PERCHING-BIRDS. 123 



of the group are insectivorous, but the larger forms prey on small 

 mammals, birds, and reptiles. 



Of the four subfamilies recognised the Gymnorhinte include some of 

 the large forms such as the Piping Crows (Gymnorhina and Cracticus] 

 (2206 8), of Australia, and the remarkable red and black Pityriasis 

 yymnocephala (2209), from Borneo. The true Shrikes or Butcher-Birds 

 (Laniina) derive their name from their habit of impaling their prey 

 upon the thorns which surround their nest, and mice, birds, frogs, and 

 insects are to be found hanging in the " larders " of these birds. The 

 most familiar is the Red-backed Shrike (Lanius co/lurio) (2218), a 

 summer visitor, breeding in England and the south of Scotland. The 

 Great Grey (2214), the Lesser Grey (2215), and the Woodchat (2219) 

 Shrikes are occasional visitors to Britain, and there is evidence that the 

 last species has bred on more than one occasion in the south. 



Among the African subfamily Malaconotince we find some most 

 brilliantly coloured forms, such as the species of Laniarius (2223-30). 



The PachycephaliiKB are a large group of smaller forms ranging from 

 Australia and Polynesia to Borneo and the Philippines. One of the 

 largest and most handsomely marked species is the Australian Falcun- 

 culus frontalis (2243), a pair of which are exhibited with their nest. 



Family XVIII. PARID^. TITS. 



The numerous small birds comprising this family are spread over all [Ca?e 77.] 

 the northern parts of the Old and New Worlds, and extend their range 

 southwards throughout Africa, but are not met with in South America 

 or in the Australian region. As a general rule the species are not 

 migratory. They are characterised by their stout conical bill. As in 

 the Crows the metatarsus is strongly scaled. The plumage is alike in 

 both sexes, and there is only one moult, which takes place in autumn. 

 Except during the breeding season they congregate in flocks, and, in 

 company with Golden-Crested Wrens, Tree-Creepers, Nuthatches and 

 other small birds, traverse the woods in search of insect-food. The 

 majority place their somewhat roughly made open nest in holes in trees 

 or walls, but the Long-tailed Tits (jEgithalus) (2244-6) build a beautiful 

 domed nest of moss and lichen, thickly lined with feathers, with an 

 opening near the top, while the species of Remiza (2247-8) construct 

 a purse-shaped nest of felted down with a tubular entrance. Six 

 species are found in Great Britain, viz. : the Great (2253), Coal- (2260), 

 Marsh- (2266), Blue (2251), Crested (2263), and Long-tailed Tits 

 (2244), the latter being one of our smallest birds. Of the exotic species, 

 one of the most striking is the Sultan-Titmouse (Melanochlora sultanea] 

 (2262) from the Indo-Chinese countries, conspicuous on account of its 

 long yellow crest. 



