vil CINCLIDAE 519 
chief; the natural song being rich, varied, and powerful, and the 
imitations ranging from the yelp of the Eagle to the noises of 
the farm-yard. It is found from the United States to Mexico 
and the Antilles, where in isolated trees, hedges, or brambles it 
makes a bulky platform of rough twigs to support the cup of 
roots, wool, and so forth, which contains the four to six pale 
ereenish-blue—or rarely buflish 
egos, with brown and purplish 
markings. The movements are energetic but graceful, the flight 
Thrush-like; the food consists of insects, often taken in the air, 
and fruit. Mimus modulator, the “Calandria,” of Argentina, 
Brazil, and Bolivia, feeds chiefly on the ground, and can hardly 
be said to mock, though JZ triwrus of the same countries does so. 
Galeoscoptes carolinensis, the Cat-bird, besides an attractive song, 
utters clucks, whistles, and mewing sounds; it feeds chiefiy on 
insect-larvae, and deposits from three to five deep greenish-blue 
egos in a nest of twigs, bark, and plant-stalks lined with grass. 
Oreoscoptes, of the North American sage-brush districts, resembles 
Mimus in its habits, nest, and eggs, but is no mimic; nor, it may 
be added, are the shy Thrashers (Harporhynchus), which commonly 
haunt arid situations, placing their large, flattish nest of coarse 
twigs, leaves, fibres, bark, grass, and moss, lined with softer materials, 
in low trees or thorny scrub. Their three to six eggs are white,” 
bluish, greenish, or buff, with yellowish, purplish, or red-brown 
spots or specks, those of the more terrestrial H. erissalis being 
uniform pale greenish-blue. Donacobius frequents reeds, but 
possibly does not belong to this group; JMJelanoptila has a harsh 
or mewing note, and lays blue eggs, as does JJelanotis. 
Fam. VIII. Cinclidae—The Dippers or Water-Ousels form a 
single genus, Cinclus, probably more akin to the Wrens than to 
the Thrushes. The bill is moderate and straight, without bristles 
at the gape, the maxilla being slightly curved and notched ; the 
smooth metatarsi are fairly long and strong; the wings are 
abbreviated, rounded, and concave; the tail is extremely short, 
and the whole body peculiarly squat-looking. The colour above 
is normally greyish-black or brown, C. ardesiacus being, however, 
delicate grey ; the lower parts are similar or white, commonly with 
a black belly, while a chestnut band crosses the breast in the 
British C. aqguaticus and in C. albicollis. White spots often occur 
above and below the eye; C. lewconotus and C. leucocephalus have 
nearly white heads, and the former shews white on the back. 
