LANIAD.E. 133 



touching- the confines of the true Laniadw, which cannot be satisfactorily filled up 

 by any bird we know of. The only one which betrays a sufficient departure from 

 its type to justify an opinion of its close relation to Lanius is the common Tyrannus 

 sulpkuratus, or Bentivi*, of Brazil. But the lengthened bill of this bird, viewed 

 in its supposed connexion with Tyrannus and Lanius, appears perfectly anomalous ; 

 for as this member in the Tyrannince is usually short, or at least moderate, and 

 in Lanius is still shorter, so we should expect to find in a bird which really con- 

 nected these groups, that the bill would have an intermediate length, or at least 

 not be prolonged more than that of any one bird in the two sub-families. That 

 the Bentivi, however, makes the nearest approach to Lanius of any bird yet disco- 

 vered, is, we think, sufficiently evident ; not only from its greatly-compressed bill, 

 but by feeding upon reptiles, and thus becoming partly carnivorous. We have 

 more than once taken from the stomach of this species lizards in an entire state, 

 sufficiently large to excite surprise how they could possibly have been swallowed 

 by the bird. Azara likewise says, " Les Bientiveos " (by which name this bird 

 is also known in Brazil) " s' appro client des animaux morts pour semparer des debris 

 et des petit s morceaux de chaif que laissent les Caracaras, ,, &c. This, indeed, we 

 never witnessed, but we can well believe the fact ; not merely on the high authority 

 of such an observer as Azara, but as being supported by a peculiar structure in 

 the bird : its claws, unlike those of all other Tyrants, are but slightly curved ; thus 

 enabling the bird, when so engaged, to walk without difficulty upon the ground. 



The length of the bill is, then, the only peculiarity in the Bentivi, which appears 

 anomalous ; nor can it, we apprehend, be explained in any other way than by com- 

 paring it with the bills of certain Madagascar Shrikes, closely related to Tephro- 

 dornis, which group, be it remembered, stands on the confines of the Edolianw. 

 In all these birds the prolongation of the bill, and its general form, are so much 

 the same, that it is impossible to deny an apparent relationship between them ; 

 nor do we hesitate in expressing our opinion, that the affinity which Saurophagus 

 bears to Tephrodornis is to the full as great, if not greater, than that between 

 Saurophagus and any form yet discovered among the Laniance. 



That the Bentivi of itself is sufficient to prove the union of the three aberrant 

 groups of the Laniadm must not, however, be inferred, any more than that it 

 actually connects the Tyrannince with the Lanianm ; but that it exhibits, both in 



* The striking dissimilarity between this bird and the true Tyrants induced us, some years ago, to detach it from 

 that group as a sub-genus, under the name of Pitangus, associating with it the broad-billed Lanius pitangua of Linnaean 

 authors. Much doubt, however, seems to hang over the true affinities of this latter bird ; and the above name, thus 

 rendered doubly objectionable, we propose to amend by substituting that of Saurophagus. Another typical species has 

 recently come into our possession. — Sw. 



