I 
CLASS II. AVES; OKDEE, 2. PASSERES. 179 
THE EUKOPBAN STARLIKG OE STARE, 
THE STUEIN^IDJE. 
This family includes several remarkable groups, as the Bower-Birds, Grackles, Beef-Caters, 
Tree- Starlings, Pastors, Meadow-Larks, Croiv-Blackbird, Baltimore and Orchard Orioles, Coio- 
Blachhird, Red-Wing Starling, &c. In their general characteristics we may include an elon- 
gated and compressed bill, wings long and more or less pointed, the toes long and strong, especial- 
ly the hind one ; they feed on insects, worms, fruits, and seeds ; they are generally gregarious ; are 
docile and tractable in captivity, and exhibit some of the peculiar sagacity of the crows. 
THE PTILONORHYNCHIN^ OR BOWER-BIRDS, OR GLOSST STARLINGS. 
These birds are peculiar to the eastern hemisphere. The majority, including the Choucaries 
and Pirolles, are found in India, Australia, and the intervening islands, but Africa also possesses 
a few species belonging to the gernxsJuida. They inhabit the hot regions of that continent, 
where they fly in large flocks, feeding principally on fruits, and often attacking the gardens 
and vineyards, to which they do great damage. They also devour insects and worms, and are 
sometimes seen perched on the backs of cattle, searching for the parasit'ic insects among the 
hair. They are generally showy birds, with a metallic luster upon their plumage, are rather 
larger, than the common starling, and have a much longer tail. They nestle in rocks and holes 
of trees, and lay five or six eggs. 
The Bower-Birds of Australia belong to the genera PtilonorTiynclius and Chlamydera. These 
are remarkable for the habit of making a sort of bower, which has nothing to do with their nidi- 
fication, but merely serves as a sort of playing-ground, in and around which they assemble 
for amusement! They inhabit the forests, and the bower is placed under the shelter of some 
large tree. Mr. Gould describes the construction and use of that of the Satin Bower-Bird, P. 
holosericeus — ITitta holosericeus of Timminck, the Xitie Veloute of the French — in the following 
words : "The base consists of an extensive and rather convex platform of sticks firmly interwoven, 
