64 



CLASS AVES. 



ORDER-PASS ERIN A. 



live sometimes in flocks, at other times singly or in pairs, and often sit 

 quietly upon the lower branches of underwood. They feed on berries, 

 seeds, fruits, and also on insects. Like most other of the bright-coloured 

 birds of tropical climates they have generally little or no voice beyond their 

 common call. 



They have been divided into the Bullfinch Tanagers, the True Tanagers, 

 the Jacapa Tanagers, the Thick-beaked Tanagers, the Shrike Tanagers, and 

 the Tachyphonus. 



The Bullfinch Tanagers, though called Euphonous, utter but a short call. 

 There are six principal species. 



The True Tanagers embrace about thirty-four species, of which the 

 Filleted or Banded Tanager (T. Vittata) is one. It is five and a half inches 

 in length ; beak bkck ; head, nape, and upper part of the wings azure- 

 blue ; back deep violet-blue ; wings and tail bluish-black edged with light 

 blue ; throat yellowish-white ; other under parts rust-coloured ; legs 

 brown. The female is distinguished by the greenish-brown cast of the 

 upper parts of the body, and by the absence of blue except above the eyes 

 and at the flexure of the wings. Is a native of Brazil. 



The Jacapa Tanagers include three species ; the Thick-beaked Tanagers 

 six ; the Shrike Tanagers also six ; and the Tachyphonus four. 



TrjRDUS Thrush. All the species are of moderate size, prettily formed, 

 and in the shape of their beak approach the Crows. The inner sharp edges 

 of the eyelids and the corners of the mouth are, in all the species, yellow 

 at pairing time. Buffon has divided them into Thrushes and Blackbirds. 

 They mostly live in flocks, and have a sameness of voice. But few are 

 stationary in any country, the greater number migrating northwards in 

 summer, and returning to the south in winter. They feed on insects, 

 worms, and berries ; the tough wing-cases of the former, and the shells and 

 stones of the latter, they reject from their gizzards in the shape of oblong 

 pellets. They all hop, and never walk. Some prefer the woods and 

 other rocky places. They are divided into three sections : Wood 

 Thrushes, Mocking Birds, and Rock Thrushes. 



The Wood Thrushes live in companies, and specially at their migratory 

 seasons. They constantly inhabit woods, bushes, and gardens, are very 

 similar in their habits and in their voice, are very amorous, and one species 

 readily follows the call of another. They build nicely-contrived nests, 

 breed twice a year, and then- eggs are mostly pale sea-green. 



The principal species number about seventeen, in which the Throstle 

 and Blackbird are included. 



The call of the Throstle, or Song Thrush (T. Musicus), is a hissing or 

 hoarsely-piped zipp, uttered often so low as to lead to the supposition that 

 the bird is far distant, although close at hand. When alarmed or uneasy, 

 their note, dak, dak, dak, dak, dak, is uttered in a higher tone ; and at sun- 

 rise and sunset, and often even later, when they resort to the water to 

 drink and bathe, the first which finds a suitable stream utters joyfully tic, 

 tic, tic, tic, ticki, dock, dak, and this being quickly responded to by the 

 party, consisting of ten or twelve, they cautiously begin to enter the water, 

 and so soon as one has ventured in, the rest quickly follow, and begin to 

 quarrel if they are scant of room. If disturbed whilst in a bush, it darts 

 out, merely uttering zipp, or dock, dock, by which it is distinguished from 

 the Blackbird. The male has a very beautiful song, which from March till 

 far into summer is heard in the woods, specially at morning and evening ; 

 it sits singing on the very topmost branch of the tree, above its usual 

 favourite perch. Previous to having young ones they sing during the day, 

 but most beautifully towards evening, and continue till twilight has passed, 

 after which they descend, but for a long while their beautiful tir, tir, tir, tir, 

 may be heard. Their song has some resemblance to that of the Blackbird, 

 but the tone is higher, the time quicker, the pauses between the strophes 

 shorter, but the entire song longer, more melodious and varying, and has 

 several distinct, very flute-like strophes, of which some resemble the 

 syllables tratu, trati, migam, migam, and kudubh, kudiet, each twice 

 repeated. 



The Song Thrushes build in trees of no great height ; often in apple 

 and pear trees. The nest is pretty large, in which are laid from four to 



six eggs of a bright sea-green colour, with many small, and a few large, 

 round, light rufous-brown spots ; sometimes there are only a very few and 

 small spots, and sometimes the eggs are spotless. 



