VIL TIMELIIDAE 
Ur 
O 
On 
a second to Arabia and the Jordan. Cvossleyia, Bernieria, Mysta- 
corms, Xanthomixis and Oxvylabes are peculiar to Madagascar. 
Most members of the Family inhabit woods near water with 
thick undergrowth, or more rarely stony hills, scrubby gullies, 
and rocky torrents; Cinclorhamphus haunts grassy plains ; Crate- 
ropus kirk prefers reeds. The majority are decidedly terrestrial, 
skulking warily among the bushes and grass, either singly or in 
small companies, while some are inquisitive and active. The flight 
is low, short, undulating, and laboured; but the birds hop and climb 
well, bounding over the ground or clinging to the trees. The Jap- 
anese and Chinese “Hill-Robin” (Liothria lutea) and its allies are 
more arboreal, as are Paradoxornis, Suthora, and so forth. Orthonya: 
is said to dance lke a Lyre-bird (p. 495). Many species scratch up 
the soil or dead leaves in search of insects and their larvae, which, 
with seeds,constitute the chief food; fruit, however, or even small rep- 
tiles, crabs, worms, 
and molluscs are 
occasionally eaten. 
The tail is often car- 
ried erect; Cinclo- 
soma rises with a 
whirring noise; Cin- 
clorhamphus hovers 
in the air. Several 
members of the 
Family are com- 
paratively silent, 
Sittiparus and 
Alcippe twitter, 
Stuechyridopsis utters clear, bell-like tones, Timelia slowly repeated 
eries, Myiophoneus a fine whistle; but usually harsh chattering 
coo) 
I'ta. 109.—‘* Babbling Thrush.” Timelia maculata. — x 4?y- 
or screaming noises alternate with chuckles, croaks, clucks, or a 
laughing chorus. Psophodes is called the “ Coach-whip bird,” from 
its notes ending like the crack of a whip. The habits of Clitonyx 
are said to resemble those of the Meliphagidae. The nest is 
commonly a rough structure of leaves, moss, herbage, and the 
like, often lined with roots, which is placed in low trees, bushes, 
reeds, grass, holes in trees, or banks, by Garrulax, Argya, and 
Turdinus ; im crevices of rocks, by Chaetops ; or on crags near 
torrents, by Myiophoneus. It may consist of somewhat softer 
