

GIANT BREVE.— J'iita gigius. 



The nest of the Tree Pij^it is almost invariably placed on the ground nnder the shelter 

 of a tuft of grass, altliough there are instances where the bird has been known to build in 

 a very low bush. The materials of wliich the nest is made are moss, roots, and fine 

 grasses, and the lining is mostly of hair. The eggs are five in number, and their colour is 

 a whitish ground covered with reddish-brown spots. There is considerable variation in 

 the colour of the eggs, the spots being larger and more numerous in some examples, and 

 their colour generally possessing different shades of purple intermixed with the brown. 



The Tree Pipit may be known from the meadow Pipit by its greater size, its flatter 

 head, larger bill, and shorter hind claws, the last being a very notable distinction. In its 

 general colouring it resembles the meadow Pipit. Besides these two species, others are 

 known to be among the British bii-ds, as the Eock Pipit [Anthus aquaticus), and 

 the Eichard's Pipit (Anthus Ricardi). 



The very large family of the Thrushes now engages our attention. Many of these 

 birds are renowned for their song, and some of them are remarkable for their imitative 

 powers. In general shape there is some resemlalance to the crows and the starlings and 

 blackbirds of England, bearing a very great external resemblance to the common starling. 

 This family is divided into five sub-families, all of which will be mentioned in the follow- 

 ing pages, and many examples figured. Our own country possesses many representatives 

 of this group of birds. 



The Ant-theushes, so called from their ant-eating propensities, form a small but 

 remarkable group of birds, differing greatly in colour and dimensions, but bearing 

 considerable resemblance to each other in their general form. Some species are almost as 

 sombrely clad in black, brown, and white, as the common thrush of England, while 

 the plumage of others glows with a crystalline lustre of animated prismatic hues, as in 

 the black-headed Pitta (P. melanocephala), or is gorgeous with the briglitest scarlet, blue, 

 and purple, as in the crimson-headed Brachyure (P. granatica). All the species, however, 

 bear, in external form, a considerable resemblance to each other, being thick-set, big- 

 bodied, large-headed, long-legged, short-tailed, and strong-billed. 



