INSESSORES. 4g9 



The great family of the Thrushes {Merulidce) comprises not 

 only the true Thrushes, Field-fanes, and Blackbirds, but a 

 number of exotic forms, of which the most familiar are the 

 Orioles, so well known for their brilliant plumage and their 

 beautifully-constructed nests. 



In the Sylviadx, amongst other forms, are the Wag-tails 

 {Motaeillinm) and the Pipits (Anihks)\ the Titmice, Robins, 

 Hedge-sparrow, Stone-chat, Redstarts, and other well-known 

 I3ritish birds. The Titmice {Parince) are often placed in the 

 sub-order of the Conirostres. The Nightingale also belongs to 

 this family. 



Sub-order 3. Tenuirostres. — The- members of this sub-order 

 are characterised by the possession of a long and slender beak, 

 gradually tapering to a point (fig. 195, E). The toes are very 

 long and slender, the 'hind-toe or hallux especially so. Most 

 of the Tenuirostral birds live upon insects, and some of these 

 present a near resemblance in many of their characters to the 

 Dentirostres, but it is asserted that some live partially or wholly 

 on the juices of flowers. 



The chief families of the Tenuirostres are the Creepers 

 ( Certhidce), the Honey-eaters (Meliphagida), the Humming- 

 birds (Trochilidee), the Sun-birds {Promeropidce), and the 

 Hoopoes (Upupidce), of .which only the Creepers and Hum- 

 ming-birds need any further notice. 



The family Cert/tida includes several familiar British birds, 

 such as the little brown Creeper {Certhia familiaris), the 

 Nuthatch {Sitta Europcea), and the Wrens {Troglodytes). With 

 these are a number of exotic forms, of which the singular 

 Lyre-birds of Australia are the most remarkable. 



The family of the Trochilidee, or Humming-birds, includes the 

 most fragile and brightly coloured of all the birds, some not 

 weighing more than twenty grains when alive, and many 

 exhibiting the most brilliant play of metallic colours. The 

 Hummidg-birds are pre-eminently South American, but extend 

 northwards as far even as the southern portions of Canada. 

 The bill (fig. 195, E) is always very long and slender, as are 

 the toes also. The tongue is bifid and tubular, and appears to 

 be used either to catch insects within the corollas of flowers, 

 or to suck up the juices of the flowers themselves. The plu- 

 mage of the males is always brilliant, with metallic reflections, 

 that of the female generally sombre. The legs are short and 

 weak, but the wings are proportionately very long, and the 

 flight is exceedingly rapid. 



The Sun-birds represent in the Old World the Humming- 

 birds of the western hemispjiere, and the Australian Honey- 



