Order 2. PASSERINE. 177 



We should distinguish from among: the others tne Regent Onote of authors (Sericulus regeng. Lesson), tne plu- 

 mage of which is fine silky black, with velvety feathers of a bright orange-yellow on the head and neck, and a great 

 si)ot of the same colour on each wing. [The female is brown, spotted with dull white. Paradistem aurcut, S'naiv, 

 should range along with it.] 



The Goui.in's {Gymnops, Cuv.) — 



Have the same strong beak as the Orioles, the nostrils rounded and scaleless, and not surrounded by 



any membrane, and a great part of the head naked of feathers. 



The Grey Goulin (Gracula calva, Gm.), &c.— Some of them have prominences on the beak, as the Corbicalao of 

 Vaillant (Merops corniculatus, Shaw) : in these, " which constitute the Tropidorynchus of Swainson," the tongue is 

 pencillated as in the Philedons. 



The Lyre-tail {Manura, Shaw), — 

 The size of which has occasioned some authors to range it among the Poultry, pertains obviously to 

 the order of Passerina, having the toes separated (excepting the outer and middle ones along the first 

 phalanx), and appro.ximating the Thrushes by the form of its beak, which is triangular at base, 

 elongated, a little compressed, and notched towards the tip ; the nostrils being large and membranous, 

 and in part covered by reflected feathers, as in the Jays. The great tail of the male is remarkable for 

 the three sorts of feathers which compose it ; namely, the twelve ordinary, with very fine and widely 

 separated barbs, two medial, each garnished on one side only with a vane, and two exterior, curved 

 hke the letter S, or hke the frame of a lyre, the internal barbs of which, large and serrated, resemble 

 a broad riband, whereas the external are very short, lengthening only towards the tip. The female 

 has only twelve tail-feathers of the ordinary structure. 



This singular species (M. lyra, Auct.) inhabits the rocky districts of New Holland ; its size is somewhat less 

 than that of a Pheasant. [It frequents the most retired parts of the countrj', and runs very fast upon the groimd, 

 but its cumbrous tail is said to disable it from flying in a direct line. The order of Birds to which it strictly 

 belongs is sufficiently indicated by its being a songster. They are said to sing for a couple of hours in the morning, 

 beginning when they quit the valleys, till they attain the summit of a hill, where they scrape together a small 

 hillock, as they exhume the grubs on which they feed : on this they afterwards stand, with the tail spread over 

 them ; and in this situation imitate the notes of every bird within hearing, till after a while they return to the 

 low grounds.] 



The Slender-billed Passekin.e {Mofacilla, Lin.) — 

 Compose an excessively numerous family, characterized by the beak, wliich is straight, slender, and 

 awl-shaped. When slightly depressed at the base, it approaches that of the Flycatchers ; and when 

 compressed and a little curved at the point, that of the straight-billed Shrikes. Some endeavour has 

 been made to divide them as follows. 



The Chats {Saxicola, Bechst.) — 

 Have the beak a little depressed and rather wide at base, which allies them to the last small tribe of 

 Flycatchers. They are lively birds, rather high upon the legs. The European species build on or 

 near the ground, and subsist on insects. [They grade from the Rock-thrushes {Peti-ocincla), and like 

 them are remarkable for always perching on the summits of objects. 



Three inhabit the British isles.] 



The Stone Chat {Mot. rubicola, Lin.).— A small bird, [with a short tail ; black on the upper parts and throat in 

 summer, with a dark reddish breast, some white on the sides of the neck, wings, and tail ; the female browner : in 

 winter the black is more or less concealed by brown margins to the feathers ; and the young are at first speckled 

 with whitish. This species is resident throughout the year in Britain, and is common in furze-brakes and covert- 

 less situations. It has little song, which, as in the following, is often delivered on the wing. 



The others are summer-visitants, of rare occurrence in the winter months. 



The WTiin Chat (Mot. rubetra, Lin.), resembles the last in form, and is more delicately coloured, with a conspi- 

 cuous white streak over the eye, and black patch on the cheek. It also inhabits furze -brakes, and is more gene- 

 rally diffused in grassy places than the Stone Chat : is a monotonous songster. 



The Wheatear Chat (Mot. cenanthe, Lin.). — Larger than the preceding, with the crupper and basal half of the 

 tail-feathers conspicuously white, the rest of the tail, wings chiefly, and a band through the eyes, black, and the 

 body fulvous : the female is browner, and the young spotted with whitish. This species inhabits still more open 

 situations, as chalk-downs and ploughed fields, and particularly the sea-shore. Its flesh is often eaten. 



There are numerous others]. 



The Robins {Sylvia, Wolf and Meyer ; Ficedula, Bechstein ; [^Dandalus, Bole ; Rubecula, Brehm ; 



Erythaciis, Swains.] ) — 



Have the beak merely a little narrower at the base than the preceding. They are solitary birds, which 



e;enerallv nestle in holes, and live on worms, insects, and berries. 



M 



