C A S S I C U S. 



711 



handsome. The entrance to it 15 lateral, but near 

 the top; and I lie lower part is bedded with the 

 thickest rushes they can procure. The more delicate 

 parts of the fabric, both in the nest of this species and 

 of some of the others, is formed of the fibres of a 

 parasitical epidendron, Tillamhia uxncoidcx, popularly 

 called "old man's beard." These fibres are very 

 tough and flexible, and similar in appearance to the 

 long hairs of a horse's tail. The extreme fineness 

 of the point of the bill, and the firmness of the sub- 

 stance of the mandibles, enable the birds to weave 

 these fibres more compactly together than could be 

 easily done by a basket-maker. This singular nest 

 is very firmly attached to the branch from which it 

 is suspended ; and notwithstanding the extent to 

 which it is rocked when the wind blows, its depth is 

 such that neither the eggs or young sustain any 

 injury. The eggs are three in number, and the 

 mother feeds the young carefully with worms and 

 larvai. It is probable that the same pair may have 

 two or three broods in the same year. These birds, 

 and indeed all the family, agree with omnivorous 

 tribes generally in being very easily tamed, in being 

 very general and hearty feeders in their captivity, 

 and in being easily taught to imitate the sounds of 

 other animals, and to articulate words. 



Cassiciis lieniorrhous. This is a smaller species than 

 the former, but it is much more handsome ; and 

 though its colours are far from being so gay as those 

 of many of the feathered inhabitants of tropical 

 countries, it is still a very handsome bird. Its general 

 colour, like that of the former, is black ; but instead 

 of the black fading into chestnut brown, it is in many 

 places glossed with green reflections ; and the lower 

 part of the back, the rurnp, and the vent, are crimson. 

 This species is (as indeed the whole are, though the 

 contrary has been stated with regard to some of them) 

 a native of the American continent only, and is most 

 abundant in Guiana. Its nest is constructed in a 

 manner similar to that of the former species ; in- 

 deed they all build pendulous nests ; but it is not so 

 long, and is constructed with a curved entrance, it is 

 usually on a branch which hangs over the water. 

 This nest is only about half the length of the former 

 one, but the internal cavity, in which the eggs and 

 young are lodged, is nearly of the same dimension. 



Caxsicus iclcronotus. This species has been called 

 the Persian oriole ; but the name is improperly 

 applied, as this, like the rest of the family, is an 

 American bird ; and we may add, that there are no 

 true orioles in America, all the birds on that continent 

 which have been so named belonging to one or 

 another of the sub-genera of cassicus. The present 

 species is black, with the lower part of the back, a 

 spot on the wing coverts, and the base of the tail 

 feathers, yellow. From these colours, it has some- 

 times been called the black and yellow oriole ; and 

 it is the grand tronpiatc of D'Azzara, though it 

 does not belong to the troupiates of Cuvier, which 

 form the sub-genus Icterus. The male is about the 

 size of a blackbird ; the female is a little larger, but 

 both the black and the yellow are duller. 



This is a very social or gregarious species. Num- 

 bers of them assemble in the same places, after the 

 manner of rooks in this country ; and indeed more 

 closely, for there are sometimes as many as three 

 hundred, or four hundred nests, in the same tree. 

 The nest is about the same size and shape as that of 

 the second species ; but if possible more elaborately 



formed. The eggs are dull white, marked with small 

 dots of a pale brown colour j and there are at least 

 three broods in the year. These birds resemble 

 rooks in another habit besides their social disposition, 

 they are exceedingly clamorous, but the sounds 

 which they utter are not so monotonous as those of 

 the rook. They have a sort of whistle, and also a 

 warble, which is not unpleasant ; and in addition to 

 these they are apt to imitate every sound which they 

 hear, such as the notes of other birds, the barking of 

 dogs, and the laughing of human beings. Thus, in 

 the places which they inhabit, they keep the margins 

 of the forests quite alive with their noise. They are 

 very easily tamed ; and, when well treated, they are 

 very amusing, as they can be taught to articulate 

 words, to whistle tunes, and to imitate a great num- 

 ber of sounds. 



Besides these, there are many other species of 

 this genus; and perhaps there are many more in the 

 forests which have not been noticed. Among the 

 known ones we may mention C. viridis, with the bill 

 orange, the crest, of which the feathers are very long, 

 olive-green, and the wing-coverts with brown tips ; 

 C. iii<rcrrinnis, with the bill and body wholly black ; 

 and 6'. atcr, black, with metallic reflections, and the 

 feathers of the nape produced into a sort of ruff. 

 The first and second of these species have been de- 

 scribed as inhabiting Brazil, and the third Paraguay ; 

 but it is probable that they are all common to various 

 parts of South America. 



ICTERUS. The chief distinction between this sub- 

 genus and the former, consists in the form of the bill, 

 the portion of which that extends on the forehead 

 being smaller, and the culmen of the upper mandible 

 arched. There are a great many species, too many 

 indeed, and differing too little in their manners from 

 those of the preceding sub-genus, for it being neces- 

 sary to give any particular account of them. They 

 are all natives either of the warmer parts of the 

 American continent, or of the West India islands. 

 The names of the best known ones are as follow : 



/. varius : black, with the sides of the breast, the 

 under part of the body, the rump and the margins of 

 the, wings, chestnut. All the colours very glossy, 

 and varying in tint as the light falls upon them. 

 /. chri/sopterus : lesser coverts of the wings yellow, 

 the tail wedge-shaped and black ; the bill straight, 

 slender, very sharp at the tip. This species is found 

 in Paraguay, and inhabits more deeply in the woods 

 than some of the others. I. capcnm : is an inhabi- 

 tant of the warmer parts of North America, and not 

 of Southern Africa, as the trivial name would lead 

 us to suppose. This is a small species, not exceeding 

 seven inches in length. /. Jlavigrtster : about 'eight 

 inches in length, black, with the lesser coverts, the 

 middle of the belly, and the vent feathers yellow. 

 /. chrysocephalus: a native of Brazil. The general 

 colour black ; and the forehead, crown, sides of the 

 hind-head, feathers on tibiae, and lesser coverts, 

 yellow ; the bill rather long, slender, pointed, and 

 considerably arched. I. vcrsicolor : black, with bronze- 

 coloured reflections; the outer feathers of the tail 

 capable of being raised higher than the others. A 

 native of the West India islands. 



XANTHRONUS. This is perhaps the most numerous 

 section of the whole. Structurally, the birds of which 

 it is composed differ from the former ones only in 

 having the bill entirely straight. The manners of 

 some of these are, however, much better known, if 



