ORDER PASS EKINA. 



FAMILY D ENTIKOSTRATA. TOOTH-BILLED. 



63 



birds, and if attacked, throw themselves upon their back, fight boldly with 

 their beak and claws, and at the same time hiss furiously. (Plate 3.) 



Other species the Short-eared Owl (S. Brachyolus), from twelve to 

 fourteen inches long ; the African Spotted Owl, sixteen inches in length ; 

 the Ijarge-beaked Owl (S. Macrorhyncha), nineteen inches long ; the Yellow- 

 cheeked Owl (S. Wilsonianus) ; the White-cheeked Owl (S. Leucotis), ten 

 inches long ; the Mottled Owl (S. Asio), ten inches long ; the Milky Owl 

 (S. Lactea), and about twelve additional species. 



ORDER II. PASSERINA. PERCHERS. 



THE Birds composing this Order are very miscellaneous ; for they consist 

 of all those which have not the decided characteristics and habits of the 

 Poultry, Birds of Prey, Climbers, Waders, and Swimmers. They are not 

 restricted to one kind of food, for some feed on insects, some on fruits, 

 and some on grain ; nor do they possess the same powers of flight in 

 common. Among them the singing birds are found. This order is the 

 most numerous of all the orders of the class Aves. 



Family TOOTH-BILLED ; Dentirostrata. 



The greater number of birds in this family feed on insects ; their upper 

 mandible is notched, and their beaks are stout and compressed. 



ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES. 



Genera. 



Lanius - - - - 



Musicapa - - - 



Tanagra - - - - 



Turdus - - - - 



Rupicola - - 



Eurylaimus - - - 



PLATE 4. 



Species. 



Excubitor - - 



Grisola - - - 



Vittata - - - 



Polyglottus - - 



Aurantia - - - 

 Javanicus. 



Common Name. 



(Great Cinereous Shrike or 

 ( Butcher Bird. 



- Spotted Flycatcher. 



- Banded Tanager. 



- Mocking Bird. 



- Orange Rock-cock. 



Other Genera of this Family : Edolius, Malurus, Meliphaga, Menura, 

 Motacilla, Muscipeta, Myothera, Ocypteras, Oriolus, Pardalotus, Pastor, 

 Phibalura, Phyllornis, Pipra, Pitta, Platyrhynchos, Procnias, Ptilono- 

 rhynchus, Pyrrhocorax, Saxicola, Sparactes, Sylvia, Thamnophilus, 

 Timalia, Trichophorus, Tyrannus, Vanga. 



CHARACTERS OF THE GENERA. 



1. LANIUS (Lat. lanio, I tear). Beak of moderate size, strong, com- 

 pressed, straight; upper mandible curved; nostrils round, lateral, and 

 basal ; tarsus longer than the middle toe ; three toes in front, and one 

 behind ; wings of moderate length. 



2. MUSCICAPA (Lat. Musca, a fly, and capio, I take). Beak of moderate 

 size, strong, angular, depressed at the base, tip curved, deeply toothed ; 

 nostrils ovoid, basal, lateral ; tarsi rather longer than the middle toe ; three 

 toes in front, the outer connected at its base with the middle, and one toe 

 behind. 



3. TANAGRA. Beak conical, short and strong, trigonal at the base, ridge 

 curved, tip hooked down, toothed, and much longer than the lower man- 

 dible, which is straight ; wings rather short ; tarsus as long as the middle 

 toe, at the base of which the outer is connected but the inner is free. 



4. TURDUS. Beak sharp, tip pointed and curved, the upper mandible 

 toothed towards its extremity ; tarsus longer than the middle toe, which is 

 attached at its base to the outer ; hind toe large ; claws large, but only 

 slightly curved. 



5. ROTICOLA (Lat. rupis, a rock, and colo, I inhabit). Beak stout, 

 slightly vaulted, curved at the point, and toothed ; base of the bill as broad 

 as its depth ; lower mandible straight, toothed and pointed ; nostrils basal, 

 lateral, ovoid, partially open ; wings of moderate size ; tarsus as long as 

 the middle toe, and partially feathered ; inner connected to the middle toe 

 beyond the second joint, but the outer only at its root; hind toe very 

 strong, and armed with a stout claw. 



