ERYTHACINiE. 
Grandala Hodgs .* 
Bill short, slender, with the culmen slightly curved, and the sides much compressed to the tip, which 
is slightly emarginated; the lateral margins straight and indexed ; the gape broad, and furnished with 
a few short hairs ; the nostrils basal, exposed, and partly covered by a membrane. Wings lengthened, 
reaching two thirds the length of the tail, with the second and third quills nearly equal and longed- 
Tail long, broad, and strongly emarginated. Tarsi as long as the middle toe, with the frontal scales 
slightly divided. Toes long and slender, with the outer toe rather longer than the inner. 
T his bird inhabits the northern region of Nepal in underspots near snows : it is solitary, and Mr. Hodgson 
nsects and gravel in the stomach. 
G. caelicolor Hodgs. Journ. As. Soc. B. 1843. p. 447 . 
Si alia Swains. f 
Bill rather short, broad at the base, and the sides compressed towards the tip, which is curved 
slightly emarginated ; the lateral margins curved and indexed ; the gonys long and nearly straigh 
the nostrils basal, lateral, and placed in a membranous groove, with the opening exposed al 
longitudinal. Wings very long and pointed, with the first quill very short, and the second nearly 
long as the third and fourth, which are equal and longest. Tail moderate, broad, and einargh^ 
Tarsi shorter than the middle toe, and covered in front with an entire scale. Toes long and sti° » 
with the outer toe longer than the inner ; the hind toe moderate and strong ; the claws short, cU1 ' 
and acute. 
These birds are peculiar to North and Central America ; they are migratory, appearing in the States on the a PP^ 
of spiing, w hen they are usually seen about the habitations of man, or perched on the neighbouring trees. Hu 1 * 1 
summer, however, they seek the open pasture fields, and there perched on a stalk keep a sharp look out for P a& ^ 
insects, or such as may be crawling among the grass, winch they secure, and quickly resume their perch. ^ io 
approach of winter, they occasionally feed on various kinds of berries and fruits. Their migrations are perf 01 ® 1 ^^ 
large flocks, at a considerable height in the air. The song of the typical species is a soft, agreeable, and often rfc G ^ 
waible, uttered with open quivering wings; but this is changed to a single plaintive note on the ft PP 1 _ ea ch 
winter. The nest is placed in holes of trees; the female raises two, and sometimes three broods in a season^ 
consists of five to six eggs, the male taking the youngest under his particular care, while the female is again dt 1 0 
cidentabs 
p. 369., Audub. B. of Amer. pi. 318. f. 2, 3 . — Siali* oC jg p j .3. 
t. ? ; S. cseruleocollis Vigors, Zool. Beechey s ' P ^ u duh- 
Faun. Bor. Amer. p. 209- P 1 - 3J ’’ 
1. S. Wilsoni Swains. — Motacilla sialis Linn. Wils. Amer. 
Orn. pi. 3. f. .5., Edwards’s Birds, pi. 24., Audub. B. of Amer. pi. 
113. - 
2. S. mexicana Swains — S. azurea ? Swains. Phil. Mag. 1 827. 
Towns. 
3. S. arctica Swains 
B. of Amer. pi. 318. f. 4, 5. 
* Established by Mr. Hodgson in 1843 {Journ. As. Soc. Jiang. 1843, p. 447.). 
t It was in 1827 that Mr. Swainson established this genus {Zool. Journ. iii. p. 17 3.). 
