PASSERES. 



389 



The Wryneck {Yunx tnrquilla) is allied to the Woodpeckers, 

 and makes its nest in a hole formed in a tree like the other 

 Woodpeckers. Its food consists mainly of insects, which it 

 licks off by means of its long extensile tongue covered with a 

 glutinous saliva. 



14. Passeres or Passeriformes. 



Pig. 194. — Foot of Passerinr Bird (Wagtail). 



The last remaining group includes the majority of our birds. 

 They have fourteen or fifteen cervical vertebrae, and the second, 

 third, and fourth toes are always turned forward. The brain 

 is more fully developed 

 than in other birds, and 

 the organ of voice is 

 most highly organised. 

 The chief families are 

 the Larks (Alaudidce), 

 the Eooks, &c. (Cor- 

 vidce), the Starlings 

 {Stumtdce), the Finches I^Fringillidce), the Wagtails [Mota- 

 cilUdce), the Flycatchers (Muscicajiidce), the Tits [Paridce), the 

 Swallows (HirundinidcB), the Turdidai or Warblers [Sylviince), 

 and the Thrushes (Turdinai). 



All these Passeriformes or Perching Birds have thin legs, and 

 the males are usually more brilliantly coloured than the females. 

 The young are nestlings, and are quite blind when hatched, 

 being fed by the parents. Both cock and hen take a share of 

 incubation. Their food and habits, as we shall see, are both 

 very varied. 



