The Cambridge natural history, Vol. 09 (of 10) (part 3 of 4)

The Cambridge natural history, Vol. 09 (of 10) (part 3 of 4)

Though formerly the Kagu was not rare in its native island, it is now restricted to the wilder portions, where it is to be met with among the rocks of craggy ravines or near stagnant waters, sleeping throughout the day and issuing from its concealment towards evening. It walks quickly, yet in a stately manner, often coming to a standstill or crouching, and remaining motionless for a long period; but it can also run rapidly with the head and neck outstretched, and the body carried after the manner of a Rail. The habits in confinement, however, make it somewhat doubtful whether the bird is as nocturnal as is asserted, for in the daytime it is quick and lively in its motions, chasing its fellow-captives, dancing round with the tip of its outspread wing or tail held fast in its bill, tossing about dry leaves or pieces of paper, spreading out its wings and thrusting its beak into the ground, kicking with its legs, and finally tumbling about as if in a fit. The note is guttural and rattling, or almost a scream; the food consists of molluscs, worms, and insects, sought for among the grass or in crannies, while the bill is often plunged into the soil, and worms pulled out, shaken and swallowed. When in quest of food the bird often paws the earth with gentle strokes, and snails are usually beaten upon the ground to break the shell. It will bathe in captivity, and is said to like wet weather in its native haunts. The nest is unknown, but eggs laid at the Zoological Society's Gardens in London are reddish-buff with brown and grey markings, and recall those of the Woodcock or Corncrake.[181]

Fam. VIII. EURYPYGIDAE.–Two species of Eurypyga are comprehended herein, namely, E. helias of the countries from Venezuela to Bolivia and Central Brazil, and E. major of Central America, Colombia, and Ecuador. These are, like the Kagu, very ancient types, but whereas that bird shows some affinity to Scopus, these trend rather towards Nycticorax, both being, however, essentially Gruiform. The neck is long and thin, the bill rather slender, with grooves on the maxilla and mandible: the whole leg and foot are as in Rhinochetus, but shorter, weaker, and reticulated behind; the wings and tail are even more ample, while the number of primaries and rectrices are the same, but the secondaries are only {266}eleven, and the inner feathers comparatively short. The nostrils are pervious, the tongue is lanceolate, the furcula is U-shaped, the after-shaft is diminutive, and the powder-down patches are abundant, though writers differ as to their extent. E. helias–as Prof. Newton says in his excellent account[182]–is not to be described in a limited space otherwise than generally; it has a black head, with a white stripe above and under each eye, and a white throat: the remaining plumage "being variegated with black, brown, chestnut, bay, buff, grey, and white–so mottled, speckled, and belted either in wave-like or zigzag forms, as somewhat to resemble certain moths. The bay colour forms two conspicuous patches on each wing, and also an antepenultimate bar on the tail, behind which is a subterminal band of black. The irides are red; the bill is greenish-olive; and the legs are pale yellow." E. major is larger and more uniform in colour. Both adults and nestlings have copious down, that of the latter being lightish brown with lines and spots of darker brown and white. The sexes are similar.

The "Sun-Bittern," to use its common but misleading name, is found on the larger rivers, where the banks are wooded and swampy; it is shy but easily tamed, and, according to Bates, is kept in captivity by the Brazilians. It walks quietly and circumspectly with horizontal body and outstretched head, and probably flies but little. Like the Kagu, it executes a fantastic dance, but in this case the wings and tail form a semicircle which nearly conceals the body. The note is a soft or plaintive long-drawn {267}whistle, the food consists mainly of small fish and insects, which the bird spears by darting out its head quickly. The nest, said to be made of sticks, grass, and mud, with a lining of the latter, is placed on low branches, and contains several eggs similar to those of the Kagu, but smaller. Both parents incubate and attend to the young, which have several times been reared in the Zoological Society's Gardens in London.[183]

Fam. IX. HELIORNITHIDAE.–The Finfoots, comprising three genera and four species, now generally coupled with the Rallidae, have been placed near the Divers and Grebes by several authors. The head is small, the neck thin, the bill Rail-like and fairly stout; the metatarsus, which is scutellated anteriorly and reticulated posteriorly, is short, twisted outwards, and deeply grooved; while the toes have short, sharp claws, and broad scalloped webs, extending in Heliornis to most of their length. The long pointed wings have twenty-one remiges, of which eleven are primaries, and are armed with a curved spine; the tail consists in Podica of eighteen elongated, stiff, ribbed rectrices, which are narrow and pointed, and in Heliopaïs and Heliornis of rather soft, short, rounded feathers. The plumage is close, but not glossy as in Grebes; there is no after-shaft, the U-shaped furcula ancyloses with the sternum, the tongue is lanceolate, and the nostrils are pervious.

These birds, which frequent the swamps or rocky streams of inland woods, are very shy; their flight is heavy, and they rise with difficulty from the surface of the water, aiding themselves by their feet. They swim and dive well, and will remain half-submerged for hours, or will sit upon a low branch over a stream, dropping down and scrambling up the bank when disturbed, or hiding at its base. They are said, moreover, to run swiftly on land. The note of Heliornis fulica is like a dog's bark; the food is in all cases of small fish, crustaceans, insects, and seeds. The nest and eggs are unknown, but in the species just mentioned the nestlings are stated to be naked. This form, about thirteen inches long, which ranges from Guatemala to Paraguay, is olive-brown above, the black head and nape being separated by a white band down each side of the neck from a blackish line which encloses the white throat; the chest is buff, the sides are brown, the remaining underparts whitish; the bill is red, the feet are yellow, banded with black. Podica senegalensis of West Africa, and the doubtfully distinct {268}P. petersi, reaching from the Lower Congo to South East Africa, are larger forms, with round ochreous spots above, and red feet. Heliopaïs personata, extending from Assam to Sumatra, has a black throat, orange bill, and light green feet.

ORDER XI. CHARADRIIFORMES.

The Charadriiformes are here taken to consist of five Sub-Orders. Of these the LIMICOLAE contains the Families Charadriidae (Plovers, Sandpipers, Snipes, and so forth), Chionididae (Sheath-bills), Glareolidae (Pratincoles, Coursers, and Crab-Plover), Thinocorythidae (Seed-Snipes), Oedicnemidae (Stone-Curlews), and Parridae (Jaçanas); the LARI possesses one Family, Laridae (Gulls, Terns, and Skuas); the ALCAE only the Alcidae (Auks); the PTEROCLES, the Pteroclidae (Sand-Grouse); but the COLUMBAE may be divided into Dididae, Didunculidae, and Columbidae. The first three may again be combined into a Laro-Limicoline group, and the last two into a Pteroclo-Columbine, in accordance with their affinities.

In structure the LIMICOLAE are sufficiently uniform to be considered simultaneously.

The bill furnishes a useful means of subdividing the Charadriidae. It is hardest in Haematopus, Ibidorhynchus, Strepsilas, and so forth, being in them bony throughout. In Charadrius, Aegialitis, Lobivanellus, Vanellus, and the like, it has a hard tip, but is comparatively flexible towards the base. These may compose Sub-family (1) Charadriinae. In Totanus, and its nearest allies, it is still hard at the tip, but more flexible at the base. In Tringa, and similar genera, it ceases to be hard at the tip, and is slightly endowed with nerves. These may constitute Subfamily (2) Tringinae. In Scolopax, Gallinago, and Rhynchaea it becomes highly nervous at the tip, and therein differs from that of all other birds. These form Sub-family (3) Scolopacinae. In Himantopus and Recurvirostra the bill is so attenuated as hardly to be called hard at the tip, but it has no nerves there. The form of the beak varies greatly, being asymmetrical and twisted to the right in Anarhynchus, up-curved from the middle in Avocetta, wedge-like in Haematopus, much flattened in Tringa platyrhyncha, spade-shaped in Eurynorhynchus, arched in Numenius, and strongly decurved in Ibidorhynchus. In the Chionididae a horny sheath covers the base of the maxilla, and is indicated by faint lines in the young; in Glareola the bill is short, curved, and very {269}deeply split, making a wide gape; in Dromas it is hard, deep, and compressed; in Cursorius thick and little bent; in the Thinocorythidae Fowl-like; in the Oedicnemidae short, stout, and blunt; in the Parridae narrow and pointed, with a skinny frontal plate, and occasionally with rictal wattles. The nasal grooves are very long in Ibidorhynchus, Totanus, Scolopax and elsewhere.

The tibia is often partly bare, and the metatarsus is extremely variable; the legs are longer in Himantopus than in any other bird of its size, and long also in Recurvirostra, Cursorius, Dromas, the Parridae, and so forth, while Haematopus, Aegialitis, Scolopax, Glareola, Chionis, Tringa, and the Thinocorythidae are instances of the contrary. Both the front and back of these members are scutellated in most Scolopacinae and Tringinae, but the Charadriinae differ considerably in this respect; in Glareola the fore-part only is transversely scutellated, in Cursorius, Dromas, the Thinocorythidae and Parridae the whole of the surface, while in the Chionididae and Oedicnemidae both aspects are reticulated. The anterior toes are ordinarily free, or have the third and fourth digits slightly connected; but Dromas and Recurvirostra have them partly webbed, as to some extent have Himantopus, Totanus semipalmatus, and a few other forms, while in Phalaropus the metatarsus is much compressed, and the toes have lobed margins. The hallux, normally set rather high, is frequently aborted, as in Charadrius, Ibidorhynchus, Calidris, Cursorius and Oedicnemus; in the Thinocorythidae and Glareola it is very small, in Dromas larger; in the Parridae all four digits are on a level and abnormally long, as are the claws, so that the birds walk easily on floating vegetation. The nail of the mid-toe is pectinated in the Glareolidae, recalling that of the Caprimulginae (Night-jars). The digits are often somewhat fleshy, Oedicnemus moreover, has an enlarged tibio-tarsal joint.

The wings are usually long, having a bilobed appearance owing to the equality of the inner secondaries and outer primaries; Himantopus, Dromas, Glareola, and the Thinocorythidae have them much elongated, Phegornis and some other forms very short, while in Vanellus the expanse is most noticeable. In this genus, Lobivanellus, Hoplopterus, the Chionididae, and the Parridae, is found a carpal spur, often large and sharp; Metopidius, and, apparently, Hydralector have the radius dilated into a sub-triangular lamina[184]; {270}Hydrophasianus has peculiar filamentous appendages to the first and fourth primaries; Scolopax minor has the three exterior of the normal eleven primaries particularly attenuated. The secondaries in the Limicolae vary from ten to twenty.

The rectrices are usually twelve; though Rhynchaea and the Parridae have ten, while Scolopax stenura and S. megala possess twenty and twenty-six respectively, the outer of which are exceedingly stiff and narrow–not to give further instances. The tail in Glareola is deeply furcate and Swallow-like, in Hydrophasianus it has the four median plumes very long and decurved in the breeding season; but it is often quite short, as in Scolopax. The form may be slightly forked, as in Chionis; somewhat graduated or cuneate, as in the Thinocorythidae, Totanus hypoleucus, and Oedicnemus; rounded, as in Cursorius; or almost even, as in Vanellus.

The tongue is rather long and pointed, being, however, rudimentary in Numenius; the nostrils are pervious, except in the Thinocorythidae, Glareolidae, and perhaps Dromas, and have at times a leathery operculum in Plovers; the syrinx is tracheo-bronchial, the furcula U-shaped; Parra has a decidedly muscular gizzard, and the Thinocorythidae possess a globular crop. The convoluted trachea of Rhynchaea, the papillae on the orbits of Chionis, the caruncles on the face of Machetes, and the loral wattles of Lobivanellus are fully described below. The aftershaft is very small in the Parridae, rather large elsewhere. In adults the down is sparing; in the young it is short, thick, and commonly of a yellowish hue, with brown longitudinal stripes; though it may be grey, as in Chionis and Haematopus; mottled with reddish and white, as in Snipes; or with black, orange, yellow, and white, as in Phalaropes.

The plumage is usually plain brown or grey, with an admixture of white, or less commonly chestnut; Vanellus, Lobivanellus, and Cursorius chalcopterus, however, exhibit metallic hues, and Chionis is white. Red or yellow beaks or feet adorn many forms. Crests occur in certain species of Vanellus, Hoplopterus, and Lobivanellus; the male of Machetes (Ruff) is most remarkable for its lateral head-tufts and fine neck-frill, developed for the breeding season; Numenius tahitiensis has peculiar bristly-pointed flank-feathers. In Scolopax the large eyes are set unusually far back in the skull. The sexes are generally similar, but in Eudromias,[185] Phalaropus, and Rhynchaea the female is brighter than {271}the male, as well as larger, the latter fact holding true of a considerable number of the Tringinae and Scolopacinae, and of the Parridae, though a special study of the subject is still needful. In several species the breeding plumage differs remarkably from that of winter.

The Limicolae often flock together in the cold season, but are by no means uniform in their habits, and divergencies will be noticed under the various genera. They run well, often bobbing the head up and down, and fly strongly, wheeling round sharply in the air; while some Snipes rise in zigzag fashion. Typically waders, many, if not all of them, can swim on emergency, but few habitually do so, like Phalaropes. Exceptionally they perch on trees, or soar. Swamps, river-sides, and in winter the sea-coast, are the general haunts; but Coursers, Stone-Curlews and "Seed-Snipes" frequent arid or stony localities, Dromas sandy islets or shores, Chionis maritime rocks. Vanellus cayennensis and Parra jacana are said to indulge in dances, while Lapwings and other species feign to be wounded if their young are in danger. The food consists of crustaceans, molluscs, worms, and insects; rarely of small fish or eggs of other birds; but not uncommonly of vegetable matter, on which the Thinocorythidae entirely subsist. The usual note is shrill, but the "scape, scape" of the Snipe, the melancholy whistle of the Curlew, the yelp of the Godwit, the reiterated scream of the Oyster-catcher, and the sweet song or trill of Temminck's Stint and of the Green Sandpiper should be noticed among the exceptions. Usually four pyriform eggs, varying from brownish or olive-green to stone-colour, with double markings of lighter and darker shades, are arranged in a hole scraped in the ground, with or without lining, the small ends pointing to the centre. Those of Oyster-catchers and Stone-Curlews are more oval, while the Dotterel and some other species lay only three, and Stone-Curlews two. The Parridae amass a considerable pile of water-plants, Chionis usually breeds in holes among rocks, the Green and the Wood-Sandpiper often use deserted nests of other birds. The young run almost from the shell, the Stone-Curlews and Dromas, which lays a white egg in sandy burrows, being to some extent exceptions. The male performs most of the duties of incubation in Rhynchaea, Phalaropus, and apparently the Dotterel, Bar-tailed Godwit, and Purple Sandpiper–if not elsewhere; while the Ruff is well known to be polygamous. Stone-Curlews and {272}Woodcocks are certainly somewhat crepuscular, and the drumming of the Snipe (p. 291) must be mentioned in passing. Nearly all Limicoline birds are migrants, and may frequently be heard overhead at night, when on passage. The flesh is generally excellent.

Fam. I. CHARADRIIDAE.–Sub-fam. 1. Charadriinae.–The Dotterel (Eudromias morinellus), breeds on the fells and tundras of Northern Europe and Asia, as well as on the mountains of Scotland, Transylvania, Styria, and Bohemia–if not still in the English Lake District; in winter it migrates to Palestine and North Africa. The colour is ashy-brown, with black crown and nape, towards the latter of which the white superciliary streaks run down; the throat is whitish, the fore-neck brown, divided by a white gorget from the orange-chestnut lower breast; the abdomen is black, the lateral rectrices are tipped with white. The young are more rufous above, and grey and white below. Three olive eggs with brown blotches are laid in a depression of the mossy ground, the parents being tamer than most Plovers at the nest. E. veredus inhabits Mongolia, wintering in the Sunda Islands, the Moluccas, and Australia; E. australis is confined to the last country; E. (Zonibyx) modestus, the only four-toed species of the genus, ranges from Tarapacá and Buenos Aires to Tierra del Fuego and the Falkland Islands. Charadrius pluvialis, the Golden Plover, breeds on the higher British moorlands, and reaches from Northern Europe to the Lena in Asia, overlapping about the Yenisei C. fulvus, with grey instead of white axillaries, which extends to Bering Sea and–as the stouter, shorter-toed race C. dominicus–to Greenland. Both the latter have occurred in England. The plumage is black, densely spotted with yellow above, the forehead and superciliary streaks are white, as are the sides of the body. In winter the under parts are nearly white. At that season the various species migrate southwards as far as Cape Colony, India, Australia, New Zealand, Polynesia, and Chili. The loud clear whistle of the Golden Plover is a characteristic sound in summer on our sub-alpine hills, where the bird deposits four rich olive-brown eggs in a hollow in the herbage; it is very wary at the nest. The Grey Plover, Squatarola helvetica, with a distinct hind toe and black axillaries, is browner than the foregoing three-toed species in summer, and greyer in winter; it visits us from autumn to spring, but breeds in the far north of Eastern Europe, Asia, and America, reaching Cape Colony, Ceylon, and Tasmania on migration. Erythrogonys cinctus of Australia, and {273}the long-billed Oreophilus ruficollis of South America from Peru and Argentina to Patagonia and the Falklands, are nearly allied forms; while the rufous New Zealand Charadrius (?) obscurus apparently somewhat resembles the Dotterel in its habits and eggs.

