and two long,

narrow white plumes, erected at will, adorn the bend of each wing.

_Lophorhina superba_ is black, with blue, green, and bronzy gloss on the

head and neck; the bluish-green breast-shield is prolonged at the sides,

and a metallic black erectile ruff graces the nape. _Lamprothorax_ has

coppery, green, purple, rosy, and brownish hues, and two long blue-green

median rectrices. _Phonygammus jamesi_ is purplish-violet, with blue-green

head, under surface, lanceolate neck-feathers, and acuminate occipital

tufts. The extraordinary _Pteridophora alberti_ possesses a wonderful

streamer behind each eye, twice as long as the body. This has, on the outer

side only, about thirty-seven thin quadrangular enamel-like lobes, which

are light blue with dusky backs. The plumage is black, with olive

rump-region and ochraceous lower parts, the head and neck shewing elongated

plumes.

[Illustration: FIG. 127.–Six-wired Bird of Paradise. _Parotia sexpennis._ ×

⅙. (From _Malay Archipelago_.)]

_Manucodia atra_ is steel-green and black, with purple reflexions; _M._

(_Eucorax_) _comrii_ has the head and neck-feathers curly, _M. chalybeata_

those of the fore-neck. The Crow-like _Lycocorax pyrrhopterus_ is

greenish-black with brown wings; _Xanthomelus aureus_ is orange-yellow, and

has a deeper-coloured crested head and neck, black throat, tail, and part

of wings and back, and a cape of hackled plumes falling over the last.

Of the Bower-birds, _Prionodura newtoniana_ is bright orange, olive, and

brown; _Cnemophilus macgregori_ is golden-yellow above and black below,

with brownish wings and tail; the thin recurved {549}crest merging into a

compressed frontal ridge, whence chestnut feathering extends over the

culmen. _Loria loriae_ is chiefly purplish-black with an iridescent violet

nasal shield of scale-like feathers. _Loboparadisea sericea_ is

rufous-brown and yellow, with a wattle, apparently bluish, extending

upwards from the gape on each side. _Amblyornis inornata_ and _A.

subalaris_ are respectively olive and reddish-brown, with a huge orange-red

crest. _A. flavifrons_ has the crest yellower. _Sericulus melinus_, the

Regent-bird, is black, with orange head, neck, and most of the remiges;

_Ptilorhynchus violaceus_, the Satin-bird, is purplish-black, with much

feathered culmen; _Scenopoeetes dentirostris_ is olive-brown above, and

fulvous with dusky streaks below. _Aeluredus viridis_, the Cat-bird, not to

be confounded with that of America (p. 519), is bright green, with a blue

wash on the back, and with white streaks, bars, or spots on the nape,

wings, tail, and yellowish under parts. Other species of the genus have

mainly black or brown heads, while some have white throats with black

markings. _Chlamydodera nuchalis_ has grey-brown plumage above with whitish

tips, a lilac nuchal band backed by stiff feathers, and a yellow-grey lower

surface.

[Illustration: FIG. 128.–Satin Bower-bird. _Ptilorhynchus violaceus._ × ⅓.]

Female Paradise-birds generally have brown upper parts with lighter

markings, though they are occasionally blacker, as in _Astrapia_ {550}and

_Paradigalla_; below the colour is rufous, buff, grey, yellowish or white,

with bars, stripes, or chevrons of blackish or brown. In the female of

_Schlegelia_ the bare head is duller than in the male, while a little red

and gold shews above; the hen of _Ptilorhynchus_ exhibits grey-green and

brown tints; the sexes are almost alike in _Phonygammus_, _Manucodia_,

_Lycocorax_, and _Aeluredus_; in _Paradisornis_ the female has blue wings

and tail. Young birds usually resemble their mother; but with regard to

their progress to maturity, the elongation and abrasion of the webs of the

median rectrices, and the growth of the decorative tufts, the works of Mr.

Wallace,[294] Dr. Guillemard,[295] and Mr. Rothschild[296] should be

consulted.

Except in the Bower-birds the habits vary but little. Paradise-birds are

lively and active, shy though curious, taking refuge in the thick foliage

when disturbed; small flocks are not unfrequently observed, usually of one

species, while for considerable periods the males appear to live apart.

Closely wooded hills and ravines are the chief resorts, _Falcinellus_,

_Astrapia_, _Lophorhina_, _Diphyllodes_, and the like preferring the inland

heights of New Guinea up to an altitude of about nine thousand feet;

_Parotia_ of that country and _Scenopoeetes_ of Queensland range to about

four thousand feet; but such forms as _Cicinnurus_, _Xanthomelus_,

_Phonygammus_, _Ptilorhis_, and the Australian Cat-birds and Bower-birds,

occupy lower elevations on the coast or elsewhere. _Falcinellus_,

_Astrapia_, _Paradisea_, _Parotia_, _Ptilorhis_, _Sericulus_, and doubtless

others, love high tree-tops; _Semioptera_, _Cicinnurus_, and so forth, live

nearer to the ground. The brief flight is rapid, though undulating and

often heavy; in _Cicinnurus_ it is noisy, in _Ptilorhis_ the sound produced

resembles the rustling of silk. Most species hop constantly about the

boughs; _Paradigalla_ often rests on dead trees; _Drepanornis_,

_Seleucides_, _Semioptera_, and _Ptilorhis_, search under the bark for

insects, and move about like Creepers. The pugnacious males of _Paradisea_

collect to "dance" on favourite trees at the breeding season, when they fly

about with elevated and vibrating plumes; while in the Family generally the

cock courts the hen in Pigeon-like fashion, _Diphyllodes_ making meanwhile

a complete circle of its expanded mantle- and throat-plumes. _Parotia_

scratches and rolls in the dust like a Fowl.

The voice may be a shrill reiterated "wake-wake," as in _Paradisea_; a

harsh or sonorous cry, as in _Falcinellus_, _Chlamydodera_,

{551}_Phonygammus_, _Ptilorhynchus_, _Sericulus_, _Seleucides_, and

_Semioptera_; a long, grating or triple sound, as in _Ptilorhis_; a mewing

or flute-like note, as in _Cicinnurus_; or a sharp whistle, as in

_Aeluredus_; the last-named and _Amblyornis_ being especially excellent

mimics. The diet consists largely of berries, seeds, fruits of _Pandanus_,

and _Freycinetia_, the fig, nutmeg, and so forth; frogs, lizards, worms,

snails, and caterpillars, however, are also eaten; insects are in great

request; and _Seleucides_ sucks honey from the flowers. The nest and eggs

of several species have now been discovered; the former being a loose, open

fabric of sticks and leaves in _Ptilorhis_, _Ptilorhynchus_, _Sericulus_,

and _Phonygammus_; or of twigs, roots, moss, and grass in _Eucorax_,

_Chlamydodera_, _Prionodura_, _Aeluredus_, and _Drepanornis_; it is placed

in bushes, if not in low or even high trees. The eggs are glossy

reddish-buff, with dark rufous or chestnut blotches and streaks, and a few

black spots, in _Paradisea apoda_, _P. augustae victoriae_, _P. raggiana_,

and _Ptilorhis victoriae_; similar or whiter, often with purplish or

purplish-grey markings in _Eucorax, Manucodia_, and _Drepanornis

cervinicauda_; yellower with additional wavy scrolling in _Ptilorhynchus

violaceus_; yellowish-grey with pale brown freckles and blotches in

_Prionodura newtoniana_; bluish or greenish-white, with or without

red-brown dots and lines, in _Aeluredus maculosus_ and _Ae. viridis_;

greenish-white with a network of narrow brown and black lines in

_Chlamydodera maculata_ and _C. cerviniventris_; pale lavender with sienna

and lilac spots and scrawls in _Sericulus melinus_. The number of eggs

found varies from one to three.

_Parotia lawesi_, _Aeluredus viridis_ and _Scenopoeetes dentirostris_,

though not said to form bowers, make clear spaces where from six to eight

males meet to sport, the last two species decorating them with green or

coloured leaves, berries, and flowers. _Prionodura_ fashions a bower or

play-place of from four to six feet high by eight broad, piling sticks

round two trees and roofing over the intervening space with creepers; white

moss, ferns, and green fruit serving as ornaments. Small structures of

over-arching grass capped with twigs are often observable close by.

_Amblyornis inornata_ heaps a cone of moss round a sapling, leaving a

circular gallery between this and an outer conical cover of sticks two feet

high, covered with orchid sprays. Before the entrance lies a bed of green

moss decked with bright flowers and berries, which are renewed daily, the

withered decorations being piled at {552}the back. _A. subalaris_ fashions

a domed bower of sticks and moss, with one or two openings, round a shrub

which is itself entwined with twigs; the centre of the floor shewing a

cheese-like mass of moss ornamented with flowers and seeds. _Sericulus

melinus_ builds a run about a foot long on a platform of sticks, composing

it of arched twigs and decorating it with shells, berries, and leaves.

_Ptilorhynchus violaceus_ makes a like structure of twigs and grass, which

scarcely meet above, and adorns it with bright feathers; scattering other

feathers, bones, shells, rags, berries, and the like over the space which

Bower-birds habitually clear in front. In _Chlamydodera nuchalis_ the

similar bower, about three feet long, is lined with grasses, a large heap

of ornaments lying before each entrance.

Paradise-birds are shot with blunt arrows, snared, caught in nets, in

cloths, or with bird-lime; they have been kept in captivity by the

Zoological Society of London, and in Italy.

Fam. XXIII. CORVIDAE.–The Crows and their kin compose a fairly uniform

tribe, often divided into the Sub-families _Corvinae_ (Crows), _Garrulinae_

(Magpies and Jays), and _Fregilinae_ (Choughs).

The bill is generally stout and fairly straight, with no distinct notch,

being very strong in _Corvultur_ and _Corvus corax_, but more or less

curved in _Gazzola_, _Microcorax_, _Macrocorax_, _Urocissa_, _Garrulus_,

_Callaeas_ (_Glaucopis_), _Struthidea_, and _Pyrrhocorax_; while in the

last-named and _Heterocorax_ it is exceptionally long and slender, and in

_Nucifraga_ subulate and of diverse proportions. The metatarsus is usually

strong; the wings are long and pointed in Crows and Choughs, shorter in

Jays and Magpies, and decidedly rounded in _Corcorax_, _Callaeas_, and

_Struthidea_. The variable tail is very long and much graduated in _Pica_,

_Cyanopica_, _Urocissa_, _Cryptorhina_, _Dendrocitta_, _Crypsirhina_,

_Cissa_, and _Calocitta_, the two median rectrices often exceeding the

others; but it is usually moderate, though at the same time graduated in

some Jays.

