785 



MERULID.E. 



MERULID.E. 



766 



Female. Upper part of the head and back part of the neck 

 ash-brown ; less white upon the breast ; lower parts yellowish 

 rusty. 



Young of the Year distinguished by the gray feathers which cover 

 the head and the nape ; feathers of the back and rump fringed with 

 blackish ; those of the wings with white towards the end ; the white 

 of the lower parts extends to the middle of the belly and towards 

 the abdomen; but all these white feathers are finely varied with 

 brown and ash-colour. 



It is found in Sweden, Scandinavia, Siberia, Russia, Germany, the 

 Alps, the Pyrenees, Holland (rare), Spain, Italy, England, Scotland, 

 Wales, and Ireland, and in the vicinity of Trebizond, in Asia Minor. 



With regard to its habits, Mr. Gould says : " As far as the fact of 

 its submersion goes, we have ourselves many times witnessed it ; but 

 have never been able to mark unobserved the actions of the bird 

 under water, so as to say whether it is by a powerful effort that it 

 keeps itself submersed, or whether it is completely at its ease, as 

 some have asserted. The Water-Ouzel is a spirited and restless little 

 bird, full of life and activity, flitting from stone to stone along the 

 borders of the streams ; and it is especially fond of perching upon 

 any rock that happens to be elevated in the centre of the current, 

 where, conspicuous by its white breast, it may be observed dipping 

 its head and jerking its tail in a manner not unlike that of the wren, 

 at one moment pouring forth a lively twittering song (and that even 

 in the depth of winter, when the earth is covered with snow), and at 

 the next diving down, and rising again at a considerable distance. 

 When ifi disposed, its flight is straight, low, and rapid ; in fact, much 

 like the Kingfisher; and it is equally solitary in its habits. It is 

 however seldom seen in the same situations as the Kingfisher, the 

 latter being a frequenter of streams which flow through a fertile 

 country, while the Water-Ouzel is peculiar to the rapid and limpid 

 streams which descend the mountain sides and run through glens at 

 their base." (' Birds of Europe.') 



The food of this species consists of land and water insects and 

 their larvae, Spltemene, Phryganea, Ac., and fresh-water Testaceous 

 Molluscs. Mr. Macgillivray found in their stomachs beetles and the 

 animals of Lymncea; and Ancyli. The Scotch persecute it under the 

 impression that it feeds on the spawn of the salmon. The justice of 

 this persecution has been doubted. 



Fissures of rocks, crags, and rough stones are selected as the 

 locality for the curious nest, which is domed, and similar with regard 

 to materials to those which compose the nest of the wren. "It 

 builds early," observes Mr. Yarrell, "and conceals its large nest with 

 great art. If a cavity in a moss-covered rock is chosen, the nest is 

 formed of a mass of closely interwoven moss, 7 or 8 inches deep, and 

 10 or 12 inches in diameter, with a hollow chamber in the centre 

 lined with a few dry leaves, to which access is gained by a small 

 aperture through the moss on one side. Sometimes the nest is placed 

 under a projecting stone, forming part of a cascade, and behind the 

 sheet of water that falls over it. The eggs are from four to six in 

 number, measuring one inch in length by nine lines in breadth, pointed 

 at the smaller end, and white." ('British Birds.') 





Nest of Wutcr-Ouzel (Cinclus aquaticut}. 



Pennant's Penrith Ouzel is probably a young Water-Ouzel of the 

 first year. 



Mr. Gould, in his 'Birds of Europe,' states that, since the publi- 

 cation of his ' Century of Birds from the Himalaya Mountains,' he 

 had received specimens of the young as well as of the adult, in 

 consequence of which his plate in the ' Birds of Europe ' is rendered 

 more complete. He adda that M. Temminck had favoured him with 

 npecimens of the Japan Water-Ouzel, which differed so slightly from 

 those killed in India, as not, in Mr. Gould's opinion, to admit of their 

 being separated. 



JUT. HIST. CIV. rOt. III. 



There is an American species, Cinclw unicolor (Bonap.), C. Mexi- 

 canus (Sw.) 



Sub-Family Mendinoe (True Thrushes). Wings more lengthened 

 and pointed. Bill notched, with the culmen gradually curved to the 

 tip, which is bent, but not hooked over the lower mandible. Feet 

 formed both for perching and walking. (Sw.) 



Petrocincla, Vig. (Rock Thrushes). Bill thrush-like : tip of the 

 upper mandible abruptly bent down and nearly entire. Wings 

 moderate ; the first quill spurious ; the second shorter than the three 

 next, which are equal and longest. Tail even ; anterior scales divided ; 

 lateral toes equal ; claws small, but slightly curved. 



P. saxatilis, the Rock-Thrush, Merle de Roche of the French, 

 Twdus saxatilis (Gould), is a native of Europe. It inhabits rocky 

 and mountainous countries. It is found in the Uralian Mountains, 

 the Alps, and Pyrenees. It also inhabits Germany, France, Switzer- 

 land, and the Tyrol, Spain, Sicily, Turkey, the Grecian Archipelago, 

 and Algeria. It has occasionally been shot in England, and on that 

 account is mentioned by Yarrell in his ' British Birds." 



