208 INSESSORES. CURRUCA. 



PLATE 46. Fig. 1. Natural size. Form typical. 

 General Upper parts deep yellowish-brown. Rump and tail red- 

 t i orn ish-brown. Throat and middle of the belly greyish- 



white. Sides of the neck, breast, and flanks grey. Legs 

 and toes pale yellowish-brown. 

 The female is similar in plumage to the male. 



GENUS CURRUCA, BECHST. WARBLER. 



GENERIC CHARACTERS. 



BILL rather stout, compressed ; culmen narrow, distinct, 

 and gently deflected towards the tip, which is emarginated. 

 Tomia, towards the middle of the under mandible, having a 

 slight inflection. Gape nearly smooth. Nostrils basal, late- 

 ral, oval, and exposed. Wings with the first quill very 

 short; the second inferior to the fifth ; the third and fourth 

 generally the longest. Legs having the tarsi longer than the 

 middle toe ; toes short, and formed for perching ; hind toe 

 strong ; the sole dilated and broad. Claws much curved ; 

 grooved on the sides, and very sharp ; that upon the hind 

 toe strongest, and of greatest length. 



The genus Curruca, established by BECHSTEIN, contains 

 several species, amongst which our Black-Cap and Greater 

 Pettychaps furnish familiar examples. They differ from the 

 Nightingales in having the bill more compressed, with a 

 sharper culmen or ridge ; the legs shorter, and the feet formed 

 more exclusively for perching. In general they possess sweet 

 and varied notes ; some species, indeed, almost emulating in 

 their warblings the richness and power of the Nightingale. 

 They feed upon insects and larvae, and are very partial to the 

 smaller soft fruits and berries. 