Crests occur in _Cyanocitta_, _Platysmurus_, _Cyanocorax_, _Uroleuca_, and

_Calocitta_, those of the last two being recurved, and _Calocitta_ having

the plumes widened; sometimes the crown-feathers are dense and erectile, as

in _Garrulus_. The head of _Picathartes_ is bare and yellow, with a broad

black patch behind each eye; _Gymnocorax_ shews a large yellowish or

whitish naked space on the face; the adult Rook (_Corvus frugilegus_) has

whitish skin over the forehead, lores, and throat; in _C. pastinator_ the

throat is feathered. _Pica mauritanica_ has a blue, and the yellow-billed

{553}_P. nuttalli_ a yellow, ear-patch; _Cissa_ a fleshy vermilion orbital

outgrowth; _Callaeas_ an orange rictal wattle with blue base in one

species, a blue wattle in the other.

This Family occupies nearly all the globe, except the Australian Region

east of the Sandwich Islands, New Caledonia, and New Zealand; while the

members are less plentiful in America, and from Panama to Uruguay only a

few genera akin to the Jay occur. The sexes are similar, the young usually

duller.

True Crows are generally black with a purplish or greenish gloss, and

frequently with white at the base of the feathers; some, however, are

browner, while the silvery-grey hind-neck of the Jackdaw and the grey back

and lower parts of the "Hooded" Crow are well known. The Chinese _Corvus

torquatus_ and the Ethiopian _C. scapulatus_ have white collars behind, and

white on the breast; in _Gazzola_ of Celebes that colour extends further;

but the African _Corvultur_ has the white collar only. The throat sometimes

exhibits hackles, and in the Antillean _Microcorax leucognaphalus_ the

feathers have hair-like extremities. Our visitor the Nutcracker (_Nucifraga

caryocatactes_) is brown, with whitish dorsal and pectoral spots, and

blackish quills; three or four other species of the genus, with most

variable bills, inhabit conifer woods in the Palaearctic Region; and a near

ally (_Picicorvus columbianus_) those of the western Rocky Mountains.

Choughs (_Pyrrhocorax_), which occur in the Palaearctic and the extreme

north of the Ethiopian Region, are glossy black, with brilliant red feet,

and red or yellow bill.

_Pica rustica_, the well-known Magpie, needs no description, nor do its

black and white congeners, _P. mauritanica_, distinguished by a naked blue

spot behind the eye, and _P. nuttalli_ with this spot and the beak yellow.

_P. rustica_ extends through the Palaearctic Region, and reaches Formosa

and North America; the other species are found respectively in Algeria and

Morocco and in California. _Platysmurus aterrimus_ of Borneo, and _Temnurus

truncatus_ of Cochin China are instances of uniform glossy black forms in

this section; _Psilorhinus_, from the centre of America, is a dull brown

Jay. _Cyanopica cooki_, of Southern Spain, represented in Eastern Asia and

Japan by _C. cyana_, is a blue Magpie, having cobalt wings and tail, an

ashy body, and a black head; while the Indo-Chinese and Sumatran genus,

_Dendrocitta_, shews brown, orange, buff, and grey tints, mingled with

black and usually white. _Cissa_ contains three species from India, Burma,

{554}Sumatra, and Java, of lovely green and blue, or cobalt and ultramarine

hues, with some red-brown on the wing, a white tip to the tail, coral-red

bill and feet, and–in two cases–a black nape. Our soft-plumaged Jay

(_Garrulus glandarius_), with its black and white crest and wings, black

tail, reddish-fawn upper and buff under parts, and patch of blue, white and

black bars on the wing-coverts, may represent a genus ranging over the

Palaearctic Region, and through the Himalayas, to the Burmese districts and

Formosa. In Japan alone four species are found. _Aphelocoma_ and

_Calocitta_ of the central parts of the New World; the Blue Jays

(_Cyanocitta_) of North America; _Urocissa_, a Magpie with red or yellow

bill and feet, from India, Burma, and China; and the Central and South

American _Cyanocorax_, all shew more blue than _Garrulus_, not uncommonly

on the under surface. _Perisoreus infaustus_, the Siberian Jay, is brown,

grey, and olive, with much chestnut on the wings, tail, and abdomen, its

congeners being plain brown, grey, and white. Lastly, _Xanthura luxuosa_,

the Green Jay of South Texas and Mexico, is green, with yellow on the

abdomen and lateral rectrices, and a black and blue head; some species of

the genus, which reaches southwards to Venezuela and Bolivia, having the

lower surface entirely yellow or black, and others being almost blue with

black on the head.

[Illustration: FIG. 129.–Magpie. _Pica rustica._ × ⅙. (From _Poachers_.)]

The habits of the cunning voracious Crows, the gregarious Rooks, the astute

but bold Magpies and Jackdaws, and the more shy or retiring Jays and

Choughs are well known; yet the habit of posting sentinels in the Rook, the

tumbling in mid-air of that bird, the Raven, and the Jackdaw, the scolding

pursuit of intruders by Magpies and Jays, and the breaking of clams, bones,

and the like by dropping them from aloft, by the Raven, Carrion-Crow, and

_Corvus caurinus_ require passing mention.

{555}[Illustration: FIG. 130.–Raven. _Corvus corax._ × 3/17.]

Crows generally inhabit wooded country, but also bare moorlands or

sea-coasts; the Nutcracker requires pine-forests–commonly at considerable

elevations; and Magpies haunt woods, yet not so invariably as Jays. The

whole Family hop, and most forms, except perhaps Jays, walk or run also.

All are active birds and fly well, the Chough, Jay, and Nutcracker in more

undulating fashion: while soaring is a common practice. Ravens have very

deep voices, and croak, "bark," or "grunt"; Jackdaws utter a clear

jake-jake; Choughs a ringing, metallic note or a hoarse "chough-chough";

Nutcrackers a "churr-churr"; Magpies a continuous rattle or "chatter." Jays

vary their harsh, grating utterances by mimicking other species, the

American Blue Jays being notorious adepts, and exhibiting meanwhile

fantastic contortions of the head, wings, and tail. Many species, such as

Ravens, Magpies, and Jackdaws, learn to imitate sounds when tamed. The

Corvidae {556}are almost omnivorous, Ravens and other strong species even

attacking weakly ewes or lambs, and preying on small mammals, birds, and

reptiles; Hooded and Carrion Crows, Rooks, Magpies. Jackdaws, and Jays suck

eggs; while Rooks, though undoubtedly beneficial, also grub up seed-corn

and potatoes. An immense amount of insect-life is, however, destroyed, and

the larger forms dispose of carrion; the American _Corvus ossifragus_ and

_C. corone_, moreover, will catch living fish. Magpies and Jays feed

largely upon the ground, and eat slugs, snails, worms, insects, nuts,

acorns, grain, seeds of conifers, and other fruits; Nutcrackers devour

quantities of the last; _Corvus tropicus_, _Macrocorax_, and _Gymnocorax_

relish fruit. Jays store provisions, and Jackdaws pick insects off cattle.

The nests of Crows and Nutcrackers are bulky structures of sticks, lined

with soft materials; the rough domed fabric of the Magpie is neatly lined

with roots upon a layer of clay; the slighter nests of Choughs and Jays are

inlaid with roots and fibres–more rarely with moss, hair, or wool–and every

variety is found between these limits. The larger species build in forks

and holes in trees, in crevices of rocks and masonry, or rarely in or on

the ground; the Chough never chooses trees; Jays nest comparatively low,

and often in bushes. Crows' eggs are normally greenish, mottled with darker

green, olive, or brownish, but _Heterocorax capensis_ has them pinkish with

red spots, while other Crows, Ravens, and _Dendrocitta_ sometimes shew a

similar tint. Jackdaws' eggs are bluish-green or white, with dark olive or

black markings interspersed with grey; those of Magpies and Nutcrackers

have a like ground-colour with greenish-olive and faint brownish spots

respectively; those of Jays are greenish, or even bluish, with close

olive-green frecklings or zones, and occasional black scrawls at the larger

end; those of Choughs are yellowish-white, with light brown and grey

markings. The number laid varies from two or three, to as many as nine in

Magpies, but is usually four or five. The hens sit rather closely. Ravens

sometimes will even attack man at the nest.

{557}[Illustration: FIG. 131.–Huia. _Heterolocha acutirostris._ × ⅓. (From

_Nature_.)]

Of genera doubtfully included in the Family, _Picathartes_ of the Gold

Coast is slaty-grey, with brown quills, white under parts, and bare yellow

head, shewing black behind each eye; it builds among rocks near

forest-streams, and feeds upon reptiles and molluscs. The egg is whitish,

clouded and dotted with brown. _Callaeas_ (_Glaucopis_) _cinerea_, which is

blue-grey, with black on the head, and an orange and blue rictal wattle,

and its congener _C. wilsoni_, with entirely blue wattle, inhabit the lower

hill-forests of the South and North Islands of New Zealand respectively.

They have deep, rich, long-drawn notes, diversified by "cackles," mews, or

"bell-like" sounds, the male performing antics when courting. The food

consists of fruit, flowers, and insects; the flight is feeble. The large

nests of twigs, moss, and grass are placed in trees; the two or three eggs

being purplish-grey with brown blotches or frecklings. _Corcorax_ and

_Struthidea_ are peculiar to Australia, the former being glossy black with

white on the wing, the latter brownish-grey with black tail.[297]

_Corcorax_ haunts open forests, brook-sides, and lagoons in little flocks,

running about actively, or leaping upon the boughs with motile, outspread

tail. The food consists of insects; the note is grating or mournful; while

{558}the male courts the female like a Pigeon. The nest, a sort of basin of

mud with a straw lining, is fixed on a horizontal branch, and contains from

four to seven yellowish-white eggs with olive and purplish-brown markings.

_Struthidea_ frequents pine tracts, and has similar habits and nest, the

eggs being white with red-brown and grey blotches. In _Heteralocha[298]

acutirostris_, the New Zealand Huia, the female has a remarkably long,

curved bill, that of the male being short, stout, and nearly straight. The

plumage is greenish-black, with a white-tipped tail; the bill is whitish,

the feet are blue-grey, the large rictal wattles orange. This bird

frequents wooded gullies in the North Island, seldom flying above the

foliage, but bounding or hopping along the ground or upon the branches.