Aegialitis hiaticola, the Ringed Plover, Sand-Lark, or Stone-runner, mistakenly called the "Ring Dotterel," which is common on the British coasts and even inland, extends from Smith's Sound eastwards to Bering Strait, and migrates to South Africa, North India, or accidentally, Australia. It breeds as far south as the Atlantic Islands, North Africa, and Turkestan. The plumage is light brown, with white forehead, post-ocular streak, upper neck, alar bar, outer rectrices, and under surface; the crown, lores, cheeks, and a collar–broader in front–being black. The young lack the black crown. The habits and "peeping" cry hardly require description. When nesting on the warrens of the Eastern Counties it is called the Stone-hatch, because it there lays its black-spotted drab eggs in a hole paved with small stones. Ae. curonica, the Little Ringed Plover, which strays to Britain, the Färoes, and Iceland, breeds on inland waters from Scandinavia to Japan; reaching southwards to North Africa, Turkestan, and China, and on migration to the Gaboon, Mozambique, Ceylon, and New Guinea. It is distinguished from the last species by the shafts of all the primaries, except the outer one, being dusky. Ae. cantiana, the Kentish Plover, which still nests in Kent and Sussex, occupies Europe–though very locally–North Africa, and Central Asia to China and Japan; it comparatively seldom breeds inland, and is found in winter as far as South Africa, India, and Australia. The collar is incomplete in front, the female has no black crown, while the black legs distinguish it from {274}the Ringed Plover. Ae. semipalmata, with a distinct web between the outer and middle toes, replaces the latter in North America, ranging in winter to Peru and Brazil; whereas Ae. placida represents it in China, Japan, and India. The place of the Kentish Plover is taken in western North America by Ae. nivosa–with white lores instead of black–which migrates to Chili. Ae. vocifera, termed "Kill-deer" from its cry, inhabits North America, and extends in winter to northern South America, while it has been shot even in the Scilly Islands; the lores are brown, and the fore-neck exhibits two black bands. It nests in the interior on grass or ploughed fields. In Ae. monachus of Southern Australia, the breeding male has a perfectly black head; in Ae. asiatica of Central Asia, which has wandered to Britain, the head is brown, and the breast shews a black-edged chestnut band, somewhat similar to that in Ae. bicincta of the Australian Region, and other species; Ae. bifrontata of Madagascar has grey lores, and two black bands on the breast. Space fails to mention all the species of this large three-toed genus; but Ae. (Thinornis) novae zealandiae of the New Zealand area, Ae. falklandica of America from Chili and Argentina southwards, and Ae. sanctae helenae, the "Wire-bird" peculiar to St. Helena, should be noticed.

Anarhynchus frontalis, the Wry-bill of New Zealand, is grey, with a black gorget and whitish lower parts; the habits are as in Aegialitis, but the laterally-twisted bill enables the bird to pick up insects from around stones with the greatest ease.

Thirteen species may perhaps be included in Lobivanellus (Wattled Lapwing); but here, as in the next genus, Vanellus, there are many diversities of opinion. The two groups are fairly similar in habits, nests, and eggs. Some have a hallux, some not. L. pectoralis of Australia and Tasmania, L. indicus, ranging from Arabia and Mesopotamia to Cochin China, L. cinereus of China and Japan, which migrates as far as Bengal, L. {275}melanocephalus of North-East Africa, L. superciliosus, extending from West Africa to Lake Tanganyika, and the crested L. (Sarciophorus) tectus, found from Senegal to East Equatorial Africa and Arabia, have small loral wattles; L. (Lobipluvia) malabaricus of India, Ceylon, and Burma, L. miles, reaching from Timor Laut to New Guinea and Australia, L. cucullatus of Sumatra, Java, and Timor, L. lobatus of Australia, accidental in New Zealand, L. lateralis of the southern, and L. senegalensis of the northern Ethiopian Region, with L. albiceps of West Africa and the Upper Congo, have large wattles, and, except the first, a wing-spur. L. lobatus is olive-brown above, with black crown, nape, and wings; the cheeks, tail-coverts, and lower parts are white; the tail is white with black tip; the bill, wattles, and spurs are yellow, the feet purplish-red.

Vanellus comprises the true Lapwings; it is a closely allied genus to the last, and varies as to the possession of a hind-toe. V. cristatus, the English Peewit or Green Plover, has the upper parts and motile crest bottle-green, with a purple and copper gloss; the throat and upper breast black; the cheeks, sides of the neck, base of tail, and under surface white; the upper and lower tail-coverts bay. The slow flapping flight and shrill cry are as familiar to us as are the cock's aerial evolutions, and the habit of tumbling on the ground with an apparently broken wing to decoy intruders from the brood. This species frequents alike cultivated ground, marshes, and wastes, depositing its four olive eggs with black markings in a scraping in the soil lined with a little dry herbage; towards autumn it feeds in large flocks upon the shore, being semi-crepuscular, as might be expected from the large eyes. Breeding in most of Europe, Northern Asia, and even North Africa, it strays to Greenland and Jan Mayen, occurs plentifully in Japan, and at times in Alaska, and migrates as far south as Barbados, North India, and China. The somewhat similar Téru-téru (V. cayennensis),[186] with long crest and large blunt yellow spur, occupies the east, and the larger V. chilensis the west and south of South America; V. resplendens inhabits the Andes of North Chili, Peru, and Ecuador; V. coronatus South and East Africa; V. melanopterus, the latter and Arabia; V. inornatus West and South-East Africa. The long legged Chettusia gregaria, which, like the next genus, possesses a hallux, has occurred in Britain and South-West Europe, but breeds from South-East Europe to Lake Saisan, and migrates to North-East {276}Africa, India, and Ceylon. C. leucura, of similar range, winters in North-East Africa and North India. Defilippia crassirostris of North-East, and D. leucoptera of South-East Africa, with very long toes and much white on the wing, are nearly akin to the above. Hoplopterus spinosus, the three-toed Spur-winged Lapwing of Egypt and the northern Ethiopian Region, which wanders to South-East Europe and Persia, is a crested black and white species with a brownish back. The Arabs call it "Zic-zac" from its cry, while it attacks birds on the wing with its spur. H. speciosus occupies South Africa, H. cayanus most of South America, H. ventralis ranges from North and Central India to Hainan.

Strepsilas interpres, the Turnstone, has the head, rump, tail, and remiges black and white, the upper parts varied with chestnut and black, the breast black, the belly white, and the feet orange, with the hind toe turned inwards. In winter the coloration is chiefly grey and white. From its extensive migrations, it is possibly the most cosmopolitan of Birds, while it breeds in Northern Europe, Asia, and America, and as near us as Denmark, though not proved to do so in Britain. In autumn and spring this lively little species frequents our muddy shores or seaweed-covered rocks, often turning over the pebbles in search of food; the note is a twitter or whistle; the nest a slightly-lined excavation under shelter of some maritime shrub or stone, containing four grey-green eggs, marked with olive-brown. S. melanocephalus, of the Pacific coast of North America, lacks chestnut tints. Aphriza virgata, the Surf-bird, a brownish species with white alar bar, rump, and abdomen, found from Alaska to Chili, may perhaps be placed here. The position of the scarce Patagonian Pluvianellus sociabilis, which is chiefly grey above and white below, is equally doubtful. Both species lack the hallux. Haematopus ostralegus, the Oyster-catcher, inhabits Europe and Central Asia, extending–as the form H. osculans–to China and Japan; in winter it reaches Senegambia, Mozambique, Ceylon, and South China. From the black head, neck, and mantle, white lower back, underparts, wing-bar, and base of tail, it is called the Sea-Pie; while a habit of opening mussels with the long wedge-shaped bill gives it the name of Mussel-picker. Oyster-catcher seems a misnomer, but worms, crustaceans, and so forth vary the diet. It frequents shores and inland rivers, depositing three, or rarely four, oval drab eggs, with blackish and grey markings, on sand, shingle, or rocks. {277}The scream in the breeding season is often quite deafening, but at other times these wary birds are seldom noisy. Their flight is powerful, and they can swim and dive. The bill is orange and the feet flesh-coloured in this species, as well as in H. longirostris of the Moluccas, Papuasia, Australia, and New Zealand, with longer bill and entirely black primaries. H. leucopus of Chili, Patagonia, and the Falklands, has a black lower back and pale feet; H. palliatus (with its races frazari, galapagensis, and durnfordi), ranging from Nova Scotia and California to Patagonia, has a brown mantle. Of the perfectly black or brownish-black species, H. niger, of both coasts of the North Pacific, has pale flesh-coloured feet; H. moquini, of the Ethiopian Region, the Canaries, and Madeira, has them deep red; H. ater, found from Peru to Patagonia and the Falklands, has the scarlet bill compressed and upturned; H. unicolor of Australia and New Zealand has the feet brick-red. This genus has three toes, as has the remarkable Ibidorhynchus struthersi, with long decurved red bill and greenish-grey feet, found from Turkestan to China, and in the Himalayas. The front of the head is black, margined laterally with white; the upper parts and neck are grey, with white on the wings and outer rectrices, and black undulations on the tail, which has the tip and coverts mostly black; the under parts are white with a black gorget. The bill is black in the young. The note is whistling, the habits are like those of an Oyster-catcher, while islands in stony or sandy rivers furnish breeding sites.[187]

Himantopus contains the extraordinarily long-legged Stilts, of which H. candidus visits Britain and Northern Europe, but breeds only in the southern parts, including Hungary. It also nests in India and Ceylon, and in Africa–though chiefly in the north. In the cold season it reaches Timor, New Zealand, and elsewhere. The head, long neck, lower back, and under surface are white, the remaining parts greenish-black; the iris is carmine, the legs are pink. Females are browner above, while immature males have the crown and nape black or brownish. The note is clear and reiterated, the habits are Plover-like, but the nest, placed on mud or in grass-tufts, is more substantial than in those birds, and contains four olive eggs with black scrawls or blotches. Whether searching the shallows for insects or other food, hovering overhead with dangling feet, or flying with them outstretched, the appearance is equally remarkable. H. mexicanus of temperate {278}North America, migrating to Peru and Brazil, has a black occiput and nape; H. knudseni of the Sandwich Islands has the sides of the neck also black; H. brasiliensis of southern South America has the nape only black, with a white collar below; H. leucocephalus of Australia and New Zealand, which visits the Malay Islands, the Philippines, the Moluccas and Papuasia, is similar, but the black does not reach the eye; H. melas of New Zealand is uniform black. H. (Cladorhynchus) pectoralis of Southern Australia has webbed feet like the four-toed Avocets, though itself three-toed like other Stilts, from which a bay pectoral band distinguishes it. Of the Avocets with their curious up-curved beak, Recurvirostra andina, of the Chilian Andes, alone resembles the Stilts in possessing a black mantle. R. avocetta, which bred in England until at least 1824, now ranges from Denmark and Holland to Mongolia and South Africa, though decidedly local; in Asia it migrates southwards to Ceylon and Hainan. The plumage is white, with the crown, nape, inner scapulars, and part of the wings black, the legs light blue. It is called Cobbler's Awl, from its long, flexible bill, or Yelper, from its loud clear cry. Its general habits and slight nest recall those of Plovers, though the eggs are larger; while it seeks for aquatic creatures, in shallows or pools left by the tide, with a curious scooping sidelong action of the beak. R. americana, with a pale rufous head and neck, inhabits temperate America, extending in winter to the West Indies and Guatemala: A. rubricollis (novae hollandiae), with those portions chestnut, ranges from Australia, where it breeds, to New Zealand.

Sub-fam. 2.–The Tringinae of the present work–four-toed unless otherwise stated–are often separated into the groups Phalaropodinae, Totaninae, and Tringinae proper; the first being remarkable for the Coot-like digits with lobed webs. Phalaropus fulicarius, the Grey Phalarope, which visits us in winter, and has even reached Chili and New Zealand, breeds in Spitsbergen, Iceland, Greenland, Arctic America, and Asia. It is blackish and chestnut above and rufous below, with a little white on the face, wings, and tail; but the plumage differs remarkably in winter, the upper parts becoming grey with a black nuchal patch, and the lower white. As in all the genus, the female is said to court the male, which is duller, and performs most of the duties of incubation. The eggs are larger and rounder than in the next species, the nest less concealed. P. (Lobipes) hyperboreus, the Red-necked Phalarope, {279}with more tapering bill, breeds in Scandinavia, Russia, and Siberia, as well as from Alaska to Greenland, Iceland, Shetland, Orkney, and the Hebrides; it rarely migrates to Western Europe, but reaches India, New Guinea, Guatemala, and Peru. It has dark grey and rufous upper parts, a white alar bar, throat, and belly, a grey breast, and chestnut sides of the neck nearly meeting in front. By winter the red tints have vanished and the white has increased. This attractive little bird is often so tame that it will feed at the feet of an intruder, or will even proceed to settle itself on its small and rather deep nest, placed in some tuft of herbage; the four eggs are greenish-olive with black markings. When disturbed from them it flies around with a shrill reiterated "tweet." It breeds in swamps or by hill-lakes, and can swim well, but is not found so far out to sea as the Grey Phalarope. P. (Steganopus) wilsoni, of temperate North America, migrating as far as Patagonia and the Falklands, is a larger, longer-billed bird, with a white nape and a black stripe down each side of the head and neck.

