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than his contortions, hissings, and 

 ' death-feigning', is his voice. It is an 

 unmistakble and familar sound of 

 early spring — a clear, high pitched, far 

 reaching note, reiterated many times — 

 a sound that makes itself heard at a 

 distance of a quarter of a mile. As a 

 rule, this note is heard a few days be- 

 fore the cuckoo's call, and on this 

 account, the wryneck is known .... 

 .... as the cuckoo's mate, or 

 messenger, or bodar, and is also called 

 the cuckoo's maid. 



" The Wryneck feeds chiefly on ants 

 and their larvae, and, like the green 

 Woodpecker, he goes to the anthills on 

 common and uncultivated grounds ; 

 the insects are taken with the long 

 retractile tongue, which is covered with 

 an adhesive saliva, and which the bird 

 when feeding, darts out and withdraws 

 with lightning rapidity." 



A stray Picus canus (L), North 

 China Green Woodpecker, has been 

 found in Ohinkiang once. 



ORDER, PASSERIFORMES, PERCHING BIRDS. 



Passerine birds, with the exception 

 of the genus Cholornis, have four toes, 

 without webs, the first being on the 

 same level as the others and directed 

 backwards ; it is as large as the middle 

 toe, and the nail is usually longer than 

 that of the middle toe. They are 

 generally birds of small size, having 

 variously shaped wings, with nine or ten 

 primaries and nine secondaries. There 

 are usually twelve tail feathers. Other 

 characteristics are largely technical 

 and need not be enumerated here. 



This is a very large order, containing 

 approximately 7,000 species, or nearly 

 half of the known birds. Notwith- 



