LAXIIIXE. 



]1>1 



SUB-FAMILY II. 

 Thamxophilix.e. The Bush Shrikes. 



Gen. Chakac. — Bill more or less lengthened, compressed on the sides ; the 

 culmen straight but arched, hooked, and emarginated at the tip ; the gape 

 more or less bristled ; the nostrils basal, lateral, and mostly rounded ; the 

 wings moderate, and more or less rounded ; the tail usually long and rounded ; 

 the tarsi moderate, and covered with broad scales; the toes moderate, tlie 

 lateral ones unequal, and the outer toe united to the middle one at the I)ase. 



Fig. 79. — the MAmr-coLOiTEED btjsh shrike. 

 {Layiiarius multicolor.) 



Most of tliese birds inliabit tlie tropical parts of 

 America, yet a few of tlie species extend northwards 

 as far as Canada. They usually reside in the forests, 

 searching the foliage of the low bushes and the trunks 

 of trees for the Coleopterous and other insects upon 

 which they subsist. Their nests are usually placed 

 in thick bushes, at no great distance from the ground; 

 the exterior is frequently made of small spinous 



