[Case 68, ] 
‘Case 69. ] 
110 BIRD GALLERY. 
with the working of the lines. Xenops rutilus (1629) is a curious little 
form, worth noting on account of its much compressed, upturned bill. 
The Warbler-like Synallavine embrace a number of small forms fre- 
quenting the bushes and low undergrowth, and are interesting on account 
of their remarkable nesting-habits. Some of the species of the genus 
Synallaxis (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 may often be found in the same 
tree. The species of Siptornis (1637-8) have very similar habits. 
Another member, the Thorn-tailed Warbler ( Oxyurus spinicauda) (1642), 
has the shafts of the tail-feathers stiffened and bare towards the tips. 
The last subfamily, Furnariine, includes a number of soft-tailed 
terrestrial species. The most curious nests of all are the oven-shaped 
clay structures built by the Oven-birds (Furnarius) (1651), and usually 
placed in the most exposed situations, such as the top of a post or on a 
bare rock. Although the eggs may not be laid till September or 
October, the birds often begin to build in the middle of June, and may 
be found at work in any month of the year. ‘The winter-)uilt nests are 
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 cunicularia (1649), reminding 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 lmed with soft grass, in which 
four or five white eggs are deposited. 
Group II. Oxzreouyopz (p. 107). 
Family I. Corineipa. AMERICAN CHATTERERS. 
This important family contains more than 100 species ot fruit-eating 
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 their diet is 
supplemented by molluscs, insects, and even lizards. Six subfamilies 
are recognised. The Gymnoderine are rather 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. This 
ornament is much less developed in the females, which are otherwise 
