137 



ORTHONYX. 



ORTOLAN. 



138 



forming the whole of that sub-family. It has the following generic 

 characters : Bill very short, straight, but the culmen arched from the 

 base ; sides considerably compressed ; nostrils large, basal. Wings 

 moderate, but considerably rounded ; the first four quills graduated, 

 and shorter than the fifth. Tail rather lengthened, rounded; the 

 feathers very broad, and the'webs soft, but the shafts stiff, very rigid, 

 and terminating in naked points. Feet enormously large and strong ; 

 the outer toe rather longer than the middle, which is again longer 

 than the inner toe; hinder toe shorter than the middle. Tarsus 

 longer than either of the toes ; claws strong, very slightly curved ; 

 the anterior all of the same length ; the hinder one longest. (Sw.) 



The only species is 0. spinicaudta, Temm., 0. Temminckii, Vig. 

 and Horsf. It is rufous brown above, liueated with black ; lesser 

 coverts of the wings gray, streaked with brown ; plumes of the top 

 of the head slightly prolonged into a sort of false crest, which is how- 

 ever but little apparent ; tail rounded, of a tarnished brown-colour, 

 each feather-stem terminated by a point furnished with small stiff 

 bristle-like appendages. A bright orange patch covers the breast of 

 the male, which part is white in the female. 



' 



- 



(>rll,r,i,yz ipinieaiulul. 

 Upper figure, male ; lower figure, female. 



M. Lemon state* that this bird in said to be a native of New 

 Zealand. A specimen in the Museum of the Linntean Society of 

 in was prenented by Mr. Brown, who met with it near Hat Hill 

 in 1804. 



Messrs. Vigors and Horsfield speak of this genus (' Linn. Trans.,' 

 vol. xv.), which consists of the single species above noticed, as holding 

 the same place in Australia as the true Certhia fills in the ancient 

 continent, and the numerous group of Dendrocolaptes, Herm., in 

 South America. They observe that it possesses the strong and 

 lengthened shafts of the tail feathers which support the typical scan- 

 sorial birds in climbing, and that it immediately connects the whole 

 group by a strong affinity to the woodpeckers. 



Mr. Swainson (' Classification of Birds,' vol. i.) describes the bird as 

 rather larger than a sparrow, but with the general form and propor- 

 tions of Manura, except in the tail, the rigidity of which, he remarks, 

 would imply that it feeds in a semiperpendicular attitude. 



ORTHO'PTERA, one of the orders into which Insects are divided. 

 This order, of which we have familiar examples in the common Cock- 

 roach (Blatta), the House-Cricket, and the Grasshopper, ia distinguished 

 by the following characters : The superior wings are semi-coriaceous, 

 usually displaying numerous nervures in a longitudinal direction, and 

 having the interspaces filled up with transverse, or reticulated, smaller 

 nervures ; the anterior portion of the inferior wings is generally of a 

 different substance from the posterior portion, the nervures are more 

 crowded, and in character, and often even in colour, it nearly resembles 

 the anterior pair of wings ; the hinder portion of these wings is almost 

 always more transparent, and, when not in use, is folded like a fan. 

 The superior wings often overlap horizontally, as in the cockroaches, 

 but in many species they meet at an angle like the roof of a house, as 

 in the grasshoppers and locusts. The legs in some are formed for 

 running ; in others, the hinder pair of legs are very long and the 

 thighs of these legs are thick, and in fact formed for leaping. The 

 antenme do not vary much ; they are usually filiform ; in many, 

 extremely long and slender, in which case they are composed of innu- 

 merable minute joints ; in others, they are shorter and thicker, and 

 the joints are less numerous and consequently more distinct. The 

 parts of the mouth are well developed and approach in structure those 

 of the order Coleoptera ; they are usually however less firm and 

 compact, especially the labial apparatus. The upper portion of the 

 prothorax ia generally very large. The metamorphosis of the Orthop- 

 tera is semi-complete, that is to say, the larva) and pupa; resemble 

 the perfect insect, excepting that in the larvae there are no wings, and 

 in the pupae the wings are in a rudimentary state. Some species how- 

 ever in the perfect state are wingless, in which case it is extremely 

 difficult, and perhaps impossible, to distinguish the perfect insect 

 from the pupae or even the larva:. 



Latreille divides the order Ortlwpiera into two sections, to which he 

 applies the names Cunoria and Saltatoria, or runners and jumpers. 

 In the Cursoria all the legs are usually alike and fitted for running, 

 and they are thus easily distinguished from the SaUatoria, in which 

 the hinder legs are long and the thighs thick. The males of the 

 species belonging to the second section have the power of producing 

 a shrill noise, but this is not always effected in the same manner. 



To the section Cunoria. belong the families Porjiculidce (or Earwigs) 

 [FoRFicuLms], the Blallidiz (Cockroaches) [BLATTID.B], the Mantidcc 

 (or Mantis tribe) [MANTID.E], and the Phasmidie [PHASMID.E]. The 

 section Curoria may be divided into three families the Urijllidie (of 

 which the Common House-Cricket affords an example) [GBYLLID^], 

 the Loctutidas (Locusts), and the Acridiidte (or Grasshoppers) 



The principal characters of these families are given under the proper 

 heads ; they may be distinguished by the following arrangement : 



A. Tarsi 3-jointed. 



a. Abdomen furnished with a forcep-like appendage Porjiculidoe. 



b. Abdomen without forceps. 



* Antenna) filiform or prismatic . . 

 ** Antenna; very long and setaceous . . 



B. Tarsi 4-jointed, antennas setaceous . . 



C. Tarsi 5-jointed.* 



a. The prothorax the longest of the three thoracic 



segments ........ Mantid<e. 



b. The prothorax the shortest of the three thoracic 



segments ..... ... Phanmu/a: 



c. The prothorax broad, more or less rounded, and 



generally covering the head .... lllattldn. 



Acridiida. 



Gryttidas. 



Locuetida. 



ORTHOTOMUS. 



O'RTOLAN, the French and English names for a species of Bird 

 belonging to the family Fringillidas, much esteemed by epicures for 

 the delicacy of its flesh when in season. It is the J/ortalantu of 

 Gesner and others, Mttiaria pinguescena of Frisch, Emberiza hvrtnlana 

 of Linnaeus, Ortolano of the Italians generally, Tordino Berluccio of 

 the Venetians, Garten Amtner and Fellammer of the Germans, and 

 Gerste Kneu of the Netherlauders. Willughby writes the name 

 Hortulane ; and Montagu terms it the Green-Headed Buuting. [EMBE- 



This bird is found in the south of Europe, which may be considered 



" In one genus which in placed in this family (Heteronftaniu), the posterior 

 Uu -i hare only three joints. 