Natives attract and noose it by imitating the whistling note. The cock

chisels away the decayed bark, and the hen probes the crevices for insects;

"huhu" caterpillars and berries varying the main diet. The nest, of dry

grass, leaves, and stalks, is placed in hollow trees, the eggs being

apparently whitish, with or without brown and grey spots. _Creadion

carunculatus_, the Saddle-back of the same country, is black, with chestnut

back, rump, wing- and tail-coverts, and small yellow or red gape-wattles.

It haunts wooded hills, hopping actively or moving spirally up the trunks

and branches, while the flight is short, rapid, and laboured. The notes may

be soft and sweet, or noisy and shrill; the food resembles that of

_Heteralocha_. The nest of dry leaves, ferns, fibres, moss, and bark is

built in hollow trees or large ferns, the three or four greyish-white eggs

shewing purplish-brown markings.

_Podoces_ includes four desert species, with elongated, strong, curved, and

pointed bills; long, stout legs; short, rounded wings; and moderate square

tails. The colour is fawn, grey, and brown, generally with black and white

wings and black tail; _P. hendersoni_ and _P. biddulphi_ have a black cap,

the former shewing white spots on it, _P. panderi_ has a black

throat-patch, _P. humilis_ is brown with whitish nape and lower parts. They

haunt sand-hills covered with saxaul (_Anabasis ammodendron_) or tamarisk,

from Transcaspia to Tibet, running swiftly, occasionally flying like a Jay,

feeding on the ground upon insects, their larvae, and seeds, uttering harsh

reiterated Woodpecker-like cries, and making a nest of twigs lined with

bark, grass, and hair in low trees, bushes, or rarely holes in the ground.

The four eggs are greenish-grey {559}with olive spots. _P. humilis_

frequents more grassy ground up to eleven thousand feet.

Fam. XXIV. STURNIDAE.–The Starlings, apparently connecting the _Corvidae_

and the _Icteridae_, are divided by Mr. Oates[299] and Dr. Sharpe[300] into

_Eulabetidae_ (Tree-Starlings) with rictal bristles, more arboreal habits,

and usually spotted eggs, and _Sturnidae_ (Starlings proper) where the

contrary holds good.[301] To these _Buphaga_ may be added for the present,

in default of a better position.

The bill is generally long and pointed–especially in _Sturnopastor_,–but is

exceptionally slender in _Cinnamopterus_, shorter and stouter in

_Basilornis_, _Buphaga_, _Pastor_, _Pholidauges_, and _Aplonis_; being

curved in the last three, and also in _Fregilupus_ and _Necropsar_; where

it is longer. The anteriorly scutellated metatarsus is ordinarily strong,

and is shortest in the Tree-Starlings. The wing is usually moderate, with

small first primary, though it is more elongated and pointed in _Sturnus_

and _Dilophus_, rounded in _Sturnopastor_, _Temenuchus_, and so forth,

short in _Coccycolius_ and _Buphaga_; the secondaries have long filamentous

basal appendages in _Psaroglossa_, and loose hair-like exterior webs in

_Onychognathus_. The tail varies from short to long, from square to much

graduated; it is forked in _Sturnia_, and may have acuminate feathers;

while _Macruropsar_ and _Lamprotornis_ possess exceptionally developed

rectrices, _L. caudatus_ having the broad median pair longer than the body.

Lanceolate feathers commonly adorn the neck and breast; bushy crests occur

in _Pastor_ and _Temenuchus_, smaller tufts in _Sturnia_, _Basilornis_,

_Enodes_, _Fregilupus_, _Graculipica_, _Sturnornis_ and _Acridotheres

cristatellus_; recurved plumes may cover the nostrils, as in

_Acridotheres_, _Ampeliceps_, and _Basilornis_; while bare chins, orbits,

or ear-patches of brown, yellow, and the like are frequent. _Charitornis_

has the throat and cheeks naked; _Dilophus_ the head and throat bare, with

two erect wattles above and one below; _Sarcops_ dull-red naked orbits, and

merely a narrow feathered line down the crown; _Eulabes_ a yellow

post-ocular lappet forking to the back of the eye and the eyebrow, and a

yellow patch below; _Enodes_ a broad, superciliary wax-like red line; and

_Scissirostrum_ similar crimson feathers on the rump.

{560}[Illustration: FIG. 132.–Starling. _Sturnus vulgaris._ × ½. (From

_English Illustrated Magazine_.)]

Most of the brighter species exhibit purple, coppery, blue and green

reflexions, our familiar Starling (_Sturnus vulgaris_) being iridescent

black, with buff marks above, and, after the autumn moult, white spots

below. The female is duller, but in this Family the sexes usually differ

little. _S. unicolor_ is unspotted. _Spodiopsar burmanicus_ has grey upper

and pinkish under parts, with brownish wings and tail, white head, and

white-tipped rectrices; _Sturnopastor contra_ is blackish-brown and white

above, and greyish beneath, with green-black head and throat and white

cheeks; _Pastor roseus_, which wanders to Britain, is glossy black, with

pink back and abdomen; _Graculipica melanoptera_ is almost pure white, with

black or bronzy remiges and rectrices. _Eulabes religiosa_, the Myna,–a

name also popularly applied to _Acridotheres_ (sacred to the god Ram Deo)

and several other Indian forms,–is black, with purple and green reflexions,

and a white patch on the wing-quills; _Cinnamopterus tenuirostris_ is more

highly coloured, with mainly chestnut primaries; _Melanopyrrhus orientalis_

adds to its metallic black hue an orange head, neck, rump, and breast;

_Lamprotornis_ and the shorter-tailed _Lamprocolius_ exhibit lovely greens,

purples, and peacock-blues, relieved by golden-bronze; _Coccycolius_ is

golden-green with purple cheeks and abdomen. _Pholidauges leucogaster_ is

rich purplish-violet with white belly, {561}the female being brown and buff

above, and whitish below with dusky striations; _Calornis_ and _Aplonis_

are usually dullish green; while the extinct _Fregilupus varius_ was

ashy-brown, grey, and white. _Falculia_ is white with blue-black back,

wings, and tail. It frequents trees or streams, and utters plaintive,

melodious notes. _Buphaga_ is dull-brown, with fulvous rump and lower

surface. The bill is commonly black throughout the group, but is sometimes

red, pinkish, bluish, greenish, orange, or yellow; the feet also vary in

colour. Albinos are rather frequent.

This Family occupies almost all the Old World, but not America proper,

though _Sturnus vulgaris_ has strayed to Greenland; the headquarters lie in

the Indian and Ethiopian Regions, wherein several forms have a very

restricted distribution. Instances of this are _Charitornis_ of the Sula

Islands, _Scissirostrum_, _Enodes_, and _Streptocitta_ of Celebes,

_Hagiopsar_ of the Dead Sea and Sinaitic districts, _Hartlaubius_ and

_Falculia_ of Madagascar, _Sarcops_ of the Philippines, _Mino_ of Papuasia,

_Melanopyrrhus_ and _Macruropsar_ of New Guinea and its islands, _Aplonis_

of the Pacific and the Tenimber group. _Fregilupus_, of which only a few

examples exist in collections, was confined to Réunion, _Necropsar_ is an

extinct form from Rodriguez. _Calornis_ alone inhabits Australia.

_Lamprotornis_, _Spodiopsar_, and the Eulabetidae in general, rarely leave

the trees they haunt; on the other hand, some forms, as our Starling, spend

much time upon the ground, or roost in huge flocks on shrubs, reeds, and

the like. The habits are wary, and seldom as sociable as those of our

British species, hills being often preferred to more wooded districts or

the neighbourhood of houses. _Aethiopsar_ reaches an altitude of seven

thousand feet. The flight is strong, straight, and rapid, though heavier in

_Buphaga_; while flocks of Starlings turn, sweep along, and gyrate in

remarkable fashion, and soaring is not uncommon. The more terrestrial forms

walk and run excellently, often stopping suddenly to probe the soil for

worms or larvae, which, with insects generally, and molluscs, provide the

chief sustenance. A large amount of fruit is also consumed, including

berries and seeds; frogs and, as some say, callow nestlings are also

devoured; _Pastor_, _Dilophus_, and _Acridotheres_ destroy locusts;

_Eulabes_ and its allies prefer vegetable food; _Buphaga_ is termed

Ox-pecker or Rhinoceros-bird, from clearing ticks off those animals.

Certain species disgorge nutriment for their young. The voice is commonly

varied and pleasing, becoming {562}a rich song in _Eulabes_; but most forms

whistle, chatter, or utter harsh sounds; and many are extraordinary mimics,

or even talk, like the Starling and the Myna, under tuition. By the more

typical forms a rough nest of straw, twigs, rags, wool, or feathers is

placed in holes in trees, walls, or banks; under eaves; in burrows or

stone-heaps: from four to seven uniform light blue or whitish eggs being

deposited. _Sturnopastor_, alone or in societies, affixes a huge structure

to the outer branches of trees or bushes; _Dilophus_ makes a neater cup in

similar situations; _Calornis_, which usually forms colonies, suspends from

the boughs a bulky bottle-shaped structure with a side-entrance, and so

forth. Even our Starling at times builds an open nest. The Eulabetidae

generally lay spotted eggs, _Dilophus_ occasionally; _Calornis_ has them

greenish with reddish-brown marks.

Fam. XXV. DREPANIDIDAE.–According to the latest views, namely those of Dr.

Gadow,[302] this group contains only the curious forms below, which are all

peculiar to the Sandwich Islands. In most of them the semi-tubular tongue

is dorsally frayed out into a single brush, but in several thick-billed

species it is but slightly tubular, and is split or frayed. The

non-serrated beak varies greatly, being elongated and arched in

_Vestiaria_; very long and curved with projecting maxilla in _Drepanis_ and

_Hemignathus_; and similar, but with the upcurved or straight mandible only

about half as long as the maxilla in _Heterorhynchus_. In _Himatione_,

_Oreomyza_, _Loxops_, _Palmeria_, _Ciridops_, and _Chrysomitridops_ it is

much shorter and little decurved; in _Psittacirostra_, _Loxioïdes_,

_Chloridops_, and _Rhodacanthis_ it is stout, Finch-like, and hooked, being

enormously developed in the last two; in the extraordinary _Pseudonestor_

it is Parrot-like. In _Loxops_ the mandible is twisted indifferently to

either side, possibly by constant use. Over the nostrils an operculum is

often present; but bristles of all kinds are absent. The scutes of the

moderate metatarsus shew a tendency to fusion; the wings are of medium

length, with a hardly visible outer primary. The tail is rather short and

nearly square, having pointed rectrices in _Vestiaria_ and _Drepanis_; and

exhibits a tendency to forking. Fluffy feathering constantly characterizes

the back, flanks, or axillary region. There is a more or less {563}decided

crop, as in many Finches. In some species the females appear to have

shorter bills.

