1630 THE PERCHING BIRDS 



There are several other genera of tits, such as the Oriental 

 Types ^githaliscus, which comprises some small species differing from the 

 true tits in the more graduated form of the tail, the longer and more copious feath- 

 ers on the crown of the head, and the absence of a dark band on the under parts. 

 The yellow-browed tit {Sylviparus modestus} of the Himalayas represents a second 

 genus, distinguished from the preceding by the squared or slightly-forked tail. 



In the neighborhood of the tits Mr. Gates would place the so-called crow tits 

 (Conostoma, Paradoxornis, Suthora, etc.), which are restricted to the mountains of 

 Northeastern India and parts of China, and are referred by some ornithologists to 

 the Crateropodidce . Mr. Gates writes that ' ' the position of these birds has been 

 much disputed, but looking to the facts that they have ten primaries, that the 

 young are identical in plumage with the adult, and that the nostrils are com- 

 pletely hidden by stiff bristles, their location with the crows and tits seems the 

 proper course to adopt." Those species of which the nesting is known, build cup- 

 shaped nests in trees, and lay eggs marked with yellowish brown and purple. 



THE SHRIKES 

 Family LANIIDJE 



A somewhat variable group, including such different forms as the gay-colored 

 mini vets, the cuckoo shrikes, the crested jay shrikes, the plainer wood shrikes, and 

 the Indian pied shrikes, the members of this family have the edges of both mandi- 

 bles either smooth, or the upper one simply notched or toothed, or both together; 

 the hinder surface of the metatarsus is smooth and covered with two longitudinal 

 plates; the wing has ten primaries; the tongue is of ordinary form; the nostrils are 

 clear of the line of the forehead, and more or less overhung with bristles; and there 

 are twelve tail feathers. The plumage of the nestling is crossbarred, and there 

 appears to be only an autumnal molt. The family comprises a large number of 

 genera, and, with the exception of South America, has a cosmopolitan distribution, 

 although most numerous in Africa. 



The species composing the genus Falcunculus have been described 



_. as uniting the form of a shrike with the habits of a woodpecker; they 



possess a strong toothed bill, with which they are able to tear off 



pieces of rotten wood, and even the bark of gum trees in search of food, and they 



have a crest of feathers. Inhabiting the larger branches of trees, and resembling 



the tits in many of their habits, when attacked by an enemy they defend themselves 



with ferocity. All being exclusively Australian, the white-bellied shrike tit 



(F. leucogaster} is a native of Western Australia, while the frontal shrike tit (F. 



frontatus) inhabits South Australia and New South Wales. 



This shrike tit is a bird of great animation and sprierhtliness; its 

 Frontal Shrike , . , . , . .. . . 



Tit chief food consisting of insects, which are obtained either among the 



foliage of trees or under the bark of the larger branches and trunks. 

 In procuring them the bird exhibits great dexterity, stripping off the bark in the 



