12 
ZOOLOGICAL COLLECTIONS. 
[upper 
Cases 62-73. The Coiiirostral Passerine Birds feed chiefly on grain 
and fruit, but may be called omnivorous. The Crows and Jays ; the 
curious bare-necked Grakles of South America; the gorgeous Birds of 
Paradise from New Guinea and the adjoining islands, to winch they 
prove a considerable source of revenue. Selections of the finest spe- 
cimens of the Birds of Paradise have separate glazed cases allotted to 
them. Case 65. The metallic-plumed shining Thrushes; the satin 
Bower Bird of Australia forms a bower of twigs, which it adorns with 
feathers and strews with bones and stones, using it as a place to 
play in. The Oxpeckers of Africa with their strong beaks pick grubs 
out of the skin of oxen and other beasts. 
Case 67. The yellow^ and black Orioles, some of which, like the 
Cuckoos and Cowpen Bunting of North America, lay their eggs in the 
nests of other birds. Case 68. The Weavers of Africa and Asia, so named 
from the elegant nests they weave with dried grasses : some of these 
live in great colonies with the nests under one great cover ; the Gros- 
beaks, particularly the thick-billed Ground-sparrow of the Galapagos. 
Case 69. The Tanaf^ers of the New World, rennarkable for the gay 
plumage of the malea. Case 70. The Finches and Buntings, living 
chiefly on seeds ; the Larks, with the hind claw long and straight ; 
the Crossbills, with the points of the beak crossing each other and 
giving them great power in tearing pine-cones to pieces to get at 
the seeds; the Colies of Africa and India, which sleep in companies, 
suspended by one foot; the African Plantain-eaters. Cases 72, 73. 
T?ie Hornbills, with their enormous beaks : the females when incu- 
bating are imprisoned in the nest (which is placed in the hollow of a 
tree) and fed by the male. 
Cases 74-83. The Scansorial Birds, powerful graspers from the 
arrangement of the toes, two before and two behind. The long- 
tailed Brazilian Macaws with naked cheeks; the Australian Para- 
keets ; the Cockatoos ; the New Zealand Strigops with its owl-like 
aspect ; and the red and blue Lories of the Indian Archipelago. 
Case 77. The Toucans of the New World, with large beaks ; one 
of the most curious is the curl -crested species. Cases 78-80. 
The Woodpeckers, with their wedge-shaped beaks and bristly- 
pointed tails; they live on insects and larvse, which they extract from 
trees, by pecking with their strong chisel-like beaks, and then in- 
serting their long extensile tongues. The species are most numerous 
in America and Asia. Cases 81-83. The Cuckoos. Many of these 
deposit their eggs in the nests of other birds, which sit upon them 
and rear the young; the Honey-guides of South Africa are so called 
from guiding the natives to the nests of wild bees ; the Golden 
Cuckoos of South Africa have brilliant metallic green and purple 
plumage; the Anis are black birds, found in South America and the 
West Indies. They are very fond of warmth, and live on insects. 
On the Last side of the room, in Cases 84-106, are placed the 
Gallinaceous Birds, beginning with the Pigeons, Cases 84-88 ; the 
most conspicuous of these are — the Victoria and great Crowned Pigeons 
of tiie K-d^L Indifiu Islands; the Nutmeg Pigeons, feeding on aromatic 
