246 TlMEHRI. 
in the banks of streams etc. Near the kingfishers, are 
seen equally lovely specimens of the Australian and 
Indian breves or ant-thrushes (Pitta), and the remark- 
able " Birds of Paradise" with their wonderfully graceful 
plumes — as though the birds were anxious to hide 
their close alliance to the dowdy crows. An egg of the 
American ostrich, or Rhea } \s shewn — but unfortunately 
not the bird itself. The Rhea is the American repre- 
sentative of the ostrich order (Struthiones) , that very 
ancient group of birds in which the breast-bone is broad 
and destitute of a keel, in correspondence with the very 
rudimentary size of the wings, which are useless for flight 
— in birds of great flight as in the hawks, the opposite 
condition is met with, and the breast-bone is marked with 
a very strong median ridge or keel to which the muscles 
of the wing are attached. Above these specimens is 
shewn the sulphur-crested cockatoo. The cockatoos 
form a group of the parrot order, and are found only in 
Australia and the neighbouring distridls. 
Turning round to the other side of the case, the visitor 
sees, close by the cockatoos, specimens of the pigeons, 
among them the widely-known letter-carrier pigeon ; 
while, in the upper and lower parts of the case, are 
arranged different forms of the snipe, woodcock, and 
heron order, and also of the fowls or poultry order. In 
the upper part are specimens of snipe, rails, quails, 
partridges and grouse, the most interesting being a very 
fine male specimen of the capercailzie (Tetrao urogallus) 
in courting plumage. This bird, which is the largest of the 
grouse and was formerly common in Scotland, has 
recently been exterminated ; but it has lately been 
re-introduced from the more northern countries in which 
