THE BIRDS 317 



not so familiar. It may, however, sometimes be detected winging its 

 way from one copse to another, and may be recognised by its curious 

 " dropping " flight, and a large white patch just above the tail. The 

 Jay is a handsome bird. The general colouring is a reddish grey, 

 on its head is an erect crest of mottled feathers, and the greater 

 covert feathers of the wing and the winglet are barred with blue, 

 white, and black. Like its allies, the Jay, although it eats much of 

 a vegetable nature, kills and devours small birds, and is especially 

 given to stealing eggs and nestlings from the nests of other birds ; 

 and from its propensity for robbing pheasant coops it is held in 

 much dislike by gamekeepers. 



The Chough, or "Red-legged Coon" (Pyrrhocorax graculus), 

 inhabits wild, rocky regions. It is most common in Wales, the 

 Isle of Man, the Hebrides, and in Ireland, where it builds its nest 

 on the dizzy heights of tall, precipitous cliffs, but it also occurs in 

 some parts of Cornwall and Devon. It is a glossy black bird, 

 slightly larger than the jackdaw, and its long curved bill, its legs, 

 and feet are a bright coral red; 



The foreign Passerine birds include many beautiful or interesting 

 species : amongst them are the brilliant-hued Manakins of Central 

 and South America ; the Umbrella-bird and Bell-bird, the males 

 of the former having a peculiar umbrella-like crest and the latter 

 an extraordinary fleshy appendage depending from its forehead 

 that can be erected at will both of tropical America ; and the 

 " Wood-Hewers/' " Firewood Gatherers," and Oven-birds of the 

 same regions. In Australia there are the remarkable Bower-bird, 

 noted for the playing-grounds it constructs for itself and its mate 

 in the nesting season, ornamented with bright shells, flowers, 

 and other decorations ; and the beautiful Lyre-bird, which has 

 gained its name from the shape of the wonderfully plumed tail 

 of the male bird. The Lyre-bird, although most generally classed 

 with the Passerine birds, is, on account of certain anatomical 

 differences, sometimes placed in an order by itself; 



