302 INSESSORES. 



low-bird, and of the Bottle-tit or Penduline Tit- mouse, and the 

 woven, purse-like nests of the Oriole and the Starlings. (Plate 

 XI.) 



The Perchers always live in pairs ; in general, the female is 

 smaller and less brilliant in her plumage than the male. The 

 young leave the egg in a blind and naked state, and for a while 

 are entirely dependent upon parental care for their subsistence. 



For convenience, this large order has been arranged into four 

 tribes or sub-divisions, founded on the varying form of the beak, 

 viz.: (1) Fissirostres, (Split-bills;) (2) Dentirostres, (Toothed- 

 bills;) (3) Conirostres, (Cone-shaped bills;) and (4) Tenuiros- 

 tres, (Slender- bills.) 



FIRST DIVISION OF THE PERCHERS. SPLIT-BILLED BIRDS 

 Fissirostres, (Lat. jissura, a slit ; rostrum a beak.) 



This division of the INSESSORES is a comparatively small one, 

 but is readily distinguished from all the others by the beak. 

 This is short but broad, and more or less flattened horizontally, 

 often hooked at the tip, and very deeply cleft, so that the open- 

 ing of the mouth, (or gape,) is extremely wide. (Plate IX. fig. 

 14.) Most of the species feed upon insects, which they take 

 when on the wing, receiving them in full flight into their open 

 mouths. One genus, Alcedo, the King-Fisher, subsists on fishes. 

 The Fissirostres, like the birds of prey, may be divided into di- 

 urnal and nocturnal. Their principal home is in tropical coun- 

 tries. Some species are found in the temperate zone, but rather 

 as migratory visitors than as permanent residents, and, on the ap- 

 proach of winter, they depart to more congenial climes. Many 

 of the species are celebrated for the brilliant hues which adorn 

 their plumage. 



The Split-bills are divided into six families, viz. : (1) Capri- 

 mulgida, (Night-jars;) (2) Hirundinida, (Swallows ;) (3) Mer- 

 opida, (Bee-eaters;) (4) Trogonida, (Trogons ;) (5) Todidce, 

 (Todies ;) (6) Akedinidce, (King- fishers.) 



FIRST FAMILY. The NIGHT-JARS. 

 Caprimulgida, (Lat. Caprimulgus, Goat-Sucker.) 



These birds have the beak exceedingly small, but the gape 

 enormous ; (Plate IX. fig. 14 ;) .its sides are, for the most part 

 fringed with long stiff bristles called vibrissce ; and the interior 

 of the mouth is moistened with a glutinous secretion, both which 

 aid them to secure their insect prey. The wings are long and 



