18G AVES. 



ppnorio foatiuTs (lisapponr. AYe li.ive already spr-n them pass tlirou<ih Pdrorwdn, info tbe Cliats and AYheatears, 

 to \\lii(.'li sliould be added the Robins, liedstarts, Phai^ni corns, &c. ; through T. vaifus, into the Ja/ifhocinrLe, 

 Gould, an eastern group, witli lar^^e bill and feet, very soft plumag-e, and short wings, the species of which inhabit 

 shrubberies, and lind tlieir food chiefly on the ground, never flyinf? to any distance ; through certain North Ame- 

 rican species into the Nightingales ; and the passage into various other received genera is equally gradual ; in a 

 word, these latter are merely ramifications of Tardus, diflerent as some of them appear in extreme cases. Thus 

 (Jindosoma, Vigors, conducts from the Fieldfare to the subdivision Acctittor ; the Dippers and Ant-catchers to the 

 Wrens and Tree-creepers, &c. &c.] 



Some of these binls appear to approximate the Shrikes in their halnts, altliougli there is nothing in 

 the form of the beak to distinguisli them from other Tiiruslies. 



There are even no available characters l>y whicli to distinguish certain African species, which live iu 

 numerous bnstling troops, like Starlings, pursue insects, and commit great havoc in gardens. 



Several of them are remarkable for the glossy tints of their plumage, which are of a browned steel-colour, (as 

 T. auratiis and T. nttenn, Tern.) ; and one of the former for its cuneated tail, which is a third longer than the 

 body (T. ceneus, Tern.) [The straightness of the wing indicates these birds to belong rather to the Starhng group, 

 as does also their brown and S|)Otless nestling pluniaire, the wing iirimaries of ^vhich are shed at tlic first moult, 

 which is not the case in any of tlie Thrush trihc. Thi'ir habits, as aln-ady mentioned, are strictly those of the 

 Starlings.] 



We conceive it proper to approximate also the New Guinea Thrush, with a tail three times longer than the 

 body, and a double crest on the head, wdiich has been considered a Bird of Paradise {Paradistea gularis, Latham, 

 and P. nigra, Gni.), but onJy on accomit of the incomparable magnificence of its plumage. M. Yieiilot applies to 

 it the generic name Astnipia. 



Other Thrushes with brilliantly shining plumage, the occipital feathers of which are pointed as in the Starhngs, 

 compose i\\Q Lamprotomis of Temminck. [These also strictly pertain to the natural family of Starlings.] We 

 should distinguish the L. ery/hrop/iiys, on account of its bright red eyebrows, formed of cartilaginous feathers. 



Some Thrushes have the bill so slender, that it approximates that of the >Vheatears (the Ij:os of Temniinck). 

 [These birds are mostly crested, and have bright red feathers under the tail, which generally intimates that that 

 appendage is carried erect. They rank among the very finest of singing birds, and the celebrated Buld-huhl 

 of the (ji iental poets is one of them : all are peculiar to the eastern hemisphere, and they are closely related to the 

 Philedons, into which they pass by insensible gradations.] 



Others have a slender bill, but straight and strong, and in the greater number of them the tail is excessively 

 forked. They are the ^nicures {.^nicuni, Tem.), [a group having much the appearance, at first sight, of the Pied 

 Wagtails, and resembling them in habit, Ijut which are essentially modified Thrushes, and not distantly removed 

 from the YVlieatears]. 



Others, again, [closely allied to the last,] are distinguished by having legs so long, that they have the general 

 appearance of Waders. They constitute the Grallina of A'ieillot, or Tanypu-s of Oppel. 



The Cuinons (rr?/;/ycr, Tern.) — 

 Are Thrushes Avith strong setcC at the }i;ape, ami which have sumcunies bristly fcatliers on the neck. 

 Such is Cr. barbatm, Tem. (Col. 8S). 



Thc Antcatchers; [Mijolhcra, IIHur.) — 

 Are known by their lengthened limhs and sliort tail. They subsist on insects, and prijicipally Ants: 

 inhaliit both continents. 



TIjosc of tlie eastern hemis})bere, however, are remarkable for tlicir brilliant colours. They are 



The l',REVES of Butfun {PUia, \ieillot), — 

 [The jiiumage of which recals to mind that of thc Halcyons and Kingfishers, the latter of which they 

 further resemble in thuir tligid, as du also the Dippers and Wrens, and they similarly frequent streams 

 and brooks, like the I)i[)per of Euro[ie.] 



Such are Corcif* Jraf/n/wr^^, Gm., and several other beautiful species, to which we add the Turdus cvanurusy 

 Latham, or Cornns c^/anurus, Shaw, which only differs in the tail, which is rather more pointed. [There are indeed 

 two natural subdivisions, distinguished apart by the form and structure of the tail]. 



The Pitta iliDracina, Tem., of which ]MI\L Vigors and I-Jorstield make their genus Th'tmalia, is but little removed 

 from P. cyainirn, Vieilint, if we except its sombre hues and its beak, which latter diminishes more regularly in 

 front, and thereby api)rua(dies the Tanagers. 



Those of the New Continent, which are mucli more numerous, have l)rowTi tints, and vary in the 



length and stoutness of thc bill. They obtain their li\ing from the enormous Ant-hills which abound 

 in the woods and dcf.erts of South America ; and the females of them are larger than the males. These 

 birds fly but little, and have sonorous voices, even extraortUnarily so in some instances. [They are 



essentially gigantic Wrens.] 



