306 



MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 



[Chatterers. 



The term excubitor, or sentinel, was given to the 

 butcher-bird by Linnaeus, from its vigilance in 

 watching against hawks and other birds of that 

 tribe, whose approach it is ever the first to perceive, 

 uttering at the same time a querulous chattering, in- 

 dicative no doubt of fear and dislike. Hence on the 

 Continent it is used by persons engaged in the cap- 

 ture of the Peregrine falcon. The mode is thus 

 stated by Sir John Sebright, in his ' Observations 

 upon Hawking:" — The slight or Peregrine falcons, 

 he says, which are brought to this country in the 

 spring, to be used in flying herons, are caught in 

 the preceding autumn and winter on the heaths 

 near Falconsweard, as they pass towards the south 

 and east. These hawks are taken, he tells us, by 

 placing in a favourable situation a small bow net, 

 so arranged as to be drawn over quickly by a long 

 string that is attached to it. A pigeon of a light 

 colour is tied on the ground as a bait ; and the fal- 

 coner is concealed, at a convenient distance, in a 

 hut made of turf, to which the string reaches. A 

 butcher-bird (Lanius Excubitor), that is, the Warder 

 butcher-bird, from the look-out that he keeps for 

 the falcon, is tied on the ground near the. hut; and 

 two pieces of turf are so set up as to serve him as 

 well for a place of shelter from the weather as of 

 retreat from the falcon. The falconer employs him- 

 self in some sedentary occupation, relying upon the 

 vigilance of the butcher-bird to warn him of the 

 approach of a hawk. This he never fails to do, by 

 screaming loudly when he perceives his enemy at a 

 distance, and by running under the turf when the 

 hawk draws near. The falconer is thus prepaied 

 to pull the net the moment that the falcon has 

 pounced upon the pigeon. 



The nest is generally built on trees, and is framed 

 of grass-stalks, roots, and moss, with a lining of 

 down or wool. The eggs, from four to six, or, 

 according to Temminck, from five to seven, are 

 bluish or greyish-white, spotted on the larger end 

 with light brown and ash. 



The colouring of the adult male is as follows : — 

 Head, nape, and back fine bright ash ; a large 

 black band passing beneath the eyes and covering 

 the orifices of the ears ; lower part pure white ; 

 wings short, black ; origin of the quills and extremity 

 of the secondaries pure white,; two external tail- 

 feathers white ; the third black towards the centre, 

 the fourth terminated by a great white space, and 

 the fifth by a less extensive space ; the two middle 

 ones entirely black ; bill and feet deep black. 

 Length nine or ten inches. 



The young male resembles the female. 



Female : — Upper parts less bright ash ; lower 

 parts whitish, each breast-feather terminated by a 

 crescent of bright ash ; less white at the extremity 

 of the secondaries, and more black on the origin of 

 the tail-feathers. 



Total length, nine inches. 



1381. — Vigors 's Bush-Shrike 



(ThamnopJiilus Vigorsii). The birds of this genus 

 are natives of South America, and tenant wnoded 

 districts, lurking and prying among thick bushes 

 and underwood, in quest of reptiles, nestlings, small 

 birds, and mammalia; the beak is strong, and the 

 upper mandible curved at the tip ; the tarsi are 

 long ; and in one division of the genus the tail is 

 produced to a considerable extent beyond the wings. 

 To this belongs the Thamnophilus Vigorsii — a 

 species of large size and predatory habits. The 

 rounded wing and long tarsi indicate its adaptation 

 to the localities it frequents, while its robust and 

 hooked and compressed bill announces the nature 

 of its food. This species is about thirteen inches in 

 length : in the male, the back, wings, and tail are 

 black, broadly banded with fulvous, and the under 

 part of the body is of a dirty whitish brown ; on the 

 head is a rufous crest tinged with black at the 

 apex ; in the female the bands are whitish, the 

 crest blackish, and the under parts ash-colour. 



1382. — The Spotted Bush-Shrike 

 {Thamnophilus ncevius). This species is an example 

 of the division characterized by a comparatively 

 short and rounded tail. The general colour of the 

 spotted bush-shrike is black ; the back being ash- 

 coloured with dashes of white anteriorly ; the wings 

 are variegated also with white. The under parts 

 of the body are ash-coloured. The habits of this 

 bird much resemble those of the common butcher- 

 bird ; insects and small quadrupeds, &c. being its 

 prey. 



1383.— The Cayenne Shrike 

 (Psari» Cayanensis). Lanius Cayanus, Gmelin ; 

 Pie-grieche grise de Cayenne of Buffon. Bill large, 

 thick, subcylindrical ; tip abruptly bent, and notched. 

 Head large, and depressed ; wings long. The 

 examples of the genus Psaris (Cuvier) are all South 

 American ; the present species is common in Ca- 

 yenne, and, according to Cuvier, its manners are 

 those of our European butcher-bird. General colour, 

 fine ashy-grey; head, wings, and tail black. 



