GIANT BREVE . — Pitta Gigas. 
The great family of the Thrushes has many well known examples in England. 
Some of the foreign species are very curious. The Ant-Thrushes being, perhaps, 
among the most remarkable. These birds derive their name from their ant- 
eating propensities ; and, contrary to the general rule among the Thrushes, their 
plumage is decorated with the most brilliant hues ; some species being like living 
rainbows, and others glowing with scarlet, azure, and purple. They all have 
great round heads, thick bodies, strong beaks, and short legs. 
The great Ant-Tiirush, which is also called the Giant Pitta, or the Giant 
Breve, in allusion to its large dimensions, is a native of Surinam, and on account 
of its bright plumage, its quaint and peculiar shape, its very large head, very 
long legs, and peculiarly short wren-like tail, which looks exactly as if it had 
been neatly cropped, is one of the most singular birds of that prolific locality. 
In size it equals an English rook, but hardly looks so large as that w r ell-known 
bird, on account of the short tail, which is entirely covered by the wings when 
they are closed. The general colour of this brilliant bird is a light cobalt blue, 
which extends over the whole of the back and tail, but is not quite so lustrous 
upon the wings. The quill-feathers of the wings are black, tipped with sky-blue, 
and the head, the surface of the neck, together with a stripe that runs partly 
round them, are black, and the bird is brownish grey below. 
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