Tringa alpina, the Dunlin or Oxbird, is familiar to most autumn visitors to our flatter coasts. Breeding not uncommonly in Britain, though chiefly in the north, it is found in the colder parts of both the Old and the New World, while exceptionally its eggs have been obtained in Southern Spain; in winter it extends to the Canaries, Zanzibar, India, China, California, and the West Indies. When first they arrive on the shore the large flocks are remarkably tame, and allow even gunners to walk among them, as they forage with head bent down over the mud or sand, or rise with a cheeping cry, only to alight again at close quarters. The slight nest, placed amongst heather or short grass on some moory hill-pasture or seaside marsh, contains four greenish-white eggs with brown or rufous spotting. The plumage exhibits a mixture of rufous, grey, and black above, and is chiefly white beneath, with a large, black, pectoral patch; the decurved bill and the feet are black. Most of the rufous and all the black disappear in winter. T. minuta, the Little Stint, a miniature Dunlin with no black on the breast, and a short, straight bill, visits Britain regularly on passage, and breeds from the coasts of Northern Norway and Russia to Arctic Asia, a red-throated species or race (T. ruficollis) occurring east of the Lena; in winter the birds reach South Africa, the Indian Region, Australia, and Tasmania. T. minutilla, the darker American Stint, with olive feet, which occupies the Arctic New {280}World, has been obtained in England, and migrates at least as far as Ecuador and Brazil; the very similar Eastern Asiatic T. subminuta reaches Bering Island, and winters southwards to the Indian Region and Australia. The habits and eggs of the Little Stint resemble those of the Dunlin, but the latter are smaller; the note, too, is more like the twitter of a swallow. T. temmincki is greyish-brown above and more buff below, with dark markings throughout, white belly, alar bar and four outer rectrices. In winter the dusky markings vanish, and the birds resemble miniature Common Sandpipers. They frequently visit Britain, and breed in Northern Europe and Asia, chiefly beyond the limits of forest growth; migrating southwards to Senegambia, North-East Africa, India, the Malay countries, and China. Temminck's Stint has a hovering, butterfly-like flight, and habitually perches on posts and the like, uttering a continuous trilling note or song; the four buff or greyish-green eggs with their brown spotting are deposited on a little herbage among sedge or grass. T. subarquata, the Curlew-Sandpiper, is grey, black, and rufous, with chestnut under surface and black bars on the white rump, both these parts becoming white in winter; the bill is long and decurved. As far as is yet known, the breeding-quarters lie in the far north of Asia, eggs having recently (1897) been taken near the mouth of the Yenesei: but the bird occurs in Arctic Europe in spring and autumn, and visits our shores irregularly in company with other small waders in autumn, wandering occasionally to Eastern America and Alaska, and migrating to Cape Colony, India, and Tasmania. T. fuscicollis, Bonaparte's Sandpiper, with white upper tail-coverts, but dusky rump and short bill, inhabits Arctic America, reaching the whole of South America in winter, and even straying to Britain. It has also occurred in Franz Josef Land in summer. It somewhat resembles the Dunlin in appearance, and the Purple Sandpiper in habits. The closely allied T. bairdi of nearly all America, which breeds towards the North, is distinguished by the median tail-coverts being brownish; it has once been observed in South Africa. Another dark-rumped species is T. maculata, the Pectoral Sandpiper, blackish-brown and rufous above, and buff with dusky streaks beneath, the belly being white. It has occurred several times in Britain, but inhabits the "Barren Grounds" from Alaska to Hudson's Bay, and migrates as far as Patagonia. Four greenish-buff eggs with brown blotches are deposited in dry grassy spots. {281}The male is especially remarkable for his habit, apparently unique in the Family, of inflating the oesophagus during his courting performances, until it hangs down like a bag; meanwhile he takes short flights or rises with stiffened wings in the air, uttering a muffled booming note.[188] The Old World form, T. acuminata, extends from East Siberia to Alaska, migrating to the Malay Archipelago, New Guinea, Australia, and New Zealand; it differs in its white chin and distinctly streaked flanks. T. maritima or striata, the Purple Sandpiper, is brownish-grey above, with rufous spotting on the blacker mantle, and some white on the wing; the throat and breast are greyish with dusky streaks, the abdomen is white. In winter, when the upper parts are purplish-black and the breast is unspotted, it occurs from Scandinavia and temperate America to the Mediterranean and the Bermudas, arriving in Britain later than its congeners, and frequenting spray-washed, seaweed-covered rocks in search of small molluscs. It is usually tame, can swim well, and utters a soft low note. The eggs, often of a very green ground-colour, are deposited in mossy or grassy places on hill-tops, from the Färoes northwards, though in the more Arctic regions of Europe and Eastern America the bird breeds at the sea-level. It nests in Franz Josef Land, but is rare in Asia. The Prybilof Island form has been called T. ptilocnemis, the Alaskan T. couesi. T. canutus, the Knot, possibly, but not probably, named after Canute, has in summer a reddish head and neck, black, cinnamon, and white upper parts, chestnut under surface, and white tail-coverts barred with black. The plumage varies greatly according to age and season, but the winter adult is grey above and white with dusky flecks below. While no absolutely identified eggs exist, this species undoubtedly breeds on the North Georgian or Parry Islands, Melville Peninsula, Grinnell Land, Smith's Sound, and Lady Franklin Bay, but apparently not in Arctic Europe, though possibly in Asia. Large flocks migrate to our shores, and some individuals reach Brazil, Damara-Land, the Indian Region, Australia, and New Zealand; they are tame on arrival and used to be netted for the table in England. In Arctic America Saxifraga oppositifolia and Algae vary the diet of insects and molluscs, but other Sandpipers are known to eat plants. {282}The East Siberian T. crassirostris, with no chestnut beneath, migrates to Japan, the Indian Region, and Australia.

Ereunetes pusillus, called the Semipalmated Sandpiper from its partly webbed toes, resembles the western form of the Little Stint in coloration; it breeds in the extreme north of America, and has reached Patagonia in winter. Eurynorhynchus pygmaeus, the Spoon-billed Sandpiper, on the other hand, is coloured like the eastern red-throated Little Stint, but is especially remarkable for its large, broad, shovel-shaped bill. The breeding grounds are not known, but it has been obtained on both sides of the North Pacific, and on migration in Japan, China, India, and Burma. Calidris arenaria, the Sanderling, easily recognisable by the want of a hind-toe, is rufous and black above, and white below, having a chestnut throat spotted with black. It reaches us in August, while some individuals remain throughout the winter, being at that season uniform grey with white under surface. The eggs, which have a peculiar greenish tint, and are like those of the Curlew in miniature, have been taken in Greenland and Arctic America, but, except perhaps in Iceland, never yet in Northern Europe or Asia. Sanderlings are almost as cosmopolitan as Turnstones, and on migration are commonly observed running at the edge of the surf, uttering a weak, shrill cry. Limicola platyrhyncha, the Broad-billed Sandpiper, has a wide flat beak with the pointed tip slightly decurved; the upper plumage is mottled with dark brown, rufous, and white; the breast is reddish-white, spotted with brown; the abdomen white. It occasionally visits Britain, and breeds on the fells of Norway, the fens of Lapland, and thence eastwards to Russia, but is rarely met with in Asia until the Sea of Okhotsk is reached; in winter, when it becomes grey above and white below, it resorts to North Africa, Madagascar, Ceylon, the Philippines, the Moluccas, and China. It soars like a Snipe, utters a rapid, double note, and is somewhat skulking. The parent sits very closely on the eggs, in which the greenish or buff ground-colour is commonly nearly hidden by chocolate or rufous markings. Tryngites rufescens, the Buff-breasted Sandpiper, which has wandered to Britain and Heligoland, breeds in the extreme north of America, and just reaches East Siberia; in winter it ranges to Peru and Argentina. Light brown and black above, and reddish-buff with a few black spots below, the distinctive black marblings beneath the quills are well seen as the bird, according to its habit, runs along with one wing raised.

{283}Here may be mentioned Aechmorhynchus cancellatus (parvirostris), of Christmas and Paumotu Islands in the Pacific, which is rufous-brown with white under surface mostly barred with brown; and Prosobonia leucoptera, Latham's White-winged Sandpiper, from Tahiti and Eimeo, with brown head and mantle, chestnut rump and lower parts, white wing-patch and superciliary streak–species of doubtful affinity, which are both presumably extinct.

The large genus Totanus is more inland in its haunts during the breeding season than Tringa. T. calidris, the Redshank, is resident in Britain, and ranges through Europe, the Mediterranean, and Asia south of lat. 60° N., migrating to South Africa, the Indian Region, and Japan. The upper parts are light brown with darker bars and streaks, the primaries being black; the rump, secondaries, tail, and lower surface are white, but the two latter are barred with blackish and flecked with brown respectively; the feet are orange-red, or yellowish in the young. In winter the colour is ashy-grey, with nearly white under parts. This bird breeds in salt marshes or swamps, not uncommonly far inland, and deposits four buff eggs with reddish or purplish-brown spots in grass or rush-tufts, making little or no nest, but drawing the herbage together over the spot to conceal it. Both parents usually rise a long way ahead of the intruder, and fly wildly round, uttering their shrill whistling cry of "pitotoi." Redshanks are especially wary on the coast in winter, and, like Curlews or Lapwings, are the bane of the shooter; they can swim and dive, and not uncommonly perch on trees; the food, procured on sandy spots or sea-weed-covered rocks, consists of molluscs, crustaceans, worms, and aquatic insects. T. fuscus, the Dusky or Spotted Redshank, a scarce visitor to our shores, breeds in Europe and Asia, chiefly north of the Arctic Circle, and has a similar winter range to its congener. It generally nests in forest-clearings some way from water, and lays fine greenish eggs, blotched with varied browns. The female sits very closely. Less noisy than its kindred, unless accompanied by young, it flies comparatively strongly, perches on trees, and recalls the Greenshank by its habits. The plumage is black, with white spots above, white rump and barred tail; in winter it resembles that of the Redshank, and the crimson legs become orange-red. T. flavipes, the Yellowshank, which has wandered to England, inhabits the colder parts of North America, and migrates as far as Patagonia; it is black, grey-brown, and white above, and white with dusky {284}markings below, the legs being bright yellow. T. melanoleucus, of the same districts, is similar, but larger. T. guttifer is a rare North Pacific species, recorded in winter from Calcutta and Burma. It is not unlike T. glottis, the Greenshank, which ranges over Northern Europe and Asia, and extends in winter to Cape Colony, the Indian Region, and Australia. This bird has wandered to America, and breeds in the hill-districts of Scotland, resembling the Dusky Redshank in its selection of dry nesting sites, habit of perching, and so forth. It is, however, much more noisy, uttering a strident note, or one dimly recalling a Woodpecker, while it lays large, buffish-white eggs with rich brown blotches. It sometimes eats small fish, as does its congener T. incanus. The plumage is grey and black above in summer and grey in winter, with white rump and tail, the latter being barred with dusky; the white breast is spotted with brown in the breeding season; the slightly up-turned beak is blackish; the legs are olive. T. stagnatilis, the Marsh Sandpiper, a miniature Greenshank of somewhat similar winter range, occupies South Europe and Central Asia. T. glareola, the Wood Sandpiper, is olive-brown above, with small whitish spots and white rump; the white cheeks, fore-neck, and breast are heavily streaked with brown; the tail-feathers and axillaries are also white with black bars and brown flecks respectively, the feet are olive. The nest has once at least been found in Britain, whence the bird ranges over North Europe and Asia; it has apparently bred in Spain and Italy, and migrates to Cape Colony, the Indian Region, and Australia. In this species and the following the note is shrill and often tremulous, while the former occasionally, and the latter habitually, lays its greenish eggs with reddish-brown spots in deserted nests of other birds near inland waters, instead of on the ground. T. ochropus, the Green Sandpiper, which is less spotted above, has much wider black tail-bars, and blackish axillaries with white chevrons. It has been suspected of breeding in Britain, and occupies a similar though somewhat more northern range than the last-named, but does not reach Australia. T. solitarius, with almost uniform brown median rectrices, inhabits temperate, and migrates to tropical, South America; it has been shot in the littoral marshes of western England. T. (Symphemia) semipalmatus, largest of the genus, the Willet of temperate North America, which extends to Brazil in winter and wanders to Europe, is brownish-grey with black mottlings, the outspread {285}wing shewing a white patch, and the white under parts brownish streaks. In the cold season all the dark markings vanish. T. (Heteractitis) incanus, having uniform grey upper, and white under surface, closely barred in summer with dusky, is found through the Eastern Pacific Islands, and on the mainland from Alaska to the Galápagos. T. brevipes, with white-banded upper tail-coverts, occurs from Kamtschatka and East Siberia to the Malay Islands and Australia. Both breed to the northward.

Machetes pugnax, the Ruff–with its consort the Reeve–was formerly well-known in England from the large numbers netted or snared for the table. Our nesting birds are now reduced to a few pairs, but considerable numbers visit us on passage, while they breed through northern Europe and Asia, and migrate to South Africa, the Indian region, and Japan, wandering rarely to Iceland and Eastern America. The Ruff's nuptial plumage, which varies extraordinarily and individually, may be chiefly black, white, chestnut, buff, grey and white, and so forth, often with metallic hues or concentric barring. A tuft of stiff curled plumes springs from near each ear, the feathers of the face are replaced by yellowish or pinkish tubercles, and an ample distensible ruff overhangs the breast. Males regain the same colours annually, but after breeding become like the females, which are dark brown and buff, and one-third smaller. The polygamous tendencies and habit of "hilling," i.e. sparring on some slight eminence for the Reeves, have been frequently described;[189] the note, though seldom heard, is said to resemble ka-ka-kuk; the food includes seeds, insects, and worms; the nest, placed among herbage in the drier parts of a swamp, contains four greenish, snipe-like eggs, with rich brown blotches. The Ruff performs many antics while courting, but leaves all the work of building, incubation, and the care of the young to his mate.

Bartramia longicauda, which accidentally visits Britain, Continental Europe, and even Australia, inhabits North America, and migrates southward to Chili and Argentina. It is light brown above, varied with black, buff, and white, the long wedge-shaped tail and the under surface of the wing are barred, the rufous lower parts spotted, with black. The throat and belly are white. In winter it is a shy bird, crouching, running with jerks of the tail, or taking short flights; it utters a soft whistle, and lays pinkish-yellow {286}eggs with brown spots in a slight nest on cultivated lands.

Actitis hypoleucus, the Common Sandpiper, breeds in many parts of Britain, and ranges from the Arctic Circle in Europe and Asia to the Atlantic Islands, the Mediterranean, the Himalayas, and Japan; it leaves us before winter, however, and migrates to most of the Ethiopian, Indian, and Australian Regions. The coloration is greenish-brown above, with dusky markings, and some white on the wings and tail; the breast is grey with dark streaks, the belly white. In winter the upper parts are more uniform. Rapid pebbly streams with islands, or flat stretches of sand are the birds' favourite resorts, where their shrill whistle and somewhat Wagtail-like habits make them very conspicuous; they fly, run, perch, or swim with equal ease. The nest, usually partly sheltered by rough vegetation or drifted rubbish, contains four reddish-buff eggs with brown and lilac spotting. A. macularius, the Spotted Sandpiper of North America generally, found in winter southwards to Amazonia and Brazil, is smaller, with round black spots beneath in summer; it lacks the nearly white eighth and ninth secondaries of its congener.

Terekia cinerea, with the up-curved beak of a Greenshank, but the habits and eggs of the last genus, breeds from Archangel eastward to the Pacific, leaving these haunts for the Indian Region to winter, when it is also found in South Africa and Australia. It is grey and black above, with white on the secondaries, and black scapulars, and white below streaked with dusky.

Micropalama himantopus, the long-legged Stilt-Sandpiper, inhabits the extreme North-East of America, migrating to Peru and Argentina. It has black, rufous, and greyish-white upper parts, white tail-coverts, and under parts with blackish bars; in winter the back is grey, while the bars nearly disappear beneath. The habits, nest, and eggs are much as in other Sandpipers.

The Godwits (Limosa) have long legs and bills, the latter being slightly up-curved. L. belgica, the Black-tailed Godwit, nested regularly, up to about 1824, in the eastern counties of England, and, like the Ruff, was netted for eating. It now breeds from Iceland, the Färoes, and Holland to Siberia and Amurland, the smaller eastern form being sometimes denominated L. melanuroïdes; the winter range reaches to the Atlantic Islands, Abyssinia, Ceylon, the Malay Islands, Japan, Australia, and Polynesia.

{287}The breeding plumage is reddish-brown and black above, with rufous crown, neck, and breast, marked with dusky; the rump and terminal portion of the tail are black, the basal portion, tail-coverts, alar bar, and belly white: in winter the upper parts are brownish, the lower grey. The American representative, L. hudsonica, occupies the barren grounds of the north, and migrates to Patagonia and the Falkland Islands; it has black instead of nearly white axillaries. Though rarer in Britain than the succeeding species during the passage in autumn and spring, small flocks of fairly tame Black-tailed Godwits then frequent our muddy shores and sands–especially in the south; the summer note, or yelp, is louder than the winter cry. Four elongated pear-shaped eggs, of a dull olive shade with brown markings, are deposited in a slightly lined hollow in some grassy marsh. The males of Godwits constantly incubate. L. lapponica, the shorter-legged Bar-tailed Godwit, inhabits the countries from Finmark eastward to about the Taimyr Peninsula, where it meets the race L. uropygialis, which extends to Alaska. The western form migrates to the Gambia, Somaliland and North India, the eastern through Japan and China to the Malay Archipelago, Australia, New Zealand, and Oceania, rarely occurring in south-western North America. In summer the mantle is rufous-brown and black, the head and under parts are chestnut, with dark markings from the crown to the sides, the rump is white with a few dusky streaks, the tail and axillaries are white barred with brown: in winter the upper surface is chiefly grey, and the lower white. L. uropygialis has the rump also barred. The nest of the Bar-tailed Godwit is usually in comparatively dry spots, or even on forest-clearings, the eggs being brighter green and more finely marked than those of the Black-tailed species. L. fedoa, the Marbled Godwit of northern North America, which winters southwards to Central America and the West Indies, is distinguished by its large size and buff axillaries.