[Illustration: FIG. 133.–Mamo. _Drepanis pacifica._ × ½. (After Wilson and

Evans, _Aves Hawaiienses_.)]

_Drepanis pacifica_ is black, with golden rump, upper and under

tail-coverts, tibiae, and bend of wing, a little white shewing on the wings

and tail; _D. funerea_ is almost entirely black. _Vestiaria coccinea_ is

vermilion, with black remiges and rectrices, and some white on the

wing-coverts; the bill and feet being red. _Hemignathus_ and

_Heterorhynchus_ are greenish-olive above, with black lores, brownish

remiges, and usually yellowish or creamy lower surface; but the head is

occasionally yellow. _Palmeria dolii_ has blackish plumage with scarlet or

orange tips, a brilliant scarlet-orange nape, an orange space round the

eye, similarly coloured tibiae, a grey throat, and a dirty white crest

curving over the culmen. _Himatione_ is generally yellow-green, with

browner wings, yellow under parts, and sometimes black lores; the very

closely allied _Oreomyza_ may be duller or greyer, with buff and white

below. _H. sanguinea_ is crimson, with black and red wings, and black tail.

_Loxops_, which in one species is dimorphic, is scarlet or orange, with

brown on the remiges and rectrices; _Chrysomitridops_ is yellowish-olive,

with yellow crown and lower surface, black on the wings and tail, and

bluish bill. _Psittacirostra_ is greenish with yellow head; _Rhodacanthis_

is reddish-orange with browner back, or in one case yellow head, while the

female is green. _Ciridops_ is red, with black throat, tail, and most of

the wings, grey nape and cheeks; it approaches _Cyanospiza ciris_ (p. 585)

in colour.

{564}Hens are ordinarily duller (often brownish or green), except in

_Vestiaria_ and _Himatione sanguinea_; the young are greenish-yellow

relieved by black in _Vestiaria_, brown and buff in _Palmeria_ and

_Himatione sanguinea_, and assume the red or orange gradually.

These forms now chiefly haunt high damp hill-forests, though _Vestiaria_

still occurs near the coast; they fly comparatively little, but spend much

of their time creeping quietly and rapidly over the trunks and branches of

acacia, "ohia," "mamane," and other trees, where they hunt for insects

below the bark or on the leaves. None habitually seek the ground. The

long-billed species delight in probing the decayed wood, and insert their

mandibles into the crevices in search of food, which consists partly of

lepidopterous larvae and spiders. Fruit is largely eaten, pods being split

to obtain seeds, and honey is sucked either for its own sake or for the

insects it attracts. The stomach at times contains grit. Most forms have a

sweet song, the call-note being a reiterated "tweet" or metallic chirp;

_Rhodacanthis_, moreover, whistles. _Himatione virens_ makes a nest of

roots and decayed leaves in trees, _Loxops aurea_ apparently does the same;

the former lays whitish eggs freckled and streaked with purplish-brown, but

little is known of the reproduction. The splendid feather-cloaks of the

Hawaiian kings, the "leis" (wreaths), waist-bands, and mask-decorations,

were of old chiefly composed of the plumage of the "Mamo" (_Drepanis

pacifica_), and the Iiwi (_Vestiaria coccinea_); but when the former became

scarce, the lighter yellow tufts (p. 565) of the O-o (_Acrulocercus_) were

utilized to pay the feather tax, though the cloaks were still called

"Mamo." _Himatione sanguinea_ was also laid under contribution, as was in

later times the domestic cock.

Fam. XXVI. MELIPHAGIDAE.–The Honey-eaters, seldom bigger than a Thrush, are

remarkable for their extensile quadruple or multiple tongue, which is

frayed out latero-dorsally. They occupy the Australian Region, from which

_Ptilotis limbata_ alone crosses Wallace's line (p. 16) to Bali, and often

have very restricted ranges. Two Sub-families may be recognised,

_Myzomelinae_ and _Meliphaginae_. The thin curved bill is commonly long,

with prominent culmen and wide base; _Melithreptes_ and _Plectrorhynchus_,

however, have it short, and the latter straight. The maxilla is nearly

always notched and serrated, several species of _Philemon_ exhibiting a

basal protuberance. The metatarsi may be long, as in _Acrulocercus_, or

abbreviated as in _Manorhina_, the short anterior toes being partially

{565}connected; the wings are variable in length, _Melithreptes_ possessing

comparatively small secondaries, _Anthornis_ an abruptly narrowed second

primary. The tail also varies in size; it is much rounded in _Melidectes_

and _Meliphaga_, square in _Acanthorhynchus_, emarginated in _Anthornis_,

and particularly long and graduated with pointed rectrices in

_Acrulocercus_ and _Chaetoptila_–_A. nobilis_ having the median pair

produced and spirally twisted, _A. apicalis_ the ends upturned.

_Pogonornis_ has strong rictal bristles.

The _Myzomelinae_ are usually habited in scarlet and black, as in the

Soldier-bird of Australia (_Myzomela sanguinolenta_), with or without white

or yellowish below; some, however, are chiefly or entirely olive or

greyish-brown, while the females generally differ from the males, and the

former occasionally shew red when the latter do not. A second genus,

_Acanthorhynchus_, or Cobbler's Awl, is brown, chestnut, buff, black, and

white. In the _Meliphaginae_ the sexes are commonly alike, and exhibit a

mixture of brown, olive, yellow, black, white, grey, rufous, and buff; the

under parts frequently, and the upper rarely, being streaked or spotted.

Metallic hues are rare, but _Anthornis_ has a purplish gloss on the head.

_Leptornis_, _Entomyza_, _Philemon_, _Melitograis_, and _Pycnopygius_ are

instances of dusky or olive coloration with lighter lower surface;

_Prosthemadera_ and _Certhionyx leucomelas_ are black and white;

_Plectrorhynchus_ is brown and white; _Meliphaga_ is yellow and black,

spotted and barred below. The Hawaiian _Acrulocercus_ is black or brownish,

with a little white on the wings or tail, and possesses yellow axillary

tufts and under tail-coverts, save in _A. braccatus_, where the tufts are

grey-buff, the tibiae are yellow, the throat is barred with white, and the

lower parts are streaky. _A. bishopi_ has yellow ear-tufts. Their close

ally, _Chaetoptila_, of the same islands, is light brown and yellowish

above, with white spots, and a black cheek-stripe; the under surface being

white with brown streaks, and the rump and flanks ochreous. The neck- and

breast-plumage is lanceolate and decomposed. Many species of _Ptilotis_

have white or yellow ear-tufts; the male of _Pogonornis_ possesses white

erectile post-ocular feathers; that of _Prosthemadera_ two gular patches of

curled white filamentary plumes, which give it the name of Parson-bird, as

well as pointed white feathers curving forward from the sides of the neck.

In two members of _Meliornis_ white fan-like shields spring from the

cheeks; _Glycyphila albifrons_ has a white circum-ocular ring; while many

forms have peculiar {566}cheek-feathers, fluffy chests, rumps or sides, and

lanceolate or bristly plumage on the neck, cheeks, or throat. Naked blue,

green, scarlet, yellow, lilac, pink, or whitish areas on the head, and

pendant rictal or facial wattles, are frequent, especially in _Meliphaga_,

_Ptilotis_, _Entomyza_, _Philemon_, _Melidectes_, _Acanthochaera_

(Wattle-bird) and _Melirrhophetes_. The bill and feet vary from black to

red, yellow, blue, or green.

[Illustration: FIG. 134.–Warty-faced Honey-Eater. _Meliphaga phrygia._ × ½.

(From _Nature_.)]

The habits are fairly uniform, though certain species are comparatively

shy. Small flocks often gather together, the haunts being dense forests, or

open wooded country whether inland or littoral; some forms prefer the

tree-tops, others low bushes and shrubs. These active, pugnacious birds

dart about in zigzag fashion, or take powerful undulating flights, the tail

meanwhile being frequently thrown back or expanded; at times they hover, or

fall from aloft with closed wings.

{567}[Illustration: FIG. 135.–Tui. _Prosthemadera novae zealandiae._ × ⅓.]

Constantly seen hopping among the boughs, or climbing and hanging to the

twigs, in search of the insects which constitute so much of their diet,

they occasionally feed upon the ground–especially in the case of

_Ptilotis_; while _Meliornis_ and _Entomophila_ will dart after their prey

like Flycatchers. Figs and bananas, with other fruits and buds, are also

eaten; honey is sucked from the flowers of _Eucalyptus_, _Acacia_,

_Epacris_, and the like, in considerable quantities, the insects it

attracts being perhaps the chief object; and _Philemon_ batters large

insects upon the branches before swallowing them. The voice is commonly

loud, rich, and shrill, but varies from a whistle or a pipe to a chirp;

some species, however, are more quiet, others give vent to slow, plaintive

cries, quickly reiterated notes, or comparatively harsh sounds. The Tui, or

Parson-bird, utters a wild song, laughs, coughs, sneezes, and mimics

generally; _Acrulocercus_ gets the name of O-o from its harsh double call;

_Pogonornis_ that of Stitch-bird from its clicking cry, though it also

whistles; while _Philemon corniculatus_ is sometimes called "Four-o'clock,"

"Poor Soldier," or Pimlico, from its note. _Anthornis_, the New Zealand

"Bell-bird," usually heard in chorus, has a voice like the tinkling of a

silver bell.[303] The nest, normally a slight structure of twigs, roots,

bark, grass, and spiders' webs, lined with woolly materials, fur, or

feathers, is placed in bushes, trees, or even tall grass, and generally has

the rim woven over a supporting fork. A few species, however, including the

New Zealand forms, _Pogonornis_, _Anthornis_, and _Prosthemadera_, build a

solid fabric of twigs and rough materials {568}among the branches. The

eggs, two, three, or rarely four in number, are buffish-white,

salmon-coloured or, exceptionally, olive, with spots, freckles, zones, and

occasionally lines, of red-brown, rufous, bright red, blackish and grey.

