PASSERIN.E. 



205 



Fig. 94.— Sternum of Roller. 



Tlieir anatomy offers some peculiarities ^^hich connect them ^vith the Kingfishers and Wood- 

 peckers; the sternum {fi^. 94) is douhly emarginated, they liave but one pair of laryngeal muscles, 

 and the stoniaeli is membranous ; [they have also uo ctcea to the intestine. In every essential par- 

 tieidar they thus accord with the Kingfishers and Bee-eaters, Avith which they form a special natural 

 group, all the niemhers of which take their food commonly on tlie wing, lay numerous polished 

 white eggs, of an almost spherical shape, in holes of some description, collecting no nest, the young 



retaining their first plumage, which is little less bright than that 

 of the adult, until the second autumn : the whole of them subsist 

 exclusively on animal diet]. 



The Rollers;, properly so called, — 

 Have a straight beak, higher than broad, [and comparatively 

 elongated]. 



There is one in Europe (C. garrula, LJn.). — Vivid sea-green, -with red- 

 disli-falvous back and scapularies ; some pure blue at the beiul of tlie 

 win^; and size about equal to that of a Jay. It is a very wild bird, 

 thou,2:-h social with its own kind; noisy; which nestk.'s in the hole:^ of 

 trees in the forests, and leaves at the approach of winter. It feeds on 

 worms, insects, and small Frogs. Some have tlie exterior tail-feathers 

 elong-ated, [as in the common Swallow ; and there is one species, inhabit- 

 inc; South Africa, which is stated to perch and watch for prey on the 

 horn of the Rhinoceros, giving notice to that animal of the approach of 

 the hunter]. 



The Rolles (Colaris, Cuv., Eurystomus, Vieillot), 

 Ditfer from the preceding by having a shorter and more arcuated bill, and particularly by its being 

 widened at the base, which is broader than high. 



[The species are less numerous ; and there is one inhabiting: Australia.] 



The Birds-of-Paradise {Paradiscpa, Lin.), 

 Have a straight, compressed, stout, and unemarginated beak, with covered nostrils, as in the Crows ; 

 but the influence of the climate they inhabit, which extends to birds of several other genera [so far 

 as the beak is concerned], imparts a velvety texture, and frequently also a metallic gloss, to those fea- 

 thers wdiich overlie the nostrils, while the plumage of various other parts acquires a singular develope- 

 ment. These birds are indigenous to New Guinea and the neighbouring islands. From the mode in 

 which the specimens brought to Europe are prepared by the savages of those countries, it was for- 

 merly thought tl)at they were quite destitute of limbs, and supported themselves entirely by their airy 

 plumes. It is said that they live on fruits, and are particularly fond of aromatics. [They also subsist 

 largely upon insects.] 



Some of them have thinly-barbed feathers on the flanks, [or rather shoulder-tufts, which cover the closed 

 winq-,] inordinately prolonged, so as to form immense tufts, that extend far backward beyond the body; there 

 are also two [generally] barbless tilaments [the uropygials] attached to the rump, which are even more elongated 

 than the aiiy lateral plumes. Such are 



The Emerald Bird-of-Paradise (P. opoda, Lin.), which is the most anciently known species ; and the Red (P. mhra, 

 Vaillant). These compose the Samalla of Vieillot. [They are large bii'ds, much more so than the contracted 

 skins brought to Europe, which are evidently shrunk by the application of great heat, would lead to tuppose : it 

 is only in such specimens that the wings and legs appear disproportionately large.] 



Others have the same long filaments, but their lateral tufts, though still elongated, do not extend past the tail. As 



The Kingr Bird-of-Paradise {P. regia, Cincinnunis reyins^ Vieillot), and the Magnificent B. (P. inagnif\i:i(^ Sonne- 

 rat), [which are very distinct, generically, from the preceding]. 



Some have the thinly-webbed feathers on the flanks, but they are short, and the filaments on the rnrap are 

 wantin!?:, ns 



The Six-stemmed B. (P. aiirea, Gm. ; P. se.rsctacea, Shaw), with a golden-2:rcen spot on t]ie throat, and three 

 long filaments proceeding from each ear, which are terminated by a small disk of barbs of the same colour. It 

 constitutes the Parotia of Vieillot. 



Lastly, there are some with neither elongated filaments nor lateral tufts (the Lophorbia, Vieillot), as 



The Sujierb B. (P. snpcrOa, Sonnerat), and the Golden B. (P. aurea, Shaw; Oriolus aureus, Gmelin), [which 

 last is congenerous with the Australian Regent-bird, and therefore a Scriculus.'] 



The fourth fainilv of the FosseriiKS, or that of 