The almost cosmopolitan genus Numenius is remarkable for its prolonged decurved bill, and its elongated legs. N. arquata, the Curlew or Whaup, breeds freely on the moorlands of Britain, and extends throughout Northern Europe and Asia to Lake Baikal; after breeding it visits the Atlantic Islands, the whole of Africa, and the Indian Region.

{288}[Illustration: FIG. 59.–Curlew. Numenius arquata. × ⅕.]

The plumage is pale brown with darker streaks, the rump, tail, and axillaries being white, and the two latter barred with dark brown; the belly is white, the breast nearly so in winter. Found on our shores from autumn to spring, its wary habits are as well-known as its wild rippling note; the food consists of insects, worms, berries, and so forth; while four large pear-shaped olive-and-brown eggs are deposited in an ample depression formed on boggy or heathery ground. N. cyanopus, a distinct East Siberian form, met with in Australia and occasionally from New Guinea to Borneo in winter, has the rump-region brown and black. N. tenuirostris, of the Mediterranean and South Russia, resembles the Curlew, but is much smaller; N. longirostris of temperate North America, migrating to Central America and the Antilles, has cinnamon axillaries–like all the New World members of the genus–and a dark rump. The remaining species, or Whimbrels, have a pale central streak down the crown, less distinct in N. borealis, the Eskimo Curlew, which has rufous axillaries barred with brown, and a rump like the back. This bird wanders to Britain, but breeds in the extreme north of America, and in winter reaches the south of that Continent. N. phaeopus, the typical {289}Whimbrel or May-bird, nests in the Shetlands and perhaps still in the Orkneys and North Ronay in the Hebrides; in summer it takes the place of the Curlew in the Färoes and Iceland, strays to Greenland, and occupies Northern Europe and Asia; while it visits the Azores, the whole of Africa, the Indian Region, and Australia in winter. Specimens from Eastern Asia, with more streaked rumps, have been separated as N. variegatus. In general plumage and habits the Whimbrel resembles the Curlew; it is, however, much smaller, the cry consists of sharper and more quickly repeated notes, and the parents, though anxious, are less shy at the nest. They often descend in a gyrating fashion, closing one wing. N. hudsonicus, of Arctic North America, which winters throughout South America, and has once occurred in Spain, resembles N. borealis in its cinnamon axillaries, but is larger and less ruddy beneath. N. tahitiensis, common in the Pacific Islands, and probably breeding in Alaska, is recognisable by the bristly-pointed flank-feathers; N. minutus, ranging from East Siberia in summer to the Malay Islands and Australia in winter, has the back of the metatarsus as well as the front scutellated.

Sub-fam. 3. Scolopacinae.–Macrorhamphus griseus, the Dowitcher, breeding in the extreme north of North America, and its larger and brighter western race, M. scolopaceus, are rufous birds with darker variegations, the lower back and tail being white, but the latter and its upper coverts shewing blackish barring. The bill is widened towards the tip, while in winter the plumage is grey and white. One form or the other has strayed to Britain, Western Europe, and Eastern Asia, the range on migration reaching Brazil and Chili. The habits resemble those of Redshanks. M. taczanowskii, with black-mottled rump, occupies East Siberia, and winters in India, Borneo, and thence to China.

Scolopax rusticula, the well-known Woodcock, brown, grey, and buff in colour, with blackish vermiculations and blotches above and bars below, has two transverse buff stripes on the black hind-crown. It inhabits Northern and Central Europe and Asia–with the Atlantic Islands and Japan–and migrates to the Mediterranean, Persia, India, Ceylon, and China, or even strays to eastern North America. Breeding freely in Britain, where large additional flocks arrive in autumn, it frequents leaf-strewn woods in which marshy spots or rivulets alternate with dry ground; the food consists of worms, small molluscs and insects, the first being {290}obtained by probing the soil with the long sensitive beak. The flight is rapid and steady, the note–not uttered when flushed–is whistling; while during incubation a curious habit prevails among the cocks of "roading" or traversing fixed routes at twilight, and uttering hoarse notes. The nest is a depression, usually lined with dry leaves; the four eggs, much larger and rounder than those of the Snipe, are creamy-buff with pale brown, grey, and lilac markings. The young are often carried by the parents between their thighs, the bill probably aiding to steady them. Woodcocks are now seldom snared or netted in England. S. saturata of Java and North-West New Guinea is a darker bird with almost uniform black primaries, and a white abdomen with dusky bars. S. rochusseni of the Moluccas has partly bare tibiae, like many Snipe, and a nearly plain buff breast. The Woodcock of eastern North America is Philohela minor, which has the three outer primaries curiously attenuated.

The genus Gallinago differs from the above in having longitudinal stripes on the head. G. caelestis, the Common or Full Snipe,[190] breeds in Northern and Central Europe and Asia, and even in North Italy; it is recorded from Greenland and the Bermudas, and migrates to the Atlantic Islands, the Gambia, the Upper Nile, and the Indian Region. Its brown, black, and buff plumage, with three buff streaks on the head, is well-known, while there are normally fourteen rectrices. G. sabinii is merely a dark form. As regards its autumnal influx and food the Snipe resembles the Woodcock, but the cry of "scape-scape" and twisting {291}flight on rising, remain to be mentioned, while the alternate zig-zag rise and fall of the bird when circling in the air near its nest, with the curious drumming or bleating noise produced at each descent must not be omitted. The method of production of this sound is still uncertain, but is either due to the vibration of the wings, or more probably to that of the webs of the outer rectrices. The slight nest is formed in a tuft of herbage in some marshy place, the four pointed eggs being olive, with spots and oblique blotches of brown. Snipe occasionally perch on trees or squat upon the ground until touched. The very similar G. delicata (wilsoni), breeding northwards from the northern United States, and migrating to northern South America, has usually sixteen rectrices, as have the six following species. G. major, the Double or Solitary Snipe, nests as far south in Europe as Holland and Poland, and reaches the Yenesei; it is known from the Tian-Shan Mountains, Turkestan, and Persia, and winters even in Natal and Damara-Land, visiting Britain annually on passage. It rises silently and heavily when flushed, is to some extent nocturnal, and drums when on the ground. The three outer tail-feathers are chiefly white.[191] G. frenata, ranging from Argentina and Tarapacá to Venezuela and Guiana; G. nobilis of Colombia and Ecuador, G. paraguaiae, reaching from Amazonia and Bolivia to the Falklands, G. macrodactyla (bernieri) of Madagascar, and G. aequatorialis (nigripennis), of the Ethiopian Region generally, conclude this section of the genus. G. australis is similar to our Snipe, but larger; it breeds in Japan, and migrates through Formosa to Australia; G. nemoricola, the Wood-Snipe of the hills of India and Burma, has the lower parts distinctly barred; G. solitaria, breeding at considerable elevations from Turkestan to Assam and Japan, and wintering in those countries and China, exhibits distinct white streaks above. In the three last-named species the rectrices number about eighteen, in the next six they may be as few as fourteen. South America furnishes five forms somewhat like Woodcocks in their habits and eggs, namely, G. gigantea of Brazil and Paraguay, the largest of the Snipes; G. undulata of Guiana; G. jamesoni, ranging from Colombia to Bolivia; G. imperialis of the former country; and G. stricklandi of Chili and Patagonia. All these recall the Common Snipe by their coloration, as does the small short-winged G. aucklandica, which, with its different races, {292}occupies the Auckland, Snares, Chatham, and Antipodes Islands, and has visited New Zealand. G. stenura, the Pin-tailed Snipe, with twenty-six rectrices, the eight outer of which on each side are stiff and attenuated, breeds from the Yenesei to the Pacific, and winters in the Indian Region; G. megala, with twelve of its twenty tail-feathers narrowed, inhabits East Siberia and passes through Japan to China, the Philippines, Borneo, and the Moluccas in winter. G. (Limnocryptes) gallinula, the Jack Snipe, found in Britain from autumn to spring, breeds from Scandinavia to Siberia, and migrates to North Africa, the Indian Region, and Japan. The upper parts show a greenish and purple gloss, while it has only twelve rectrices. Like G. major, it frequents drier spots than the Common Snipe, and rises without a sound in the shooting season, the flight being butterfly-like; the habits in summer are similar to those of the last-named species, and the eggs even larger for its size.

Of the so-called Painted Snipes the female of Rhynchaea or Rostratula capensis has a brown head with chestnut cheeks and collar, a brownish-green back with blackish freckling, scattered golden-buff ocelli and streaks on the upper parts, a black fore-neck, a white under surface and ring round the eye. The male is duller, without the chestnut tints. This species inhabits the whole Ethiopian and most of the Indian Region, as well as Egypt, Arabia, and Japan; the larger R. australis, with only a chestnut patch on the nape, occupies Australia. R. semicollaris of Chili and Patagonia, which visits Peru and Brazil, shews no chestnut collar, but has black upper wing-coverts with round white spots; the sexes being alike. In mature females of the Old World forms the trachea extends in a loop or loops over the furcula, or even over the pectoral muscles.[192] The habits of these birds are Snipe-like, but the flight is slower, and the hen's note purring; the whitish eggs with plentiful black spots are somewhat Plover-like, while R. semicollaris apparently lays only two. The Indian species is said to hiss at intruders, with its wings and tail expanded into a disc.

The short-winged Phegornis mitchelli, which lacks a hallux, is brown above, and white with very close dusky bars below; the head is black, save for a white band which surrounds the occiput; while a neck-collar is formed by a fine orange patch behind and a white area in front. It inhabits the Andes from Peru to Chili.

Fam. II. CHIONIDIDAE.–This group–with Dromas–possibly {293}connects the Charadriidae and the Laridae. The peculiar bill and short, entirely reticulated metatarsus have already been mentioned (pp. 268-269), while both sexes are pure white, the downy young being grey. Chionis alba, the "Kelp Pigeon" of the Falklands, which inhabits the Straits of Magellan, New Year Island, South Georgia and Louis-Philippe Land, and has once been shot in Ireland, has the bill pinkish or yellowish with a black tip and flat sheath; the bare face is covered with whitish papillae, and the feet are bluish. C. minor, of Kerguelen Land, Prince Edward and Marion Islands, and the Crozets, has the sheath protuberant, the bill and facial caruncle black, and the feet pinkish. There is said to be a blunt black carpal spur, less prominent in the female. Both species are often found at sea, flying strongly, or sailing with outspread wings; but on land their appearance, gait, and manner of courting are curiously like those of Pigeons. The note is a gentle chuckle; the food consists of mussels–which they break with ease–crustaceans, sea-weed, and even eggs of other birds; their own eggs, two or rarely three in number, are of the Oyster-catcher type, but commonly redder in the markings, so that they recall those of the Razor-bill or Tropic-bird. When the flocks separate into pairs for breeding, they are tame and inquisitive, while they fashion a nest of dried plant-stems in hollows among rocks, or occasionally in Petrels' burrows.

Fam. III. GLAREOLIDAE.–Of these Old World forms Sub-fam. 1, Glareolinae, includes the genera Glareola, Cursorius, Pluvianus, and perhaps Ortyxelus, the first two having the middle claw pectinated, and Glareola a short, stout bill with wide gape, a forked tail, and long pointed wings. G. pratincola, the Pratincole, which occasionally visits Britain by way of Western France, breeds in Southern Europe and North Africa, and extends to Sind and the Tian-Shan Mountains in Asia, migrating to other parts of India and to South Africa. It is brown above, with blacker wings and tail, the secondaries having white tips, and the rectrices white bases and coverts; the throat is buff, surrounded by a black line, the breast brownish, the abdomen white; the axillaries and inner under wing-coverts are chestnut, the bill and feet blackish, with red base to the former. G. orientalis, found from Mongolia to Ceylon, the Malay Archipelago, and North Australia, has the tail less forked and little white on the secondaries; G. ocularis, of Madagascar, recorded from Mauritius and East Africa, has a pale chestnut {294}breast, and the outer pair of rectrices white with broad black ends; G. melanoptera (nordmanni) of South-East Europe and West Asia, migrating to South Africa, has black axillaries and under wing-coverts, as have the long-legged G. grallaria (isabella) with slightly forked tail and chestnut flanks, which breeds in Eastern Australia and occurs from New Guinea to Borneo, and the small grey-backed G. lactea of India, Ceylon, and Burma, with much white on the wings. The other species have reddish feet, fading to yellow; G. cinerea, ranging from the Niger to the Congo, possesses a rufous nuchal collar and white axillaries; G. nuchalis of the White Nile, and the hardly separable G. emini of Foda in Equatorial Africa, have a white collar and grey axillaries; G. megapoda, extending from Liberia to the Niger, shews a rufous collar and grey axillaries. The last five forms, and G. ocularis, have the tail merely emarginated. Pratincoles have a shrill, screaming note and Swallow-like flight, insects, on which they feed, being ordinarily captured on the wing; but the general habits are those of Plovers, the birds running very fast, and the parents often swooping down upon an intruder, or cowering on the ground to draw attention from their brood. They frequent sand-banks, lagoons, bare plains, or coast-lands, laying two, three, or rarely four oval greenish-buff or greyish eggs, with purplish-black, brown, and grey marblings, without any nest, on the sun-baked mud.

The genus Cursorius, or Courser, inhabits the hotter portions of the Old World. C. gallicus, the Cream-coloured Courser, which visits Britain and the southern half of Europe irregularly, is met with in the Canary and Cape Verd Islands, North Africa, and the countries from Arabia to Northern India. The brown bill is thick and decurved, the whitish legs are long; the plumage is buff, with slaty nape, black remiges, axillaries, under wing-coverts, and subterminal tail-bar; the face is white with a black post-ocular streak. Seldom found in flocks, this bird frequents dry sandy plains and deserts, crouching to avoid notice, running with extraordinary speed if approached, but rarely rising on the wing. The flight, however, is at times protracted. The food consists almost entirely of insects, such as grasshoppers, yet it includes small molluscs; the note is harsh; while two, or exceptionally three, round stone-coloured eggs with grey and brown markings are deposited on the bare ground. The axillaries and under wing-coverts are greyish-buff in C. somalensis, of Somaliland, but brownish-grey in C. {295}rufus, of South Africa, which has a black abdominal patch. C. temmincki (senegalensis), of most of the Ethiopian Region, and C. coromandelicus, of India and Ceylon, are similar, but have the nape black and white, the latter possessing white tail-coverts.

In the remaining species (Rhinoptilus of some authors) the bill is almost straight. C. bicinctus of South Africa is mottled with brown above, having much chestnut on the wings, white tail-coverts, and buff under parts crossed by two black pectoral bars. C. bisignatus, ranging from East Africa to Benguela, and C. hartingi of Somali-Land, are hardly more than races of the above. C. cinctus of East Equatorial Africa, and the barely separable C. seebohmi of South-West Africa, are easily recognised by the four bands on the white lower surface, the highest and lowest being brown, and the two intermediate black, with a streaky buff space between them. C. chalcopterus, of the Ethiopian Region generally, and C. albifasciatus with a more distinct white alar bar, are plain brown birds with metallic purple hues on the black primaries, white post-ocular streak and throat, and white belly surmounted by a black band. C. bitorquatus, of the districts near Madras, differs in shewing below three successive bands or gorgets, one of rufous and two of brown, separated by white. Though all Coursers agree in general habits, the last three seem to prefer bushy ground, and C. rufus will perch in trees.

Pluvianus aegyptius, apparently allied to Cursorius, inhabits West and North-East Africa, wandering to Palestine and South Europe, and being even recorded from Sweden. The head, nape, and long mantle-feathers overhanging the grey back are glossy black; the wings and tail are black and white varied with grey, the lower parts rufous-white with a black pectoral band, while a line of white encircles the crown. This bird, called "Zic-zac" from its noisy chattering cry (cf. p. 276), is usually seen skimming swiftly over the water, or running and feeding along the shores. The yellowish stone-coloured eggs, with umber and grey markings, are commonly found buried in the sand, but so are those of the Ringed Plover in wind-swept spots. Probably this species, and not Hoplopterus spinosus, is the τροχίλος of Herodotus, the Crocodile-bird of later writers, which enters the Crocodile's mouth to feed.

