Thrushes.] 



MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 



327 



himself around the cage in all the ecstasy of enthu- 

 siasm, seeming not only to sing but to dance, keep- 

 ing time to the measure of his own music. Both 

 in his native and domesticated state, during the 

 stillness of the night, as soon as the moon rises, he 

 begins his delightful solo, making the whole neigh- 

 bourhood resound with his inimitable medley. 



The mocking-bird is frequently taken in trap- 

 cages, and, by proper management, may be made 

 sufficiently tame to sing. The usual price of a sing- 

 ing-bird is from seven to -fifteen, and even twenty 

 dollars. Mr. Wilson has known fifty dollars paid 

 for a remarkably fine singer ; and one instance 

 where one hundred dollars were refused for a still 

 more extraordinary one. Attempts have been made 

 to induce these charming birds to pair and rear their 

 young in a state of confinement, and the result has 

 been such as to prove it, by proper management, 

 perfectly practicable. 



The mocking-bird is about nine inches and a half 

 long. The general colour of all the upper parts is 

 a dark-brownish ash. The quill-feathers and coverts 

 are brownish-black, the former white at their base, 

 and covered there by the white feathers of the 

 spurious wing, which have a black spot at the tips ; 

 the latter slightly tipped with white. The two 

 middle tail-feathers dusky black, the rest more or 

 less extensively white on their inner vane, except 

 "the outermost on each side, which is wholly white ; 

 under parts generally pale-greyish brown : iris-yel- 

 low, inclining to a pale gold-colour. Bill and legs 

 black. The plumage of the female is duller than 

 that of the male. 



The genus Orpheus approaches closely to Merula, 

 but the bill is more curved, the notch obsolete, the 

 wings rounded, and the tail lengthened and gra- 

 duated. 



1473. — The Chestnut-capped Timalia 

 ( Timalia pileata). In the genus Timalia the bill is 

 strong, deep, and compressed ; the wings are short 

 and rounded; the tail elongated and graduated j 

 the feet large and robust ; the hind claw much 

 developed. 



Dr. Horsfield states that a peculiar character is 

 exhibited to both the species of Timalia recorded 

 by him in the structure of the plumes, which cover 

 the back and the upper parts of the neck, as well 

 as the breast, belly, and thighs. He remarks that 

 the separate filaments ( radii of Illiger), which con- 

 stitute the vanes or webs of those plumes, are not 

 in close contact, as is generally the case, but being 

 inserted into the shaft at a small distance from each 

 other, they diverge with perfect regularity. " The 

 parts which they cover," says Dr. Horsfield in con- 

 tinuation, "are accordingly marked with delicate 

 parallel lines, and wherever several plumes lie over 

 each other, they form a beautiful reticulation. On 

 the posterior part of the abdomen and the thighs, 

 the plumes have a similar structure ; but the fila- 

 ments are greatly elongated and pendulous, so as 

 to envelop those parts with a lax plumose cover- 

 ing, which, on near inspection, appears covered 

 with delicate hairs. This appearance is produced 

 by a series of very minute parallel villi, on each of 

 the separate filaments, arranged with great regu- 

 larity and beauty," 



We learn from the same authority that the chest- 

 nut-capped Timalia is not unfrequent in the groves 

 and small woods which abound throughout Java. 

 It often approaches villages and plantations, con- 

 structing its nest in the hedges, and he speaks of 

 it as one of the social birds that delight to dwell in 

 the vicinity of cultivation. In large forests he did 

 not notice it. He describes its flight as low and 

 interrupted, and adds that wherever it resides it is 

 a welcome neighbour, in consequence of the pecu- 

 liarity and pleasantness of its note, which consists 

 of a slow repetition of the five tones of the diatonic 

 scale (c, J), e, f, g), which it chants with perfect 

 regularity, several times in succession, and at small 

 intervals of time. Dr. Horsfield further remarked 

 that the sixth tone was sometimes added ; but as 

 this required apparently an extraordinary effort, it 

 was by no means so agreeable to a musical ear as 

 a simple repetition of the five notes, which ap- 

 peared to be the_ natural compass of the bird's 

 organs. (' Zoological Researches in Java.') 



This bird is rather stoutly made. General colour 

 above, brown with an olivaceous tint ; underneath 

 testaceous inclining to grey. Head capped with 

 saturated chestnut. Throat and cheeks white. 

 Breast white, inclining to grey, marked with in- 

 tensely black stripes by the shafts of the plumes. 

 A narrow Avhite band commences at the forehead, 

 near the base of the bill, passes backward, encircles 

 the eye, and unites with the white plumes of the 

 cheeks. Bill black; feet brown. 



