PASSERIN.E. 189 



We should distinguish from amouff the others tnc Regent Orwte of authors (Hericidus regens, Lesson), tne plu- 

 mage of which is fine sillvy blacl<, with velvety feathers of a bright orange-yellow on the head and neck, and a (freat 

 spot of the same colour on each wing. [The female is Ijrowu, spotted with dull white. Paradisocus aureus, Shaw, 

 should range along with it.] 



The Goulins {Gymnops, Cuv.) — 

 Have the same strong beak as the Orioles, the nostrils rounded and scaleless, and not surrounded Ijy 

 any membrane, and a great part of the bead naked of feathers. 



The Grey Goulin (Cracula cah-a, Gm.), &c.— Some of them have prominences on the beak, as the Corlueahio of 

 Vaillant (Merops cornieulatus, Shaw) : in these, " which constitute the Trojiidonjnchus of Swainson," the tongue is 

 pencillated as in the Philedons. 



The Lyre-tail {Marrmra, Shaw), — 

 The size of wliicb has occasioned some authors to range it among the Poidtry, pertains obviously to 

 the order of Passerinee, liaving the toes separated (excepting the outer and middle ones along the first 

 phalanx), and approximating the Thrushes by the form of its beak, which is triangular at base, 

 elongated, a little compressed, and notclied towards the tip ; the nostrils being large and membranous, 

 and in jiart covered Ijy reflected feathers, as in the Jays. Tlie great tail of the male is remarkable for 

 the tlirec sorts of feathers yvhicb compose it; namely, the twelve ordinary, with very fine and widely 

 separated barbs, two medial, each garnished on one side only with a vane, aiul two exterior, curved 

 like the letter S, or like the frame of a lyre, the internal barbs of \vhich, large and seiTated, resemble 

 a broad riband, whereas the external are very short, Icnglheniug only towards the tip. The female 

 has only twelve tail-feathers of the ordinary structure. 



This singular species {M. b/ra, Auct.) inhabits the rocky districts of New Holland ; its size is somewhat less 

 than that of a Pheasant. [It frequents the most retired parts of the cotmtry, and runs very fast upon the ground, 

 but its cumbrous tail is said to disable it from flying in a direct line, llie order of Birds to which it strictly 

 belongs issuthciently indicated by its being a songster. They are said to sing for a couple of hours in the morning, 

 beginning when they quit the valleys, till they attain the summit of a hill, where they scrape together a small 

 hillock, as they exhume the grubs on which they feed : on this they afterwards stand, with the tail spread over 

 them ; and in this situation imitate the notes of every bird within hearing, till after a while they return to the 

 low grounds.] 



The Slender-billed Passerin.-e (Mofac/lla, Lin.) — 

 Compose an excessively numerous family, characterized by tlie beak, winch is straight, slender, and 

 awi-shaped. When slightly depressed at the base, it approaches that of the Flycatchers ; and when 

 compressed and a little curved at the point, that of the straigbt-biUed Slirikes. Some endeavour has 

 been made to divide them as follows. 



Tnii Chats {SaxicrJa, Bechst.) — ■ 

 Have the beak a little depressed and rather wide at base, wiiich allies them to the last small tribe of 

 Flycatchers. They are lively birds, rather liigh upon the legs. The European species build on or 

 near the ground, and subsist on insects. [Tbey grade from the Rock-thrushes {Petrocincla), and like 

 them are remarkable for always perching on tire summits of objects. 



Three inhabit the British isles.] 



The Stone Chat {Mot. rubieoln, Lin.). — A small bird, [with a short tail ; black on the upper parts and throat in 

 summer, with a dark reddish breast, some white on the sides of the neck, wings, and tail ; the female browner : in 

 winter the black is more or less concealed by brown margins to the feathers ; and the young are at lirst speckled 

 with whitish. This species is resident throughout the year in Britain, and is common in furze-brakes and covert- 

 less situations. It has little song, which, as in the following, is often delivered on the wing. 



The others are summer-visitants, of rare occurrence in the winter months. 



The Whin Chat {Mot. riibctra, Lin.), resembles the last inform, and is more delicately coloured, with a conspi- 

 cuous white streak over the eye, and black patch on the cheek. It also inhabits furze -brakes, and is more gene- 

 rally diflused in grassy places than the Stone Chat : is a monotonous songster. 



The AVheatear Chat {Mot. ananthc, Lin.). — Larger than the preceding, with the crupper and basal half of the 

 tail-feathers conspicuously vvhite, the rest of the tail, wings chiefly, and a band through the eyes, black, and the 

 body fulvous : the female is browner, and the young spotted with whitish. This species inhabits still more open 

 situations, as chalk-downs and ploughed lields, and particularly the sea-shore. Its flesh is often eaten. 



There are numerous others]. 

 The Robin.s {Sylvia, "Wolf and Meyer; Ficedula, Bechstein ; [Dandaln.s, Boic ; Eubecula, Erchm • 



EnjthafnL'i, Swains.] ) — 

 Have the beak merely a Utile narrower at the base than the ])reccding. Tliey ajc solitary birds, «liich 

 generally nestle in holes, and liye on worms, insects, and berries. 