Here may possibly be placed the mottled rufous, black, and white Ortyxelus meiffreni of West and North-East Africa.[193]

{296}Sub-fam. 2. Dromadinae.–This contains only Dromas ardeola, the curious Crab-Plover, with its straight, hard compressed bill, long legs, webbed toes, and pectinated middle claw. It is white, with the elongated dorsal feathers and most of the wings black, the tail chiefly grey. Found from the Red Sea to Natal, and through the Indian Ocean to the Bay of Bengal, it haunts sandy islands or sandbanks on the coast, flying, running, or walking with equal ease. This bird feeds on small crustaceans, and breeds in company, depositing a single large white egg on the bare sand in a deep burrow, where the young remain for a considerable time.

Fam. IV. THINOCORYTHIDAE.–The so-called South American Seed-Snipes are a generalized group of somewhat Fowl-like birds, with long wings and short legs. Thinocorys rumicivorus, of Peru, Bolivia, Chili, Argentina, and Patagonia, is yellowish-brown and black above, with whitish tips to the dark remiges and rectrices, and creamy white below with a black pectoral band, which sends a streak upwards to bifurcate round the white throat. The female has a less extensive band, and an ashy-brown fore-neck. T. orbignianus, of Peru, Chili, and Bolivia, differs in its grey breast with no central streak; it has a black border to the throat, and a grey nape, which is absent in the female. Attagis gayi, of the same countries, has grey and rufous upper parts with black spots and vermiculations, and pale cinnamon under parts, with a greyish fore-neck shewing fine black lines. A. chimborazensis of Ecuador is blacker above and darker below; A. malouina, of the Straits of Magellan and the Falkland Islands, has a white lower surface and a rufous chest with round black spots. These forms usually frequent hill-country, and to the north of their range even haunt the higher Andes, living on vegetable substances, and especially seeds of docks and other plants. They run with great celerity over the stony ravines or grassy plains, but they often squat or creep away from intruders; when flushed they rise sharply with twisting flight like the Snipe, and utter a similar cry. On the ground they make curious hollow or whistling noises, the flocks answering one another as they sit, and being very hard to distinguish, from their earthy coloration. The nest of Thinocorys is a depression slightly lined with grass, and contains some four drab or pinkish-buff pear-shaped eggs, thickly speckled with chocolate and purplish-grey, which the female is said to cover when she leaves them, while the male anxiously keeps watch from some neighbouring stone.

{297}Fam. V. OEDICNEMIDAE.–Of these birds, which lack the hind toe, Oedicnemus scolopax, the Stone-Curlew, or Norfolk Plover, a summer visitor to the warrens of East Anglia, and the downs or stony flats of the South of England, ranges from our shores and the Atlantic Islands through temperate Europe and North Africa to Lake Saisan and Burma in Asia. This largest of European Plovers is light brown above and buff below, with blackish streaks throughout; the throat, belly, a line below the eye, and two narrow alar bars are white, the remiges otherwise black, the tail brown, black, and white. The feet, base of the bill, and very large iris are yellow. This skulking semi-nocturnal species flies strongly, though it prefers to squat or run, and takes to the wing reluctantly; towards winter it is gregarious, as are so many of the Charadriiformes. The mournful whistling cry, more mellow than that of the Golden Plover, is chiefly heard at twilight, when the bird feeds upon worms, insects, molluscs, or even reptiles, frogs, and mice. Two oval stone-coloured eggs, blotched or scrawled with black, are laid on bare ground or among stones, and in India sometimes under bushes; while the newly-hatched young are decidedly torpid, contrary to Limicoline custom. Other species with streaked breasts are Oe. senegalensis, of West and North-East Africa, with only one white wing-bar; Oe. vermiculatus, of East and South Africa, with vermiculated upper parts; Oe. capensis, of much the same districts, with coarse blotches and bars above; and the large Oe. grallarius of Australia with a broad brown stripe down each side of the neck. Oe. affinis of North-East Africa is barely distinct from Oe. capensis. The forms with almost uniform breasts, and a black patch or line over the eye, are Oe. bistriatus,[194] ranging from Mexico to North Brazil, with mottled, and Oe. superciliaris of Peru with vermiculated, back; as well as two fine birds separated as Aesacus. Ae. recurvirostris, of India, Ceylon, and Burma, has a stout, slightly recurved bill and nearly plain upper surface; Ae. magnirostris, extending from the Andaman Islands to the Philippines, Australia, the Solomons, and New Caledonia, differs in its straight bill and blackish lores. The former breeds on sand-banks up rivers, the latter on sea-beaches, both feeding upon crustaceans and molluscs. Some of the Family occasionally frequent low hills, and Oe. bistriatus is kept to destroy insects in Nicaragua.

Fam. VI. PARRIDAE.–Of the extraordinary long-toed Jaçanas, {298}Parra jacana, ranging from Ecuador and Guiana to Bolivia and Argentina, has a red frontal lappet, bilobed posteriorly, a red wattle at each side of the gape, an orange bill, olive feet, and a well-developed yellow carpal spur. The plumage is chestnut, with greenish-black head, neck, and under parts, maroon sides, and yellow remiges, the wing- and tail-quills being tipped with brownish-black. P. melanopygia of Panama and Colombia is darker and more maroon above; P. nigra, of those countries and Venezuela, is entirely greenish-black, except for the wings; P. gymnostoma (variabilis), found from South Texas to Costa Rica, with Cuba, Porto Rico, and Haiti, has the frontal lappet trilobed, lacks the rictal wattles, and in colour resembles P. melanopygia, though the maroon extends to the belly. The young in this genus are chiefly bronzy-brown above and buffish-white below; and the nestlings–at least in P. gymnostoma–are curiously marked with tawny, black, buff, and white. Metopidius indicus, occurring from India to Cochin China, and in Sumatra, Java, and Celebes, has a large blue frontal shield, small blunt spurs, and no rictal wattles; the bill is pink, blue, and green; the feet are slaty. The head, neck, remiges, and under parts are greenish-black, varying to purple, the chin and superciliary streak are white, the mantle is bronze, the lower back maroon, and the tail chestnut. The young are much greener above than in the last genus. M. albinucha of Madagascar and M. africanus of most of the Ethiopian Region have a smaller shield, loosely connected behind, which is grey in the former, leaden blue in the latter, as are the bill and feet. The cinnamon-brown plumage is varied in the first-named by a black occiput and throat and white nape, in its congener by a white neck, black nape, and golden upper breast. The tail is chestnut and the primaries black. The very small Microparra capensis, of South and South-East Africa, has no shield or wattles, and is greyish-brown, becoming orange on the crown, rump, and tail; the nape and upper mantle are purplish-black, the wings blackish with a white alar bar, the under parts white with golden sides to the neck. The bill and feet are brownish, the spur in this genus and the next being as in Metopidius. Hydralector gallinaceus, ranging from Borneo and Celebes to New Guinea and Australia–if H. novae guineae be not separated–is chiefly black; the back being greyish-olive, the throat and abdomen white, the cheeks, with the sides and front of the neck, golden. A red lappet with an erect central protuberance covers the forehead; the bill is {299}red, yellow, and black; the legs are red and olive. Young birds are mainly reddish-brown, with white below. Hydrophasianus chirurgus, of most of the Indian Region, is bronzy-brown above and purplish-black below, with no fleshy outgrowths, but a large, sharp spur. The head is white with black occiput, the neck golden behind and white in front, with an intervening black lateral stripe; the wings are mainly white, with curious filamentous appendages to the attenuated blackish outer primaries; the four median feathers of the dark brown tail are enormously elongated and decurved. The winter and immature plumage is almost entirely bronzy-brown, with white under surface crossed by a black gorget; but the young have a rufous head.

All the members of this Family frequent lakes and swamps, whether inland or near the coast, Hydrophasianus chirurgus occurring at considerable elevations; while at least that species, Parra jacana, and Metopidius indicus, are gregarious in winter. On their favourite lagoons, bordered by a dense fringe of aquatic plants, these active birds may be seen gracefully striding or running upon the floating leaves of water-lilies and like plants, as their long toes easily enable them to do. When danger threatens they crouch or submerge themselves partially, Hydralector being perhaps the best diver, where all are good. Tame when unmolested, they rise reluctantly, scuttling over the water with {300}trailing legs after the fashion of a Moor-hen, or fluttering and gliding in turn to the nearest shelter at a good pace. On the ground the gait is easy. Small parties of Parra jacana are said to gather together when feeding, and to utter quick, excited cries, while going through a singular performance or dance, with outstretched, agitated wings and alternate slow and fluttering movements.[195] Some species are especially quarrelsome; Microparra has a habit of bobbing its head up and down like a Plover; the male of Parra jacana is particularly sedulous in warning the female from the nest; and both parents commonly "sham wounded" to protect their young. The cry is loud and harsh, or mewing in Hydrophasianus; the food consists of insects, molluscs, seeds, and roots; the nest is a small cup, or not uncommonly a large mass, of aquatic herbage, placed in grass or rushes, or on floating vegetation. The four beautiful eggs are more or less pear-shaped, and are glossy buff, olive, green, or brown, thickly covered with fantastic scrawls, and occasionally with black or brown blotches. Metopidius indicus, however, is said to lay as many as ten, while those of Hydrophasianus are plain brown or green.

A fossil Limicoline form, Palaeotringa, occurs in the Cretaceous rocks of New Jersey; France furnishes Limosa and Tringa from the Eocene, Camascelus (allied to the Plovers) from the transition beds, Milnea (near Oedicnemus), Tringa, Himantopus, and Numenius from the Miocene. The same formation in both France and Germany provides Helornis (akin to Limicola), and Totanus; the Pliocene of Italy the latter; Gallinago is found in the Chatham Islands; Charadrius in North America.

Fam. VII. LARIDAE.–This consists of four Sub-families (1) Stercorariinae or Skuas, (2) Larinae or Gulls, (3) Rhynchopinae or Skimmers, and (4) Sterninae or Terns. Mr. Saunders[196] is, however, probably right in distinguishing a second Family, Stercorariidae; and possibly a third, Rhynchopidae, might be admitted.

In the Larinae the strong, horny bill is of moderate length, though exceptionally small in Rhodostethia, the maxilla being curved, but hardly hooked; in the Stercorariinae there is a distinct hook, and the base is covered by a cere, said to be hard or soft according to the season, and possibly, shed after the manner of certain Auks.[197] In the Sterninae the beak is nearly straight and {301}pointed, while comparatively slender; in the Rhynchopinae, the maxilla, which moves vertically with ease, is much shorter than the mandible, and both are compressed anteriorly until they resemble truncated knife blades. The tibia is generally partly bare; the metatarsus is fairly long in the first two Sub-families, and is scutellated in front, being usually smooth behind, though rougher in Pagophila; the anterior toes are fully webbed, with claws which vary from weak to moderate, or even to strong and hooked, as in the Stercorariinae. The elevated hallux is joined by a membrane to the inner toe in Leucophaeus, and is rudimentary or absent in Rissa. In the Sterninae and Rhynchopinae the metatarsus is short–especially in the latter, where the web between the inner and middle digits is deeply incised, as are both webs in Hydrochelidon and Gygis; the claws are long, slender, and curved. The pointed wings, excessively lengthened in the two last-mentioned Sub-families, have eleven primaries, of which the outer is particularly small, and from fifteen to twenty-three secondaries. The tail may be nearly even as in Larus, deeply forked as in Sterna generally, less excised as in Xema, Hydrochelidon, Naenia, and Rhynchops, graduated or cuneate as in Rhodostethia, Anous, and Gygis; all the twelve feathers being rounded or acute: in the Stercorariinae the two central rectrices project beyond the others, being decidedly pointed in Stercorarius crepidatus and S. parasiticus, but rounded and twisted in the shaft until the webs are vertical in S. pomatorhinus. The furcula is U-shaped, the syrinx tracheo-bronchial, the tongue lanceolate, the nostrils are pervious; an after-shaft is present, while both adults and young have abundant down, that of the latter commonly shewing a mixture of white, with grey, yellowish, slaty, or brown. Naenia has elongated plumes at the gape, and a few Terns have slight nuchal crests.

Gulls and Skuas are widely-ranging and essentially marine birds, even those species which nest inland being commonly observed near salt water, and seeking the coast when incubation is over. They are always inclined to be gregarious, and are more or less resident in Britain, but the undoubted influx of birds from abroad in autumn makes it difficult, or even impossible, to determine their exact status in every case. Their untiring and easy flight is only second to that of the larger Petrels; the majestic style of the Great Black-backed Gull, and other forms, being a great contrast to the wavering but graceful movements of the Kittiwake or {302}Bonaparte's Gull. All walk well, though sedately, swim to perfection, and rise easily both from land and water, usually breaking into a run before taking to the wing from the ground; while they almost invariably alight with uplifted pinions. The wild characteristic note varies less than in most large groups, that of the bigger species being harsh and querulous, that of the smaller laughing or screaming; the lesser Skuas give vent to a curious mewing cry, and the Great Skuas to a similar but deeper sound. At the breeding-quarters the utterances are naturally more agitated and shrill, and the parents hang excitedly above a visitor's head. The food consists mainly of fish, molluscs, crustaceans, and worms, but is varied in the stronger forms by small mammals, young birds, and eggs: the Great Black-backed Gull undoubtedly attacks lambs and weakly ewes; carrion is not uncommonly devoured; and Larus maculipennis acts as a scavenger at Buenos Aires, besides clearing the country of grasshoppers, and robbing the Cayenne Lapwing of its insect booty. Skuas give chase to their smaller kin, and force them to disgorge the fishes they have just caught, while even Solan Geese are sometimes victimized; Larus scopulinus, moreover, which robs the Oyster-catcher of New Zealand, is a further instance of parasitic habits. Insects and their larvae, turnips, berries, and grain are also eaten by these omnivorous but useful creatures. Their main sustenance is naturally derived from the ocean, or its oozy shores; but flocks are commonly seen on pastures and arable lands near the beach, or following the plough further from the sea, though not being of the species which breed in the interior, nor driven inland by stress of weather. At times Gulls almost, if not quite, disappear below the water when swooping on their prey, and Kittiwakes have been said to pursue it beneath the surface. A common habit is that of preening and washing the plumage in company at favoured spots, while one that is less well-known is that of casting up the indigestible parts of the food in pellets, as do many other birds. The nesting sites are very frequently precipitous rocks and stony islands, but inland marshes and lakes accommodate many species, while in certain localities trees as high as thirty feet are selected. Skuas breed on moors or hills near the sea in Scotland, on the fells of Scandinavia, and on the tundras and barren grounds of the Arctic Regions, the nest being a mere depression in the herbage or moss; the {303}remainder of the tribe generally collect a mass of grass, moss, flags, sedges, heather, twigs, or sea-weed, though a mere hollow in the soil or sand often serves their purpose. The eggs vary in number from two in the case of the Ivory Gull and the Skuas to three or exceptionally four; they are brown, drab, or green, with blotches and spots of brown, black, grey, and lilac, and recall those of Plovers. Both sexes have been said to incubate in Larus minutus and Rissa brevirostris; the young are comparatively helpless for a few hours or perhaps days, and are at first fed by the parents.

Terns resemble Gulls in many of their habits, but are more cosmopolitan, and decidedly migratory in Britain; they are essentially marine, yet some species breed on inland waters in summer. Particularly slender and graceful, these long-winged birds may usually be distinguished by their irregular or hovering flight, and are known as Sea-swallows; while their method of beating up and down maritime streams or shallows, singly or in pairs, in search of fish, is quite peculiar to themselves. At such times they make constant plunges into the water, often completely immersing their bodies, or occasionally discontinue their operations to engage in trivial and seemingly amicable quarrels. The note, though hoarse in some cases, is usually a squealing or grating sound, the latter especially when disturbed; the food consists of fish and crustaceans, insects–said to be sometimes taken on the wing–frogs, newts, locusts, grasshoppers, caterpillars, leeches, molluscs, and medusae. Terns are wary but bold, commonly circling around a wounded companion until several are shot; the Noddies (Anous), however, are much more sluggish and silent. On the ground all move with comparative ease. The nest of Hydrochelidon is a mass of water-weeds placed on some tussock in a wet inland swamp; that of Anous, when situated on trees, bushes, or rocky ledges, is composed of twigs, sea-weed, and like materials; but most species merely make a hole in the sand or soil, with little or no lining. Depressions on level rocks, the surface of prostrate plants, and heathery, grassy, or muddy flats are often utilized as alternatives, while colonies are usually formed. Two or three olive, reddish-brown, green, or stone-coloured eggs, with blotches, spots, scrawls, or oblique streaks of black, brown, grey, or lilac, are deposited; the Noddy and Sooty Terns, however, have a single white egg with red markings, and Gygis one, which is buff, marbled, spotted, or often scrolled with brown and grey, and is laid on any slight cavity of {304}a branch, a broad leaf-stalk, or a coral reef. The nesting habits of Naenia are unknown, but it frequents rocky, cavernous shores.

