STURNID^. 



45 



following herds of cattle, for the sake of the insects 

 or grains which they may pick up from their bodies, 

 or in their neighbourhood. 



STIRPS I.— ICTERINA, Vigors. 



These birds are all American, and their manners 

 resemble those of the following stirps : they live in 

 troops, construct their nests very ingeniously, and fre- 

 quently close together : they subsist on insects and 

 grains. 



GENUS CLX.—XANTHORNUS, Cuvier. 



Rostrum elongatum, sub- 

 gracile, rectum, acutissi- 

 mum : mandibula superior 

 basi inter frontis plumas re- 

 trorsum extendente; man- 

 dibularum margine basin 

 versus angulum formante, 

 marginibus introrsum in- 

 clinantibus. 



Nares ovales, membrana par- 

 tim tectse. 



Alee mediocres, subrotun- 

 datae: remiges primae et 

 sextas, secundag et quintag, 

 tertiae et quartas fere 

 aequales, his longissimi. 



Cauda mediocris, subaequalis. 



Pedes mediocres, subgracilis. 



Beak elongated, rather slen- 

 der, straight, very acute : 

 the upper mandible with its 

 base produced among the 

 frontal feathers ; the edges 

 of the mandibles forming 

 an angle towards the base, 

 the margins inwardly in- 

 clined. 



Nostrils oval, partly clothed 

 by a membrane. 



Wings moderate, slightly 

 rounded : the first and sixth 

 quills, the second and fifth, 

 the third and fourth nearly 

 equal, the last longest. 



Tail moderate, nearly even. 



Legs moderate, rather slen- 

 der. 



Yphantes, Vieillot. 



