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. 
T 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, includ: 
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 
