TUBDID^E. XVIII. 45 



high physical irritability is co-ordinate with the rapidity 

 of their respiration and circulation; they consume the 

 most oxygen and live the fastest of all birds." (Coues.) 



FAMILY XVIIL TURDID^E. 



(Tlie Thruslies.) 



Primaries 10, the first short or spurious; bill generally 

 rather long, not conical, usually with a slight notch near 

 the tip ; nostrils oval, not concealed, but nearly or quite 

 reached by the bristly frontal feathers; rictus with 

 bristles, which are well developed in most of our species; 

 tarsus in typical species, "booted," t.e. 9 enveloped in a 

 continuous plate, formed by the fusion of all the scutellae 

 except two or three of the lowest; in other species dis- 

 tinctly scutellate. Toes deeply cleft, the inner one free, 

 the outer united to the middle one, not more than half 

 the length of the first basal joint. 



A large family of more than two hundred species, 

 found in most parts of the world, and embracing quite a 

 wide variety of forms. Nearly all of them are remark- 

 able for their vocal powers. Their food consists of 

 insects and soft fruits. 



Our species fall into three strongly marked sub-families, 

 of which the Mimince have been often associated with 

 the Wrens, and the MyiadestincB with the Wax Wings. 



I. The TURDIN^E, or Typical Thrushes, have the tarsus 

 booted, the first primary spurious, and the wings longer 

 than the tail. They build rather rude nests, sometimes 

 plastered with mud, and they lay four to six greenish or 

 bluish eggs, either plain or speckled. All sing well, and 

 some of them most exquisitely. Our species are usually 

 referred to the typical genus, Turdus^ but we have here 

 separated the Wood Thrushes, as a group of full generic 



