The FLUTE-PLAYER (_Cyphorhinus cantans_), a very noted species of Wren
inhabiting South America, represents a group distinguished by the
following characteristics:--The beak is strong, compressed at its sides;
the nostrils small, round, quite open, and surrounded by a skin, whereas
in other members of the family they are furnished with a covering;
the wings are short and much rounded; the tail of moderate size, and
graduated at its sides; the legs are strong, and the moderate-sized toes
armed with very disproportionately powerful claws. The upper part of the
plumage is reddish brown, lightest upon the brow and top of the head. The
mantle-feathers are marked with blackish brown; the chin, throat, and
front of the neck are light rust-red; the sides of the throat, cheeks,
and region of the ear black, with white shafts to the feathers; the belly
and centre of the breast are whitish yellow, the sides pale greenish
brown, with dark markings. The length of this species is five inches,
the wing measures two inches and one-sixth, and the tail one inch and
one-third.
The Flute-player, as this bird is called by the Peruvians, on account
of its strange and very beautiful voice, frequents the inmost recesses
of the South American forests, where it lives in parties, and seeks for
insects and berries either upon the ground or on such branches as are
not more than two feet above its surface. During the middle of the day,
according to Schomburghk, its song is rarely or never heard.
* * * * *
The PIPITS (_Anthi_) form, as it were, a connecting link between the
Warblers and Larks, and until lately were classed among the latter birds.
Their body is slender; their wings, in which the third and fourth quills
are the longest, are of moderate size; the upper wing-covers often of
great length; the tail of medium size; the tarsus slender; the toes
weak; and the claws very large, the hindermost, like that of the Lark,
being prolonged into a spur. The beak is thin, straight, narrow at its
base, and awl-shaped, its margins turn inwards, and are incised at the
slightly-curved tip of the upper mandible; the smooth, glossy plumage is
of a brownish or greenish hue. The young usually resemble their parents.
The family of Pipits comprises a great number of species distributed
over all parts of the world, some occupying mountain tracts, and others
forests, plains, or marshy districts. All live principally on the ground,
and sometimes, but rarely, they perch on the branches of trees. Their
manner of progressing on _terra firma_ is rather by a rapid running step
than by a series of leaps, and is accompanied by considerable agitation
of the whole body, and constant gentle whisking of the tail. The flight
of the Pipits is rapid, light, and undulatory, when they are desirous
of going to any considerable distance, but changes to a hovering and
fluttering motion when they rise into the air previous to singing. They
are very intelligent, and their song, though simple, is agreeable; the
call is a kind of piping sound, whence the name of Pipits, by which they
are distinguished. Their principal food consists of beetles, moths,
flies, snails, and aphides; some species also devour spiders and worms,
and, according to recent observations, various kinds of seeds; all seek
their food on the ground, and rarely seize their prey in the air, or by
darting from the branches of trees or bushes. The nest is loosely formed
of blades of grass, portions of plants and roots, lined with wool or
hair, and is constructed on the ground. The eggs are of a dusky hue, and
faintly marked with spots and streaks. The female alone broods, but both
parents assist in tending the young. Most species lay more than once in
the year.