BABBLERS. 
5 11 
The Mocking-Birds and their Allies. 
Family MllliDAE. 
Space admits of only the very briefest reference to the American family typified 
by the well-known mocking-bird (Mimus polyglottus); this family being generally 
placed between the wrens and the babblers, to the latter of which it is nearly 
allied. The babblers are but poor songsters, but the mocking-birds are renowned 
for their vocal powers. Twelve genera are included in the family, but it would be 
useless to attempt to point out their distinctive characters. 
MOCKING-BIRD. 
The Babblers. 
Family Gra TEROPODIDJS. 
This family contains a very large number of birds, the affinities of some of 
which are doubtful, though the majority agree in possessing a short and rounded 
wing, together with large and powerful legs and feet. The bill is variously 
modified, but always adapted to an insectivorous diet, and is furnished with rictal 
bristles. The babblers belong principally to the Oriental region, though their 
distribution through the tropical parts of the world is very extensive. The 
laughing-thrushes ( Irochalopterum ) of the Himalaya and Southern China are 
well-known representatives of this group, as are the true babblers ( Argya ), which 
