MANAKINS. 139 



seldom mounts far above the tops of the trees. The voice of the male is a 

 single note seven or eight times repeated, and terminating with a sharp higher 

 note, much resembling the smack of a whip. That of the female is very dif- 

 ferent, being a series of running half-notes, forming a rather plaintive tune." 

 — Gould. 



The typical form is — 



The Red-breasted Thick-head {Ptenithius nifiventris). 



Sub-Family IT. 



THE MANAKINS. PIPRIN^E. " 



General Characteristics.— Bill moderate, or short, and rather depressed, \vith the 

 base very broad ; the culmen curved, and the sides compressed to the tip, which is 

 emarginated ; the nostrils lateral, and more or less hidden by the projecting plumes ; 

 the \\ings moderate and pointed ; tail very short and even ; tarsi more or less long 

 and rather slender, with the outer toe united to beyond the second joint of the 

 middle toe, and the inner slightly united. 



Most of these birds are found in the tropical regions of America, 

 or the forests of Sumatra and Singapore. They inhabit hot 

 humid woods, in the skirts of which they live in flocks, searching 

 for insects and small fruits. They are very lively and restless, 

 and are frequently seen on the ground or sometimes perched on 

 trees. The note of one species has been compared to the crack- 

 ing of a nut. Some of them dwell in extensive woods, or in pre- 

 cipitous places formed by torrents : these are most usually seen 

 on the fallen trunks of trees that have been rooted up by hurri- 

 canes. Their flight is low, and they seem restless, continually 

 making quick and fluttering movements while on the branches. 

 Their food consists principally of the fruits of a species of laurel 

 and other shrubs. Their note is a hoarse repetition of the syl- 

 lable " kct, kct, kctl' forcibly uttered in a very sharp tone. The 

 female builds her nest in a sinuosity of the rocks, sheltering it 

 under some projecting point. It is properly of a circular form, 

 but occasionally the shape is varied with the windings of the rocks. 

 The nest is composed of a tissue of the fibres of roots plastered 

 externally with moistened earth, and lined internally with fine 

 vegetable fibres and hair. The young do not quit the nest until 

 nearly full grown. 



The Manakins are generally of small size and clothed in plu- 



