EXPLANATION OP PLATES. 199 



Ct ! 



XXII. A group of "Parasitic Birds" which place their eggs in the nests of other 



species and leave their young to be brought up by the foster-parents. 

 Fig. 1. A pair of the Common Cuckoo (C-uculus canorm). 

 Fig. 2. A pair of Cow-birds (Molothms bomtriensis). 

 Fig. 3. A pair of Bobolinks (Doliclwnyx oryzivorus). 



The two latter belong to the American family of Hang-nests (Icteridee}. 



XXIII. Fig. 1. A pair of the Australian Lyre-bird (Menura superba) shewing the 



extraordinary development of the tail in the male. 



Fig. 2. A pair of the Gardener Bower-Bird (Amblyvrnis inornata) from New 

 Guinea. These birds are remarkable for their architectural skill and the 

 aesthetic taste they display in preparing their playing grounds. They build 

 a miniature cabin made of different mosses, surrounded by a perfectly-kept 

 meadow of moss and studded with brilliantly coloured flowers, fruits and 

 insects, which as they become faded are constantly replaced. 



XXIV. A skeleton of the Iceland Falcon (Hierofalco islundus) to shew the various 



bones referred to in the Appendix on the Structure of Birds. 



