PERCHINO-BIRDS. 



109 



The numerous genera of the Formicariina are difiScult to define, and 

 merge into one another. The larger species have a Thrush-like aspect, 

 while the smaller and more delicate forms have more the appearance of 

 Warblers and Wrens, and all spend the greater part of their lives on 

 the ground. Pithys albifrons (1598) is remarkable for its crested head 

 and lengthened throat-feathers. 



The Grallariina (1606-9) are easily recognised by their long legs and 

 short tail. They are entirely terrestrial in their habits, and resemble 

 the Pittas in form and the Ground-Thrushes in their style of coloration. 



Family IV. DENDROcoLAPTiDiE. Wood-Heweks. 



The Wood-Hewers form another large and typical South-American [Case 68.] 

 group, including about 280 species of birds of small size. They are 

 dull-coloured, the prevailing tint of the plumage being brown, while 

 in a large proportion of the species the tail is uniform chestnut. 

 Five subfamilies are recognised, the Dendrocolaptince and Sclerurirue 

 being characterised by the stilf spiny shafts of the tail-feathers and by 

 having the outer toe more or less connected with the middle toe, while 

 in the Philydorinte, SynallaxiruB, and Furnai-iince the shafts of the tail- 

 feathers are soft or not very spinous and the outer toe is free. 



The subfamily Dendrocolaptinm includes a number of scansorial 

 species resembling Woodpeckers and Tree-creepers in outward appear- 

 ance as well as in their habits. Their short legs and large feet armed 

 with sharp claws and their stiff spiny tails enable them to run up the 

 stems of the tree-trunks in search of insects, and their white eggs are 

 deposited in holes. The larger forms, such as Xiphocolapies major 

 (1610), Nasica longirostris (1612), and Dendroplex picus (1621), with 

 its straight pointed bill, are very like Woodpeckers ; while Xiphorhynchiis 

 procurvus (1614) and X trochilirostris (1615), with their long, slender, 

 curved bills, are typical of the Creeper-like forms, and Glyphorhynchus 

 cuneatus (1616 a), with its short, stout, upturned bill, has more the 

 appearance of a Nuthatch. 



The second subfamily, Sclerurince, includes half a dozen spiny-tailed 

 species of the genus /ScZerwrM* (1617), with somewhat longer legs and 

 terrestrial habits. 



Of the Philydorinm, which include a number of bush-hauntiug forms, 

 we may call special attention to the " Firewood Gatherer " [Anumbius 

 acuticaudatus) (1 652), shewn with its nest on the floor of the Case. The 

 nest is a bulky structure built of sticks, with an entrance at the top and 

 a spiral passage leading down to the nesting chamber, which is lined 

 with grass and usually contains five white eggs. It is generally placed 

 on isolated trees, but sometimes, as in the present instance, the cross- 

 arms of a telegraph-post are selected as a site, which greatly interferes 



