RHfPIDURA. 123 



of which, he says, " it is exceedingly familiar, con- 

 stantly hunting after insects and flies, always with 

 the tail spread like a fan ; it is easily tamed, and 

 will then sit on a person's shoulder and pick off the 

 flies : it has a chirping note, hut not to he called a 

 song*." Lewin, again, speaking of another species, 

 gives us, in a few words, the most essential cha- 

 racter, in regard to habits, of the genus ; he calls 

 his orange-rumped flycatcher, which (from a spe- 

 cimen now before us) is evidently a typical Rhipi- 

 dura,) " a chattering noisy species, constantly in 

 motion, jerking and spreading its fan-like tail as 

 it passes from hush to bush, catching its food in its 

 flight t." The American Redstart ( Setophaga ru- 

 ticilla) is well known to possess the same habits ; 

 yet the two genera differ so much, that it would be 

 preposterous to class them together. Here, then, 

 we have another instance of that beautiful series of 

 analogies which nature preserves between the con- 

 tents of all her groups, whether large or small ; and 

 thus we find, that by comparing the circle of the 

 Parlance with that of the Muscicapince, the genera 

 Rhipidura and Setophaga will stand opposite, or 

 are parallel to, each other. 



* Lath. Synopsis, iii. pi. 49. 



t Lewin's Birds of New Holland, pi. 15. 