Two or three broods are reared annually. _Entomyza cyanotis_, the Blue-eye,

re-lines deserted birds' nests, or utilizes the top of that of

_Pomatostomus_; _Glycyphila modesta_ and _G. fasciata_ make hanging domed

fabrics. The mimicry between _Philemon_–called Friar-bird, Monk, or

Leather-head, from the bare head and ruff of some species–and _Mimeta_ has

been already noticed (p. 543). Cloaks are fashioned from the Stitch-bird's

feathers, as well as from those of the O-os (p. 564).[304]

Fam. XXVII. ZOSTEROPIDAE.–The "White-eyes," so denominated from the white

ring usually surrounding the eye, form a single genus, _Zosterops_, of

doubtful position. They range through parts of the Ethiopian Region, with

Madagascar and the Comoros, and occupy most of the Indian and Australian

Regions, whence they reach to Amur-land and Japan. The straight or slightly

curved bill has the maxilla serrated and nearly always notched; the

metatarsus is of medium length; the outer and middle toes are partially

united; the wings are rather short with little or no exterior primary; the

tail is moderate, broad and square, or even emarginated. Dr. Gadow[305]

pronounces the protractile tongue to be forked and smooth in _Z.

lateralis_; Mr. Beddard[306] finds the margins folded, and the tip frayed

out in _Z. simplex_ and _Z. japonica_. The sexes are alike, the coloration

being principally olive and yellow, relieved by brown, grey, fawn, or

white. The habits are similar to those of the Meliphagidae; the eggs,

however, are pale blue. _Z. caerulescens_, the New Zealand "Blight-bird,"

destroys the "American Blight" (_Schizoneura lanigera_), a scale-insect.

Fam. XXVIII. NECTARINIIDAE.–The Old World Sun-birds, recalling the

non-Passerine Humming-birds by their brilliant metallic coloration, are

actually given the latter name in India, whence they extend through

Southern Asia to Papuasia and North Australia. They also occupy the whole

Ethiopian Region, while _Cinnyris osea_ inhabits Palestine, _C.

brevirostris_ Baluchistan and South Persia, and an undetermined species the

Muskat district in Arabia. _Promerops_ is a doubtful member of the

Family.[307]

{569}[Illustration: FIG. 136.–Splendid Sun-bird. _Cinnyris splendidus._ ×

½.]

The long slender bill, without bristles of any kind, is much produced and

curved in _Neodrepanis_; both mandibles being terminally serrated, except

in _Promerops_ and _Chalcoparia_, of which the former has the maxilla

notched. The extensible tongue is bifid, with each half frayed out

medio-ventrally, save in _Promerops_, where it is a semi-canal with

dorso-laterally frayed edges. The metatarsi are moderate, the claws curved

and acute. _Arachnothera_ has both the bill and the feet stouter. The more

or less rounded wings are of medium length; the tail varies from square or

nearly so to graduated, and has two narrow elongated median rectrices in

the males of _Hedydipna_, _Nectarinia_, _Anthobaphes_, _Aethopyga_,

_Urodrepanis_ and _Drepanorhynchus_. That of _Promerops_ is extraordinarily

long and graduated in both sexes. _Arachnothera chrysogenys_ has the loral

region naked, and the male of _Neodrepanis_ bluish circum-ocular wattles.

It is impossible to describe shortly the diverse coloration of the various

species; some shew much green, black, brown, or olive; nearly all exhibit

brilliant, if not metallic, red, blue, lilac, copper, yellow, or orange

tints; a few are chiefly purple; many are longitudinally streaked below; in

others the breast is white, or exhibits red or orange bands, while the

fore-neck may be vermilion striped with lilac. The sides of the back

frequently possess long downy feathers, and pectoral tufts are common. In

_Arachnothera_ both sexes are greyish or greenish, relieved by a little

yellow or orange. Females, however, are usually sombre, the young being

similar. The bill is black or brown, the feet vary in hue.

These small graceful forms, restless, though not shy, are rarely seen in

companies, but usually in pairs; they frequent groves and forests up to an

altitude of about a thousand feet, resorting to more open country and

gardens when the shrubs are flowering. The food consists mainly of

insects–sometimes taken on the {570}wing–with their larvae and spiders;

while the birds hop actively about, and cling to the branches and trunks of

trees, like Tits or Creepers, or even to bushes and grass. They rarely

hover before flowers as Humming-birds do, though frequently sucking honey.

When feeding or singing the wings are often opened and shut alternately.

The quick, direct flight is accompanied by rapid pulsations of the pinions,

and the males chase their rivals angrily. The shrill, but pleasing and

varied notes recall those of the Willow-Warbler. The pear-shaped or oval

nests, woven or attached by cobwebs to the ends of boughs, to the under

surfaces of leaves, or more rarely to reed-stems, are composed of grass,

moss, roots, and the like, lined with hair, feathers, and down, and usually

have a projecting porch. Beneath are attached as decorations leaves, twigs,

lichens, shreds of bark, paper, and cloth, wood-borings, or caterpillars'

excreta. _Arachnothera magna_, at least occasionally, builds an open nest.

The two or three eggs are commonly greenish- or brownish-grey, with

purplish, reddish-brown, yellowish, or dusky dots and spots; some, however,

are whiter, with blackish markings, dark zones, or hair-streaks; while

those of _Arachnothera magna_ are brownish, very thickly speckled with

purplish-black. _Promerops cafer_ makes a cup of grass, fibres, and softer

materials in forks of bushes, and lays creamy eggs like those of Buntings,

with wavy lines or irregular blotches of dark brown or purplish.

Fam. XXIX. DICAEIDAE.–The "Flower-peckers" inhabit the Indian and

Australian Regions as far eastwards as the Low Archipelago, a few possibly

kindred species occupying West Africa. The bill is usually short, broad,

and depressed, but is especially slender in _Pholidornis_, stout and

Finch-like in _Prionochilus_; while both mandibles shew minute terminal

serrations. Feathers cover the nostrils in _Pardalotus_, and in life

_Lobornis_ has three small white rictal outgrowths. The tongue is separated

into four semi-tubular fringeless projections. The metatarsus is never

long; the wings are fairly so; the tail is generally short and even, but is

rounded in _Prionochilus vincens_, longer in most Papuasian forms, and

sometimes graduated, as in _Pristorhamphus_. Many species exhibit vivid

combinations of blue or purple with black, relieved by a scarlet or an

orange head, rump, or chest-patch, the lower surface being yellow, greyish,

or greenish-white; some, however, replace the blue shades by green, brown,

or olive; others are quite plain; and _Melanocharis unicolor_ is perfectly

black. The {571}Diamond-bird (_Pardalotus_) has scattered white dots above,

and scarlet or yellow tips to the primary coverts; _Dicaeum_ often shews a

longitudinal black band below; while bars and streaks occur not

infrequently. The bill is blackish, or in _Dicaeum erythrorhynchum_

reddish. The female is almost invariably duller.

These small birds frequent woods and gardens, the little flocks often

haunting lofty trees near rivers; they hop briskly among the boughs, dart

from bush to bush, creep about and cling like Tits, and utter a long, low

warble, or in _Pardalotus_ a harsh monotonous piping note. The food

consists of insects, varied by spiders, fruit, buds, seeds, and perhaps

honey. _Dicaeum_ and _Prionochilus_ suspend from some twig a domed,

pear-shaped nest of white cottony material, frequently covered with grass

or moss, and decorated with caterpillars' excreta; _Pardalotus_ chooses old

Swallows' nurseries, or holes in trees and walls, or even tunnels a short

way into banks, making within a spherical fabric of roots, grass, bark, and

feathers. The two to five eggs are commonly white, but in _Prionochilus_

(_Piprisoma_) _squalidus_ they are redder, with dense brown-pink or

claret-coloured blotches or specks.

Fam. XXX. CERTHIIDAE.–The Creepers, a small, though widespread group,

occupy most of the Palaearctic and Nearctic Regions; Africa from Benguela

to Mashona-Land; Australia and New Guinea. The bill is long and generally

decurved, but shorter and straighter in _Climacteris_; while nasal and

rictal bristles are absent. The metatarsi are of medium length and slender,

though stouter in _Salpornis_; _Tichodroma_ and _Climacteris_ have the

scutes fused; and the toes–especially the hallux–have long, curved claws.

The wings vary from moderate and rounded to elongated and pointed; the tail

is usually short and square, or very nearly so, but has stiff, graduated,

acuminate feathers in _Certhia_. The coloration of both sexes is brown,

black, rufous, buff, grey, and white, except in _Tichodroma_, which

exhibits crimson wing-patches on its grey, black, and white plumage. Bars

and spots are frequent, particularly beneath.

The majority are tame birds, inhabiting thinly wooded districts, often

close to dwellings; but the European and Asiatic _Tichodroma muraria_,

which has strayed to Britain, haunts mountain cliffs, and, when on

migration, walls also. They utter shrill cries, or, more commonly, low

reiterated notes, which in our Creeper (_Certhia familiaris_) are varied by

a sweet and fairly loud song; {572}the food consists of insects and their

larvae, ants, and spiders. Beginning at the bottom of a trunk the birds

work actively but jerkily upwards in zigzags or spirals, flitting from the

higher branches to the base of another tree; sometimes, however, they take

protracted, undulating flights, or accompany flocks of Tits in winter.

_Certhia_ uses the rigid rectrices as Woodpeckers do (p. 457), though the

soft-tailed forms also climb well, while _Climacteris_ is exceptional in

spending much time hopping or shuffling along the ground. Seeds of conifers

occasionally vary the diet. The nest, composed of twigs, with the addition

of grass or moss, and lined with bast, hair, wool, or feathers, is placed

behind loose bark, under tiles, in crevices of trees or walls, in piles of

bricks, hollow branches, or even the base of large birds' habitations. The

three to nine eggs are ordinarily white with red and lilac spots; but in

_Climacteris_ the ground-colour is sometimes reddish, in _Salpornis_ the

spots are blackish. The last-named fixes a cup-shaped fabric of leaves,

bark, and cobwebs to some horizontal bough.

[Illustration: FIG. 137.–Tree Creeper. _Certhia familiaris._ × 7/12.]

Fam. XXXI. COEREBIDAE.–The Quit-quits have the extensible tongue bifid, and

frayed out terminally. The bill may be conical, but is usually slender,

with a notch and sometimes with rictal bristles, while the long maxilla is

hooked in _Diglossa_ and _Diglossopis_; the metatarsi, wings, and tail are

moderate, the last being sometimes forked. These small, active, and

restless birds frequent bushy places and the outskirts of forests, from

South Florida to the Bolivian Andes and South-East Brazil, several species

being peculiar to the Antilles, and _Certhidea_ to the Galápagos. Though

companies are seldom formed, the flight and habits are Tit-like, and

individuals are often seen hopping about or clinging to the branches in

search of the insects which, with fruit, form the usual food. They probe

the flowers in company with Humming-birds, and probably suck the honey,

while some forms dart after flies like Flycatchers. Several have a fine

voice, but the common note is a feeble "quit-quit." The domed {573}nest,

made of grass, moss, roots, and fibres, occasionally has a projecting

porch, and is frequently lined with down or feathers; the two to four eggs

being white or greenish-blue, with dull-red or yellowish-brown blotches or

specks. In the Antilles _Certhiola_ weaves a domed structure of similar

materials, hair, and spiders' webs, between the outermost twigs of bushes.

