BIRDS. 553 



ground-thrushes (which are not thrushes at all) must be mentioned on 

 account of their great beauty. With one African exception all belong 

 to the East Indies. No description can do the slightest justice to their 

 beauty : that requires the painter's palate. Blues, crimsons, greens, 

 yellows, and purples are lavishly used on their soft and fluffy feathers. 

 They are wary birds, living in the woods, picking up their diet of worms 

 from the ground, and turning to the dense underbrush on the slightest 

 alarm. They do not appear to hurry, but they actually make good 

 progress with their hopping gait, and it takes a skilful hunter to bag 

 them. 



The ground-thrushes are not nearly so pugnacious as their relatives the 

 tyrant-birds ; these latter are well exemplified by our familiar king-bird. 

 This is a most irascible little fellow ; it is a regu- 

 lar tyrant, especially at the breeding season. 

 Hawks and crows are his especial dislike. Let 

 one appear in the neighborhood of his nest, and 

 one soon sees how he is i king ' among birds. 

 At first there is a sharp, twittering note, and 

 then he launches himself at his enemy. Over 

 it, under it, and all around it he flies, striking 

 at it with all his might. The crow takes to its 

 wings in the most ignominious manner, and 

 flees from its persecutor. In this way this bird FlG - i55 -~^f^} Turannus 

 does good ; but still he has his sins. A special 



luxury is furnished for his table in the shape of bees. He does not fear 

 their stings, but makes sad havoc with these busy honey-gatherers. 



Anions; the relatives of the king-bird must be mentioned the numerous 

 fly-catchers and the phcebe-bird of our own climes — forms too common to 

 need farther attention. 



The cock-of-the-rock of South America, an orange-colored bird of South 

 America, which has a curious, narrow crest upon the head, is a more distant 

 relative of the tyrant-birds. It is a celebrated bird, and usually spoken of 

 as showy and beautiful. The writer, however, never could see any espe- 

 cial claims to beauty in these birds. They look awkward and ungainly. 

 Possibly the fault was with the taxidermist. 



A rare and curious inhabitant of the upper Amazon forests is the 

 umbrella-bird, which in size, color, and appearance is much like a crow, 

 except for a crest of long, curved feathers, which, when elevated, turn for- 

 ward over the head like a parasol. From the neck there depends a long 

 bunch of steel-blue feathers, supported on a fleshy lobe. This lobe is con- 

 nected with the vocal organs, and doubtless plays a part in producing the 



