144 THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD 



The nesting habits of the Chatterers 

 vary greatly, — some building nests of mud 

 and twigs, which they fasten on projections 

 of rock in damp caves; others simply lining 

 holes in trees with dry grass. Some build 

 a cup-shaped nest of lichens, others a simple 

 platform of sticks, whilst some of the Thick- 

 BiLLEii Chatterers hang large nests of 

 leaves, plant-stalks, and wool from low 

 branches, the entrance to the nest being 

 from a hole in the side. The eggs vary 

 in number among the difterent species 

 from two to four, and in colour may be 

 white, chocolate, pale salmon-coloured, or 

 greenish blue, and are for the most part 

 spotted. 



Closel}' allied to the Cocks-of-the-rock 

 are the M.VXAKIXS, for the most part small 

 and thick-set birds, and in man_\- instances 

 brilliantl}- colnured — at least in the case of 

 the males. Some seventy species are known. 





I 



fHU by D. Li Souf/] iMc.b.urr., 



VICTORIAN LYRE-BIRD 



Lyre-birds, ■which arc aho knoivn to the colonim as " Plirauznls," are 

 irreaf m'mics 



all of which are confined to South America. They 

 must be sought for, as a rule, in the forests or 

 thick undergrowth of marshy places. 



The Manakin Family contains several species 

 of considerable interest, on account of the peculiar 

 modifications which certain of the quill-feathers 

 of the males have undergone. In some species 

 what are known as the secondary quill-feathers 

 are peculiarly twisted, and have the shafts much 

 thickened. With these modified feathers the 

 birds are enabled, probabl>- by clapping the 

 wings and bringing the thickened feathers 

 violently together, to make a sharp sound, which 

 has been likened to the crack of a whip. Other 

 species have the quill-feathers of the hand — the 

 primaries, as they are called — similarly thickened, 

 and they probably are also used to produce 

 sounds. 



One species is known as the Bailador, or 

 Dancer, on account of a very remarkable habit 

 which the males have of dancing. Two males, 

 choosing some secluded spot, select a bare twig, 



/>(,.!. h, IV. SavilU-Kint, f Z.S. 



TAIL OF AUSTRALIAN LYRE-BIRD 



This ornamemal lad ts worn only by the male 



