284 BIRDS OF INDIA. 



The Accentors may be ?aid to have somewhat the bill of a 

 Tit-lark, but straighter and stouter ; and the plumage of the re- 

 stricted Accentors is much that of certain Finches ; in others it is 

 various shades of rufous brown, either plain, or streaked above, and, 

 almost in all cases, with some decided marking on the throat. They 

 are chiefly terrestrial, a few climbing well on rocks ; they nidificate 

 both in bushes or hedgerows, and on the ground ; and the eggs, of 

 some, at least, are unspotted blue. They feed on various insects, 

 worms, and seeds. They frequent bushy ground, hedgerows, and 

 the like, or rocky mountains. They are sedentary, occasionally 

 familiar, and some of them sing nicely. On the whole, their habits 

 may be said to be a sort of mixture of that of the Finches, with 

 certain Warblers and Tits. Of the extent of the group, there is 

 great diversity of opinion. Gray includes in it Seiiunts, Acanthiza, 

 Sericornis, Gerygone, and Pyrrholcemus, all Australian forms. Bona- 

 parte (with whom Blyth is in accord on this point) considers 

 that Cinclosoma of the same region is its nearest ally ; and also 

 that Origma is another typical form, these composing his section 

 AecentorecE of this sub-family; whilst his Acanthizea comprise the 

 above last named four genera, with which he has badly associated 

 Smicrornis, {vide vol. I. p. 376). Swainson also considers that 

 Seiurus of America, and some of its allies, grade with the 

 Accentors ; this form being usually considered to belong to the 

 MotacilliiicE. Orthonyx spinicaudus, of Australia, appears nearly 

 allied to Cinclosoma, and is probably another Accentorine type, 

 showing, by the structure of its tail, an affinity for the Certhice. 



I am not sufficiently acquainted with many of these forms to 

 enable me to form a decided opinion, but, judging from what I 

 do know of them, I consider that the Australian Cinclosoma is 

 very nearly related to Accentor, and that Orthonyx, Origma, 

 Pyrrholcemus, Clithonicola, and perhaps other Australian forms, do 

 form part of the same group ; but that some of the others such 

 as Gerygone belong to the Acanthizece, a division of the Mniotiltince, 

 some of which, it may be remarked, exhibit the markings of the 

 neck and throat, which appear to be conspicuous in most 

 members of this family. Origma Avas formerly considered [vide 

 vol. I. page 508) to belong to the Dippers, and, indeed, there is an 



