ORNITHOLOGY. 



573 



Insessores. occiput. The manners of these birds are as yet unknown. 



v ~-~v^~^ They live in Western Africa. Ex. 7V. barbatus, Temra. PL 

 Col. 88. 



The ant-thrushes, Myothera, Illiger, come next in 

 order. They are chiefly distinguished by their long, 

 slender tarsi, and short tails. See Plate CCCXCI. fig. 

 1. The species of the ancient world, inhabitants for the 

 most part of India, the eastern islands, and New Holland, 

 are characterized by brilliant and contrasted colouring. 

 These are the Breves of Buffon, the short-tailed crows of 

 English writers. They form the genus Pitta of Vieillot 

 and Temm.,of which the bill is strong but thrush-like (P. 

 cyanurns, brachyurus, &c.) ; while Myothera, as now re- 

 stricted, contains the American species, of much more 

 sober plumage, with the bill more abruptly hooked, and 

 the tooth stronger. The species dwell among the enor- 

 mous ant-hills of the western world, keeping much upon 

 the ground. They seldom fly, and certain kinds are re- 

 markable for their deep sonorous voices. The largest, 

 longest legged, and most singular in its general aspect, 

 known under various names, such as long-legged crow, 

 king-thrush, &c. ( Corvus grallarius, Shaw ; Turdus rex, 

 Linn.), constitutes the genus Grallaria of the modern 

 systems. It is a native of Guiana. The beautiful New 

 Holland bird, with a bill like a thrush, but shorter, the 

 legs long, the nails almost straight, and the lengthened 

 tail-feathers terminated by sharp points, forms the genus 

 Orthonyx, and is placed by Cuvier immediately after 

 the preceding group of ant-eating thrushes. 



The genus Cinclus, Bechstein, characterized by an al- 

 most straight, compressed, sharp-pointed bill, comprises 

 our well-known water- ouzel, C. aquaticus. This inte- 

 resting bird is frequent along the banks of rivers, but 

 seems to prefer those of a somewhat rocky, alpine charac- 

 ter. It lives in pairs, keeping alwa}'s close by the stony 

 margin of its chosen stream. The nest, according to Sir 

 William Jardine, is formed exactly like that of our common 

 wren, with a single entrance, and is composed of ordinary 

 mosses, without much lining. It is usually placed beneath 

 some projecting rock, not many yards above the water, 

 " and often where a fall rushes over, in which situation the 

 parent birds must dash through it to gain the nest, which 

 they do with apparent facility, and even seem to enjoy it. 

 At night they roost in similar situations, perched with 

 the head under the wing, on some little projection, often 

 so much leaning as to appear hanging with the back 

 downwards. I recollect a bridge over a rapid stream, 

 which used to be a favourite nightly retreat, under an 

 arch ; I have there seen four at a time sitting asleep in 

 this manner, and used to take them with a light. Before 

 settling for their nightly rest, they would sport in the 

 pool beneath, chasing each other with their shrill and ra- 

 pid cry, and at last suddenly mount to their perch ; when 

 disturbed, they return again in five minutes." 1 During 

 winter they migrate to the lower streams; but in summer 

 are most abundant on the alpine tributaries. They feed 

 on small fish and insects, and are remarkable for their 

 power of walking, with the assistance of their wings, be- 

 neath the surface. There is an American species (C. 

 Americanus), of somewhat larger size, and of a uniform 

 brownish slate colour. It extends along the range of the 

 Rocky Mountains, from Mexico to Lake Athabasca. There 

 is also an Asiatic species, figured by Mr Gould,* under the 

 title of C. Pallasii, a name formerly bestowed on a bird 

 supposed to come from the Crimea. 



Mr Brehm has described another species by the name 

 of black-bellied water-ouzel (C. meUmogaster). It inha- 



bits the north-eastern parts of the European continent, Insessores. 

 visiting in severe winters the coasts of the Baltic, where v -— y-^- / 

 it is neither shy in its habits, nor distrustful of the pre- 

 sence of man. We are rather inclined, however, to dis- 

 trust some of Mr Brehm's species. 



The genus Philedon of Cuvier has the bill slightly 

 arched throughout its whole length, compressed, broad- 

 ened at the base ; the nostrils are large, protected by a 

 cartilaginous scale, and the tongue terminates in a sort of 

 tuft. Hence the species are by many classed among the 

 honey-sucking or tenuirostral tribes. Many of them are 

 remarkable for some particular garniture about the base 

 of the bill, and are found in New Holland and the eastern 

 islands. The genus is very extensive, but not very natu- 

 rally composed, as it consists of species brought from a 

 variety of other genera, such as Certhia, Merops, Gracu- 

 la, Sturnus, &c. Some have a fleshy wattle depending 

 from the lower mandible, as in Phil, carunculatus of New 

 Holland (which forms the genus Creadon of Vieillot). 

 In others the head is partially bare of feathers, as in the 

 fforuk, likewise a native of New Holland, a bold and rest- 

 less bird, which feeds both on insects and honey, and 

 often puts to flight whole droves of blue-bellied parra- 

 keets. Some have neither bare skin nor wattles, but 

 are distinguished by a peculiar frizzled character of parts 

 of the plumage. The poe bee-eater of Cook's voyage 

 (Phil. Cincinnatus) is of this kind. It is a beautiful bird, 

 of a glossy blackish green, with a band of white across 

 the upper portion of the wing, and a pendent tuft of long, 

 twisted, white feathers on each side of the neck. It is a 

 native of New Zealand, and was formerly in great request, 

 as contributing to ornament the feathered mantles worn 

 by chiefs and persons of distinction. The species is also 

 said to sing well, and is moreover highly esteemed as an 

 article of food. 



In the genus Eulabes, Cuv. (Mainatus, Brisson ; Gra- 

 cula, Vieil.), the bill is strong, compressed, high, the 

 culmen arched, the sides dilated towards the gape. A 

 portion of the cheek is bare, and a fleshy appendage 

 stretches towards the occiput from either eye. Here are 

 placed the famous mina birds, of which two species seem 

 to have been confounded by Linnaeus under the title of 

 Gracula religiosa. The specific name was first applied 

 by misapprehension, in consequence of a Musulman wo- 

 man refusing, on account of some religious scruple, to al- 

 low a European artist to make a drawing of one of these 

 birds, which she had in captivity. Some uncertainty 

 seems still to pervade the naming of the species. The 

 Indian kind (G. Indicus, Cuv.) is somewhat larger than a 

 blackbird, the plumage of a fine silky black, with a white 

 spot upon the central edge of the wings, the bill and feet 

 yellow. This bird is easily tamed, and becomes extreme- 

 ly familiar in confinement. It is probably the most ac- 

 complished linguist of all the feathered tribes, and may 

 be taught to pronounce long sentences in the most clear 

 and articulate manner. It is consequently held in high 

 esteem, and is frequently brought alive to European 

 countries, although it must be confessed that the purity 

 of the English tongue is not always exhibited by the re- 

 sult of its maritime education. The food of the mina in 

 a state of nature is said to consist both of fruits and in- 

 sects. It greatly loves bananas, and in this country has 

 no objection to either grapes or cherries. The larger 

 species (G. Javanus, Cuv.) equals the size of a jay. See 

 Plate CCCXCI. fig. 3. The bill is broader, more hook- 

 ed at the end, but without the notch. Now M. Les- 

 son gives the name of Sumatranus to this species, and 



1 Note to Wilson and Bonaparte's American Ornithology, vol. iii. p. 451. * Century of Biria from the Himalaya Mountains. 