Rhynchops has a peculiarly low flight, rapid and gliding, with many a turn and twist, which has gained it the name of Skimmer. The food, often sought towards evening, appears to consist of small fish and crustaceans; it is procured by keeping the bill wide open, with the long mandible ploughing through the water or mud, and leaving a distinct furrow in its track. The cry is a low harsh scream or shrill twittering note. A hollow in some sandy river-bank or island serves to contain the three or four grey, green, buff, or white eggs, with blotches and streaks of purplish-grey and dark brown. The female is said to sit only at night or in stormy weather, and the young to be unable to fly for several weeks,[198] but the remaining habits resemble those of Terns.

The sexes in the Laridae are invariably similar, the plumage being grey and white, or more rarely blackish or brown, details of which will be found below. The young are duller, being mottled with brown or black in immature Gulls. The frequent black or brown heads, often lacking at certain ages or times of year, the seasonal changes generally, the neck-collar of Xema sabinii and Rhodostethia, and the rosy tint on the breast in the latter species, Larus franklini, and Sterna dougalli may be noticed in passing. The members of the Family range in size from the Glaucous to the Little Gull; the largest Tern being the Caspian, and the smallest, as its name indicates, the Least Tern.

Sub-fam. 1. Stercorariinae.–Of this widely spread but curiously distributed group, Megalestris catarrhactes, the Great Skua or Bonxie, a fine rufous-brown species, with a white wing-patch which is very conspicuous in flight, breeds in Shetland, the Färoes, Iceland, and possibly north of Hudson Strait, occurring in South Greenland and Norway, and reaching New England and Gibraltar in winter. It nests in colonies, though each pair occupies a distinct area, which the parents defend with exceptional boldness, swooping down swiftly with a heavy rush, and dropping the feet when at close quarters, as if to strike an intruder. Unlike their smaller kin, which will attack a man from any side and hit him with their wings, these birds commonly aim directly at the face, and their onslaught, if not averted, is really dangerous, while they only just clear the head when threatened with a stick. The two eggs, deposited in a depression {305}in the herbage, are dull brown or greenish, with somewhat indistinct umber markings. The food consists chiefly of fish, which the smaller Gulls are forced to disgorge, while Kittiwakes and the like are themselves occasionally devoured in default of other prey. M. chilensis, spotted with chestnut above, and more rufous below, occupies America south of Rio de Janeiro and Callao; the sooty-brown M. antarctica–the stouter-billed Port Egmont or Sea Hen–replacing it from the Falklands to the Australian and New Zealand seas, and reaching northwards to the Comoros and Madagascar. In the Antarctic Victoria Land occurs a paler form, M. maccormicki.

Stercorarius pomatorhinus, the Pomatorhine Skua, breeds on the tundras of Siberia and possibly from Greenland to Bering Sea, migrating to Britain and as far as South Africa, North Australia, and Peru. The plumage is brown, with blacker head and gorget, white breast, and acuminate white neck-feathers tipped with yellow. The projecting median rectrices with their vertically twisted vanes are mentioned above (p. 301). Uniform brown specimens may be immature. S. crepidatus, the Arctic Skua, is smaller, and nests as far south as Northern and Western Scotland, but properly occupies Arctic and sub-Arctic Europe, Asia, and America; in winter, it reaches South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and Brazil. The elongated rectrices are not twisted, but are pointed, while a uniform dark phase–the true S. richardsoni–is common to both sexes. S. parasiticus, Buffon's Skua, distinguished from the last-named by its extremely prolonged rectrices and greyer upper surface, breeds on the Scandinavian fells and throughout the Arctic tundras and barren grounds, migrating as far south as Gibraltar and lat. 40° N. in America. The habits of the members of this genus are similar to those of Megalestris, but their quicker flight enables them to rob even Terns, and the mewing cry is most peculiar, while the eggs are intermediate in style between those of Whimbrels and Gulls. These small Skuas often destroy Lemmings.

Sub-fam. 2. Larinae.–Rissa tridactyla, the Kittiwake, breeds from the circumpolar regions southwards to the Kuril Islands, the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and North-West France; in winter it reaches western North America, the Bermudas, the Canaries, the Mediterranean, and the Caspian. The feet are black, the hind-toe is absent or rudimentary. From Larus canus, which it closely resembles when flying, it can be distinguished by the absence of white spots at the ends of the primaries. The young bird, or {306}Tarrock, is much variegated with dark grey or black, and has a blackish tip to the tail, as is the case in most fresh-water Gulls. Many fine colonies inhabit the loftier cliffs of Great Britain, the nests of sea-weed and grass being closely crowded together, and the eggs exhibiting softer colours than is usual in the Sub-family. The darker R. brevirostris of Bering Sea has red feet.

Pagophila eburnea, the Ivory Gull, seems truly circumpolar, while it accidentally visits Britain, Northern Europe, and New Brunswick. It is pure white, with black feet, the young shewing grey and black variations. It will eat whale- or seal-offal.

Leucophaeus scoresbii, of South Patagonia, the Falkland Islands, and the neighbouring Antarctic seas, has a crimson bill, coarse red feet, with somewhat excised webs, a dark hood in immature examples, and a white tail. Gabianus pacificus of Australia and Tasmania is somewhat like Larus marinus, but has a very short stout bill and a black-banded tail.

In the genus Larus, as throughout this Family, the arrangement followed is that of Mr. Howard Saunders,[199] much of whose admirable work is here incorporated. His first section comprises species with a white tail but no hood, the young having the head striated. Of these, L. glaucus, the Burgomaster or Glaucous Gull, and L. leucopterus, the Iceland Gull, are the only members of the group with nearly white primaries, the former being larger, with proportionately shorter wings. In summer the former is circumpolar, and the latter occurs from Jan Mayen to Greenland and perhaps the west side of Baffin Bay; in winter both visit Britain, but the latter only reaches the Gulf of Gascony, and Boston in America, whereas its ally extends to the Mediterranean, the Caspian, Japan, California, and the Bermudas. At this season the head shows brown markings; while the young are entirely mottled, though they apparently become creamy white just before assuming the grey mantle. L. glaucescens of the North Pacific, L. nelsoni of North-West America, and L. kumlieni of Cumberland Sound have the quills chequered with grey, and connect the above with the following or blacker-quilled group.

L. argentatus, our Herring Gull, has a blue-grey mantle; the black primaries shew white tips and "mirrors" or round white marks, as well as a grey wedge on the inner web; the feet are flesh-coloured, {307}the orbits yellowish. In winter the head is streaked, and in the young the plumage is mottled with brown. This species extends over Northern Europe and most of North America, ranging to the south of those countries in the cold season; its representative in the Mediterranean and Central Asia is L. cachinnans, with yellow feet and red orbits, and in Arctic Siberia L. vegae, chiefly differing from the last-named in its pinkish legs. L. audouini of the Western Mediterranean has blackish feet, and a crimson bill with black band. L. canus, the Common Gull, found throughout Northern Europe and Asia, and migrating to the Mediterranean, the Nile, the Persian Gulf, and China, has white mirrors on the first three primaries, yellow bill, and greenish-yellow feet. It has occurred in Labrador, and breeds in North Britain on islands, lakes, and flat stacks, though rarely, if ever, on cliff-faces; the shrill note is more like that of the Herring Gull than the harsh cry of our Black-backs. The smaller and darker L. brachyrhynchus occupies North-Western America, reaching California in winter; the paler L. delawarensis, with a subterminal black band on the yellowish bill, frequents lakes and marshes in North America, and breeds towards the north; L. californicus, with little black on the beak, inhabits western North America.

Of the Black-backed Gulls, L. marinus, the Great Black-back, largest of the Family except L. glaucus, is found from Arctic Europe to North-East America, migrating as far as the Mediterranean, the Canaries, and Florida; it has a grey wedge on the primaries like the Herring Gull, and pinkish feet. Somewhat scarce in Britain in summer and comparatively non-gregarious, it is noted for its fierceness, and will even attack sheep. The smaller L. dominicanus, with olive feet, ranges from lat. 10° S. in South America to South Africa and New Zealand, with the corresponding Antarctic Seas; L. schistisagus of the North Pacific being intermediate between this and the next species. L. fuscus, the Lesser Black-back, found both on our shores and inland, has yellow feet; its main range covers North Europe, excluding Iceland; but it even breeds in Morocco and on the Red Sea, extending in winter still further southwards. The similar L. affinis of North Russia and West Siberia, with coarser feet, migrates to Somaliland, India, and occasionally other districts; the very stout-billed L. occidentalis represents our species on the Pacific coast of North America.

Mr. Saunders's next section contains five Gulls resembling {308}the last group in having no hood and a white tail; but here the young have the head and tail-coverts unspotted. To this belong L. bulleri of New Zealand, the Chatham and Auckland Islands, with black bill and feet, which haunts inland rivers; and also four marine forms with crimson bill and feet. These are L. scopulinus of New Zealand, the Chatham and Auckland Islands; the larger L. novae hollandiae of Australia, Tasmania, and New Caledonia; the South African L. hartlaubi, found in Madagascar; and L. gelastes, ranging from North-West Africa and the Mediterranean to the Caspian and Sind, which lays its Tern-like eggs on sand-banks.

The third section differs in having a subterminal black band on the tail, and, in the young, an irregularly striated hood. L. crassirostris, of the Chinese and Japanese Seas, has the base of the tail and the under parts white, the bill yellow, banded with red and black, the feet yellowish; L. belcheri, of Peru and Chili, has a blackish mantle and stouter beak; L. heermani of western North America has the tail black except for a white tip, a grey lower surface, red bill, and black feet; L. modestus, also of Peru and Chili, differing in its decidedly grey tail and black beak.

The last-named is a connecting link with the fourth section, containing the Hooded Gulls; that is, those with hoods in mature plumage, but no marked hood in the young. Of these, all except the first three have the mantle grey and the head more or less white in winter; they are rather small birds, which chiefly inhabit the north, commonly breed in marshes, and utter a shrill querulous cry.

L. fuliginosus of the Galápagos, and L. leucophthalmus of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, are deep lead-coloured above with black head; but the former is grey below with no admixture of white, while the latter has a white nuchal collar, as has the much browner L. hemprichi, extending from East Africa to Bombay. L. cirrocephalus of Brazil, Argentina, and West and Central East Africa, which occurs in Peru and Natal, has a pale grey head; whereas a brown hood distinguishes L. brunneicephalus of Central–and in winter Southern–Asia, L. maculipennis, ranging from Brazil to Patagonia and Chili, L. glaucodes of Chili, Patagonia, and the Falklands, and L. ridibundus, the British Black-headed or Peewit Gull, which occupies Europe and temperate Asia, migrating to North Africa, India, and China. These four differ considerably in the pattern of the primaries,[200] {309}but all have red bill and feet. The colonies of our marsh-breeding species supply large quantities of eggs for eating.

Of the black-hooded, grey-mantled forms, which have as a rule red bill and feet, L. atricilla, the Laughing Gull, of the Atlantic coast of North America and Western Mexico, alone has black outer primaries; this species and L. franklini, of the interior of sub-Arctic America, having exceptionally dark mantles, and the latter pinkish under parts. Both migrate south in winter. L. philadelphia, Bonaparte's Gull, of all North America, which, like its two following congeners, strays to Britain, has the bill black; L. melanocephalus, of the Mediterranean and Black Seas, has a jet black head, a partly red bill, and nearly white quills; the very large L. ichthyaëtus ranging from the Black Sea and the Levant to Tibet, and wintering in Southern Asia, has the bill almost orange. L. saundersi, a slender-legged stout-billed bird, inhabits the rivers and coasts of China and Mongolia; L. serranus of the Andes from Ecuador to Chili being a near ally. L. minutus, the Little Gull, frequenting marshy districts in sub-Arctic and temperate {310}Europe and Asia in summer, and reaching the Mediterranean in winter, is quite the smallest of the genus.

The lovely Rhodostethia rosea, or Wedge-tailed Gull, of the North Polar seas, supposed to breed on islets north of Asia and America if not of Franz Josef Land, is easily distinguished by its small black bill, red feet, black collar, and rosy lower parts. One specimen is on record in Britain. Xema sabinii, or Sabine's Gull, which nests on maritime marshes from Greenland westward to the Taimyr Peninsula, wanders to Britain, France, the Bermudas, and Texas, and annually visits Peru; it may be recognised by its plumbeous head, black collar, and forked tail. Of the larger collarless X. furcatum, with a white basal band on the maxilla, the only five examples known are from the Galápagos and Peru.

Sub-fam. 3. Rhynchopinae.–Of this group the curiously compressed beak and the habits have already been described (pp. 301, 304). The sole genus Rhynchops, or Scissor-bill, contains five species, of which R. nigra is black, with white forehead, cheeks, and lower parts; the wing-quills being also broadly tipped, and the tail-feathers varied, with white. The bill and feet are red, with a black end to the former. In winter the nape is whiter, while the young are buff and blackish above. Breeding from New Jersey to Florida, this bird strays to New Brunswick and migrates to Trinidad, occurring also in South-West Mexico. R. intercedens of South Brazil and Argentina, and the larger R. melanura, of the North and West of South America, have nearly uniform brown rectrices, but the latter has little white on the secondaries. R. flavirostris, extending from Senegal to Damara-Land, and from Egypt and the Red Sea to Nyassa-Land, has a red and orange beak; R. albicollis, of India and Lower Burma, differs from it in having the back of the neck white.

Sub-fam. 4. Sterninae.–The Terns may be commenced with the snow-white Gygis candida, which ranges from the islands east of Brazil to Ascension, St. Helena, Madagascar and its vicinity, the Indian Ocean, the Malay countries, Australia, the Ladrones, the Sandwich Islands and Polynesia generally. The form and habits have been already noticed (pp. 301, 303). The smaller slender-billed G. microrhyncha seems to be peculiar to the Marquesas.

Anous stolidus, termed with its congeners the "Noddies" from their stolid indifference at times to man, chiefly frequents tropical and sub-tropical regions, and has occurred once in Ireland. It is {311}sooty-brown, with whitish forehead, grey head, black bill and lores, and reddish-brown feet; A. galapagensis of the Galápagos being entirely sooty-black above. A. (Micranous) leucocapillus, with a weaker bill and a white crown, has a somewhat more restricted range; A. (M.) tenuirostris, with grey lores, ranges from the neighbourhood of Madagascar to Australia; A. (M.) hawaiiensis, with lighter upper parts, occurs around the Sandwich Islands. These species make a large flat nest of twigs, leaves, grass, and sea-weed, on trees, bushes, or even on the ground, laying one buffish-white egg with scattered red-brown markings. Several pairs often use one tree. A. (Procelsterna) cinereus, extending from Australia to Chili, and A. (P.) caeruleus of Central Polynesia, are nearly grey above, but the former is white beneath. The egg is ordinarily deposited with little or no nest on a bare rock or on sand.

In all the rest of the Sub-family the tail is forked instead of graduated, though less markedly in Naenia inca of Peru and Chili, which is leaden-grey, with curling white plumes below the eye, red bill and feet.

The genus Sterna contains the more typical Terns or Sea-Swallows, of which the coloration–unless subsequently mentioned–is grey above, and white or lighter grey beneath and on the tail. S. trudeaui of Brazil, Argentina, and Chili, which strays to the United States, and S. melanauchen, ranging from the Amirante and Seychelles Islands to the Liu Kiu group and Polynesia, are the only two species with the crown white in place of black in the breeding season; the former bird has a black streak through the eye, the latter a band from the lores to the nape.

