580 PASSERIFORMES 



a horny swelling there. The legs are stout, being long in the 

 terrestrial Agelaeinae, Sturnellinae, and Quisealinae, and not mucli 

 shorter in the Icterinae and Cassicinae ; Doliclionyx has the middle 

 toe, and the Sturnellinae the hallux elongated. The wings are 

 long or moderate, being often pointed with far-extended outer 

 secondaries in the Sturnellinae. The tail varies in length and 

 form, but is much graduated in the Quisealinae (Boat-tails), which 

 usually carry it in flight with the outer feathers uppermost ; it has 

 acuminate rectrices in the Sturnellinae, Leistes, and Doliclionyx, 

 while in the last-named it is forked. Cassiculus, Eurycorystes, 

 and some species of Ostinops have crests, the male of Cassidix a 

 neck-frill, Lamprojpsar erect frontal plumes, the Sturnellinae bristly 

 crow^n-feathers, Hypopyrrlius, Curaeus, and Aphohus lanceolate 

 feathers on the head. Gymnomystax possesses naked orbits. 



The Cassicinae, or Cassiques, are sometimes uniform black, some- 

 times black relieved by chestnut, yellow^, green, or scarlet ; the 

 bill being frequently white, instead of the usual black or brown. 

 The Agelaeinae are generally black, varied with red and yellow, 

 Doliclionyx oryzivorus, the Bobolink, being, however, black, brown, 

 buff, and white, with a duller plumage in winter. The Sturnel- 

 linae are brown, variegated with black ; having scarlet or canary 

 yellow under parts, and in Sturnella. magna, the " Meadow-Lark,'"' 

 a black gorget. The Icterinae (all but one of whicli belong to 

 the extensive genus Icterns) are glossy Idack, with yellow, bay, or 

 orange patches — especially upon the rump and lower surface — 

 and often some white on the wing. The Qiiiscalinae are l:)lack, 

 occasionally with metallic gloss, and scarlet or brown markings. 

 The females are connnonly similar to the males, especially in 

 the Cassicinae, but are sometimes comparatively sombre. Agelaeus 

 phoeniceus, the " Red-winged Starling," several males of which 

 have been captured in Britain, Icterus haltimore, the " Baltimore 

 Oriole " and Qniscalus versicolor, the " Crow-Blackbird," are good 

 examples of their respective groups. The curious resemblance of 

 Sturnella and Macronyx has already been mentioned (p. 500). 



Some of the Family are large birds for Passeres, Gymnostinops, for 

 instance,being the size of a Rook; they are commonly gregarious, and 

 frequent forests or wooded country, the Agelaeinae and Sturnellinae 

 in particular preferring open grassy places and marshes, and all 

 seeming fond of the neighbourhood of water. The Cassicinae only 

 range from South Mexico to Paraguay and Bolivia ; but the other 



