820 SCREECH— SCRUB-BIRD 



the very loud cry of which its local name is an imitation. From 

 a dozen to a score may be seen at once so occupying themselves. 

 The young are often taken from the nest and reared by the people 

 to attend upon and defend their poultry, a duty which is faith- 

 fully ^ and, owing to the spurs with which the Chaka's wings are 

 armed, successfully discharged. Another very curious property of 

 this bird, which was observed by Jacquin, who brought it to the 

 notice of Linnaeus,- is its emphysematous condition, — there being 

 a layer of air-cells between the skin and the muscles, so that on 

 . any part of the body being pressed a crackling sound is heard. In 

 f\/ila^(!L Central America occurs another species, 6 ^ derbian a, chiefly dis- 

 1/ tinguished by the darker colour of its plumage. For this a 



distinct genus, Ischyrornis, was proposed, but apparently without 

 necessity, by Reichenbach (Spf. Avium, p. xxi.). 



The taxonomic position of the Falamedeidai, for all will allow 

 to the Screamers the rank of a Family at least, has been much 

 debated, and cannot be regarded as fixed. Their Anserine relations 

 were pointed out by Parker (Proc. Zool. Soc. 1863, pp. 511-518), 

 and Prof. Huxley (op. cit. 1867, pp. 436, 460) placed them among 

 his ChenomorpH-E ; but this view was contravened by Garrod 

 {op. cit. 1876, pp. 189-200),. to whom it seemed that "the 

 Screamers must have sprung from the primary avian stock as an 

 independent oftshoot at much the same time as did most of the 

 other important families." Accordingly in 1880 Mr. Sclater 

 regarded them as forming a distinct " Order," Palamedese, which 

 he, however, placed next to the true Ansekes, from the neighbour- 

 hood of which they can hardly be removed. 



SCEEECH or SCREECH-BIRD, the Mistletoe-THRUSH, Tiirdus 

 viscivorus (cf. Shrike) ; SCREECH-OAYL, properly the Barn-OwL, 

 Aluco fiammeus ; but not unfrequently misapplied to the Swift. 



SCRUB-BIRD, the name (for want of a better, since it is not 

 very distinctive) conferred upon ' the members of an Australian 

 genus, one of the most curious ornithological types of the many 

 furnished by that country. The first examples were procured by 

 the late Mr. Gilbert between Perth and Augusta in West Australia, 

 and were described by Gould {Proc. Zool. Soc. 1844, pp. 1, 2) as 

 forming a new genus and species under the name of Atrichia clamosa, 

 the great peculiarity observed by that naturalist being the absence 

 of any bristles around the gape, in which respect alone it seemed 

 to differ from the already-known genus Sphenura. In March 

 1866 Mr. AVilcox obtained on the banks of the Richmond river 



^ Hence Latham's name for this species is " Faithful Jacana," — he supposing 

 it to belong to the genus in which Linnteus placed it. 



- "Tacta manu cutis, sub pennis etiam lanosa, crepat ubique fortiter" {SysL 

 Nat. ed. 12, i. p. 260). 



