462 Vertebrata. 



connected with that of the fore toes^ though in the Oscines it is 

 independent. The contour feathers of the wing are small and few in 

 number. In the majority the back of the metatarsus is almost covered 

 by two long, narrow plates, instead of being scutellate. At the lower 

 end of the trachea there are generally several small muscles, which are 

 absent from other forms (singing muscles) . The nest is often rather 

 ingenious in construction. The Oscines feed, for the most part, upon 

 grain, berries, or Insects. 



1. Turdiformes. Beak usually straight or sliglitly oui-ved at the tip, often 

 with a marginal notch in. front ; nares basal. 



(a.) Singers (Sylviadse). Beak somewhat feeble, compressed, of medium 

 length with a shallow notch : small or medium-sized some of them noted 

 singers : feeding upon Insects and berries. The following EngUsh Birds, among 

 others, belong here : many of the Turdidx ; Blackbird: {Tnvdus merula) ; the 

 Ring Ouzel (T. tor quatus), the Song Thrush (T. musicus), etc. The 

 Common Dipper (Cinclus aquaticus), almost the same size as the 

 Thrushes, dives into running water; a sedentary Bird; the Nightingale 

 {Luscinia pMlomela) ; and the Redbreast {L. rubecola) ; the Redstart 

 (Rutioilla) ; the "Wheatear (Saxicola) ; the genus Sylvia (Sedge Warblers, 

 Reed Warblers, and Willow Warblers) dainty Httle forms, usually inconspicuous 

 in colour. The Gold-crested Regulus {Begulusj, and the Wrens, 

 {Troglodytes parvulus) the smallest British Birds. The Wagtails (Motacilla) 

 with long dipping tail, near small pieces of water. The Pipit (AntJius) with 

 long hind claw, like the Larks. 



(b) Shrikes (Laniadse) differ from the Sylviadae in the strong beak, at the 

 edge of which is a dentiform process on either side just within the cui-ved tip. 

 They catch Insects and small Vertebrates and spike them on thorns. Several 

 species occur in Europe, the largest, the Great Grey Shrike or Butcher- 

 bird {Lanius excubitor), which is as big as a Thrush, is occasionally met with in 

 England. 



(c) The Tits {Faridx) small, with soft plumage ; the beak is short, fairly 

 thick, straight, and without a notch ; the nares covered by bristles. Insect- 

 eaters, which breed chiefly in hollow trees and such places. Amongst Enghsh 

 forms are the Great Tit (Parus major), the Blue Tit (P. oceruleus), the 

 Long-tailed Tit {P. caudaius), etc. 



(d) The Fly-catchers {Muscicapidx) have short, straight, flattened 

 beaks, broad at the base and with stiff bristles at the root. The Spotted 

 Fly-catcher (M. grisola) is a seasonal visitor to England ; two other species 

 are occasionally met with. 



(e) The Bohemian Waxwing {Ampelis ga/rrulus) has a rather short 

 beak somewhat broad at the base, and soft plumage. The most remarkable 

 peouUaiity of these creatures is that on the remiges, and sometimes also the reotrices, 

 some of the branches have united with the tip of the shaft to form a spatulate 

 lamina. They breed in Scandinavia, but in the winter occur in great numbers on 

 the continent and occasionally visit England. To an allied group belongs the 

 Golden Oriole (Oriolus galbula), which is of a beautiful yellow, of the size 

 of a thrush ; rare in Britain. 



2. Conirostres. Beak short, thick, and conical, with nares high up. The 

 food consists chiefly of seeds, but the young ones are fed upon Insects. 



(a) Finches (Fringilla), beak thick, without a hooked tip; the Haw- 

 finch (F. coccothraustes), the large EngUsh Finch, beak extraordinarily thick 

 and strong; the Chaffinch {F. coelebs) ; the Mountain Finch (F. monti- 



