178 
AVES. 
Fig. 86. — Sternum of Haw Grosbealc. 
ribs ; the single deep and angular posterior emargination, reduced to a foramen in some ; the" 
long, slender, and curving furcula, with invariably a compressed vertical appendage; — all are 
characters that at once indicate the ' 
present order, and exclude every,, 
one of the genera that have been 
enumerated. 
They have constantly a large brain 
and characteristic form of skull, ex-j.;, 
cepting in one genus*; twelve tail-|^ 
feathers, another character which , 
excludes the genera Cypselus, Capri- - 
mulgus, Podargus, Colins, Upupa,A 
Trochilus, and Buceros j and their,,, 
clothing feathers have rarely any'; 
trace of the supplementary plume, | 
which is never developed beyond a | 
few downy filaments. All of them | 
hatched naked, and in nearly every instance from coloured or speckled eggs, larger at one end, .| 
and in a nest constructed and generally interwoven by the parents, — extremely few other | 
Birds doing more than heaping together a quantity of materials. , 
The toes are formed for perching ; and are always three before and one hindward, the | 
outward and middle toes being in every instance connected to the first joint, and sometimes | 
further.] ( 
The first family of this division is that of ' ■ 
'I, 
The Dentirostres, — f' 
Wherein the upper mandible is notched on each side toward the point.f It is in this family-; 
that the greatest number of insectivorous Birds occur ; though many of them feed likewise 
on berries and other soft fruits. 
The genera are determined by the general form of the beak, which is stout and compressed 
in the Shrikes and Thrushes, flattened in the Flycatchers, round and thick in the Tanagers, | 
and slender and pointed in the Pettychaps group ; but the transitions from one to another of, 
these forms are so gradual that it is very difficult to limit the genera. 
[The study of the changes of plumage, and even colours and markings, affords considerable 
assistance in determining the afiinities of the various genera, — more so, perhaps, than any, 
other character.] 
The Shrikes {Lanius, Lin.) — 
Have a conical or compressed beak, more or less hooked at the point. 
The Shrikes, properly so called, {Lanius, Vieillot) — 
Have it triangular at the base, with compressed sides. They live in families [for a few weeks after the' 
breeding season], fly irregularly and precipitately, uttering shrill cries ; nestle on trees [or in bushes] ; 
lay five or six eggs, and take great care of their young. They have the habit of imitating, in the wild' 
state, part of the songs of such Birds as live in their vicinity. The females [.’] and young are gene- 
rally marked with fine transverse lines on the upper parts. : 
Some have the upper mandible arched ; those in which its point is strong and much hooked, and in j 
which the notch forms a small tooth on each side, manifest a degi'ee of courage and cruelty which has 
led to their association with the Birds of Prey by many naturalists. In fact, they pursue other Birds, 
and successfully defend themselves against the larger ones, even attacking the latter whenever they 
intrude in the vicinity of their nest. 
* Malurus; the different species of which are singularly variable I t No trace of this notch is ever visible in the bone, from which the 
in this respect. I “ tooth” of certain Accipitres is a true process — Ed. 
