CUVIER'S THICK-BILL. 87 



half the length of the second, which the female has 

 not. The hill and feet in hoth sexes are hlue-hlack. 



Total length, 6 inches ; bill, gape, f ; front, | ; 

 wings, 2| ; tail beyond, 2^ ; tarsus, ^. 



The 



FLUVICOLIN^E OB WATER-CHATS 



constitute the last of these aberrant divisions of this 

 family. As it not only forms the passage to the 

 shrikes but also to the Sylmadce (as the other side 

 of the dentirostral circle), it consequently presents 

 in its contents a considerable deviation from the 

 general characteristics of its own family. The birds, 

 in fact, are terrestrial flycatchers, preserving all the 

 characters of their tribe except in the legs, these 

 members being large, high, and stout, adapted for 

 constant exercise upon the ground, where these birds 

 are almost invariably seen. We have no examples 

 of this group in England, but we may gather some 

 idea of their forms and habits by looking to the stone- 

 chats of Europe. Along the Brazilian rivers and in 

 all the flat and humid savannahs, these birds are 

 seen running with great celerity in pursuit of insects, 

 and moving their tail in the manner of our wheat- 

 ear, which bird they further resemble in the black 



