282 BACKBONED ANIMALS. 



swallows, with high crests, and have tails longer than the 

 body. The general color is a mouse-gray, the back-feath- 

 ers being so fine as to resemble hair. The striking char- 

 acteristic of the bird is the foot, that is bright red, and 

 Exceedingly powerful. All four toes point forward, and 

 those at the exterior can be turned either way. 



Starlings (Stvrntda). The only member of this fam- 

 ily found in America is the European starling (Sturnus 

 vulgaris), that is an occasional visitor in Greenland. 



Oxpeckers (Buphagina). These African birds (Fig. 

 311) are allied to the starlings, and have strong, hooked 



FIG. 311. Oxpecker \Buphaga Africana}. 



claws, and a generally brownish-gray color. They come 

 under the head of what we have termed guardian birds, 

 following camels, cattle, elephants, and rhinoceroses, cling- 

 ing to their ears, limbs, and fur, running over them like 

 woodpeckers over a tree, and often warning them unin- 

 tentionally of danger by rising with loud cries. 



The Orioles (Icterida*) have generally melodious voices 

 and rich, lustrous plumage. 



The crow blackbirds (Quiscalus purpureus] are familiar 

 members of the family, arriving in New England in April. 

 They are social birds, moving about in vast flocks. The 



