CLASS II. AVES: OKDER 2. PASSERES, 



11 ^^ 



THE CAMPEPHAGINiE OR CATERPILLAR-EATERS. 



These birds, like the Dicrurinae, are ahuost exclusively confined to the warmer parts of the 

 Old World — Africa, and India — only the single genus Ptilonogonus being found in America. They 

 have the bill short, the claws much curved, and live principally in woods and forests; but some 

 of the species are also found about hedges and gardens. They are seen either singly or in small 

 flocks, hopping about upon the trees, and prying inquisitively into every part of the foliage in 

 search of their food, which consists ahnost entirely of soft insects, and especially of caterpillars. 

 They also pick up ants and beetles, and in pursuit of these are not unfrequently seen upon the 

 ground ; fruits and berries are said also to form part of the diet of some of the species. The nests 

 are built high up in trees; they are of small size, and composed of lichens, roots, and thin stalks. 

 The eggs arc few in number, sometimes only two, of a pale color, with brown streaks. 



THE UMBRELLA-BIRD. 



THE BLOODY PAVAO. 



THE GYMNODERINyE OR FRUIT-CROWS. 



Another and an interesting group is that of the G>jmnoderinm or Fruit-Crows, consisting of 

 some remarkable birds, which have been arranged by difi'erent authors among the chatterers and 

 the crows. They have a stout, straight, depressed bill, with the ridge of the upper mandible curved, 

 and its tip notched ; the wings are long and pointed ; the tail of moderate length, and rounded ; 

 the claws long, curved, and acute. They are peculiar to South America, and are of considerable 

 size, some of the larger species being equal, in this respect, to our common crows. They feed 

 principally upon fruits, and occasionally on insects. Some of the species have the face or part of 

 the neck bare of feathers, and hence are called Bald-Hcads : one species, the Gymnocephalus 

 calvtis, is called the Capuchin Bald-Head. Another species, the Bloody Pa vac, Coracina 

 scufata, is fifteen inches long, and is entirely black, with a blood-red cuirass of feathers on the 

 neck and breast, appearing like a bloody wound ; it has a cry of bou, bon, bov, which in the deep 

 forests of Brazil sounds like the horn of a herdsman calling his flock. Another species is the 

 renowned Umbrella-Bird, Ceijhalopterus ornahis, of a beautiful glossy black color, giving out 

 bluish reflections; it has a superb tuft of blue, hair-like, curved feathers on the top of the head, 

 and also a plume of blue feathers de2:»ending from a fleshy process on the neck. This bird is of 

 the size of a crow, feeds principally on fruits, and has a loud, deep note, whence it is called by 

 the natives Ueramimbe or Piper-Bird. It is found in the regions of the Rio Negro. Another 

 celebrated species is the Arapunga, or Campenero, or Bell-Bird, Araimnga alba, found in the 

 wild forests of Guiana ; it is about twelve inches in length, and of a pure white color. It is dis- 



