338 



PASSERES. BIRDS.- 



THE STREAKED PARDALOTE (Pardalotus striatus) 

 is another species which enjoys a wide distribution over 

 the south of Australia ; it has not yet been met with in 

 Van Diemen's Land. It does not exhibit the pure 

 white spots which give so much beauty to the plumage 

 of the preceding species, and its lower surface is of a 

 paler yellow. Its nest is neatly made of soft grasses 

 and strips of bark, and placed in the hollow branch of 

 a tree, or sometimes in a hole of the trunk. 



THH WHITE - SHOULDERED CATERPILLAR -EATER 

 (Campephaga humeralis), another Australian species 

 of this family, is a summer visitor to the south of New 

 Holland, in all parts of which it is common from Sep- 

 tember to January. It is active and lively, and has a 

 pleasing song, which it emits constantly during its search 

 for food ; this consists of insects, which it captures on 

 the wing, on the branches of trees, and on the ground. 

 The nest of this bird is small and cup-shaped ; it is 

 composed of fragments of bark, short twigs, and grasses, 

 interwoven with other fine vegetable fibres, moss, and 

 cobwebs ; it is placed on the forked branch of a tree, 

 and so arranged that it is not easily detected from 

 below. The whole length of the bird is about seven 

 inches. The two sexes differ greatly in colour. The 

 male has the upper parts black, with the rump gray, 

 and the lower parts white ; the shoulders and upper 

 wing-coverts are white, forming a broad band along the 

 wing. The female is brown above, and buffy white 

 beneath. The bill and feet are black, or blackish in 

 both sexes, palest in the female. Several other species 

 of this genus are found in Australia. 



THE GRAY CATERPTT.T.AR-EATER (Campephaga 

 fimbriata), an inhabitant of the woods of India, is about 

 the same size as the preceding species ; it is of a slate 

 colour, with the head, wings, and tail black, the latter 

 bronzed ; and the tail has a gray spot at the tip of each 

 of the outer feathers. The principal food of this species 

 is caterpillars, grubs, and other soft wingless insects ; 

 but it also feeds on winged and even hard-shelled 

 insects, and on berries and seeds. 



THE BLACK CATERPILLAR-EATER (Campephaga 

 nigra), one of the best-known African species, is com- 

 mon at the Cape of Good Hope. It is about seven 

 inches long, and is of a shining metallic black colour, 

 with the lower wing-coverts green. 



THE LOBED CATERPILLAR-EATER (Campephaga 

 lobata), which is an inhabitant of Sierra Leone and 

 other parts of the west coast of Africa, is remarkable 

 for having a large, red, naked wattle at the base of the 

 bill in the male. 



THE CRIMSON.RUMPED CHATTEEEE (Pericrocotus 

 peregrinus), an abundant species in India, is about six 

 inches in length, of a gray colour above, with the rump 

 crimson, and white beneath ; the wings are brown, and 

 the tail black, with the tips of the four middle feathers 

 yellow. This bird is met with in the jungle, and in 

 hedges and groves of trees; it is restless, lively, and 

 active, resembling a Tit in its habits ; it feeds on insects, 

 especially larvae, which it captures on the trees. 



THE FLAMMEOUS CHATTERER (Pericrocotus flam- 

 meus) is another Indian species, of which the male is 

 splendidly adorned with black and orange plumage. 

 It is abundant in the jungles, and ascends the moun- 



tains to a considerable elevation. It is seen in small 

 parties of three or four at the tops of the high trees, 

 frisking about and picking the insects off the twigs and 

 leaves, or occasionally capturing them in the air. 



THE MTJRASING CHATTERER (Artamus fuscus] 

 is an Indian example of a small group of Chatterers 

 peculiar to Southern Asia and Australasia. They have 

 the wings very long and pointed, often extending even 

 beyond the tail, whence they have received the name 

 of Swallow- shrikes. 



The habits of this bird somewhat resemble those of 

 the Flycatchers, as it captures the greater part of its 

 food, which consists of soft, winged insects, in the air ; 

 but it is sociable in its habits, several collecting in a 

 small flock on the top of a palm-tree, or on a bare twig 

 projecting from the upper part of some other tree, and 

 flying off from time to time to make a short circuit 

 in pursuit of insects, after which they all return and 

 perch together as before. These flocks also frequently 

 hawk about in the air like swallows, sometimes over 

 water. 



THE WOOD-SWALLOW (Artamus sordidus) is an 

 inhabitant of the whole southern portion of the Aus- 

 tralian continent, and also of the island of Van Die- 

 men's Land, where however, it is decidedly migratory, 

 arriving in October, at the commencement of the 

 summer season. It measures about six inches in 

 length, and presents a sufficient resemblance to a Swal- 

 low in its long wings and slightly forked tail, and also 

 in many of its actions, to justify the colonists in select- 

 ing the name of Wood-swallow to distinguish it. The 

 general colour of its plumage is a sooty gray, the wings 

 are blue black, with the outer edges of the second, third, 

 and fourth primaries white ; the tail is also blue-black, 

 with the tips of all the feathers, except the two middle 

 ones, white. The power of flight possessed by this 

 bird is very great, and its evolutions in the air are 

 singularly graceful. It captures a portion of its insect 

 prey while soaring aloft in the manner of a Swallow, 

 but also seizes passing insects in the same way as the 

 Flycatchers; or flies away from its perch, and sails 

 round the tree, returning again to its original position. 

 It is not a solitary bird, but three or four individuals 

 may be seen sitting together on a twig side by side, 

 and generally quite close to each other ; they do not 

 fly off hi a party, but each bird as his desires prompt 

 him, takes a short flight in pursuit of prey, and returns 

 independently to his perch. They also perch in the same 

 way upon a rail, and fly down one by one to pick up 

 insects amongst the grass of the pastures. The most 

 remarkable peculiarity in the habits of this bird is " its 

 manner of suspending itself in perfect clusters, like a 

 swarm of bees ; a few birds suspending themselves in 

 the under side of a dead branch, while others of the 

 flock attach themselves one to the other, in such num- 

 bers that they have been observed nearly of the size 

 of a bushel measure." (Gilbert, quoted by Gould.) 

 Several other species of the genus Artamus inhabit 

 various parts of Australia. 



THE INDIAN KING-CROW (Dicrurus macrocercus). 

 This is a very abundant species in most parts of India, 

 where it has received the name of King-crow, or King of 

 the Crows, from the incessant hostility which it exhi- 



