CHAPTER VI. 



EXAMPLES OF IDENTIFJCATION. 



IN sorting- out the British passerine birds we can simplify matters 

 considerably by beginning with four sub-families which are 

 represented by only one species each, which species is almost 

 certain to be recognised immediately. 



These are : — 



Oriolinie. I Panurinas. 



Icterinae. | Ampelinas. 



Is our sample bird a bright-yellow one, like a large canary with 

 black wings, and a black tipped tail ? Is it in fact a Golden Oriole ? 

 No ; it is not. And as the Golden Oriole is the only species we have 

 of Oriolus, which is our only representative of its sub-family, we can 

 at once eliminate Oriolina. 



Is it a glossy black bird, with bright scarlet wing coverts ? No. The 

 only bird like that in the British list is a rare, and probably escaped, 

 American, known as the Red- winged Starling, wl.ich is a species of 

 AgelcEus, and our only representative of its sub-family ; and conse- 

 quently we need not further trouble ourselves with Icterince. 



Is our bird a little fellow with a rufous tail over three inches long, 

 and much longer than the rest of his body, and has he in full plumage 

 a black pointed moustache, which, though obscure at some periods of 

 the year, is always traceable ? No. Our bird is quite two inches 

 longer, his tail is not as long as his body, and he has no moustache at 

 all. In short, no one would imagine he was a Bearded Tit ; and with 

 Its sole representative we have done with the Panurina. 



Has he a bold erectile crest like a Cockatoo, and has he red waxy 

 tips to his secondary feathers or his tail ? No. Then he is not a 

 Waxwing; and the Waxwing is the only species we have of the 

 Ampeliruz. 



There is another sub-family we can bracket with these, and that is 

 the Cinclince, which is represented by only one genus Cinclus, which 

 has two species, one differing from the other only in the greater 

 blackness of its breast. These Dippers as they are called, are, however, 

 so distinct from the rest of our birds, that they are at once re- 

 cognisable. Their plumage is blackish brown, dense and fibrous, and, 

 as befitting the only passerine water birds, they are provided with a 

 thick undercoat of down, which some people are inclined to describe 

 as the only true down in the order. That, however, is open to 

 discussion. For our purposes it is enough to know that the foregoing 

 five sub-families are unmistakable, and that our specimen belongs to 

 neither of them. 



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