272 



PASSERES. BIRDS. PASSEKF.S. 



been found both in Java and on the continent of India, 

 has similar habits to our Barn Owl, and, like it, inhabits 

 the vicinity of villages and farms. It is not, however, 

 regarded with much favour by the natives on this 

 account, as they entertain various superstitious notions 

 regarding it, and in some places its appearance is con- 

 sidered of evil omen. Colonel Sykes, who met with 

 this species in India, says that one of his specimens "was 

 captured alive, while lying on its back on the ground, 

 defending itself against the attacks of a body of crows." 

 THE AUSTRALIAN BARN OWL (Strix delicatulus) . 

 Although this bird is a native of Australia, where it 

 is very abundant and generally distributed, it very 

 nearly resembles our European species in size, form, and 



colouring ; in habits, also, the two birds are precisely 

 similar. Several other nearly allied species are also 

 met with in Australia ; and one, the S. castanops, which 

 is of considerably larger size, appears to be peculiar to 

 Van Diemen's Land. 



THE BAY OWL (PJiolidus badius), Wowo-'NYiwi, 

 or, KALONG-WIWI of Java, is the last species of this 

 family, and of the order Accipitres to which we shall 

 allude. It is a rare bird in Java, residing in the darkest 

 forests ; and it is principally remarkable from the belief 

 entertained by the Javanese that it lives in a state of 

 the closest familiarity with the tiger, venturing even to 

 aligbt on the back of that formidable quadruped, which, 

 like itself, inhabits the recesses of the forest. 



ORDER II. PASSERES. 



THE order of the Passeres or passerine birds, which 

 may be regarded as including the types of the whole 

 class, is of very great extent; and the birds composing 

 it exhibit a vast variety both of structure and habits. 

 Amongst the Passeres we find species almost as pre- 

 daceous as many of the preceding order; others whose 

 food consists entirely of insects ; others, again, which 

 manifest a predilection for carrion nearly as strong as 

 that of the Vultures ; and others which content them- 

 selves with vegetable food. Even amongst the last 

 there is, as may easily be supposed, a great variety ; 

 some feeding solely upon soft fruits, whilst others derive 

 their nourishment from the hardest seeds and nuts. 

 As might be expected, this want of uniformity in one of 

 the most important conditions of. life, causes a corre- 

 sponding variety in the structure of those parts which 

 are in any way concerned in the business of eating, 

 and this even in a greater degree than could be fore- 

 seen from the mere differences in the nature of the food ; 

 for many birds of this order, which agree generally in 

 the nature of their nutriment, differ from each other in 

 their mode of obtaining it, and thus the modifications 

 of the bill become almost endless. The mode of life of 

 the birds also varies greatly, and by this means further 

 modifications are introduced into the general organiza- 

 tion; so that it becomes a matter of considerable diffi- 

 culty to indicate the general characters by which the 

 present order is circumscribed. This difficulty is cer- 

 tainly not lessened by the fact that eome members of 

 the following order appear to differ only in a single 

 character of somewhat uncertain value from the pas- 

 serine birds ; in fact, although we have left the forms 

 just alluded to amongst the Scansores, in order to 

 present the reader with a view of the classification 

 generally adopted, it has long been our opinion that 

 this portion of the system requires to be remodelled. 

 But we shall return to this subject hereafter. 



To speak in general terms, the birds belonging to 

 the present order may be denominated Perchers par 

 excellence; that is to say, they of all birds are best 

 adapted for a life amongst the branches of trees, as 

 they exhibit the greatest facility in perching and hop- 

 ping from one branch or twig to another. Hence 

 Cuvier, and after him many other authors, denominated 



these birds Insessores or Perchers. For this purpose 

 their feet are well adapted. The tarsi are of moderate 

 length, and the feet consist of four well developed toes, 

 placed, as in the preceding order, three in front and one 

 behind, furnished with claws of moderate length, and 

 endowed with a sufficient grasping power to secure the 

 bird firmly upon its perch ; whilst at the same time the 

 general structure of the foot and leg is not so decidedly 

 prehensile as to prevent its readily quitting its hold. 

 In the predaceous birds, on the contrary, the long 

 grasping toes are arranged specially to enable their 

 possessor to secure and carry off its prey ; and for 

 the same purpose they are terminated by large and 

 powerful claws. The whole organization of the hinder 

 limb is also directed to the same object, and thus the 

 predaceous birds, although they perch, are by no means 

 at home amongst the branches, and exhibit but little 

 grace or agility in their movements upon them. 



Although this arrangement of the toes, three before 

 and one behind, constitutes one of the principal cha- 

 racters of the order Passeres, it must be confessed that 

 it is liable to certain exceptions, which render it espe- 

 cially difficult to draw the Hue between this and the 

 following order. The latter is distinguished, as indi- 

 cated in the table of orders (p. 235) by having the 

 toes placed two in front and two behind. Now 

 several passerine birds have the power of reversing 

 one of the toes, so as to reproduce, temporarily, the 

 scansorial foot ; whilst, on the other hand, some of the 

 scansores, such as the cuckoos, are able to turn one 

 of the hind toes forwards. In the swifts, also, which 

 belong to the present order, all the toes are turned 

 forward. 



The other general characters of the feet, taken in 

 conjunction with the arrangement of the toes, will 

 generally enable us to determine whether or not a bird 

 belongs to this order. The tarsi which, as already 

 stated, are of moderate length, are scutellated or 

 covered with shield-like homy plates; of these there 

 are generally several on the anterior surface, whilst the 

 hinder surface is usually occupied by a single long 

 shield. The whole upper surface of the toes is pro- 

 tected by series of similar but smaller and more 

 numerous plates ; and in most cases the only part of 