Sub-Genus Petrophila (Sw.) Bill thrush-like : the culmen and tip 

 of the upper mandible gradually bent and entire. Wings and tail as 

 in the last. Legs pale ; anterior scales entire ; lateral toes unequal ; 

 inner shortest; claws moderate and fully curved. (Sw.) Ex. P. 

 cyanocephala. (Gould, ' Cent, of Himal. Birds.') 



Merula (Willughby). [BLACKBIRD.] 



Orpheut (Sw.). General structure of Mei-uta. Bill more curved in 

 the culmeu ; the notch small, or nearly obsolete ; rictal bristles rather 

 strong. Wings rounded ; the three first quills graduated. Tail length- 

 ened, graduated, or rounded. Inner toe manifestly shorter than the 

 outer. Ex. 0. Polyglottus. (Wilson, pi. 10, f. 1.) 



Sub-Genus Cotiypha (Vig.). General structure of Orpheus, but the 

 wings more rounded, and the tail less so ; rictus smooth. Africa only. 

 Ex. C. leucocept. (Sw., 'Birds of West Africa,' 1, pi. 32.) 



Chcetops (Sw.). Bill moderate, thrush-like, notched ; nostrils basal, 

 large, naked, membranous, the aperture lateral and linear; frontal 

 feathers rigid, the shafts composed of bristles; chin-feathers the same, 

 but weaker; rictus bristled. Wings very short and rounded. Tail 

 rather lengthened, broad, convex, soft, and slightly rounded. Tarsi 

 very loug and strong ; anterior scales divided ; lateral toes unequal ; 

 claws small, obtuse, and slightly curved, the three anterior of equal 

 size. Africa. (Sw.) Ex. C. urchellii. (PI. ' Col.,' 385.) 



Sub-Family Crateropodirux, Babblers. Legs remarkably long and 

 strong, with the claws but slightly curved. Wings short and rounded. 

 Tail large, broad, graduated, and very soft. Plumage lax. Bill com- 

 pressed, straight, hard, the tip nearly entire. (Sw.) 



Pellorneum (Sw.). Bill moderate, straight, somewhat conic ; tip 

 notched; gonys ascending; frontal feathers, small, rigid, directed 

 forwards ; rictus bristled. Wings very short, much rounded. Tail 

 moderate, graduated. Tarsus and middle toe of equal length ; lateral 

 toes much shorter and equal; hinder toe shorter than the tarsus; 

 anterior claws very small, and but slightly curved; tarsal scales hardly 

 divided. (Sw.) Ex. P. ruficept. 



Crateropus, Sw. (lanthocincla, part). Bill nearly as long as the head, 

 more or less straight from the base, much compressed, obsoletely 

 notched ; rictus bristled ; frontal feathers rigid. Wings short, rounded. 

 Tail large, broad, soft, and rounded. Feet very large and strong ; 

 tarsus lengthened, the anterior scales divided ; lateral toes nearly 

 equal ; hind toe large, nearly as long as the middle toe. Plumage 

 lax, soft. (Sw.) Ex. C. Meinwardii. ('Zoo!.,' 111., i. 30.) 



Grallina (Vieill.). Bill slender, straight, rather cylindrical above ; 

 the sides very little compressed ; base broader than high ; tips of both 

 mandibles distinctly notched ; nostrils naked, basal ; rictus with a 

 few bristles. Wings very long; first and second quills graduated, foul- 

 next longest. Tail lengthened, even. Feet strong, formed for walking, 

 black ; anterior toes divided, the rest entire ; lateral toes equal ; middle 

 toe and claw short, very little longer than the hind toe. Australia. 

 Ex. U. mdanoleuca. (VieilL, ' Gal.,' pi. 150.) 



Sub-Genus Cinclosoma (Horsf. and Vig.). Bill very straight; culmeu 

 and gonys equally curved towards the point, which is slightly notched. 

 Wings very short ; the two first quills graduated ; the three next 

 longest, and of equal length. Tail lengthened, broad, graduated, ths 

 feathers narrowed towards their tips; under tail-coverts very long. 

 Feet moderate ; inner toe longer than outer. Australia. Analogous 

 to Accentor among the Syh-iadce. (Sw.) Ex. C. pwnctata. (Shaw, 

 'Zool. of Nat. Hist.,' pi. 9.) 



JMalacocimu (Sw.). Bill more or less curved, by being elevated at 

 the base, having the sides much compressed, and the culmeu high and 

 arched ; the tip almost entire, and uot suddenly bent over the lower. 

 Feet very large. Tail soft, graduated, generally lengthened. (Sw.) 

 Ex., if. striatus. (' Zool.,' 111., ii. pi. 127.) 



Sub-Genera. Mc'jalurm (Horsf.). Bill slender ; rictus bristled. 

 Wings very short ; the two first quills graduated, the four next all 

 of the same length, and longest. Tail lengthened, graduated ; the 

 feathers narrow. Feet very large and strong ; toes lengthened ; the 

 inner toe rather longer than the outer; claws slender, and but slightly 

 curved; anterior scales divided, lateral, entire. Ex. M. palustris. 

 Pomatorhinus (Horsf.). General structure of Crateropus ; but both 

 mandibles of the bill curved and entire, and the whig shorter and 

 much more rounded ; four first quills graduated. Tarsal scales 



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