1474. — The Giant Breve 

 (Pitta Gigas). Under the name of Myiotherse, Illi- 

 ger and Cuvier have united several genera com- 

 posing the Breves of Buffon, and the Ant-Thrushes 



properly so called. These breves are remarkable 

 for the vivid and strongly-contrasted hues of their 

 plumage, for the length of the legs, and the short- 

 ness of the semi-erect tail. They are only found 

 in India and the adjacent islands, and Australia, 

 whilst the ant-thrushes belong to the New World 

 as well as the Old. The breves have the gradually- 

 curved bill of the true thrushes, but much~stronger : 

 the wings are short, and the powers of flight feeble. 

 The predominant colour is metallic green,variegated 

 with azure-blue, scarlet, and black ; and some" spe- 

 cies with a hood of the latter tint appear to be 

 confined to Aiistralia, and the neighbouring islands 

 of the Indian seas. To the breves is allied the genus 

 termed Chlorosoma of Swainson (called by some 

 writers by the barbarous and unmeaning name of 

 Kitta), notwithstanding the greater comparative 

 length of the tail, and its graduated form. The-ant 

 thrushes, principally confined to tropical America, 

 represent the breves in that portion of the world, 

 but differ from those splendid birds in having an 

 abruptly-hooked and strongly-toothed bill, and so- 

 berly-coloured plumage. 



The utility of the ant-thrushes in their native re- 

 gions is thus commented upon by Mr. Swainson : — 

 "Of all the tribes of insects which swarm in the 

 tropics, the ants are the most numerous ; they are 

 the universal devastators, and in the dry and over- 

 grown forests of the interior the traveller can scarcely 

 proceed five paces without treading upon their nests. 

 To keep these myriads within due limits, a wise Pro- 

 vidence has called into existence the ant-thrushes, 

 and has given to them this particular food. Both 

 are proportionate in their geographic range, for 

 beyond the tropical latitudes the ants suddenly 

 decrease, and their enemies, the Myiotherse, totally 

 disappear. As a general distinction by which this 

 family may be known from the bush-shrikes, we may 

 mention the difference in the feet, — the structure of 

 one being adapted for walking, while that of the 

 other is more suited for perching. The ant-thrushes 

 are very locally distributed ; for, although the group 

 is tropica], we frequently found that a particular 

 species, very common in one forest, was replaced in 

 another by a second ; while a third locality in the 

 same district would present us with still another 

 kind, different from those we had previously found. 

 Cayenne and Surinam, in like manner, furnish us 

 with many species totally unknown in the forests of 

 Brazil." 



To return to Pitta. We select, as an example, 

 Pitta Gigas, Breve Geant, or Giant Pitta, 



This species in size is equal to a magpie, but the 

 tail is short and squared, and the wings cover it en- 

 tirely. A very brilliant azure blue covers the back, 

 the scapulars, the rump and tail ; a less vivid tint is 

 spread over the wings, the quills of which are black, 

 coloured with azure towards the tips ; summit of the 

 head, nape, and demi-collar of the lower part of the 

 neck black ; feathers of the front and eyebrows 

 ashy brown ; throat whitish : an ashy-brown tint is 

 spread over all the lower parts ; the feet are very 

 long and of a horny ash-colour. Total length nine 

 inches. 



Locality — Sumatra. (Temm.) 



1475. — The Sea-green Piroll 

 (Chlorosoma thalassinuin) . Kitta thalassina, Piroll 

 thalassina of Temminck. This gorgeous bird is a 

 native of Java and Sumatra. The greater part of the 

 plumage is very brilliant celadon-green: a velvety 

 black band springs at the angle of the bill, passes 

 backwards so as to include the eye, and surrounds 

 the occiput ; tail deep tarnished green ; wings red- 

 dish, but the three or four secondary feathers nearest 

 the body are opaline bluish ash ; iris, bill, and feet 

 very bright vermilion red. Total length, eleven 

 inches two or three lines. The male and female 

 have nearly the same livery. 



The young of the year differ in the colour of their 

 bill and feet, which are black ; in that of the wings, 

 which is a tarnished rusty red ; and in the very clear 

 blue, which is nearly whitish, of all the rest of the 

 plumage. This blue tint is more vivid in middle 

 age, and passes by degrees from bright azure blue 

 to celadon-green. Individuals during moult have 

 the plumage varied, with these two tints very vivid 

 and pure. 



1476. — The King-Thrush 

 (Grallaria Rex). Roi des Fourmilliers, Buffon; 

 Turdus Rex Gmelin. This species is a native of 

 Guiana and Brazil, and is about the size of a quail ; 

 its legs are extremely long, and the tail abbreviated 

 to the utmost. It lives alone, prying about under 

 bushes and in thickets for its food. The general 

 colour is brown, with a tinge of red, prettily varie- 

 gated ; the back of the head is lead-colour ; the 

 under parts are paler than the upper. 