The call of the Blackbird (T. Merula), uttered either whilst sitting or 

 flying, is a tremulous tsrii, tsritsrii ; but sometimes merely tak, tak, or, in 

 a deeper tone, tuk, tuk, and, if very earnest, taktaktaktak, expressive of 

 pleasure, or of the approach of something which they fear to be danger- 

 ous ; and should this draw nearer, their voice changes to tir, tir, tir, tir, tir t 

 tir ! very loudly uttered, and, when they take wing, followed by a shrill, 

 quick gaig iggig giggi, gaigig giggiggi. In the evening, when sitting on a 

 low branch, or flying to the water, they utter the syllable tir, sustaining it 

 for a minute. If suddenly frightened, they dart ofF, crying out in a loud 

 tone tak, tak, gaigig, giggiggi, tak, tak, the middle syllables expressed very 

 quickly. The male Blackbird is one of our most beautiful songsters ; his 

 song consists of many strophes following at short intervals, among which 

 are some more staid chirping and hoarse notes, varied with clear whistles ; 

 but it is specially distinguished and heard at a great distance, by a loud 

 flute-like tratue, tratatoe, which has also been compared to the sounds 

 david, hans david. With this somewhat melancholy song they enliven the 

 quiet evenings of the early spring ; they sing also during the day, but 

 specially at morning dawn ; for the most part, however, their song is first 

 continuous towards evening, in the twilight, till the night is completely set 

 in, when they cease, or are only very rarely heard. From March to July 

 they sing incessantly, but principally on the evenings of hot and sultry 

 days. Blackbirds build in the woods where thickest, and in the neighbour- 

 hood of water, making their nest sometimes in a hollow tree, but if more 

 exposed, upon a small branch or in a thick bush. The female lays four, five, 

 or six eggs, of a greenish-grey colour, marked with pale-brown spots. 



The Mocking Birds are all natives of America, and frequent the lower 

 brushwood near the ground, mounting higher only during spring and 

 breeding-time, when they sing to their mates. Their note is very loud ; 

 some possess great melody, but in others it is very harsh, grating, and kept 

 up. incessantly. 



The species figured on Plate 4 (T. Polyglottus) is known as the Singing 

 Bird, Nightingale, or Mocking Bird. It is about nine and a half inches 

 long ; bill black ; upper parts dark- brownish ash ; sides of the neck, 

 breast, belly, and vent brownish-white ; wings and tail nearly black ; tail 

 cuneiform, the outer two quills white, the others only tipped with white. 

 The female lays four or five cinereous blue eggs with largo brown 

 blotchings. During the period of incubation, which lasts about fourteen 

 days, neither man nor brute is allowed to approach without being fii-rcvlv 

 attacked. But its vengeance is specially directed against the black snake, 

 the inveterate spoiler of its eggs and young, and so soon as its stealthy 

 approaches are noticed, the male darts at it like an arrow, striking it vio- 

 lently about the head with its beak, and as the snake's strength fails, the 

 Mocking Bird seizes, and lifting it up a little from the ground, beats it 

 with its wings until it has destroyed it. The motions of this bird are easy, 

 elegant, and rapid ; its voice full, strong, and musical, and capable, as 

 Wilson observes, of almost every modulation, from the clear mellow tones 

 of" the Wood Thrush to the savage screams of the Bald Eagle. Its own 

 note is bold, full, and varied almost endlessly, consisting of short ex- 

 pressions of two, three, or at most five or six syllables, generally inter- 

 spersed with imitations, all uttered with great emphasis and rapidity, and 

 continued for half an hour or an hour. As his song swells or dies away 

 he mounts and descends, or, as Bartram expresses it, " he bounds aloft 

 with the celerity of an arrow, as if to recover or recall his very soul, 

 expired in the last elevated strain." His imitations are so perfect, that he 

 not only deceives the sportsman, sending him in search of birds perhaps 

 many miles distant, but even birds themselves are often deceived by his 

 voice, and are either enticed by the fancied calls of their mates, or scared 

 away by the well-feigned screams of the Sparrow Hawk. 



Besides the Mocking Bird there are five other species. 



The Rock Thrushes are readily distinguished by the rufous colour of the 

 caudal quills, excepting the middle two, which are black. They live soli- 