Many nests are built without being used.

[Illustration: FIG. 138.–Sugar-bird. _Certhiola flaveola._ × ½.]

The coloration varies from black, grey, or purplish, relieved by rufous and

white, to brilliant blue, purple, or green, with the quills only black, or

with further yellow, chestnut, and exceptionally scarlet, decorations.

Uniform black, or olive and brown hues are unusual, save in females, which,

however, are often bright green, with the addition of a little blue or

yellow.

Fam. XXXII. MNIOTILTIDAE.–The "American Warblers," almost replacing the

_Sylviinae_ in the New World, are a somewhat heterogeneous assemblage of

rather small birds, of which _Granatellus_ is perhaps Tanagrine. They

frequent localities of all descriptions in North and South America, being

commonest in the middle portions. _Teretistris_ is peculiar to Cuba,

_Leucopeza_ to St. Lucia and St. Vincent; _Ergaticus_ occupies the Central

American highlands, while two or three species wander to Greenland.

The bill is usually slender and straight, but varies in length and

curvature, that of _Setophaga_ and _Myiodioctes_ being broad and depressed

with bristly gape, that of _Icteria_ (doubtfully referred here) very stout

and compressed, and so forth. Other species also exhibit bristles, or have

notched beaks. The tongue is frequently bifid and fringed in _Dendroeca_,

and in _D._ (_Perissoglossa_) _tigrina_ is semitubular. The metatarsi are

naturally longest and strongest in the more terrestrial forms, such as

_Geothlypis_ and _Siurus_; _Icteria_ has partly feathered legs, _Mniotilta_

particularly long toes. The wings may be concave and roundish, as in

_Leucopeza_ and _Geothlypis_, or elongated and pointed, as in

_Protonotaria_ and _Peucedramus_; the moderate tail is square, rounded, or

emarginate, or, as in _Setophaga_, broad and graduated. The general

coloration is {574}olive-green, grey, or slaty-blue, with yellow or rarely

orange under parts; chestnut marks, white wing-bands, and the like,

occasionally relieving the plumage. The head is often particularly dark or

streaky. _Mniotilta_ exhibits black and white stripes; _Ergaticus_ shews

chiefly crimson and white; _Granatellus_ is grey, black, and white above,

but red and white with black collar below. _Setophaga_, the "American

Redstart," is mainly red and black, or red and plumbeous; _Cardellina_ is

grey, black, and white with crimson cheeks and throat; _Siurus_ has

olive-brown upper, and whitish under parts, with dusky striations. The bill

is black or brown, commonly with pinkish, yellowish, or bluish mandible.

[Illustration: FIG. 139.–Black-and-White Warbler. _Mniotilta varia._ × ½.]

These active, restless, and often shy birds either seek their food,

consisting chiefly of insects and their larvae, worms, spiders, and even

molluscs, upon the ground or upon the bark of trees. Many forms resemble

Tits in their actions; _Mniotilta_ and others ascend the trunks spirally

like Creepers; _Setophaga_ and its allies–and exceptionally

_Dendroeca_–sally after insects like Flycatchers; _D. palmarum_ and

_Siurus_ run along with the tail in motion, the former recalling a Titlark,

the latter gaining, from its appearance and habit of wading, the name of

Water-Thrush. The flight is usually swift, easy, and graceful, yet brief

and frequently undulating; _Myiodioctes_ and _Setophaga_ flit about

alternately opening and closing the rectrices. Fruits, including conifer-

and grass-seeds, vary the diet. Small parties collect in winter. A few

species, such as _Basileuterus_, _Setophaga_, _Myiodioctes_, and _Siurus_

have fine clear songs, but the usual utterances are feeble warbles, sweet

whistles, reiterated "chirrups," or mournful trills. The majority build

their cup-shaped nests in trees, bushes, and thickets generally,

_Dendroeca_ in some districts choosing a fir; they are {575}made of grass,

bark, leaves, roots, moss, hair, fur, lichens, and spiders' webs, or even

twigs, sedges, and feathers, and contain from two to six creamy or,

exceptionally, greenish or purplish eggs, more or less spotted or blotched

with red-brown, grey, and lilac, or sometimes, as in _Myiodioctes_,

scrawled with black.

Fam. XXXIII. TANAGRIDAE.[308]–The Tanagers form a New World group, hardly

distinguishable from the _Fringillidae_, except by their more feeble

conformation and their exposed nostrils. The coloration is often

particularly gorgeous, but their habits are comparatively little known. The

bill varies much in length and thickness, the hooked tip being highly

developed in _Lamprotes_ and _Sericossypha_, while _Procnias_ has a wide

Swallow-like gape. The metatarsi are short and stout; the toes are large,

with sharp curved claws in _Lamprotes_ and _Sericossypha_; the wings are

moderate and somewhat pointed, being unusually long in _Procnias_; while

the tail may be very short as in _Euphonia_, but is rarely long and

graduated as in _Cissopis_, and only occasionally forked.

These birds are characteristic of the forests and wooded country of the

Neotropical Region, whence four species of _Pyranga_ extend to the United

States, and two reach Canada and British Columbia respectively; several

forms, moreover, are peculiar to the Antilles. They are chiefly of small

size, _Euphonia_ possessing the least and _Pitylus_ or _Saltator_ the

largest members of the Family; the sexes are commonly similar, but the

female is often duller, or even quite different from the male, as in

_Rhamphocoelus_ and _Pyranga_. A short crest occurs rarely, as in

_Eucometis_ and _Stephanophorus_. The prevailing colours are black and red

or uniform red in _Pyranga_, _Phlogothraupis_, and most species of

_Rhamphocoelus_ and _Calochaetes_; blue or purplish-black and yellow in

_Buthraupis_, _Iridornis_, and their nearest allies; blue and black in

_Procnias_ and _Pseudodacnis_; orange or yellow, with black and white in

_Spindalis_ and _Lanio_; black and white in _Lamprospiza_ and _Cissopis_;

olive and brown in _Chlorospingus_; chestnut and brown in _Orchesticus_;

grey, olive, yellow, or green, with more or less blue in _Thraupis_

(_Tanagra_). _Buarremon_ and several other forms are comparatively dull;

_Tanagra_ (_Calliste_) exhibits a beautiful mixture of all the above hues;

_Euphonia_ is also varied, but lacks scarlet tints; _Chlorochrysa_ is

brilliant green, relieved by orange, chestnut, blue, and black. The bill

may be red, black, yellow, {576}leaden or horn-coloured. Roughly speaking,

_Tanagra_ contains sixty species, _Euphonia_, _Chlorospingus_, and

_Buarremon_ each over thirty.

The flight of these bold, lively, and restless birds–often met with in

small parties–is Finch-like and not uncommonly brief; the song, frequently

heard in chorus, is mellow and pleasing, accompanied by chattering,

whistling, and chirping notes; the diet consists of insects and fruits,

even the latter being occasionally snatched upon the wing; while worms,

larvae, and molluscs are eaten, and some species scratch for food among

fallen leaves. The nests are usually shallow fabrics of grass, roots,

fibres, moss, and lichens, lined with hair or down; twigs, broad leaves, or

fern-stems being commonly added below: they are sometimes placed in forks

of trees or bushes, if not at the ends of branches; sometimes in masses of

creepers, or even upon the ground; that of _Pyrrhuphonia_ is domed, while

that of _Rhamphocoelus brasilius_ is built in tall grass in marshy places.

The two to four eggs are white, bluish, greenish, grey, salmon-coloured, or

rich brown, being at times uniform, but generally blotched, spotted,

freckled, lined, or scrolled with brown, lilac, red, purple, or black.

_Procnias_ is said to lay three or four white eggs in holes in trees or in

the soil, upon a bed of roots and plant-stems.[309]

[Illustration: FIG. 140.–Brazilian Tanager. _Rhamphocoelus brasilius._ ×

9/20.]

Fam. XXXIV. PLOCEIDAE.–The Weaver-birds, closely allied to the above, and

hardly to be distinguished from the _Fringillidae_ except by the tenth

primary being distinctly developed, may be divided[310] into the

Sub-families _Viduinae_, occurring in the Ethiopian, Indian, and Australian

Regions, in which this quill is small {577}and falcate, and _Ploceinae_,

peculiar to Africa and its islands–with the exception of the genera

_Ploceus_ and _Ploceëlla_ of the Indian Region–in which it is larger. The

former group includes the long-tailed Widow-birds, the red-beaked

Wax-bills, and so forth; the latter the more typical Weaver-birds; Africa

furnishing by far the greatest number of species. The bill is normally

strong and conical, but is unusually long and slender in _Emblema_, and

particularly stout with ridged culmen in _Amblyospiza_; the maxilla may be

toothed, as in _Pyrenestes_, or festooned, as in _Spermestes_. The

metatarsus is moderate, and the hind claw sometimes lengthened, as in

_Icteropsis_. The rounded or pointed wings have very long secondaries, and

the tail shews a slight fork; while in the breeding season the four median

rectrices in the males of _Vidua_ and several allied genera are

extraordinarily elongated, being then either broad or tapering, and reduced

to threads at the extremity, or bare-shafted with racquet tips.[311] Crests

are uncommon, hair-like plumes on the nape more frequent, while

_Pyromelaena_ and _Urobrachya_ have a neck-frill in summer.

[Illustration: FIG. 141.–Weaver-bird. _Pyromelaena flammiceps._ × 7/12.]

The coloration of these rather small birds is most striking, though the

females are usually much duller than the males, which have in some cases a

sober winter garb. _Vidua principalis_ is black and white; _Penthetria

ardens_ is black with scarlet gorget; _Philetaerus socius_ is brown, buff,

black, and white; _Zonaeginthus bellus_ is brown above, with transverse

black lines and crimson rump, but silver grey below with black bars;

_Hypochera ultramarina_ is entirely purplish-blue; _Sporaeginthus

amandava_, the Amadavat, is chiefly crimson with white dots; _Munia

oryzivora_, the "Java Sparrow," is blue-grey and black with white cheeks.

