142 NATCEAL HISTOKT. 



Fig. lis. — Goatsncker. 



•which they do, passing rapidly through the air with open 

 mouth, as in the representation of the Goatsucker. The 

 Swallows and Kingfishers-belong to this group. /j,j,i><i^^ 



"V^T! now go on to notice th^e groups, giving some .few 

 specimens of each. ) "St^ ' '-^-\^ 



^C 237.^he principal food of most of the Cone -billed 

 Perchers consists of seeds and grains. Hence the need 

 of the stout cone-shaped beak to pick out the seeds and • 

 to crush them. The chief families of this group are the 

 Finches, Crows, Starlings', Birds of Paradise, Cross-bills, 

 and Horn-bills. Most of these birds are more or less do- 

 mesticable, and some of them are capable of considerable 

 education. 



238. The Finches are a very extensive family, includ- 

 ing the Larks, Sparrows, Grosbeaks, Buntings, Linnets, 

 etc. None of them are of large size, and some of them 

 are very small. They have a marked general resem- 

 blance to each other in appearance and habits. They 

 tenant fields, groves, hedgerows, and woodlands, feeding 

 chiefly on grains and seeds, and occasionally upon in- 

 sects. Many of them are great songsters. They are 



