ANT-THRUSHES, PLANT-CUTTERS, WOOD-HEWERS 



M5 



and, taking up a position about a foot and a half apart, alternately jump about two feet in the 

 air, and alight again on exactly the same spot from which the_\" sprang. With the regularity 

 of clockwork one bird jumps up the instant the other alights, each bird performing a musical 

 accompaniment to the tune of " to-le-do — to-le-do — to-le-do," uttering the syllable "to" as he 

 crouches to spring, " le " while in the air, and " do " as he alights; and this performance appears 

 to be kept up till tne birds are exhausted. 



Some of the manakins are very beautifully coloured. One species, for example, is black, 

 with a blue mantle and a crimson crest; another, black, with orange-coloured cheeks and breast 

 and similarl)' coloured band round the neck, green rump, and yellow abdomen. The females are 

 generall}' duller in coloration. 



The Ant-thrushes, or Pitt.\s, are long-legged, short-tailed birds, of brilliant coloration, 

 having their headquarters in the Malay Archipelago ; but the family is represented in India, 

 Australia, and West Africa. 



These birds are very shy and ex- 

 ceedingl}- difficult to approach. One 

 species, the large Ground-THRUSH, is de- 

 scribed by Wallace as one of the most 

 beautiful birds of the East. Velvety 

 black above, relieved by pure w'hite, the 

 shoulders are azure-blue and the belly 

 a vivid crimson. The nest recalls, in 

 the plan of its architecture, that of the 

 Oven-birds, being more or less globular 

 in form, and having a lateral entrance ; 

 it is composed of twigs, roots, bark, 

 moss, leaves, and grass, and is frequently 

 cemented with earth. The eggs are 

 usually spotted, and have a creamy-v.'hite 

 ground-colour: the spots maybe brown, 

 reddish grey, or purplish black. 



The curious Pl,.\XT-CUTTERS of the 

 temperate regions of South America are 

 nearly related to the Chatterers, though 

 at one time it was believed the}- were 

 allied to the True Finches. Constituting 

 but a small family, the plant-cutters are 

 remarkable for their strangely serrated 

 beaks, the cutting-edges of which are 

 armed with a series of fine saw-like teeth. 

 This beak is used in cutting down plants ; and as these birds appear to cut down a great number 

 in sheer wantonness, they are much disliked in the neighbourhood of gardens and plantations. 



Plant-cutters are not conspicuous for the beauty of their plumage, and have a harsh and 

 grating voice. 



The WoOD-HEWERS constitute a group of o\-er 200 species, all of which are South American. 

 They are for the most part small and dull-coloured birds, but nevertheless of consioerable 

 interest on account of their nest-building habits. The most remarkable members of the family 

 in this respect are three species of OvEX-BIRDS. These construct a massive nest of mud, 

 bearing a more or less fanciful resemblance to a baker's oven ; hence the name Oven-bird. 

 Roughly globular in shape, its walls are of great thickness, and to prevent cracking hair and 

 grass-fibres are intermixed with the mud ; the interior is gained through a small hole on 

 one side of the nest, which leads into a passage terminating in a chamber containing the 

 eggs, which are laid upon a bed of grass. Strangely enough, the bird seeks the most exposed 



rhM ky A. S. Rudland Hf Senj 



BELL-BIRD 



So called f'cm id ivonder fully clear ^ bell-like note 



