CiEREBINiE. 



These birds are found in pairs, or in small troops on the highest branches of the lofty trees of the South American 

 forests, principally when they are in flower. The nests are formed on the summit of the isolated trees. 



1. D. cayanus (Linn.) Cuv. PI. enl. 669-, Vieill. Gal. des Ois. 

 t. 165. 



2. D. cyanocephalus (Linn.) D'Orb. Swains. Zool. Illustr. ii. pi, 

 117. — Dacnis cyanater Less. ; Ca^reba cferulea Vieill. 



3. D. plumbeus (Lath.) Cabanis. 



4. D. flaviventer D'Orb. Voy. dans l'Amer. Merid. Ois. t. 13. 

 f. 2. 



5. D. bicolor Boekl. Mem. Mosc. vii. pi. 28. 



6. D. brasilianus (Gmel.) Briss. Orn. iii. t. 32. f. 4. 



7. D. spiza (Linn.) Seba, ii. t. 3. f. 4. 



8. D. atricapillus (Vieill,) — Certhia spiza var. /3 Lath. ; Merops 

 spiza Men: Ic. Av. t. 5., PI. enl. 578. f. 2., Vieill. Ois. dore's, t. 49., 

 PI. enl. 578. f. 1. 682. f. 1., Edwards's Birds, pi. 348.; Nectarinia 

 mitrata Licht. 



9. D. analis D'Orb. & Lafr. Syn. Av.p. 21. 



Conirostrum Z)' Orb. fy Lafr.* 

 Bill short, acutely conical, with the culmen and the gonys straight to the tip ; the base rather broad, 

 and much compressed on the sides ; the nostrils basal, lateral, with the opening linear, and covered by a 

 hard scale, which is partly clothed with minute plumes. Wings long, with the first quill spurious, and the 

 second nearly as long as the third and fourth, which are the longest. Tail long, and slightly 

 emarginated. Tarsi as long as the middle toe, and covered by broad scales. Toes moderate, slender, 

 with the lateral ones nearly equal ; the hind toe long, and rather strong ; the claws long and curved. 

 The species are found in the tropical parts of South America. 



1. C. cinereum D'Orb. & Lafr. Syn. Av. p. 25. Voy. dans l'Amer. i 3. C. sitticolor Lafr. Rev. Zool. 1842. p. 102. 

 Merid. Ois. t. 59. f. 2. 4. C. superciliosum Hartl. Rev. Zool. 1844. p. 215. 



2. C. albifrons Lafr. Rev. Zool. 1842. p. 102., Mag. de Zool. 

 1843. Ois. t. 35. 



Certhiola Sundev.f 



Bill moderate, broad at the base ; the sides much compressed, and the culmen curved towards the 



tip, which is acute; the gonys lengthened, angulated, and arched to the acute tip ; the nostrils lateral, 



basal, lunulate, and covered by a membranous scale. Wings moderate, with the first quill spurious, and 



the second shorter than the third and fourth. Tail moderate and rounded. Tarsi longer than the 



middle toe, and broadly scutellated. Toes moderate, with the lateral ones unequal, the outer the 



longest ; the claws moderate and curved. 



The typical species is found in the warmer parts of South America, and in the islands of the West Indies, especially 

 in places that abound with flowering plants and insects. It is usually seen searching the flowers, and extracting from them 

 the minute insects and nectar, by means of its feathered tongue. It may be observed sitting immoveable on a branch, 

 repeating for whole hours its monotonous notes, which, however, are rather pleasing. It suspends its nest from the 

 ends of the flexible branches, especially from those that hang over the middle of the streams, in the form of an ostrich's 

 egg, and composed of moss and dried grass exteriorly, and of cotton and the down of plants interiorly. The entrance 

 is on the under side, which faces the water ; the interior is divided into two compartments, one portion forming an 

 entry for the bird to the larger division. It is in this latter on the lower surface that the female deposits her eggs, 

 which are thus protected from the attacks of insects, snakes, and reptiles, that would otherwise feed on them. 



C.flaveola (Linn.) Sundev. Edwards's Birds, pi. 122. pi. 362. | Carls, t. 57. Zool. Illustr. ii. pi. 142.; Nectarinia antillensis 

 f. 2., Catesby's Car. pi. 59 Certhia bartholemica Sparrm. Mus. | Less. 



* Established by M. D'Orbigny and Baron Lafresnaye in 1842 (Synopsis Avium, Mag. de Zool. 1842, p. 25.) 

 t Established by M. Sundevall in 1835 (Vet, Acad. Handl. 1835, p. 99-) 



January, 1846. 

 4 A 



