Case 71. | 
L16 BIRD GALLERY. 
recognised by their flattened bill beset with bristles. Some of the 
forms included in the Flycatchers, such as Cryptolopha (1846) and 
Policplila (1851), might well be placed in the Warblers (Sy/vitdz), aud 
it seems doubtful if any real line can be drawn between the two families, 
while the mottled or squamated plumage of the nestling seems to indi- 
cate a close relationship to the Thrushes (7wrdide). One of the best 
known is the Common Spotted Flycatcher (Muscicapa grisola) (1828), 
one of our later summer-migrants, which arrives from Africa in May. 
It feeds solely on insects captured on the wing, the bird darting at 
them from some branch, to which it again returns for a fresh sally. 
Another less numerous summer-visitor is the Pied Flycatcher (M. atri- 
capilla) (1821), while the Red-breasted Flycatcher (M. parva) (1829) is 
an occasional visitor from Eastern Europe and Asia. The Brown Fly- 
catcher (Alseonaw latirostris) (1830) is said to have occurred in Kent. 
Among the more striking exotic forms we may mention the Australian 
“ Robins,” Petraca phenicea (1831) and P. rhodinogaster (1832), with 
their scarlet and pink breasts ; the lovely Narcissus-Flycatcher (Xantho- 
pygia narcissina) (1841), from China and Japan; the Paradise-Flycatchers 
(Terpsiphone) (1866), with the middle pair of tail-feathers greatly 
lengthened in the male ; the numerous species of Rhipidura (1853-6), 
with wide fan-shaped tails, which are frequently outspread as they dance 
from branch to branch, and their remarkably neat cup-shaped nests, 
several of which are exhibited on the floor of the Case; the Australian 
Restless Flycatcher (Siswra inquieta) (1874), known to the colonists as 
the “ Grinder,” on account of the peculiar grinding note which it utters 
while hovering in the air like a kestrel before descending on its prey ; 
and, lastly, the Niltavas (1863-5), with their brilliant plumaged males, 
said to be less typical in their habits and to eat berries. 
Family 1V. CamporHacip®. Cuckoo-SHurikes. 
The members of this Old-World family seem to constitute a -link 
between the Flycatchers and the Shrikes, and, as in the latter family, 
the plumage of the nestling is cross-barred and not mottled or squamated. 
They are chiefly distinguished by the spiny character of the rump- 
feathers, and the majority possess a strong hooked bill. A remarkable 
form, tne Pheasant Cuckoo-Shrike (Pteropodocys phasianella) (1815), 
with a long forked tail and stout legs, is a native of Australia, and lives 
chiefly on the ground. Other larger forms of a somewhat similar type 
belonging to the genera Graucalus (1816, 1877), Aréamides (1878, 1879), 
and Campophaga (1882, 1883) are arboreal and feed on insects which 
they pick off the leaves. The most attractive members of the family 
are the Minivets (Pericrocotus) (1884-1888), mostly birds of brilliant 
plumage, the predominant colour of most of the males being scarlet and 
