110 



ItllU) liAl.LEHV. 



will] tlif working- of tlie lines. Xetiopn nitUiis (1629) is a curious little 

 loiiii, worth noting on account of its niucli compressed, nptnrncd bill. 



Tl;e Warbler-like Siinulluxinic embrace a number of small forms 

 frequeutiug the bushes and low underorowth, and interesting on account 

 of their icmnrkablc nesting habits. Some of the species of tlie genus 

 SijiKilluxiti (1631-6) make enormous nests of sticks and twigs, lined 

 with hairs and feathers etc., large enough to fill an ordinary wheel- 

 barrow, and generally divided into two chambers united by a passage. 

 .More than one of these great structures are often found in the same 

 tree. The species of Sip/ornis (1637-8) have very similar habits. 

 Another member, the Thorn-tailed Warbler ( Oxyurus spiiiicauda) ( 1 642) , 

 lias the shafts of the tail-feathers stitt'ened and bare towards tlie tips. 



The last subfamily, FunwiiitKe, includes a number of soft-tailed 

 terrestrial species. The most curious nests of all are the oven-shaped 

 clay structures built l)y the Oven-birds (Fi/niarius) (1651), and usually 

 placed in the most exposed situations, such as the to]) of a post or on a 

 bare rock. Although the eggs may not be laid till September or 

 Octobci', the birds often begin to build in the middle of June, and may 

 be found at work in any jnontli of the year. The winter-built nests arc 

 said to be the best and to withstand the rain and heat for a year or 

 more. As the clayey mud of which they are composed becomes almost 

 as hard as brick, it is no easy matter to break in and extract the eggs. 

 Geositta (■utiiculariu (1649), icminding us of a Wheatear in appearance 

 and habits, is also worthy of note. It excavates a burrow from 2 to 6 

 feet long, terminating in a round cavity lined with soft grass, in which 

 four or five white eggs are deposited. 



Group II. Oligomyodji (p. 107). 



Family I. Cotingida:. Ameukan Chatterers. 



I Case •)!'.] This important family contains more than 100 species of fruit-eatiug 

 birds, distributed over Tropical America from South Mexico to the 

 northern borders of Argentina. The habits of these woodland birds 

 are very imperfectly known, but in some species at least tlieir diet is 

 supplemented by molluscs, insects, and even lizards. Six subfamilies 

 are recognised. jThe Gijntnoderinie are ratlier large birds with a 

 Crow-like bill, and include such remarkable forms as the Umbrella- 

 birds [Cephalopterus) (1659-60; and the Bell-birds [Chasmorhynchus) , 

 in which the extraordinary ornamental appendages are especially 

 remarkable. The males of the black Umbrella-birds, so called on 

 account of their peculiar umbrella-like crest, have a long cylindrical 

 or flattened plumed wattle hanging down from the throat. TJiis 

 ornament is much less developed in the females, which are otherwise 



