206 AVES. 



The Tenuirostres, — 

 Comprehends the remninder of this hr.st ihvisiovi ; the Birds composing; it heiiig distinguished 

 by a slender, elongated, sometimes straight and sometimes curved bill, devoid of emargiua- 

 tion. They bear the same relation to the Conirostres 'vvhicb the Bec-Jins do to the other 



Denliros/res. 



TnE Nuthatches (SiUa, Lin.), — 

 Have a straight, prismatic, })(iiiitcd beak, cnniprebsed towards the tip, ■\vhioh they cmiiloy like the 

 Woodpeckers to perforate the liark of trees, [and particularly to scale it ofl'], to get at their insect- 

 food ; and althougli they climb in every direction, they have only one toe directed liackward, uhich is 

 certainly very strong. Their tail is of no u^u in supporting them, as in tlie Woodpeckers and Tree- 

 creepers. [Thfise bii'ds also feed largely on various seeds, and are celeljrateil for the instinct of hxing 

 a nut in a chink, while they pierce it with the bill, swinging the whole body as upon a pivot, to give 

 errect to each strolvC. They lay up stores of food, like the Tits. 



Of several species, three inhabit Europe, and one the British Isles, ■which is not uncommon (.S'. curopcea, Lin.). — 

 Ash-s:rey aliove, yellowish beneath, Avith dark rufous flanks and under tail-coverts, the latter spotted with white ; 

 a black streiik tbroug-h the eye, and round \vhile spots on the tail-feathers; size, that of a Robin. Its note is 

 remarkably loud, and disposition fearless.] 



The Xicnops, Illiger, — 

 Have merely the beak ratlier more compressed, and its inferior ridge more convex. 



The Anabates, Temminck, — 

 Have, on the contrary, the superior ridge a little convex, almost like the beak of a Thrush, without 

 emargination. The tail is long and wedge-shaped, and occasionally worn, which intimates that it is 

 employed for sustension. In 



The Synallaxis, Vieillot, — 

 The beak is straight, lujt mnch elongated, slender, and pointed ; the tail-featbers are generally long 

 aud sharp. There are even some of them in whieh the shafts of those feathers are stout, and pro- 

 longed bcyi)))d the barbs. 



The Creepers [Cerihia, Lin.) — • 

 Have an arcuated bill, but little else in conimon. We subdivide them first into 



The Tree-creepers [Ccrthia, Cuv.), — 

 So named from their habit of traversing the hnles of trees, in the manner of the Woorlpcckers, [that 

 is, in an ascending direction only], their tail, which terminates in sluidar stitf points, serving to sup- 

 poi't them. 



There is fine in Europe, tlie European Tree-creeper (T. /'n«;//f7r/j-, Lin,)- a diminuti\-e species, reiblisb-brown 

 above, speekled with whitidi, inclinint;: to ferrui;innijs on the rump, and pure glistenins: white underneath. It 

 nestles in the holes of trees, and ascends their tiamks with rapidity, searehinj;; for the insects and larvte concealed 

 in their chinks, and amonj^ the musses aud lichens. [Is very common throui;:hout Britain], 



America produces some true Creepers of comparatively large size, which have been termed 



Dendrocolaptes, Hermann. 

 Their tad is the same, but the beak is mucli stronger and wider. 



There is even one of them which aiiproaches the Nuthatches in its siraight and compressed beak: it might be 

 taken for a Nuthatch with a worn tail {Oriolus picus, Gra. and Lath.; Gracula picoldes, Shaw; or Dendr. 

 giittntus, Spix). 



The beak of another, twice as loni!; as the he-'id, is nrched only towards the tip (/c ynsican of Vaillant). That of 

 a third is loni,% sleutler, and as much arcuated as in Mt'lithrrjilns. 



The Tichodromes {T/c/iodronm, Hliger), 

 Or Wall-creepers, do not lean upon the tail, although they creep up walls and rocks as the preceding 

 do the trunks of trees, but they chng to them with their strong claws. Their beak is triangular and 

 de))ressed at its base, very long and slender. [They moult twnce in the year.] 



One only is known, an inhabitant of the south of Europe {Certhia muraria, Lin.). It is a handsome bird of a 

 iiirht ash-colour, with some briL^ht reil on the wini;-s. Throat of the male black [in summer. The alRnities of 

 this curious little bird arc not obvious]. 



The Honey-suckers (Necfarinea, Illiger) — ■ 

 Neither use the tail, nor indeed climb, allhough their beak, of medium length, arched, pointed, and 

 compressed, resembles that of the Tree-creepers. All of them arc foreign. 



