THAMNOPHILUS. BIRDS. 



M. nccma, Tern. (Pipra nasma, Lath. Conophaga, Vieill.) Plu- 

 mage brown above, fulvous beneath ; throat and jugulum black ; 

 breast and upper part of the belly white, spotted with black ; 

 wings with two white bars ; lower belly, thighs, and vent orange. 

 " 4 inches long. Inhabits Cayenne Buff. PI. Enl. 823. fig. 2. 



M. mentalis, Tern. (Formicivora, Swainson.) Plumage above 

 ashy green, the wings and tail deeper, with a brown hue ; clear 

 yellow below ; throat silvery gray, and a large black spot on the 

 ear-feathers ; the lesser coverts dusky, with white lunules. 4 

 inches long. Shaw, xiii. pi. 54. 



Gen. 6. THAMNOPHILUS, Vieill. Lanius, Lath. 



Bill short, strong, thick, a little gibbous, widened at the base, 

 dilated on the sides, compressed towards the point, which is 

 obtuse, much bent and notched ; nostrils lateral, a little dis- 

 tant from the base, pierced in the horny bill, rounded or 

 oval, open ; legs long and slender ; tarsus much longer than 

 the intermediate toe ; the external toe united to the first joint ; 

 wings short, rounded, the fourth, fifth, and sixth quill-fea- 

 thers equal and longest. 



The Thamnophili are found in America, from Canada to Paraguay. They in- 

 habit thick bushes, and feed chiefly on caterpillars and insects. 



T. doliatiiSjTem. Plumage transversely striped with black and white; 

 tail rounded ; feathers of the head long, tipped with black, ca- 

 pable of erection. 6 inches long. Inhabits Cayenne Lath. 

 Lid. 80. 



T. atricapillus, Tern. Plumage of the crown, neck, shoulders, and 



wings black ; body above mouse-coloured ; below bluish gray ; 



wings short ; tail, except the two middle feathers, tipped with 



white, and cuneated. 5 inches long. Inhabits Surinam Lath. 



Ind. 73. 



T. ncevius, Tern. Plumage black above, cinereousbelow; back, wings, 

 and tail spotted with white. 5 inches long. Inhabits Cayenne. 

 Lath. Ind. 81. 



T. bicolor, Swainson. Head much crested ; plumage of the up- 

 per parts deep black ; of the under parts pure white ; tips of 

 the wing-coverts, margins of the quills, and interrupted bands on 

 the tail white ; irides crimson. 8 inches long. Inhabits Brazil. 

 Zool. Journ. iii. 86. 



Gen. 7. VANGA, Vieill. Lanius, Lin. 



Bill long, hard, edged, bent at its point, which is crooked and 

 sharp ; nostrils lateral, a little distant from the base, in the 

 horn of the bill, covered above by a cartilage ; base of the 

 bill with stiff hairs ; tarsus as long or longer than the inter- 

 mediate toe ; the external toe united to the first joint ; the 

 third quill-feather longest. 