_M. punctulata_, the Cowry- or Nutmeg-bird, is brown, {578}with white

streaks above and spots below, a yellow rump, and a white middle to the

under parts. _Poëphila mirabilis_, one of the Grass-finches, shews a

beautiful combination of pale green, blue, lilac, scarlet, yellow, black,

brown, and white; _Neochmia phaëton_ is crimson, brown, and black; _Foudia_

is generally crimson and black; _Hyphantornis cucullatus_ is golden-yellow,

black, and chestnut; _Ploceus baya_ is yellow and brown; _Textor

albirostris_ is entirely black. The bill is not uncommonly coral-red, as in

_Estrelda_ and other "Wax-bills;" but it varies from red to horn-coloured

in _Vidua_, and may be whitish, as in _Textor albirostris_, as well as

black, grey, rose-tinted, brownish, orange, or nearly blue. The feet may

also be red, brown, purplish, dusky, or flesh-coloured.

Weaver-birds are generally tame, and often approach habitations; the larger

species frequenting woods and gardens, open country, sugar-cane fields, or

reed-beds, but many of the smaller preferring grassy flats, bushy places,

or even stony hills. They are usually social, and frequently pugnacious.

The flight, though somewhat brief and heavy, is fairly rapid; _Chera_ and

_Vidua_ rise with arched tail, and hover with flapping wings, at times

soaring almost out of sight to descend again with great velocity.

_Sycobrotus_ climbs especially well, _Donacicola_ hangs to the reeds like a

Bunting, and indeed it is doubtful whether the Australian forms are not

really generalized Finches. The usual utterance is a harsh churr, a shrill

piping cry, a chattering or a twittering noise, often preceded by a single

mournful note; but some species sing fairly well in chorus. The food,

generally procured upon the ground, consists mainly of seeds, but is varied

by insects–occasionally taken on the wing,–fruits, and flowers; while the

birds play havoc with rice and other crops, often clinging to the stems

until they have eaten every grain from the head.

The nest is almost invariably a large mass of roughish grass or flags,

bristling with the thicker ends of the stalks; it is usually lined with

finer stems, but sometimes with feathers, down, and wool, while sticks,

twigs, roots, and the like may be added exteriorly. The fabric is normally

"retort-shaped," that is to say, globular with a "spout" or tubular

passage, which curves downwards either from the middle or from the top of

one side; but some of the structures resemble flasks placed horizontally;

others have little or no spout, or hang by a sort of rope; and occasionally

the materials do not quite meet above. Weaver-birds, especially the more

typical {579}species, commonly build in colonies, the most remarkable

instance being that of _Philetaerus_, where an umbrella-shaped mass of

sticks and straw is formed among the branches of a tree, and in its flat

under surface holes for as many as three hundred nests are excavated.

_Textor_ makes a somewhat similar joint fabric. In certain cases the hen is

said to sit in the roughly-fashioned shell, and to receive the thin ends of

the straws from her mate, as he, clinging to the outside, pushes them

through with his beak; she then passes them through to him again, and so

the process is repeated in true webster fashion. An inner partition is

often made to prevent the eggs from rolling out. The structures are placed

in trees or bushes, frequently overhanging water, in sugar-canes, reeds,

foundations of Eagles' eyries, or–especially by the smaller species–in long

herbage. Exceptionally they are found under eaves. _Ploceipasser mahali_

makes two "spouts," _Ploceus baya_ counterpoises its pensile nursery with

lumps of clay. The males add to the fabric after their consorts begin to

incubate, and are asserted to make nests to sit in; the hens occasionally

lay together, though the cocks are not proved to be polygamous. _Munia_,

_Stictospiza_, _Sporaeginthus_, and in fact most Indian and Australian

forms, deposit from five to seven dull white eggs; _Ploceus_ lays two of a

like description; _Ploceëlla_ two, which have a whitish or greyish ground

with brown frecklings; the Ethiopian species about five, either plain

white, blue, or green, or of the same colours, spotted and blotched with

red or purplish-brown. In nests of _Hyphantornis_ and _Pyromelaena_ very

diverse specimens are often found.

Fam. XXXV. ICTERIDAE.–This New World group comprises the "American Orioles"

or "American Starlings," which are certainly not Orioles, though analogous

to the Starlings, and allied through _Dolichonyx_ to the Buntings. From the

_Fringillidae_ they are distinguished by the more elongated bill, which has

no notch, and by the absence of rictal bristles. Dr. Sclater[312]

recognises five Sub-families: _Cassicinae_, with long, straight, and often

large bills, widening to a frontal shield; _Agelaeinae_, where they are

conical with flattened culmen, being shortest in _Dolichonyx_ and

_Molobrus_; _Sturnellinae_, where they are more slender; _Icterinae_ and

_Quiscalinae_, where the culmen is rounded, the length and curvature

varying more than elsewhere. _Aphobus_ and _Curaeus_ have grooved

mandibles, _Gymnostinops_ a naked space at their base, _Clypeïcterus_

{580}a horny swelling there. The legs are stout, being long in the

terrestrial Agelaeinae, Sturnellinae, and Quiscalinae, and not much shorter

in the Icterinae and Cassicinae; _Dolichonyx_ has the middle toe, and the

Sturnellinae the hallux elongated. The wings are long or moderate, being

often pointed with far-extended outer secondaries in the Sturnellinae. The

tail varies in length and form, but is much graduated in the Quiscalinae

(Boat-tails), which usually carry it in flight with the outer feathers

uppermost; it has acuminate rectrices in the Sturnellinae, _Leistes_, and

_Dolichonyx_, while in the last-named it is forked. _Cassiculus_,

_Eurycorystes_, and some species of _Ostinops_ have crests, the male of

_Cassidix_ a neck-frill, _Lampropsar_ erect frontal plumes, the

Sturnellinae bristly crown-feathers, _Hypopyrrhus_, _Curaeus_, and

_Aphobus_ lanceolate feathers on the head. _Gymnomystax_ possesses naked

orbits.

The _Cassicinae_, or Cassiques, are sometimes uniform black, sometimes

black relieved by chestnut, yellow, green, or scarlet; the bill being

frequently white, instead of the usual black or brown. The Agelaeinae are

generally black, varied with red and yellow, _Dolichonyx oryzivorus_, the

Bobolink, being, however, black, brown, buff, and white, with a duller

plumage in winter. The Sturnellinae are brown, variegated with black;

having scarlet or canary yellow under parts, and in _Sturnella magna_, the

"Meadow-Lark," a black gorget. The Icterinae (all but one of which belong

to the extensive genus _Icterus_) are glossy black, with yellow, bay, or

orange patches–especially upon the rump and lower surface–and often some

white on the wing. The Quiscalinae are black, occasionally with metallic

gloss, and scarlet or brown markings. The females are commonly similar to

the males, especially in the Cassicinae, but are sometimes comparatively

sombre. _Agelaeus phoeniceus_, the "Red-winged Starling," several males of

which have been captured in Britain, _Icterus baltimore_, the "Baltimore

Oriole" and _Quiscalus versicolor_, the "Crow-Blackbird," are good examples

of their respective groups. The curious resemblance of _Sturnella_ and

_Macronyx_ has already been mentioned (p. 500).

{581}[Illustration: FIG. 142.–"Baltimore Oriole." _Icterus baltimore._ ×

½.]

Some of the Family are large birds for Passeres, _Gymnostinops_, for

instance, being the size of a Rook; they are commonly gregarious, and

frequent forests or wooded country, the Agelaeinae and Sturnellinae in

particular preferring open grassy places and marshes, and all seeming fond

of the neighbourhood of water. The Cassicinae only range from South Mexico

to Paraguay and Bolivia; but the other Sub-families occupy most of America,

except the extreme north, the Quiscalinae extending to Chili and Argentina,

the Sturnellinae to Patagonia. Several species are peculiar to the

Antilles. The flight is sufficiently strong and swift, flocks of _Agelaeus_

and _Quiscalus_ performing evolutions like Starlings; while these forms,

_Dolichonyx_, _Scolephagus_, _Xanthocephalus_, and others roost in huge

companies on migration. These lively, active, and fairly tame birds differ

considerably in habits, _Dolichonyx_ sitting continually on fences,

clinging to plant-stems, or hovering in the air, _Sturnella_ sailing or

fluttering with jerky movements, the Icterinae and Cassicinae being

particularly accustomed to perch, and many forms walking well or even

gracefully. The members of the genus _Icterus_ have melodious voices, those

of _I. vulgaris_ and _I. baltimore_ being especially rich and varied; they

are therefore favourite cage-birds. _Dolichonyx_, perhaps the finest of

American songsters, often sings in chorus; _Sturnella_ produces tuneful,

wild, but not powerful notes; the Cassicinae utter loud discordant cries or

sweeter strains; while many forms chatter, chuckle, squeak, scream, or

whistle more or less harshly, whether in the air, in the trees, or on the

ground. The food in the breeding season consists almost entirely of

insects, their larvae, and small molluscs; but fruit is also eaten, and

havoc wrought in maize- and corn-fields, _Quiscalus_ even pulling up the

shooting blades. The terrestrial species often {582}scratch amongst the

soil, but the Icterinae and Cassicinae rarely feed upon the ground.

The Agelaeinae build cup-shaped nests of grass, sedge, or rushes, sometimes

lined with hair, in bushes or reeds, generally in damp or marshy spots; and

lay five or six white, drab, greenish, bluish, or reddish eggs, with

purple, black, red, or brown blotches, dots, and lines: the Quiscalinae

deposit similar eggs in rougher structures of twigs, grass, and the like,

placed in tree-forks or bushes. Both these groups often form societies.

