Inches. 



Lines. 



. 1 



3 







10^ 



. 



4 







6 



. 



6 



MERULID/E. 191 



Dimensions 

 of the female. 



Inches. Lines. 



Length from the tip of the bill to the end of Length of the tarsus . . . 



the tail ...... 12 ,, of the middle toe 



„ of the tail .... 5 ,, of its claw .... 



„ of the folded wing ... 4 1^ „ of the hind toe 



„ of the bill along the ridge . . 1 1 „ of its claw .... 



„ of the bill from the angle of the mouth 1 4 



The male is said to have a brighter orange tint on its plumage, broader white 

 bands on the wing,, and larger liver-coloured spots on the breast. — R. 



The strong analogy which this and certain other species of Orpheus from South 

 America, bear to such forms as Pomatorhinus, in the next sub-family of Thrushes 

 (Cratopodince), is clearly indicated by the integrity of the bill, the upper mandible 

 being entirely destitute of a notch : this relation of analogy has consequently been 

 mistaken for one of affinity. Our Orpheus longirostris*, which is a true Mocking- 

 bird, in its surprising versatility of voice and powers of song, has lately been de- 

 scribed, by the authors of the Planches Coloriees, as a new species, and referred to 

 the genus Pomatorhinus ! Nothing is more satisfactory than to have our views thus 

 unintentionally confirmed, by those who are avowedly hostile to the very principles 

 upon which they are founded. The greater curvature of the bill in Orpheus longi- 

 rostris, is the only deviation it exhibits from the structure of 0. rufus ; the wings, 

 tail, feet, tarsi, scutellation, rictus, nostrils, every other part, in short, is pre- 

 cisely the same. This supposed Pomatorhinus, moreover, is the Mocking-bird of 

 Mexico; and, as the late Mr. Bullock, jun., informed us, is universally kept in 

 cages, and highly valued for the sweetness and extraordinary variety of its notes. 

 The genus Orpheus, like that of Merula, contains two most natural divisions ; 

 one having the throat and breast variegated by spots; the other destitute of these 

 markings ; the former, in the present group, is exemplified in 0. rufus, while the 

 latter, which is the pre-eminent typical form, is seen in 0. polyglottos and longi- 

 rostris. We do not consider the present bird as aberrant, otherwise than as 

 representing Merula in its own genus, in the same way as Orpheus meruloides, to all 

 appearance, typifies the Red-tailed Rock Thrushes (Petrocincla, Vig.) , a group 

 which we are disposed to consider as the Rasorial type of the family : again, we 

 find this type represented, in the genus Orpheus, by the African White-crowned 

 Thrushes with red tails ; and all these are indisputable types of the Redstart 



* Synopsis of the Birds of Mexico. Phil. Mag., June, 1827, No. 32, p. 368. 



