150 



DENTIEOSTRES. 



SUB-FAMILY I. 



FORMICARIX^. 



The Ant-Thrushes. 



Gen. Charac. — Bill more or less lonf; and straight, wnth the culmen curved 

 to the tip, which is emarginated and sometimes slightly hooked, the sides 

 compressed, and the gonj's modei-ate and ascending ; the nostrils lateral, 

 placed in a memhranous groove, with the frontal plumes projecting to the 

 opening, which is exposed ; the wings generally rather short and rounded ; 

 the tail more or less short, and usually rounded ; the tarsi rather long, and 

 mostly covered in front with slightly-divided scales ; the toes long and 

 slender, with the outer toe longer than the inner, and more or less united at 

 the base. 



t 





Fig. 61.— the blue pitta. 

 {P'Ma cyuiiea.) 



These birds inliabit tlie tropical portions of 

 America, where they are usually seen on the ground, 

 or on the trunks of trees, on which they support 

 themselves by means of their tails, searching for 

 ants and other kinds of insects. 



The Ant-Thrushes are so called from their ant- 

 eating propensities : they form a small, but remark- 



