142 NATURAL HISTORY. 



Fig. 118 Goatsucker. 



which they do, passing rapidly through the air with open 

 mouth, as in the representation of the Goatsucker. The 

 Swallows and Kingfishers belong to this group. 



I now go on to notice these groups, giving some few 

 specimens of each. 



237. The principal food of most of the Cone -"billed 

 Perchers consists of seeds and grains. Hence the need 

 of the stout cone-shaped beak to pick out the seeds and 

 to crush them. The chief families of this group are the 

 Finches, Crows, Starlings, Birds of Paradise, Cross-bills, 

 and Horn-bills. Most of these birds are more" or less do- 

 mesticable, and some of them are capable of considerable 

 education. 



238. The Finches are a very extensive family, inclucl 

 ing the Larks, Sparrows, Grosbeaks, Buntings, Linnets, 

 etc. None of them are of large size, and some of them 

 are very small. They have a marked general resem 

 blance to each other in appearance and habits. They 

 tenant fields, groves, hedgerows, and woodlands, feeding 

 chiefly on grains and seeds, and occasionally upon in- 

 sects. Many of them are great songsters. They are 