1384. — Cunningham's Shrike 

 {Gubenietes Cuminghami, Vigors). The manners 

 of this shrike resemble those of the preceding 

 species ; its flight is quick, and it preys upon large 

 insects. Mr. Vigors observes that this bird, which 

 he named after Colonel Cunningham of Rio Janeiro, 

 appears to have a considerable affinity to the genus 

 Psaris of Cuvier in the structure of its bill and wings, 

 but that it differs from it by other such essential 

 characters as to have induced him to place it in a 

 separate genus. 



General colour ash-grey, longitudinally lineated 

 with brown ; throat and rump white ; a pectoral 

 lunulate band of purplish-brown ; wings and tail 

 brownish-black. Quill feathers longitudinally banded 

 with ferruginous. 



1385. — The Common Piahav 



( Querula rubricollis) . Mr. Swainson observes that 

 by some of the Linnsean writers this remarkable bird 

 is classed as a Muscicapa; while by others, even 

 among the moderns, it is considered an Ampelis ; 

 and he thinks that both of these opinions may be 

 reconciled, by viewing it — as it stands in his arrange- 

 ment—as the connecting link between these fami- 

 lies. He remarks that all the other flycatchers, 

 according to his system, so far as we yet know, feed 

 entirely upon insects ; but there is unquestionable 

 testimony that this species lives also upon fruits, thus 

 uniting in itself the characteristic of the two families 

 which it connects. In the bill, he adds, there is 

 much of the form and strength of that of Psaris, but 

 it is wide and more depressed ; whilst the stiff 

 bristles at the rictus betray its insectivorous habit : 

 the feet are remarkably short for the size of the 

 bird, and are calculated only, like those of the Am- 

 pelidae, for perching. All these characters, in the 

 opinion of Mr. Swainson, not only point out this 

 genus as the flssirostral type, but perfect the union 

 of the families of Muscicapidse and Ampelidae. 



Looking at its affinity to Psaris, we venture to 

 place it, but with doubt, within the border-line of 

 the Laniadae. The Piahau, so called from its cry, 

 is a native of America, living in troops, in the 

 woods, and feeding on insects and fruits. Its gene- 

 ral colour is black, with a purple throat. It is the 

 Muscicapa rubricollis of Gmelin. 



Family CORACINLM. 



The birds of this family, termed Fruit-Crows by 

 Mr. Swainson, are regarded by that naturalist as 

 constituting a subfamily of the Corvidse (Crows). 

 Lesson and others place the birds in question among 

 the Chatterers (Ampelidae) ; and Cuvier, who places 

 them before the Ampelidae, or, as he calls them, 

 Cotingas, observes that they have certain links of 

 affinity to some of the Flycatchers. 



In their habits they appear to be arboreal, feeding 

 upon berries : the beak is depressed and smooth, 

 angular above ; slightly curved at the point, which 

 is minutely toothed; the lower mandible a little 

 flattened below. 



1386. The Scaled Fruit-Crow 

 (Coracina scutata). This beautiful bird is a native 

 of the forests of Brazil ; its general plumage is 

 glossy black, with the exception of the throat and 

 chest, which are of a fine rose-red. We have no 

 particular details of its habits. 



1387.— The Bald Fruit-Crow 

 (GpmiGcephalus calvus); Corvus calvus, Latham; 

 Capuchin Bald-head; Oiseau mon Pere of the 

 Creoles of Cayenne. This singular species, which 

 constitutes the type of the genus Gymnocephalus, 

 equals a crow in size ; it is of the colour of Spanish 

 snuff, or as some term it, a Capuchin colour, 

 whence the Creole name Oiseau mon Pere. The 

 quills and the tail-feathers are black. The whole 

 anterior part of the head is destitute of feathers; 

 and from this circumstance and the size of the beak, 

 the expression of the face, if the word face be 

 allowed, is very remarkable. Both.Le Vaillant and 

 Vieillot assert that it is not until the bird is adult 

 that the feathers of the head are lost, and that pre- 

 viously to this stage the whole is well covered, 

 whence the latter author, noticing that on this 

 account it has been compared to the rook, which 

 loses the feathers around the base of its bill, adds 

 that the comparison is just ; for, like the rook, it has 

 no part of the head naked until it has arrived at 

 complete maturity. Lesson, however, seems to 

 doubt the assertion of Vieillot, and states that he 

 saw twenty specimens at Rochefort, all of which 

 had the face bare of feathers; but it may be ob- 

 served that in all probability the birds were adult, 

 a point which Lesson seems to have disregarded. 

