PASSERINE BIRDS. 151 



disposition is very uninteresting, and they are almost without any kind of song. Berries and various 

 kinds of fruit constitute their principal food, many eat insects, and some species subsist entirely upon 

 dry seeds. 



As our space only permits us to mention a few of these birds, we will first select the TANGARAS 

 PROPER, as being the largest of this family. The beak of the True Tangaras is compressed and 

 slightly bent, conical, and almost straight at the tip ; the wings are pointed, and of moderate length ; 

 the tail is long, and broad at the end, which is somewhat forked, and of a green or blue colour ; 

 the plumage presents but little variety in species. 



THE ORNATE TANGARA. 



The Ornate Tangara (Tangara ornatci) is four inches long, the tail measuring about three 

 inches more, and the wing three inches from the shoulder to the tip. The plumage of the male is 

 bright blue upon the head, neck, breast, and lower part of the body, with a greyish shade where the 

 roots of the feathers are visible ; the middle of the belly, legs, and rump are greenish grey ; the back 

 is of a dirty greenish grey, shaded with blue; the lesser wing-covers are blue at the shoulder; the 

 smallest feathers of these parts are lemon yellow, and the remainder of the wing greyish brown, each 

 feather being bordered with green. The tail is a greyish brown, its middle portion shaded with green, 

 the rest only edged with that colour. All such parts as are blue in that of her mate are in the plumage 

 of the female greyish green, shaded with blue ; the green and vellow markings of the wings being 

 much paler and more indistinct. 



All the countries from the Amazon to Guiana, and the woods upon the coast -of Brazil, afford a 

 home to these birds ; they seem to prefer the shelter of the plantations that abound in these districts 

 to the sombre retreat of large forests, and pass their active, cheerful little lives in the immediate 

 neighbourhood of man, to whose orange and lemon trees they are at once ornaments and formidable 

 enemies. Except during the pairing season these Tangaras have no song, but merely utter a simple 

 and monotonous call-note. The nest is built upon a tree, and resembles that of a Greenfinch. 



Ou;- knowledge of the North American Tangaras is much more extensive. We shall confine 

 ourselves, however, to the mention of two species belonging to the group denominated 



FIRE TANGARAS (Pyranga). The members of this group are slender, their wings long, 

 pointed, and reaching almost to the middle of the rounded tail. Their beak is strong, conical, vaulted, 

 and strongly compressed at the margins ; the edges of the upper mandible are somewhat bent 

 outwards, and jagged towards the middle portion, but straight near its extremity, where there is a 

 scarcely perceptible notch. The plumage of these birds is thick and smooth, diat of the male being 

 generally red, that of the female yellow. 



THE FLAX BIRD. 



The Flax Bird {Fyranga rubra) is the most numerous and best known of the two species we 

 ohall describe. Its length is six and a half inches, its breadth ten and a half inches, the wing being four 

 inches long, and the tail two and a half inches. The coat of the male, when in its full beauty, is of a most 

 magnificent scarlet, the upper portion of the feathers being of that colour, and white at their roots ; 

 the latter tint, however, is never visible during life, though very conspicuous after the bird has been 

 stuffed. The wings and tail are of a brilliant black, affording a striking contrast to the glowing little 

 body. Very shortly after the breeding season this plumage disappears, and is replaced by feathers 



