COLLECTION OF BIRDS. 3/(9 



birds ; it weighs sixty-seven grains, and its heart, 

 no larger than a pea, weighs from four to five. 

 This pretty little bird makes its nest in the shape 

 of a ball in the firs ; the entry is on one side, 

 and contains from eight to ten eggs of the size 

 of a pea. On the last shelf but one are the 

 wagtails, so called from the continual movement 

 of their tail ; some of them are called water- 

 wagtails, because they live on the banks of ponds 

 and rivers. Near them we see the budytes, a 

 sort of wagtails which follow the sheep, perch 

 on their back, and search for insects in their 

 wool. Below the case are the meadow larks 

 (anthus), known in the southern provinces of 

 France by the name of bec-figues. One of the 

 most remarkable exotic species is the sentinel 

 lark, which lives at the Cape among the flocks. 



The drongos (edolii) are placed in the twen- 

 tieth case. We have eight species, some of which 

 come from iVfrica, others from the countries on 

 the borders of the Indian ocean ; some sing as 

 sweetly as the nightingale. The most remarkable 

 is the racketted drongo, which has the two 

 outer feathers of the tail three times longer than 

 the others, and destitute of beards, except to- 

 wards the end, where they form a little palette. 



The cotingas, or chatterers (cfflipelis) , are 

 placed below the drongos; they inhabit the 