S. minuta, the Lesser Tern, breeds in many parts of Britain, and extends from about lat. 60° N. in Europe to the Mediterranean, the Caspian, and North India, migrating to South Africa, Burma, and Java. It has a white forehead and belly, black lores, orange feet, and yellow bill with black tip. The two or three whitish or drab eggs, marked with grey and black, differ strikingly from those of the Common Tern and its allies. The larger S. sinensis occurs from Bengal and Ceylon to Japan, New Guinea, and Australia; the greyer-rumped S. antillarum, the Least Tern, from northern South America to California and New England, or exceptionally to Labrador and West Africa; S. saundersi, with nearly black outer primaries, from East Africa to Burma. S. superciliaris, with yellow beak, is peculiar to eastern South {312}America; S. lorata, with grey belly, to Peru and Chili; S. nereis, with white lores, to Australia, New Zealand, and New Caledonia; S. balaenarum, with black forehead and base of bill, to Southern Africa.

S. fuliginosa, S. anaestheta, and S. lunata are the Sooty Terns, so-called from their dark upper surface; the second being browner and the third greyer than the typical species, wherein alone the young differ from the adults in having brown lower parts instead of white. The forehead is white, the bill and feet are black, while immature birds show whitish markings above. These Terns frequent the tropics, but S. lunata only occurs from the Moluccas to Laysan, the Sandwich Islands, and elsewhere in Polynesia. S. fuliginosa has been obtained three times in England, occasionally on the Continent of Europe, and in America northwards to Maine. The single egg, like that of the Noddy, but with finer red, grey, and lilac markings, is laid on sand or flat rocks; descriptions of the colony, or "Wideawake Fair," on Ascension having been given by several writers.[201] S. aleutica of Alaska, Bering Sea, and Japan, with a slate-grey mantle, white forehead and rump, connects the above with the next section.

The remaining species, with white foreheads, are the large S. bergii, ranging from East and South-West Africa to Japan and Polynesia, excluding New Zealand, and S. bernsteini of the Seychelles, Rodriguez, Diego Garcia, and Halmahera, both of which have elongated nape-feathers and a yellowish bill, but grey and white rumps respectively. S. frontalis, of the New Zealand and Australian Seas, has a black bill.

Of large forms, with black foreheads, black feet, and lengthened nuchal plumes, S. cantiaca, the Sandwich Tern, breeding from Britain and the Mediterranean to the Caspian, and from New England to Honduras and both coasts of Guatemala, possesses a black bill. It migrates to Cape Colony, Sind, and Brazil. The large S. maxima, and the similar but smaller S. elegans, have the beak red; the former extending from about lat. 40° N. in America to Peru and Brazil, and in winter to West Africa; the latter from California to Chili. S. eurygnatha, found from Venezuela to Patagonia, only differs in its yellow bill; but S. media, ranging from the Mediterranean and East Africa to Australia, has the tail grey instead of white. In this section the richly marked eggs have often a creamy ground.

{313}[Illustration: FIG. 63.–Common Tern. Sterna fluviatilis. × ¼.]

One only of the smaller species allied to the last group has blackish bill and feet, namely S. longipennis,[202] occurring from Lake Baikal and Ceylon to Kamtschatka, Japan, and New Guinea. Of the remainder the Common, Arctic, and Roseate Terns breed in Britain, though the Roseate is decidedly scarce there. S. fluviatilis, the Common Tern, occupying the coasts and inland waters of Europe, temperate Asia, and temperate America–chiefly on the eastern side in the last case–and migrating to South Africa, India, Ceylon, and Brazil, has red feet, and red bill with horn-coloured tip, the lower parts being vinaceous grey. S. macrura, the Arctic Tern, frequenting the northern regions of Europe and America from lat. 82° to 50°, and 42° N. respectively, has the bill entirely red, the metatarsus comparatively short, and the breast French grey. The two or three brown-spotted eggs vary from olive to green, and are frequently ruddier than those of the Common Tern. S. dougalli, the Roseate Tern, differing in the nearly black bill, the white tips to the inner webs of the primaries, and the evanescent pink tinge on the under parts, is widely distributed from lat. 57° N. in the Atlantic to New Caledonia, but is apparently wanting in the Eastern Pacific. Its cry is peculiarly grating. S. albigena, ranging from the Red Sea to the Malabar coast, is much darker, and has orange feet; while S. hirundinacea, extending from Brazil and Peru to the regions south of Cape Horn, S. vittata of St. Paul's, Amsterdam, Inaccessible, Tristan da Cunha, and Kerguelen Islands, and S. virgata of Kerguelen Island and the Crozets are closely allied forms, of {314}which the last two are said to lay a single egg. S. albistriata, with but slightly elongated outer rectrices, yellow bill and feet, inhabits New Zealand and strays to Norfolk Island; S. forsteri, with white under parts, orange bill, and reddish feet, inhabits most of North America. S. melanogaster of India, reaching northwards to Afghanistan and Bhutan, has a black belly.

Of forms with much stouter bills than Sterna, Seena aurantia, of India, the Burmese countries and Yunnan, has the bill and feet orange; Hydroprocne caspia, the Caspian Tern–largest of the Sub-family–has a very short tail, red bill, and black feet. The latter occupies most of the world, except tropical South America and the Pacific Islands, visiting Britain, and breeding as near to it as Sylt. Gelochelidon anglica, the Gull-billed Tern, with a long metatarsus, reddish-black beak and feet, occurs in Britain and is found through the temperate and tropical parts of the Old and New Worlds, but not in South Africa, and rarely in Western America. Phaëthusa magnirostris, of the warmer portions of North America, has a short tail, yellow bill, and olive-yellow feet.

The genus Hydrochelidon, or Marsh Tern, is distinguished by a short tail, a comparatively small bill, and feet with much indented webs. The note is shrill; the food consists of aquatic insects, varied by frogs, newts, and small fish: the nests, placed in close proximity on swamps or pools, are formed of water plants and are sometimes mere floating masses of them; the three eggs are often very dark olive or brown. H. nigra, the Black Tern or Blue Darr, ranges from Europe south of lat. 60° N. and the Mediterranean to Turkestan, wintering as far as Loango and Abyssinia. It bred in the east of England up to 1858, since which date a nest is quite exceptional, while its two congeners are only chance visitors. The colour is lead-grey, with blacker head, black bill and reddish-brown feet. The darker race H. surinamensis inhabits temperate America from Alaska and Canada southwards, migrating to Chili and Brazil. H. leucoptera, the White-winged Black Tern, is found in Central and Southern Europe, temperate Asia and North Africa; reaching accidentally to America, and in winter from Cape Colony to Australia and New Zealand. It is chiefly black, with white carpal region, rump, tail, and vent, the bill and feet being red. H. hybrida, the Whiskered Tern, has a similar range, but breeds also from India to Australia. The main colour is slate-grey, the head and nape being black, the bill {315}and feet red, and a white streak marking each cheek. In the winter and immature plumage the under parts are entirely, and the head partially white, throughout the genus.

Of fossil Laridae Halcyornis occurs in the Lower Eocene of England, Aegialornis[203] in the Upper Eocene of France; while the Lower Miocene of the latter country, the Middle Miocene of Germany, and the Pliocene of Oregon furnish Larus.

Fam. VIII. ALCIDAE.–The Sub-order ALCAE contains only this Family, or the Auks, wherein the body is heavy and compact, the head large, the plumage close and elastic. The stout bill varies extraordinarily, as will be seen under the various species. The abbreviated metatarsus is reticulated, usually with a row of scutellae in front; the long anterior toes are fully webbed, the hallux is absent or rudimentary, the claws are stout, acute, and slightly curved. The wings are very short, and the Great Auk was absolutely flightless; but most species fly strongly and rapidly to varying distances, the pinions not being flipper-like as in the Penguins, to which these birds have no affinity; like them, however, they commonly sit upright upon the metatarsus, and walk awkwardly from the feet being placed so far back, while they swim and dive to perfection. The primaries are eleven, the secondaries from fifteen to nineteen. The short tail may be rounded as in Uria, or graduated with pointed rectrices as in Alca; the quills numbering twelve, except in A. impennis, which has eighteen. The furcula is U-shaped, the syrinx tracheo-bronchial, the tongue lanceolate; the nostrils–covered with feathers in Alca, Uria and Mergulus, and with a horny membrane elsewhere–are pervious. An aftershaft is present, and down is plentiful on both adults and nestlings, being in the latter fluffy, and of a black, grey, or brown colour, sometimes relieved by white. Elongated feathers, crests, and horny outgrowths are common, as described below.

Auks are entirely pelagic birds, breeding from the Polar Seas southwards to Japan, Lower California, Maine, and the Berlengas off the Tagus, while wandering further in winter; but the North Pacific may certainly be considered their headquarters. In the case of the British species a small proportion remain near shore after the autumn, but it seems to be quite uncertain where the majority spend the colder months. The members of this Family can hardly be called gregarious, except in the breeding time, {316}when vast flocks arrive with great regularity, or even to an exact day. In England this occurs at the end of March or beginning of April, the latter part of August or the first week of September being as punctually observed for departure. Except for purposes of procreation, or during violent storms, individuals are rarely seen on land, as might be expected from the clumsy style of gait; yet Puffins and Black Guillemots are fairly good walkers, and the former fly particularly straight and swiftly. Auks either splash along the surface of the waves before diving, or plunge suddenly, and when immersed use their wings much as if flying. The usual voice is a harsh-toned croak or grunt, but in addition Simorhynchus is said to chatter, Cyclorhynchus to whistle; Ptychorhamphus utters a musical ringing sound, the Little Auk a wild cry, and Black Guillemots a shrill, plaintive note. Fish, crustaceans, worms, and the like, with chance ship-refuse, compose the diet; the birds frequently disgorging it when scared, and sometimes in order to feed the young.

The great pear-shaped egg of the Guillemots proper, and the more oval one of the Razorbill, is deposited on some bare ledge of a cliff, on a stack, or on an island rock. In the case of the latter bird the egg is usually in a crevice, being white or buff with black or brown markings, and generally, if not invariably, green inside. Guillemots' eggs vary from white or buff to brilliant green or blue, and are spotted, streaked, or covered with intricate wavy patterns of black, brown, or rufous; the same bird probably always producing similar specimens. The Black Guillemots lay two greenish-white eggs with blotches of brown, rust-colour, and grey, under close-packed boulders or in holes low down in cliffs; that of the Little Auk is pale bluish-green, with or without faint rufous stains, and is found in similar, but commonly much higher, situations; Synthliborhamphus and various other forms use burrows in the turf, like Petrels, as an alternative to chinks in rocks; but the first-named produces two buff eggs, spotted with brown and grey, while the remainder lay only one, which is either white, or very indistinctly marked. Of these, Puffins fashion a considerable nest of dry materials. In some instances at least, both sexes incubate, the period being nearly five weeks. When hatched in holes the young remain there for a considerable time, otherwise they are soon assisted by their parents to reach the sea. Where unmolested, Auks are sufficiently tame; Puffins, {317}Razorbills, and so forth, however, bite severely if handled, and the first-named will fight with each other to the death.

As will be seen, the colour of both sexes in summer is black or dusky, varied by white, and occasionally brown; the winter plumage being duller and less decorative, and resembling the garb of the young. The size varies from that of the Great Auk to that of the Least or Knob-billed Auklet, the Family being confined to the Palaearctic and Nearctic Regions.

Lunda cirrata, the Tufted Puffin, ranging from South California to Japan, and straying to Eastern America, is sooty above and greyish below; the sides of the head being white anteriorly, a "rosette" of naked red skin adorning the gape, and a nuptial tuft of long straw-coloured feathers hanging from above each eye. The feet are red, and become flesh-coloured in winter. The highly compressed bill is red in front and yellowish behind; while its base consists of three portions, separated from each other and from the transversely grooved fore-part by furrows, which deepen until the pieces become detached and expose a soft brownish skin, that hardens again towards spring. Fratercula arctica, the Puffin, occupies in vast numbers many of the precipitous coasts and islands of Britain, laying its large, dull white, granulated egg–faintly marked with brown and speedily begrimed–in a rock-crevice, or a burrow, often made by the bird itself. The upper parts and gorget are black, the cheeks greyish, the lower surface white, the rosettes yellow, and the feet orange-red. The base of the huge compressed and grooved bill, blue, yellow, and red in colour, is shed in nine pieces towards winter, when the cheeks become white, the rosettes reddish, and a blunt, fleshy, horn-like appendage on the upper eyelid also disappears. This species breeds northwards in the Atlantic, from the Bay of Fundy and the Berlengas off the Tagus, and (as the larger form F. glacialis) eastwards to Novaya Zemlya, migrating a little further south: in the Pacific, F. corniculata, with longer horns and more developed deciduous bill-sheath, takes its place.

Cerorhyncha monocerata, the Rhinoceros Auklet of the North Pacific and western North America, has a stout, curved orange and black bill, with a large compressed horn between the nostrils, and an accessory piece on the mandible; the upper parts are dusky, the lower whitish with plumbeous cheeks and throat, while a row of narrow white feathers decorates each side of the {318}head. In winter the horny processes disappear, but not the plumes. Ptychorhamphus aleuticus, Cassin's Auklet, of the Pacific coast of North America, is black above and white below, with a lead-coloured throat, a white iris, and a bill which is mainly black, and becomes wrinkled in summer. Cyclorhynchus psittaculus, the Parrot Auk of the North Pacific, has an extraordinary compressed orange-red beak, to which the blunt decurved maxilla and narrow up-curved mandible give a rounded appearance; the upper parts and the throat are dusky; the lower surface, the iris, and a row of filaments behind each eye are white, as is the throat in winter. Three species of Simorhynchus, from the North Pacific, have a stout orange-red or purplish bill, a white iris, and black upper parts. S. cristatellus, the Crested Auklet, has several deciduous plates at the base of the beak, including a round piece at each side of the gape; the lower parts are grey; a tuft of dusky plumes curls over the forehead, and a line of narrow white feathers stretches across the ear-coverts–both being permanent: in winter the bill is horn-coloured. S. pygmaeus, the Whiskered Auklet, is without conspicuously deciduous plates, but has an additional patch of white plumes, reaching from the beak above and below the eye at all seasons. S. pusillus, the Least Auklet, has on the short maxilla a small compressed basal tubercle, which is shed in winter, but exhibits no crest. The scapular region shews a good deal of white; filamentous white feathers grace the forehead, lores, and ear-coverts; and dusky spots mark the lower parts, in summer only. Synthliborhamphus antiquus, of the Pacific north of Vancouver Island and Japan, but accidental elsewhere, has a short, compressed, yellow and black beak, with plumbeous upper and white lower parts; the head and throat are black with a white line on each side of the occiput, the upper back is streaked with white. In winter all the stripes vanish, and the throat is white. S. wumizusume, of the Eastern Asiatic seas southward to Japan, has a nuptial crest of long narrow plumes, but no streaks on the back. In the cold season the whole malar region and throat are white. Brachyrhamphus marmoratus of the North Pacific, reaching California in winter, has a small slender black bill, dusky upper parts barred with rufous, and white under parts varied with brown; B. kittlitzi, of the Aleutian Islands east to Unalashka, Kamtschatka, and North Japan, is thickly {319}spotted with buff above; B. hypoleucus and B. craveri of Lower California are plain slate-coloured with white lower surface, the former having white and the latter grey wing-lining. The first two species have a white nuchal collar and irregular white markings above in winter, with nearly white lower parts.

Cepphus grylle, the Black Guillemot of the Atlantic northwards from Britain and Maine, and of the Arctic coasts of Europe, is black with a white wing-patch, the feathers of which are black at the base; in winter the plumage is white, relieved above and sometimes below by black, and the red feet become pinkish. The compressed pointed bill is always black. C. mandti, occupying, as it seems, the North Polar seas generally, and breeding as far south as Labrador, has a more slender bill, and no black wing-patch. C. columba, ranging from Bering Strait and Japan to California, has a large wedge-shaped black mark on the white wing-patch; C. carbo, of North-East Asia, Japan, the Kuril and Bering Islands, shews no white except round the eye. All these forms wander southwards in winter. The Black Guillemot or Tystie still breeds in the Isle of Man, and sparsely on the East of Scotland and Ireland, in the north and west of which countries it is not uncommon. It is remarkably tame when it breeds in the wilder districts, uttering a plaintive cry, and making its way to land in the face of an intruder. The two whitish or greenish eggs, beautifully spotted with black, brown, and grey, are deposited among large boulders, or in holes at the bases of cliffs, without any nest.