6. EURYLAIMUS. Bill broader than the head ; under mandible thin ; 

 nostrils basal, transverse, oval ; wings and tail rounded. 



The characteristics of the " other genera " partake, more or less, of those 

 already given : their number precludes our inserting them at length. 



DENTIROSTRATA. DESCRIPTION OF THE SPECIES. 



LANIUS Shrike. The Shrikes are commonly found in all parts of the 

 world, except in South America, where they are replaced by the genera 

 Vanga and Thamnophilus, one single species only, the L. Collurio, being met 

 with there. They are powerful and cruel, the larger species carrying off 

 young birds in their beak, transfixing them on a thorn, and tearing them to 

 pieces before they eat them : the common food of the genus, however, 

 is beetles, small lizards, and other reptiles. They are very bold, and 

 defend themselves courageously if attacked by larger birds. Their flight is 

 precipitate, but irregular, and in their course they describe a low kind of 

 curve, and continually move then: tail. They are generally, but not always, 

 gregarious, and build in the woods and hedges, laying five or six eggs. 

 Their natural cry is very shrill ; but they seem to possess in many instances 

 the power of imitating the note of other birds. 



The Great Cinereous Shrike (L. Excubitor) Plate 4 is about the size of 

 a Thrush, bill black, head, neck, and back light ash-coloured ; under parts 

 white; wings short and black ; legs black. This species is common in 

 Europe, and often found in England ; it feeds on Shrew-mice, Frogs, and 

 small birds, which it spits on a thorn, and tears to pieces; hence its 

 vulgar name Butcher Bird, by which it is known in the north of England. 

 In Germany it is called the Wurch-angel, or Suffocating Angel, from its 

 strangling the birds on which it feeds before tearing them to pieces. 



The Shrike family include thirty-two principal species, the general cha- 

 racteristics and habits of which are alike. 



MUSCICAPA Flycatcher. A large proportion of the birds forming this 

 genus belong to warm climates, and exhibit great variation in the form of 

 their beak, dependent on the different kinds of insects upon which they 

 feed. In their habits the Flycatchers approach the Shrikes, being of a 

 quarrelsome and spiteful disposition, driving away from their haunts all 

 other insectivorous birds, and even chasing each other. They feed on flies 

 and other winged insects, which they take on the wing, but never on the 

 ground, and rarely even on the leaves of trees. In Europe, for the most 

 part, they live alone in the forests, upon the tops of the trees, and lay but 

 once a year. 



They have been divided into geographical sections : European, Asiatic, 

 African, American, and Oceanic Flycatchers. 



The Spotted Flycatcher (M. Grisola) Plate 4 is one of the European 

 species. It is rather larger than the common Sparrow ; the upper parts 

 ashy-brown ; throat and middle of the belly white ; sides of the neck, 

 chest, and belly marked with longitudinal ashy-brown streaks. The Spotted 

 Flycatcher makes its appearance in England and France in the spring, 

 and leaves us about September, when the dipterous insects on which it 

 feeds become scarce. It is of a dull aspect, and naturally fierce ; never 

 sings, but utters a piercing, disagreeable cry. It lives in the woods, and 

 builds its nest of moss, wool, or hairs, intermingled with roots, in the 

 hollows of rotten trees, and sometimes in holes of walls, or even in bushes, 

 and lays five or six eggs, bluish white spotted with rust colour. 



The White-collared Flycatcher (M. Albicollis), the Little Flycatcher 

 (M. Parva), and the Pied Flycatcher (M. Luctuosa), are of this division. 



The Asiatic species are about sixteen in number ; the African ten ; the 

 American fifteen ; and the Oceanic about twelve. 



TANAGRA. This extensive genus is entirely confined to America, and, 

 according to Temminck's and Prince Maximilian's observations, gradually 

 approach in form to the Grosbeaks, Shrikes, Flycatchers, Finches, and 

 Pies. They are birds of very beautiful colours, varying in size from that 

 of a Finch to that of a Starling. Some live in the thick woods, others in 

 open country studded with copses, and some especially prefer the bushes 

 on the banks of rivers or on the sea-coast. They are as various in their 

 disposition ; some are lively and active, others quiet and phlegmatic. They 



