54 ° 
PERCHING BIRDS. 
and lower-parts fulvous; a broad median band extends from the forehead to the 
nape; the back scapulars and upper - rump are green; the lower-rump, upper 
tail - coverts, and lesser wing - coverts pale blue; a broad black band passes 
over the eye; the primaries are 
black, tipped with grey; the tail 
is black, tipped with dull blue; 
the chin and throat are white, 
and the lower abdomen and 
under tail-coverts crimson. The 
blue pitta (P. cyanea ) which 
is found in Bhutan, Arrakan, 
Pegu, Tenasserim, and as far east 
as Siam, is a bird of considerable 
beauty, though far inferior in 
lustre to many of the Malayan 
species of the genus. Like other 
members of the family, it lives 
principally in dense scrub and 
jungle, obtaining its insect-prey 
upon the ground. It begins to 
build its nest in the month of May, making a huge globular structure of dry 
leaves and twigs, placed upon the ground, and lined with fine twigs and grass 
roots. The eggs are white in ground-colour, marked with various shades of purple. 
The adult male has the forehead and crown greenish grey, changing to red, and 
giving place entirely to red on the nape, where the feathers are long and form a 
crest; the upper-parts and tail are blue, the primaries brown, with a white basal 
patch, the lores and a broad streak from the eye to the nape black, the chin and 
throat whitish, and the lower-parts light blue, barred with black. 
THE BLUE PITTA. 
The Wood-Hewers. 
Family Dendrocglaptidhj. 
The wood-hewers are birds chiefly of a brown coloration, with more or less 
rigid tail-feathers; having the bill long or moderate and laterally compressed, and 
rather strong, straight, or curved; while the third, fourth, and fifth quills of the 
wing are the longest, the tail-feathers are stiff, pointed, and often of a ferruginous 
colour, and the claws of the feet are much curved. Upwards of two hundred and 
twenty species of wood-hewers are found, ranging from Mexico to Patagonia; 
no fewer than thirteen of these genera being confined to the high Andes and 
south temperate America, while fourteen are restricted to the tropical parts 
of South America. A single species is found in the Falkland Isles. Among 
this vast assemblage, the limits of space prevent our referring to more than two 
of the genera. 
Oven-Birds. 
The oven-birds ( Furnctrius ) have the bill shorter than the 
head, laterally compressed and pointed, the upper mandible being 
