■SHOUT-TAILED PYE. 
the Blackbirds; and I, therefore, do not hesl- 
sate to range them separately. The shortness 
of the tail, the tliickness of the bill, and the 
length of the legs, are charaderij^tic features; 
and these must involve other dilFerences, in 
their a6lions, their liabits, and perhaps in their 
dispositions. "W^e are acquainted with only 
four birds of this species: I say, species; be- 
cause the resemblance in the plumage is so ex- 
a6t, that they must be regarded as varieties 
only of a common stem. In all of them, ttie 
neck, liead, and tail, are black, or partly 
black ; the upper part of the body is green of 
various intensities ; the superior coverts of the 
wings and tail are of a fine beryl colour, with 
a white or whitish spot on the great quills ; 
and, lastly, except that of the Philippines, 
the lower part of the body is yellow." 
The hrst of these four vrvrlctics, as described 
by Bullbn, is t]:ie Short-Tailed Philipjunc; 
the second, he calls simply the Sbort-'i"ail, 
observing that Edwards luis figured it by the 
name of Short-Tailed Pie of the East Indies ; 
the third, is the Short-'l'ail ot Bengal; and, 
the fourth, the Short-Tail of Madagascar. 
These 
