656 The Sparrow-like Birds 



it has the habit of singing while it soars, though it appears that the song is not 

 quite so strong or varied. The Tree Pipits (A. tfivialis and others) -are found 

 more in woods, groves, and gardens in preference to open situations, and often 

 perch on trees, while the Rock Pipit (A. ohscurus] frequents rocky coasts, neither 

 its song nor nest occurring outside the sound of the ocean. 



THE FORK-TAILS 



(Family Enicurida) 



The systematic position of this small group, which comprises only three 

 genera and a dozen species, has long been a matter of uncertainty. They have 

 often been placed near or among the Wagtails (Motacillid&), which they certainly 

 much resemble in appearance and habits; other writers, notably Dr. Sharpe, 

 have regarded them as an aberrant group of the Babbling Thrushes (TimeliidcB), 

 but later they have been placed by him among the true Thrushes (Turdidce), 

 while Dr. Stejneger has recorded his suspicion that they are not oscinine birds 

 at all, but may ultimately find a resting place in the neighborhood of the Pittas. 

 This confusion can only be resolved by a careful anatomical examination, pend- 

 ing which they are accorded family rank and placed tentatively next the Timeliida. 



The Fork-tails are trim, dainty birds, between six and eleven inches long, 

 with stout, straight, usually rather long bills, long and strong legs, and moder- 

 ately rounded wings in which there are ten primaries, the outer (tenth) being 

 long and well developed, while in the typical forms the tail is very long and 

 deeply forked, though in Scouler's Fork-tail (Microcichla scouleri) the tail is 

 much shorter and nearly square; in several the head is provided with a short 

 crest. The coloration is mainly black and white, in two specks the hind neck 

 and back are rufous, while another has the crown dull chocolate, the disposi- 

 tion of which is often in the form of spots or bars, though in several the rump 

 and under parts are pure white, as are the outer pair of tail-feathers. 



In distribution the Fork-tails range throughout the Himalayas to western 

 China and down the Malay Peninsula to Java, Sumatra, Borneo, and the Phil- 

 ippines. They are generally shy, wary birds, avoiding the vicinity of human 

 habitations and frequenting the rocky beds of mountain torrents, where they are 

 seen running along with alacrity or hopping from stone to stone, moving the tail 

 incessantly, and picking up their food of mullusks, worms, and insects in or near 

 the water. The Bornean Fork-tail (Enicurus borneensis), a species recently dis- 

 covered on Mount Kina-Balu, at elevations of one to three thousand feet, seems 

 to prefer the deep gorges where little or no sunlight enters. According to Mr. 

 Whitehead, "it is very shy, flying out of shot, or more often out of sight into the 

 forests which border the stream. The note is a pleasant whistle, which is always 

 uttered when the bird is alarmed, before taking flight. I have often seen three 

 or four flying after each other up these dark gorges, and the tail seems more like 

 a streamer, waving up and down with every motion of the bird." 



