{Case 70. ] 
[Case 70. ] 
[Case 70. ] 
114 BIRD GALLERY. 
interesting as representing the Finches among the Mesomyodian 
Passeres, and closely resemble those birds in their habits and mode of 
vesting. In young plantations they are said to do much damage with 
their strongly serrated bills, cutting off plants close to the ground with 
no apparent object. 
Family VI. Pirripa#. Puirras or Ant-THRUSHES. 
With the exception of the three species which inhabit Africa, the 
fifty long-legged thrush-like species comprising this family are natives’ 
of the Oriental and Australian regions. Almost all the species of Pitta 
(1782-96) are birds of brilliant plumage, and some have supplementary 
ornamental plumes on the head and neck, as in Anthocichla phayrii 
(1797). They frequent the densest jungle and scrub, and are chiefly 
terrestrial in their habits, their long legs enabling them to hop with 
great agility and escape with speed at the slightest alarm. Molluscs, 
insects, and worms form their principal food, and are searched for 
among the fallen leaves. The nest is a round open structure placed on 
the ground or in a very low fork, and the eggs are creamy-white spotted 
with red or purplish-black. 
Family VU. Painerrrriv#. Warriep Anr-THRUSHES. 
The sole representatives of this peculiar family are two species of 
Philepitta (1799), foundin Madagascar. ‘They appear to be most nearly 
allied to the Pittas (Pittide), but differ in various particulars of their 
structure, such as the naked orbits surmounted by the fleshy wattle 
in the male, and the scaling of the tarsi. They appear to be entirely 
terrestrial in their habits. 
Family VIII. Xenicip#. New-ZEatanp Busu-Wrens. 
The members of this family are distinguished by various anatomical 
characters, the arrangement of the syringeal muscles being Mesomyodian. 
These tiny Wren-like birds are peculiar to the highland forests of 
New Zealand. The three known genera, Xenicus, Acanthidositta, and 
Traversia, include five species only. The Rifleman (A. cAloris) (1800) 
is almost entirely arboreal in its habits, actively searching the trees for 
insects, and places its bottle-shaped nest in holes in trees and in other 
cavities, laying from three to five white eggs. . 
