SHARP-TAILS. 



91 



character. Their singular nest, from which they derive the name 

 of Oven-Birds, is generally built in an exposed situation on a thick 

 leafless branch or on the top of a paling; sometimes, even, in the 

 interior of houses. Both sexes labour at its construction, each 

 alternately bringing a lump of clay, a piece of straw, or of the 

 dry stems of plants. This remarkable structure, when finished, 

 has the appearance of an oven, six or eight inches in diameter and 

 about an inch in thickness. From the entrance, which is on one 

 side, a passage reaches to the roof, and terminates by a circular 

 opening in an inner chamber, where the eggs are deposited on a 

 bed of feathers or grass. 

 A remarkable species — 



The Patagonian Cinclodes {Cinclodes Patagonicd) is found principally 

 upon the western coast of South America, especially towards the southern ex- 

 tremity of that continent ; it lives on the sea-beach, and may occasionally be 

 seen walking on the buoyant colossal sea-weeds {Fuciis gigantcits) at some 

 little distance from the shore. The pebbly beds of large rivers sometimes 

 tempt a solitary pair to wander inland, and others frequent the borders of lakes. 

 They have been observed in the stony arid valleys of the Cordillera, at a height 

 of 8,000 feet, and even in open desert places, where few bushes grow, or in open 

 grassy plains. Their ibod consists of insects, small crabs, and minute shell- 

 fish thrown on the shore by the sea. Others may be seen turning over refuse, 

 and they occasionally feed upon seeds. The nests of one of these birds, found 

 by Mr. Darwin, was placed in a hole in the roof of a deep cavern, and another 

 was found beneath an old tree. They were composed of coarse grass and very 

 luitidily built. 



The type of this sub-family is — 



The Black-tailed Enicornis {Enicornis inelannra), represented in our 

 engraving. 



Sub-Family II. 

 THE SHARP-TAILS. SYNALLAXIN.E.* 



General Characteristics. — Toes moderate and strong, with the lateral toes unequal, 

 the outer one the longest and united to near the first joint, and the inner slightly 

 united at the base, the hind toe strong and long; the claws strong, compressed, and 

 curved. 



The birds composing this sub-family are likewise peculiar to 

 South America. They are usually found in pairs, but sometimes 

 in little flocks of twelve or fourteen, on the borders of lakes and 

 rivers, or on rushy inundated places, where they may be seen flit- 

 ting from reed to reed, upon which they run up and down in search 



* avvoXK6.(5Ci>}, synallasso, to associate together. 



