CLASS II. AVES: ORDER 2. PASSERES. 



179 



THE EUROPEAN STARLING OR STARE. 



THE STURE^ID^. 



This family includes several remarkable groups, as the Bower-Birds^ Grackles, Beef-Eaters^ 

 Tree-Starlingsy Pastors, Meadow-Larks, Crow-Blackhird, Baltimore aud Orchard Orioles, Co7c- 

 Blackbird, Bed-Winr/ Starling, &c. In their general characteristics we may include an elon- 

 gated and compressed bill, wings long and more or less pointed, the toes long and strong, especial- 

 ly the hind one ; they feed on insects, worms, fruits, and seeds ; they are generally gregarious ; are 

 docile and tractable in captivity, and exhibit some of the peculiar sagacity of the crows. 



THE PTILONORHYNCHIN^, OR BOWER-BIRDS, OR GLOSSI STARLINGS. 



These birds are peculiar to the eastern hemisphere. The majority, including the Choucaries 

 and Pirolles, are found in India, Australia, and the intervening islands, but Africa also possesses 

 a few species belonging to the genus Jidda. They inhabit the hot regions of that continent, 

 where they fly in large flocks, feeding principally on fruits, and often attacking the gardens 

 and vineyards, to which they do great damage. They also devour insects and worms, and arc 

 sometimes seen perched on the backs of cattle, searching for the parasitic insects among the 

 hair. They are generally showy birds, with a metallic luster upon their plumage, are rather 

 larger, than the common starling, and have a much longer tail. They nestle in rocks and holes 

 of trees, and lay five or six eggs. 



The Bower-Birds of Australia belong to the genera P tilonorhynchus and Chlamydera. These 

 are remarkable for the habit of making a sort of bower, which has nothing to do with their nidi- 

 fication, but merely serves as a sort of playing-ground, in and around which they assemble 

 for amusement! They inhabit the forests, and the bower is placed under the slielter of some 

 large tree. Mr. Gould describes the construction and use of that of the S.\tin Bower-Bird, P. 

 holosericeus — Ifitta holoscriceus of Timminck, the ICitte Veloutc of the French — in the following 

 words : "The base consists of an extensive and rather convex platform of sticks firmly interwoven. 



