204 CUCULID^. 



Beak elongated, awl-shaped, 

 scarcely bent, subcylindric, 

 obtuse at the tip. 



GENUS CCL.— SPHENURA, Spix 



Rostrum elongatum, subula- 



tum, vix arcuatum, sub- 



cylindricum, ad apicem 



obtusum. 

 Nares rotundae. 

 Cauda molle, detrita. 

 Digiti ad basin coaliti, an- 



tici laterales inaequales. 



Nostrils rounded. 

 Tail soft, worn. 

 Toes uviiiedi at the base, the la- 

 teral anterior ones unequal. 



Sp. 1 . Sp. subulata. Spix, Avium Nova Spec. p. 82. pi. Ixxxiii. 



Sp.Jltsco-brunnea corpore subtus pallide riifescente ; capite, nee 

 non dorso, albo striatis ; caudd riifd; guld ochraceo-alba. 



Fuscous-brown Sphenura, with the body beneath pale reddish ; 

 the head and back striped with white ; the tail rufous ; the 

 throat ochraceous-white. 



Inhabits Brazil. 



FAMILY v.— CUCULIDiE. 



Rostrum basi glabrum, arcuatum aiit apicem aduncum, integrum 



aut denticulatum : pedes zygodactyli ; digitis anticis interdum 



basi membrana coaliti. 

 Beak glabrous at the base, bent or hooked towards the tip, intire 



or denticulated : toes disposed in pairs, the anterior sometimes 



united by a membrane at the base. 



The manners of the birds included in this ex-' 

 tensive family are various ; they all subsist upon in- 

 sects, and the major portion of them are migratory : 

 the true Cuckoos are well known to desert their 

 young, and do not trouble themselves to construct 

 any nest : other genera build their nests on the arms 



