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THE WOOD SWALLOW. 
The bill and legs are black, and the eyes dark brown. The female, although a very pretty 
bird, cannot lay claim to the gorgeous coloring which decorates her mate. In her, the parts 
which in the male are scarlet, are bright golden-yellow, and the back of the head and the 
scapularies are gray. The greater coverts are olive-brown. 
This genus contains many species, several of which are remarkable for the rich beauty of 
their plumage. They are gregarious, assembling in little flocks, and as they are extremely 
loquacious, they make a considerable noise as they sit chattering and whistling in groups upon 
the topmost branch of some lofty tree. In their habits they are similar to the last-mentioned 
bird, being insect-feeders, and preferring the beetles, or, more rigidly speaking, the coleopterous 
insects, to any other food. Their nest is generally placed in the branches of some tall tree, at 
a considerable elevation from the ground, is small in size, is composed of grasses and lichens, 
and generally contains about two small streaked eggs. 
Next in order comes a group of birds, called, from the peculiar form of their tails, Dicru- 
rinse, or Double-tailed Birds, and also known by the title of Deoxgo Shrikes. These birds 
are so very like the shrikes, or butcher birds, that they have often been confounded with 
them ; and, as may be seen from the popular title of the group, have been ranked with these 
birds in some systems. They are not, as a rule, of large dimensions, their average size being 
that of a common blackbird, and many of them are remarkable for beauty of plumage and 
grace of form. 
The Wood Swallows are spread over a large portion of the globe ; some species being 
found in India and the islands of the Indian seas, and others being inhabitants of Australia. 
Owing to their shrike-like form, and their swift flight, they have been termed Swift Shrikes 
by some naturalists. Several species of this genus are found in Australia, and that which is 
most frequently noticed is the common Wood Swallow, or Sordid Thritsh. This species is 
common in many parts of Australia, and is migratory in its habits, arriving in and leaving 
Yan Diemen’s Land at regular intervals, and making a partial migration on the Australian 
continent. Some individuals, however, remain in the same country throughout the year, as 
they find abundance of food without the absolute need of repairing to another climate. The 
habits of the Wood Swallow are very curious and interesting, and are well described by Mr. 
Gould, in his well-known work on the Birds of Australia : — 
“This Wood Swallow, besides being the commonest species of the genus, must, I think, 
be considered a general favorite with the Australians, not only from its singular and pleasing 
actions, but by its often taking up its abode and incubating near the houses, particularly such 
as are surrounded by paddocks and open pasture-lands skirted by large trees. It was in such 
situations as these, in Yan Diemen’s Land, at the commencement of spring, that I first had the 
opportunity of observing this species ; it is there very numerous on all the cleared estates on 
the south side of the Derwent, about eight or ten being seen on a single tree, and half as many 
crowding one against another on the same dead branch, but never in such numbers as to 
deserve the appellation of flocks. Each bird appeared to act independently of the other ; 
each, as the desire for food prompted it, sallying forth from the branch to capture a passing 
insect, or to soar around the tree, and return again to the same spot. On alighting, it repeat- 
edly throws up and closes one wing at a time, and spreads its tail obliquely prior to settling. 
“ At other times a few were seen perched on the fence surrounding the paddock, on which 
they frequently descended, like starlings, in search of coleoptera and other insects. 
“ It is not, however, in this state of comparative quiescence that this graceful bird is seen 
to the best advantage ; neither is it that kind of existence for which its form is especially 
adapted ; for, although its structure is more equally suited for terrestrial, arboreal, and aerial 
habits than that of any other species I have examined, the form of the wing at once points out 
the air as its peculiar province. Here it is that, when engaged in pursuit of the insects which 
the serene and warm weather has enticed from their lurking-places among the foliage to sport 