_Sturnella_ hides its deep fabric in grass or rushes, the eggs being

speckled rather than spotted; the Icterinae, or "Hang-nests," usually weave

pensile nests of plant-stems, tendrils, grasses, or even rags, lined with

wool, down, and so forth, which are rarely domed, and generally contain

five or six eggs of a more delicate colouring than those of their kindred,

varied by marblings, zigzags, streaks, and spots of brown, purple, black,

or red. The Cassicinae commonly join in colonies and hang their elaborate,

purse-like nurseries of grass or palm-fibres, _Tillandsia_, _Bromelia_, or

lichens, lined with feathers, from branches above water; the two to five

eggs are plain white, or greenish- bluish- or reddish-white, blotched,

dotted, dashed, or scrawled with purplish- or reddish-brown and black.[313]

The gregarious Cow-birds (_Molobrus_), included in the Agelaeinae, lay eggs

varying from white to pinkish, greenish, bluish, or brownish, often spotted

or streaked with red, brown, and grey; one or more of these are by most

species foisted in Cuckoo fashion upon other birds, the young of which

disappear at an early date. It is a curious fact that _M. rufo-axillaris_

is ordinarily parasitic on its congener _M. badius_, which itself seizes

and uses other birds' nests. Many eggs are destroyed by the males, or are

dropped promiscuously by the females, several of the latter often laying

together. Cow-birds perch on cattle or follow the plough for insects, and

utter ringing screams in concert.[314]

Fam. XXXVI. FRINGILLIDAE.–The Finches are small birds very closely allied

to the _Tanagridae_ and the _Ploceidae_; while the Buntings are here

included in the Family, though often separated as _Emberizidae_. The most

evident points of distinction in the {583}last-named are the considerable

deflection of the posterior portion of the angular gape and the bony knob

often present on the palate; a gap, moreover, commonly occurs between the

edges of the maxilla and the mandible. Extreme forms are thus easily

recognised, but it seems almost impossible to draw an exact line of

demarcation, even when the more Lark-like nest of Buntings and their

streaky eggs are taken into consideration. The _Fringillidae_ predominate

in the Palaearctic Region, but are fairly plentiful elsewhere, except in

the Australian Region, whence few are as yet recorded; many forms, however,

have very limited ranges; while some are peculiar to certain islands, as

_Geospiza_, _Camarhynchus_, and _Cactornis_ to the Galápagos, _Passer

jagoënsis_ to the Cape Verds, _Chaunoproctus_ to the Bonin Islands and

_Telespiza_ to the Laysan group, _Nesospiza_ to Tristan da Cunha,

_Melopyrrha_ to Cuba, _Rhynchostruthus_ and _Passer insularis_ to Socotra.

The bill is usually stout and cone-shaped, often with a notched maxilla,

occasionally with a ridged culmen; it is enormous in _Geospiza_,

_Camarhynchus_, _Chaunoproctus_, and some other forms, and highly developed

in _Coccothraustes_, _Pyrrhula_, and elsewhere; but is at times either

remarkably short, or longer and more slender, as in _Cactornis_,

_Chrysomitris_, and _Carduelis_. Frequently it is curved, with overhanging

tip, while a peculiar crossing of the mandibles at their extremities marks

the genus _Loxia_. An excessive summer growth has been especially noticed

in Redpolls, which is worn down by hard food in winter. The beak is seldom

abnormal in Buntings. The metatarsus is moderate; but in _Calcarius_,

_Plectrophenax_, _Nesospiza_, and _Chamaeospiza_ the hind claw is

elongated, as is the mid-claw in _Phonipara_. The wings, which have a

minute outer primary, vary from very long, as in _Hesperiphona_, to short

as in _Passer_, and from pointed, as in _Plectrophenax_, to rounded as in

_Ammodramus_; the secondaries are shaped like a bill-hook in

_Coccothraustes_, while the inner are much lengthened in _Emberiza fucata_.

The tail is fairly normal, but may be long or decidedly short, square,

round, graduated, or forked; the rectrices are unusually acute in _Spiza_,

_Coryphospiza_, and _Emberizoïdes_. Many species possess a crop. Bristles

generally occur at the gape, and the nostrils are concealed by feathers or

by a membrane.

{584}[Illustration: FIG. 143.–House-Sparrow. _Passer domesticus._ × ⅖.

(From _English Illustrated Magazine_.)]

The sexes may be similarly coloured or very different, the hues being

commonly sober, but sometimes particularly brilliant. _Cardinalis_,

_Paroaria_, _Gubernatrix_, _Melophus_, _Pyrrhuloxia_, _Schistospiza_,

_Lophospingus_, and _Tiaris_ have fine crests; _Catamblyrhynchus_ exhibits

stiff crown-feathers. The feet are usually dull, but occasionally pinkish,

as in _Embernagra_ and _Pycnorhamphus_; the bill may be blackish,

yellowish, dusky, or even red, as in _Cardinalis_ (except one form). Of

British species, the Greenfinch (_Ligurinus chloris_), the Goldfinch

(_Carduelis elegans_), the Sparrow (_Passer domesticus_), the Chaffinch

(_Fringilla coelebs_), the Brambling (_F. montifringilla_), the Linnet

(_Linota cannabina_), the Redpoll (_Aegiothus rufescens_), the Bullfinch

(_Pyrrhula europaea_), the Reed-Bunting (_Emberiza schoeniclus_), the

Corn-Bunting (_E. miliaria_), and the Yellow Hammer (_E. citrinella_)

hardly need description; while several others occur more rarely in our

islands or breed with us in limited numbers, such as the Hawfinch

(_Coccothraustes vulgaris_), which is bay, black and white; the Siskin

(_Chrysomitris spinus_) and the Serin (_Serinus hortulanus_), which are

chiefly greenish-yellow; the Pine-Grosbeak (_Pyrrhula enucleator_) and the

Crossbill (_Loxia curvirostra_), which are mainly red in the adult male,

and respectively yellow and greenish-orange in the female; the Ortolan

Bunting (_Emberiza hortulana_), which is brown, green, and yellow; and the

Snow-Bunting (_Plectrophenax nivalis_), with its black, chestnut, and

{585}white plumage, that becomes black and white in summer. The

Rose-Finches (_Carpodacus_) of the Eastern Palaearctic, the Nearctic, and

the Indian Regions exhibit fine crimson or rosy tints; the Central and

South American _Pheucticus_, and the Western North American _Hesperiphona_,

much black and yellow; the Cardinals (_Cardinalis_), of North America,

Venezuela, and Trinidad, bright red with black forehead and throat;

_Paroaria_, which replaces the last-named genus southwards, somewhat like

colours. _Guiraca_ of most of America, except the extreme north and south,

is mainly blue; _Cyanospiza cyanea_, ranging from the Eastern United States

to Panama, is even more brilliant; while the Painted Bunting (_C. ciris_),

of similar range, shews a beautiful combination of blue, red, brown, and

yellowish-green. _Volatinia_ of Central and South America is black;

_Geospiza_, _Camarhynchus_, and _Cactornis_ are the same, or decidedly

dull; _Petronia brachydactyla_ and _Passer simplex_, of the deserts from

North Africa to Persia, resemble the sand in tint. The wild Canary

(_Serinus canarius_) of Madeira, the Azores, and the Canaries–not to be

confounded with the Cape Canary (_S. canicollis_)–is greenish above with

brown striations, and yellowish below. Finally, many sober-hued North

American genera, such as _Pipilo_, _Peucaea_, and _Junco_, lead up to the

brown-streaked Bunting forms.

[Illustration: FIG. 144.–Snow-Bunting. _Plectrophenax nivalis._ × ½.]

The crimson tints exhibited by the adult male Linnet, when in breeding

plumage, afford a well-known instance of seasonal change of colour. It is

in consequence indifferently called the Red, Brown, or Grey Linnet.

{586}The members of this Family generally frequent wooded districts and

open grassy spots, Finches on the whole preferring the former, Buntings the

latter; a few occupy sandy deserts; _Petronia_ haunts rocks; _Ammodramus_

resorts to the shore. This bird clings to the reeds like a Tit, a habit

well-known to be shared by various other marsh-loving species.

_Camarhynchus_ and _Geospiza_ accompany flocks of Doves to dry bushy and

rocky spots near the sea in the Galápagos. The majority are active and

lively birds, social and seldom shy, which flock in winter to feed or

roost; while the pugnacity of the Sparrow is rather exceptional. They not

only dust themselves in dry spots, but bathe freely. _Montifringilla_

breeds in mountainous places, _Leucosticte_ and _Plectrophenax_ in similar

situations, or on rocky Arctic shores. The flight is ordinarily strong and

rapid, some species of _Sycalis_, _Phrygilus_, and _Calamospiza_ soaring,

and descending with outspread wings; _Cactornis_ climbs with ease about the

prickly pear (_Opuntia_), while many Finches hop well, and others run

readily and swiftly. The song is often exceptionally fine, as in the

Canary, Linnet, Cardinal, American Song-Sparrow (_Melospiza_),

_Chondestes_, _Zonotrichia_, and elsewhere; the Bullfinch in the wild state

has a plaintive pipe; while the chirp of Sparrows may be contrasted with

the Cricket-like strain of _Petronia brachydactyla_, the whistling cry of

the Snow-finch (_Montifringilla nivalis_), the long-drawn note of the

Corn-Bunting, or the sibilant sound at times made by the Crossbill. The

food consists mainly of seeds, but other fruits, buds, leaves, insects and

their larvae, are also eaten, not to mention peas, crocus flowers, and the

like; Crossbills and some other forms cleverly extract the seeds of

fir-cones, _Camarhynchus_ and _Geospiza_ scratch about upon the ground, and

_Cactornis_ devours seeds and flowers of the _Opuntia_. The nest varies

from the huge, untidy domed mass of straw and feathers fashioned by

Sparrows to the small compact cup of moss, wool, hair, down, lichen, and

such materials, formed by the Goldfinch, Redpoll, or Chaffinch; Hawfinches

and Bullfinches make shallow structures chiefly composed of twigs and lined

with roots; the British Buntings build with grass and horse-hair if

possible; _Phonipara_ and other species sometimes make covered fabrics;

_Sycalis pelzelni_ occasionally utilizes nests of other birds. The site may

be in a tree, bush, rock, building, or on the ground, some forms

nidificating under cover, some in the open. Sparrows have black, grey, and

white eggs; those of {587}the Linnet, the Goldfinch, and their allies are

blue, bluish-white, or greenish, with reddish or brownish spots; those of

Buntings are whitish, greenish, or ruddy, with brown, blackish, or rufous

marks, ordinarily including streaks and scrawls; those of _Petronia

brachydactyla_ are white with blackish blotches; those of the Hawfinch

green with olive and umber spots or lines; those of the Snow-finch white;

those of _Spiza guiraca_ and some other American species plain bluish or

greenish.

With the Fringillidae this volume ends, according to the Classification

which has been here adopted; but it may be well to take the opportunity of

again reminding the reader that the "Families" of Oscines are not of equal

rank to those of the Orders which precede them; and that, as regards the

arrangement of these "Families," few writers will be found to agree; the

truth being that there never can be a perfectly satisfactory linear system,

since affinities point in so many different directions. When all these

affinities have been finally investigated by anatomists, if ever that time

should come, they may very possibly necessitate an alphabetical arrangement

of the groups, with indications of their various relationships under each

head.

{589}INDEX