564 



VITIFLORA. WHEATEAR. 



Generic Character. 



Hostrum basi altius quam la- 

 tum, rectum, inter nares 

 angulosum, et ad apicem 

 incurvatim. 



Nares~ obovatae, depressius- 

 culae. 



Pedes digitis tribus anticis, 

 uno postico ; digitus ex- 

 terior medio basi subtus 

 connexus. 



Beak higher than broad, 

 straight, between the nos- 

 trils angulated, and bent 

 down towards the tip. 



Nostrils suboval and depress- 

 ed. 



Feet with three toes before, 

 and one behind ; the outer 

 toe connected with the 

 middle at the base. 



A HE birds belonging to this genus are of a very 

 timid nature, retiring beneath stones and turfs 

 upon the appearance of the least danger, or even 

 upon the motion of a cloud, which has devised a 

 very easy method of capturing them, as mentioned 

 in the account of V. CEnanthe, which is the only 

 indigenous species : they all feed upon insects, 

 and are of a solitary disposition : they have been 

 separated from the modern genus Sylvia, and 

 placed by themselves, agreeably to the excellent 

 arrangement of the older naturalists, but which has 

 been subverted, in many instances, by later writers. 