1477. — The Water-Ouzel 

 (Cinclas aquations), Lerlichirollo and Merlo 

 acquatico of the Italians ; Torda de Agua of the 



Spaniards ; Merle d'Eau, Aguasiere a gorge blanche 

 of the French ; Watnstare of the Swedes ; Fosse- 

 fald, Fosse-kald, Qurern-kald Stroem-steer, and 

 Baekke Engl of the Norwegians ; Wasser-amsel 

 and Der Hochkopfige mittlere und Nordische Was- 

 seischwatzer of the Germans : Waterspreecud of the 

 Netherlands; Mwyalchen y divir of the ancient 

 British ; Water-piet, Dipper, and Bessy-ducker 

 provincial English. 



This species is spread over the greater portion of 

 Europe, but is more rare in the northern regions 

 than in our islands and the south. Specimens have 

 been received from India and Japan. It is amidst 

 romantic and picturesque scenery, where mountain 

 streams and rivulets, winding through glens and 

 rock-girt dales, sparkle over a rocky bed, that this 

 elegant and active bird is to be sought for. It is 

 common in Wales, Scotland, and Ireiand, and the 

 hilly parts of England. We have seen it in abund- 

 ance in Derbyshire, along the course of the Wye 

 between Buxton and Bakewell, on the Dove, on the 

 Derwent at Matlock, and in various other places, 

 where we have watched its singular habits. It is 

 active, restless, and full of animation ; its movements 

 are all quick and alert, and it flits from stone to 

 stone, flying low and rapidly over the bubbling water. 

 Often may it be seen perched on a portion of rock 

 jutting out of the water in the centre of the stream ; 

 and there, conspicuous by its snowy breast, con- 

 trasted with the deep russet brown of the rest of 

 its plumage, it will remain for a short time dipping 

 its head and jerking its tail in an odd sort of manner, 

 reminding us of the wren. In an instant it will dis- 

 appear, diving beneath the water, and, emerging at 

 a considerable distance, again settle on some stone 

 or crag, and utter a low but very sweet and pleasing 

 strain. Again it will dive or fly off to another 

 resting-place, jerk its tail, and sing, dipping and 

 moving its head, and again start off' to a more at- 

 tractive pedestal. We have heard its song in bright 

 mornings during winter, as well as in the spring and 

 summer; and it exhibits equal animation, entering 

 the water, and flitting from stone to stone, in the 

 cold and in the warmer months. How this bird 

 manages to keep itself submerged and proceed at 

 the bottom of the stream, is not very well under- 

 stood. Mr. Thomson says, " On the 26th of Sep- 

 tember, a pair of water-ouzels at the upper pond of 

 Wolfhill (near Belfast) plunged several times into 

 the w T ater, which was some feet deep, and remained 

 moving about in it, with only their heads above the 

 surface ; twice one of them disappeared altogether 

 for a few seconds, they then pursued each other 

 round the pond and alighted, when one of them 

 sang, and they repeated over again several times all 

 these manoeuvres." In these aquatic habits we are 

 reminded of the water-rail. 



The food of the water-ouzel consists of insects, 

 aquatic larvse, minute fresh-water shelled snails, 

 and the fry of fishes. 



The nest of this bird is most artfully concealed ; 

 we have seen it in the fissure of a low jutting crag 

 overhanging the rushing and bubbling current; and 

 also between the green damp stones of a rude 

 bridge. The structure itself is composed of inter- 

 twined mosses, and is of large size, and domed, with 

 a small lateral aperture leading to the interior 

 chamber, which is lined wth a few dried leaves. 

 Sometimes it is so placed that the sheet of water 

 falling from an elevated rock and forming a cas- 

 cade completely screens it ; but wherever situated 

 it blends with the rest of the moss and lichen, 

 which fills up every chink, and spreads over the 

 face of the humid rocks in great luxuriance, and, 

 unless the bird be watched to its retreat, would 

 never be detected. Fig. 1478 represents the nest 

 of the Avater-ouzel. The eggs, five in number, are 

 white. As soon as the young are fledged they ac- 

 company their parents, following them in all their 

 movements, playfully sporting, diving, flitting from 

 stone to stone, and performing the most amusing 

 evolutions. On the Continent the water-ouzel is 

 very common in Switzerland and in the rocky parts 

 of Italy. Several pairs are always observable about 

 the fall of Velino near Terni. 



The genus Cinclus is characterized by the beak 

 being straight and somewhat turned up, compressed 

 laterally, and blunt at the tip ; the wings rounded ; 

 the tarsi long ; the feet large. Besides the Euro- 

 pean species there are two Indian, and one a native 

 of America. The water-ouzel is about seven inches 

 in length ; the upper parts are of a deep brown ; 

 the throat and chest white, the under parts rusty ; 

 iris pearl grey ; bill black ; legs horn-coloured. In 

 the young bird the plumage above is clouded with 

 blackish undulations, and the white feathers of the 

 chest are finely varied with brown and ash-colour. 

 The lower figure (Fig. 1477) is that of a young bird. 



Family MENURID^E. 

 This family is suggested from the Lyre-bird of 

 Australia and several allied groups, as Stipiturus, 

 Amytis, Dasyomis, Psophodes, &c, which in struc- 



