90 



Crarfurg at Natural 



tail are black, the tliree exterior ones being 

 white, with dusky spots near their ends ; 

 and from the chin to the tail is of a delicate 

 white. The claw of the hind toe is very 

 long. 



8KOW-BONTIN9. 

 (PLBOTBOPHANB8 NTVAI.18.) 



The nest of this bird is said to be placed 

 in the fissures of the mountain rocks, and to 

 be composed of grass, with a layer of feathers 

 inside, and another of the soft fur of the 

 Arctic Fox within that. The female lays five 

 reddish- white eggs, spotted with brown : on 

 its first arrival in this country it is very lean, 

 but quickly grows fat, and is then excellent 

 eating. It sings very sweetly, sitting on the 

 ground ; and does not perch, but runs about 

 like the lark, which at first sight it much 

 resembles. 



PAINTED BUNTING. (Ember izafciris.) 

 A beautiful bird, of the size of a hedge- 

 sparrow, which inhabits various parts of 

 South America : it builds its nest in the 

 orange trees, and will feed on millet, suc- 

 cory, and other seeds. It has a very soft and 

 delicate note ; and will live in confinement 

 eight or ten years. The head and neck are 

 of a violet colour ; upper part of the back 

 and scapulars yellow-green ; lower part 

 and all the under side red ; wing coverts and 

 tail of an olive-green, tinged with brown, 

 and edged with red. They seldom obtain 

 their full plumage till the third year, so that 

 they are rarely found quite alike. 



The ORANGE-SHOULDERED BUN- 

 TING. (Vidua longicauda.') This bird, 

 which inhabits the Cape of Good Hope, is 

 the size of a song-thrush ; bill strong and 

 dusky, the nostrils almost hid in the feathers; 

 plumage above and below glossy black ; lesser 

 wing-coverts crimson, below which is a white 

 spot. The tail consists of twelve feathers, 

 hanging sideways ; the two middle ones 

 fifteen inches in length, the rest shortening 

 by degrees, and the outer ones very short; 

 the legs large and brown ; claws long and 

 hooked. Of this species M. Vaillant relates 



some particulars not unworthy of notice in 

 this place. 

 " 



" The female of this beautiful 

 bird," says he, " has the simple colours of 

 the sky-lark, and a short horizontal tail, 

 like that of almost all other birds; the male, 

 on the contrary, is wholly black, except at 

 the shoulder of the wing, where there is a 

 large red patch; and his tail is long, ample, 



nd vertical, like that of the common cock. 

 But this brilliant plumage and fine vertical 

 tail subsist only during the season of love, 

 which continues six months. This period 

 over, he lays aside his splendid habiliments, 

 and assumes the more modest dress of his 

 nate. The most extraordinary circumstance 

 is, that the vertical tail also changes to a 

 horizontal one, and the male so exactly re- 

 sembles the female, that it is not possible 

 to distinguish them from each other. The 

 female has her turn. When she reaches a 

 certain age, and has lost the faculty of pro- 

 pagating the species, she clothes herself for 

 the remainder of her days in the garb which 

 the male had temporarily assumed; her tail, 

 like his at that period, grows long, and like 

 his also, from horizontal becomes vertical. 

 The birds of this species associate together, 

 live in a sort of republic, and build heir 

 nests near to each other. The society usually 

 consists of about fourscore females ; but 

 whether, by a particular law of nature, more 

 females are produced than males, or for any 

 other reason of which I am ignorant, there 

 are never more than twelve or fifteen males 

 to this number of females, who have them in 

 common." The truth is, that the male, ex- 

 cept at the breeding season, when the long- 

 tailed feathers are produced, very nearly re- 

 sembles the female, and may often be mis- 

 taken for it by an inattentive observer. 



According to our author, this transmuta- 

 tion is by no means confined to this peculiar 

 species of Bunting. Many females of the 

 feathered creation, when they grow so old 

 as to cease laying eggs, assume the more 

 splendid colours of the male, which they re- 

 tain during the remainder of their lives. 



BUPALUS. A genus of Lepidopterous 

 insects, of which there are many species. 

 The Bupahis piniarius, called the Bordered 

 White Sloth, may be taken as an example. 

 Its wings on the upper side are of a dusky 

 brown colour, and adorned with numerous 

 pale yellow spots. The Caterpillar is green, 

 with a white stripe down the middle of the 

 back, and two stripes on each side of it. 



BUPHAGA. There is but one bird which 

 constitutes this genus of Passerine Coniros- 

 tres, and that is the AFRICAN OX-PECKER 

 (.Buphaga Africana). It is said to be fre- 

 quently found in Senegal, and that its chief 

 food consists in the larvae of cestri, or bot-fl " 

 which it sedulously extracts from the backs 

 of cattle : hence its name. It measures about 

 eight inches and a half in length ; is rufous 

 brown above, and of a dull yellowish white 

 beneath. The bill is nearly an inch long, 

 yellowish, with a red tip ; the legs and claws 

 are brown. It is extremely wild or shy, 

 and is usually seen in small flocks of six or 

 eight together. 



BUPRESTIS : BUPRESTID^. A ge- 

 nus and family of Coleopterous insects, of 

 the family Serricorties, distinguished by the 

 toothed or serrated form of the antennas, 

 and the splendour of its colours ; many of 

 its species having spots of golden hue upon 

 an emerald ground, whilst in others azure 

 glitters upon the gold. The subjoined figure 