 Locality, Guiana, 



1388.— The Bare-necked Fruit-Crow 



(Gymnoderus fceiidus) : Col-nu, Buffon ; Corvus 

 nudus, Latham; Gracula nudicollis, Shaw; Gracula 

 fcelida, Linn. In size this bird equals a jackdaw, 



but the body is thick and fleshy ; the sides of the 

 neck are entirely naked, presenting only a few 

 traces of down. The upper part of the head, the 

 back of the neck and throat, are covered with small 

 close-set feathers, producing the appearance of 

 black velvet. The wing-coverts and edges of the 

 middle quill-feathers are of a bluish-grey ; the rest 

 of the plumage is black in the male, brownish- 

 black in the female. Native regions, Br^'il and 

 Guiana. 



1389. — The Umbrella-Bird 



(Ccphahpterus ornatus). This rare and beautiful 

 bird is distinguished by a crest of full outspreading 

 plumes which tower above its head and fall over 

 the beak, reminding us of the crest of a Grecian 

 helmet. From the upper part of the chest depends 

 a sort of pelerine or apron of square-edged feathers ; 

 the tail is graduated ; the bill is strong and robust ; 

 the whole of the plumage is jet-black, with rich 

 violet reflexions, especially on the crest and che c t 

 plumes. The umbrella-bird equals a jay in size, 

 but of its manners and habits nothing is known. It 

 is a native of Brazil, and the borders of the Amazon 

 and its tributary rivers. Lesson, indeed, in refer- 

 ence to the specimen in the Paris Museum, states 

 that though the belief was that it came from Brazil, 

 a well-informed Portuguese told him that it was 

 brought from Goa (Malabar). We hesitate not to 

 affirm that there is in this statement some mistake : 

 if brought from Goa, it was first taken there, and 

 thence to Lisbon, whence it was forwarded to M. 

 Geoffroy St. Hilaire. 



Family AMPEL1D/E (CHATTERERS). 



Bill stout, variable in length ; feet strong, the outer 

 toe united to the middle toe as far or beyond the 

 first joint. Food, chiefly berries. 



1390.— The Cock of the Rock 



(Rupicola aurantia); Rupicola Cayana, Swainson; 

 Rupicola elegans, Stephens; Rupicola croeea ; 

 Rock Manakin, In the genus Rupicola the bill is 

 moderate, robust, and vaulted above ; the nostrils 

 are oval, but hidden by an elevated fan-like crest, 

 which covers the top of the head ; the wings are 

 moderate and rounded ; the tail short and square. 



The Cock of the Rock is a native of South Ame- 

 rica, tenanting the rocky districts along the rivers of 

 Cayenne, Surinam, &c, and is probably to be found 

 along the river Amazon and most of its tributary 

 branches. Latham states that it is nowhere so fre- 

 quent as on the mountain Luca, near the river Oya- 

 pok, in Guiana, and on the mountain Courouraye, 

 near the river Aprouack, where it builds in ca- 

 vernous hollows and dark recesses : the nest is 

 made of twigs and dry herbage, and the eggs are 

 two in number, of a white colour, and are equal in 

 size to those of a pigeon. 



In its habits and manners this beautiful bird is 

 shy and recluse, resorting to silent glens and rocky 

 ravines, where it appears to pass an undisturbed 

 existence. Its flight is rapid ; its food consists of 

 berries and the smaller wild plants. Waterton in- 

 forms us that it is found in the woody mountains ot 

 Macousia, a tract on the Apourapoura — one of the 

 tributaries of the Essequibo from the south — and 

 inhabited by the Macoushi (or Macusi) Indians, 

 celebrated tor their skill in preparing the urari, or 

 deadly vegetable poison with which they smear the 

 points of their arrows. This bird, he says, retires to 

 hide in the daytime amongst, the darkest, rocks, and 

 comes out to feed only just before sunrise and at 

 the hour of sunset. Its disposition is gloomy and 

 unsocial, and it never joins company with other 

 birds of the forest. The Cock of the Rock is about 

 the size of a pigeon ; the general plumage is of a 

 blight orange yellow or rich saffron; a compressed 

 crest, like that of a Greek helmet, surmounts the 

 head, and is varied along the summit, with brown 

 and yellow. The secondary quill-feathers and the 

 tail-coverts are square, as if cut at the ends with a 

 pair of scissors. The feathers of the back and the 

 wing-coverts are elongated into loose flowing 

 plumes ; the tail is brown, tipped with yellow ; the 

 bill and tarsi rosy-white. The female is rather 

 smaller than the male, with a less elevated crest, 

 and of a uniform bistre brown. No living specimen, 

 as far as we are aware, has ever been brought to 

 Europe. 



1391.— The Peruvian Cock of the Rock 



(Rupicola Peruviana) ; Chiachia lacca of the Mex- 

 icans. This bird appears to be a native of the inte- 

 rior of Peru and Mexico, and specimens have been 

 brought to Europe from Lima. For some time this 

 species was regarded as a variety of the Rupicola 

 aurantia, from which however it is perfectly dis- 

 tinct, being a larger bird, with a longer tail in pro 

 portion. Its crest is not compressed, nor are the 

 feathers of the back and wing-coverts plumose and 

 filiform, as in the former species. It differs also m 

 colouring. The general tint is bright orange, but 