Of the last group of Auks, with feathered nostrils, Uria troile, the well-known Common Guillemot, Willock, or Murre, breeds numerously in Britain, where the cliffs are suitable; it extends from Bear Island near Spitsbergen to the Magdalen Islands in America and the Tagus in Europe, occurring on migration southwards to the New England States and the Canaries. The plumage is dusky above and white below, with a brownish head and white alar bar. The throat, cheeks, and a few feathers on the head are white in winter; the long pointed bill and feet are blackish. The Ringed Guillemot is a mere variety with a white ring round the eye and a streak behind it; but U. californica, with stouter bill, from the Pacific coast of North America, may be considered a sub-species. U. brünnichi, distinguishable by its blacker crown, and deeper beak with a white edge to the maxilla, {320}ranges from the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Iceland to the Arctic Seas of both worlds in summer, moving further south in winter; the North Pacific race being denominated U. arra. Descriptions of the colonies of Guillemots in the icy seas, and of the smaller but equally crowded stations in Britain, have been too frequently given to need repetition here; but it may be mentioned that during incubation, which lasts about a month, the parent holds the egg between its thighs, and not unfrequently carries it off a ledge, when suddenly scared. On flat-topped stacks these eggs (p. 316) often lie in the closest juxtaposition.

In Alca the black bill is deep and highly compressed, with a curved culmen; and shews oblique or transverse grooves, which are wanting in the young. A. torda, the Razorbill, less common in Britain than the Guillemot, ranges from Jan Mayen and Greenland to Maine and Brittany, visiting North Carolina and the Canaries in some winters. It is greenish-black with brown throat-region and white lower parts, a white line stretching from the top of the {321}beak to the eye, and another crossing both mandibles in the adult only. The tips of the secondaries are white, forming an alar bar, the feet are black. The throat and cheeks are white in the winter and immature plumage. A. impennis, the extinct Great Auk or Garefowl, inhabited the North Atlantic, chiefly in the neighbourhood of Iceland and Newfoundland, but apparently never reached north of the Arctic Circle. Remains have been found in the kitchen-middens of Denmark, North and West Scotland, and North and South Ireland; in a cave on the coast of Durham; and abundantly on Funk Island in the Newfoundland Seas, where the bird was called "Penguin"; that name being subsequently transferred to the Spheniscidae. The last two living examples were obtained at the isle of Eldey, off Iceland, in 1844, while 1812, 1821, and 1834 are the last dates of capture in Orkney, St. Kilda, and Ireland respectively, allowing for a possible instance in St. Kilda (Borrera) in 1840. This species, extirpated chiefly by the persecution of fishermen, but subsequently by collectors, resembled a flightless Razorbill, though double the size; it had no white stripes on the head or bill, but shewed a large white patch before each eye. The huge egg was white or buff, with scattered round spots or plentiful fine scrawls of black or brown; about seventy of these eggs, and a somewhat greater number of birds, existing at present in collections.[204]

Mergulus alle, the Little Auk or Rotche, occurring on migration in Britain, and occasionally in the Canaries, Azores, and New Jersey, breeds from Greenland and the Kara Sea to North Iceland. It is black above and white below, with a spot over the eye, streaks on the scapulars, and an alar bar also of white; the throat is black in summer only. The short, broad, arched bill is black, the feet are brownish. The single greenish- or bluish-white egg, often shewing faint rufous markings, is deposited in a deep crevice of a cliff, or among boulders on beaches.

As regards fossil forms, Uria has been found in the Miocene of Maine and North Carolina, and in the Pliocene of Tuscany.

* * * * *

Of the second or Pteroclo-Columbine group of Charadriiform Birds (p. 268) the Old World Sub-Order PTEROCLES contains only–

Fam. IX. PTEROCLIDAE, or the Sand-Grouse, equally interesting as regards their structure and their habits. Originally considered {322}akin to Grouse, they have since given rise to much discussion; Dr. Gadow's view–here adopted–being that they are highly specialized forms, analogous to the Galli in their digestive organs, but homologically constituting a link between the Limicolae and the Columbae.[205] From the Pigeons they certainly differ remarkably in the condition of the chicks, which are covered with brown, creamy, and black down, and run almost immediately from the shell; yet they agree with them in most points of osteology, myology, and pterylosis, while the eggs recall those of Rails, and the flight resembles that of a Plover.

The body is compact; the bill short, arched, and fairly stout; the metatarsus abbreviated and feathered anteriorly, or entirely in Syrrhaptes. In this genus, moreover, the hallux, much reduced elsewhere, is totally absent; and the short front toes are enclosed in a sort of casing, which is covered as far as the thick claws with hairy plumage, the whole forming a padded foot unique among Birds. The long pointed wings have sixteen or seventeen secondaries, and eleven primaries, of which the outer has its shaft produced into a thin filament in Syrrhaptes paradoxus; the wedge-shaped tail has sixteen rectrices, the median pair being elongated and pointed in that genus and Pteroclurus (Pin-tailed Sand-Grouse), if the latter be allowed to stand. The furcula is U-shaped, the syrinx tracheo-bronchial, the tongue lanceolate; there is a small aftershaft, and a large crop; while the down of the adults is sparingly distributed.

Sand-Grouse are true desert-birds, affording excellent instances of protective coloration in their buff or brownish tints, slightly varied with grey, black, orange, and white; Pterocles fasciatus and P. lichtensteini, however, prefer bushy and rocky ground to bare, sandy, or stony plains. Gregarious yet monogamous, they are shy and wary, but very pugnacious among themselves; their flight is swift, strong, and noisy; their powers of walking and running good, though rather clumsy, owing to the extremely short legs. All the species lie closely until flushed, and are fond of basking in the sun on their sides, in holes scraped out for the purpose. Migration probably prevails to some extent throughout the Family, while the irruptions of Syrrhaptes paradoxus into Europe (p. 324) are quite unparalleled. The cry, often uttered upon the wing, is a piercing whistle, or a twittering {323}or clucking sound; though that of Syrrhaptes appears to be hoarser, and has been syllabled as "truck-turuck" and "caga-caga" in S. paradoxus and S. tibetanus respectively. The alarm-note is of a croaking nature. The food consists of seeds, tender shoots, bulbous grass-roots, and insects, or even of berries, peas, and beans; while the birds flock to drink at certain favourite spots, and are variously stated to take continuous or interrupted draughts. The nest is a mere hollow in the soil, frequently lined with a little grass; the three oval, but peculiarly cylindrical, eggs vary from whitish to buff, or greenish in Syrrhaptes, and are marked with brown, reddish, and violet. Both sexes assist in incubation, which lasts from twenty-five to twenty-eight days. Opinions vary as to the edible quality of the flesh.

Pterocles arenarius, ranging from the Canary Islands, North Africa, and Madagascar to South Europe and Central Asia, has dark grey upper parts, with orange-yellow markings, except on the white-tipped primaries and tail; the chestnut throat surmounts a black patch, which is succeeded by a breast of the same dove-colour as the head, crossed by a black band; the belly being black also. The bill is horn-coloured, the feet are greyish. The female is buff, barred above and spotted below with black; her throat is yellowish-white, and the black areas on her lower surface are as in the male. P. decoratus of East Africa, P. bicinctus and P. variegatus of South Africa, P. coronatus and P. lichtensteini, extending from the Sahara and Kordofan respectively to North-West India, P. gutturalis of East Africa, P. personatus of Madagascar, P. fasciatus of India–the only species peculiar to Asia–and P. quadricinctus, found from Senegambia to Abyssinia, are fairly similar to the above, though chiefly sandy in some cases.

Pteroclurus alchata, absurdly termed "Perdrix d'Angleterre" {324}in France, and Rock-Pigeon in India, is grey above, with yellow tips to the dorsal feathers; it has black, brown, and greyish-white wings, shewing chestnut and yellow on the coverts; yellowish rump and long median rectrices barred with black. The cheeks are orange, the throat is black with a little yellow beneath, the upper breast is chestnut-red, bordered by a black line above and below, the remaining under parts are white, the bill and feet brownish. The female differs in her white throat, and in her upper surface irregularly marked with buff, grey, and black. This species occurs in South Europe, North Africa, and South-West Asia; P. namaqua inhabits South Africa; P. exustus ranges from Senegal to the Pangani River in East Africa, and through Palestine to Central Asia and India; while P. senegallus extends from the Sahara to Palestine, Arabia, and North-West India.

Syrrhaptes paradoxus, Pallas's Sand-Grouse, has buff upper parts barred with black; mainly blue-grey wings and tail, with black and chestnut markings on the former, and white tips to the lateral rectrices; dull yellow crown and cheeks; orange nape and throat; greyish-buff neck and breast, white abdomen and metatarsal plumage, an interrupted black gorget, and a broader black band towards the belly. The female has less elongated median tail-feathers, black streaks on the buff head, a black bar across the throat, and is duller generally. S. tibetanus, with entirely white belly, the largest of the Family, extends from the Sutlej and South Kashmir to Koko-Nor; but its congener reaches from the Lower Volga or the Kirghiz Steppes to the north of Lake Baikal and North China, while some erratic impulse of uncertain origin causes it to invade the plains of China and the whole of Europe at irregular intervals. One specimen was obtained at Sarepta on the Volga in 1848, and again in 1860, when flocks visited Pekin; in 1859 a few examples occurred on the Continent, and between July and November three wandered to Britain; while in 1863 some 700 individuals reached our shores by May 21, straying as far as Ireland, but vanishing towards autumn. Several pairs bred on the sand-hills of Holland and Jutland. In 1872 and 1876 small parties visited us; and in 1888 another and incalculably larger invasion took place, which extended farther southward than that of 1863, and after entering Europe before the beginning of April, occupied Britain between May 6 and May 15, to remain there throughout {325}that year and the succeeding. Besides breeding in Denmark, Holstein, and no doubt elsewhere on the Continent, two pairs nested in 1888 in the east of Yorkshire, and one or more on the Culbin Sands in Moray, whence in 1889 Professor Newton received on August 8 a chick of two or three days old. This was exhibited at the Newcastle Meeting of the British Association, and subsequently figured in The Ibis.[206] Doubtless the above were not the only cases of reproduction in England, and it was hoped that a protective Act, which came into force in February 1889, would lead to permanent colonization; but by 1890, or, according to some, 1892, all the birds had disappeared.

As a fossil, Pterocles occurs in the Eocene and Miocene of France.

* * * * *

The Sub-Order COLUMBAE must certainly be divided into the Families Dididae for the Dodo and Solitaire, and Columbidae for the Pigeons, while a third, Didunculidae, may be added to contain the Tooth-billed Pigeon of Samoa, to which Otidiphaps of Papuasia is possibly allied. For convenience sake we may accept four Sub-families of the Columbidae, namely (1) Gourinae, (2) Peristerinae, (3) Columbinae, and (4) Treroninae, though the arrangement is somewhat arbitrary. Dr. Gadow[207] segregates Caloenatinae, but not Peristerinae, while he and Count Salvadori[208] agree in considering Didunculus merely on a level with these subdivisions.

Throughout the group the body is compact, while the bill varies from stout to slender, being swollen and hardened at the decurved tip, which forms a hook in the Dididae and Didunculidae. The base of this feature is covered with a soft skin or cere, containing the nostrils; Globicera, Vinago calva, and Ptilopus insolitus have a fleshy or bony knob at the posterior part of the culmen, said to be most prominent in the breeding season; and Didunculus has the mandible toothed and truncated. The metatarsi, reticulated in the Gourinae, but scutellated elsewhere, are usually partly feathered, especially in Fruit-Pigeons; some species of Columbigallina, however, have them naked; Drepanoptila has them entirely covered; and in many domestic breeds the plumage extends over the toes, which are all on the same level, and possess moderate claws. The skin is more or less expanded {326}on each side of the digits. The rounded wings are commonly long, but are short in Ground-Pigeons, and aborted in the flightless Dididae, the primaries numbering eleven and the secondaries from ten to seventeen; the former are bifurcated at the tip in Drepanoptila, attenuated in some members of Ptilopus, Oxypelia, Peristera, and Leptoptila, while one or more of the three outer feathers is not uncommonly scalloped. The tail varies considerably in form and dimensions, being wedge-shaped in Sphenocercus, rounded in Zenaida, Phabotreron, and Megaloprepia, acuminate in Ectopistes, long and graduated in Oena, Macropygia, and Reinwardtoenas, and so forth. The rectrices range from twelve to twenty, sixteen being the normal number in the Gourinae, twelve in the Columbinae, and fourteen in the Treroninae. The neck-feathers may be bifurcated, as in Alectoroenas, Columba guinea, and occasionally in Turtur, or those of the breast, as in some species of Macropygia, Ptilopus, and Phaenorrhina; the neck, moreover, is hackled in Caloenas and Lopholaemus, and the body-plumage is generally narrow with widely-separated barbs in Chrysoenas. Five members of Phlogoenas have a patch of stiff feathers over the crop; while the splendid decomposed crest of Goura is exceptionally striking, and more ordinary tufts grace the head in Lopholaemus, Coryphoenas, Lophophaps, Ocyphaps, and elsewhere. The forehead is sometimes nearly bare, as are the lores and eyelids in Gymnophaps; naked red or yellow orbits are found in Gymnopelia, Reinwardtoenas, Macropygia, Turacoena, Didunculus, and Columba gymnophthalma, not to mention other instances; while the tendency reaches its height in the huge circumocular wattles of several fanciers' races. In Serresius a feathered "saddle" extends over half the culmen.

The furcula is U-shaped, being much reduced in the Dididae; the syrinx is remarkable for the asymmetrical union of the sterno-tracheal muscles; the tongue is lanceolate; the impervious nostrils are linear in the Columbidae and Didunculidae, oblique in the Dididae. The crop is more highly developed than in other Families. The gizzard of Caloenas is remarkable for an indurated horn-like patch on each side of the epithelial lining, that of Carpophaga latrans has the interior beset with similar conical prominences, correlated with a diet of hard fruit. Phaenorrhina has these cones still more developed, and Ptilopus agrees with Drepanoptila in possessing four pads in the above organ instead {327}of two, the regular number in Birds. The after-shaft is rudimentary or absent, the adults have no down, the young are hatched blind and naked, and remain for a long time in the nest. The plumage is commonly dull blue or brown, with an iridescent sheen; but remarkably brilliant purple, red, yellow, and green hues manifest themselves in forms such as Ptilopus, Chrysoenas, and Caloenas from the islands of the Eastern Seas, the headquarters of the Family. Though smaller, the female usually resembles the male; but Turturoena, Oena, and Peristera are examples of diversity, while immature examples are duller than adults. Goura approaches the size of a goose, whereas Columbigallina is little larger than a sparrow. Of domestic Pigeons the Rock-Dove is undoubtedly the origin, but the breeds are now infinite in their variety.[209]

Omitting the abnormal Didine Birds, the habits of the members of this group are fairly uniform, the majority of them inhabiting wooded country; while even those like Phaps, Lophophaps, and Geophaps, which occupy the arid plains of Australia, are to be found at times where vegetation is plentiful; and in all cases the proximity of water seems indispensable. Fruit-Pigeons frequent trees, and the most typical Columbine forms are found in woods or among rocks, though the smaller Doves naturally prefer the lower bushes. Wood-Pigeons towards winter, and Passenger-Pigeons when nesting–not to mention other instances–gather in large flocks; in some cases, however, the parties only number about half a dozen, and more solitary habits are by no means uncommon. The flight is strong, rapid, and direct, though the Ground-Pigeons remain a comparatively short time upon the wing, and some species prefer to run unless forced to rise, Oena being an especially good walker. The well-known "homing" powers of trained birds, the curious backward somersaults of the Tumbler, and the sudden rise and clap of the wings so noticeable in the Wood-Pigeon when courting, merit a passing mention. Every member of the Family perches, and many delight to bask in the sun. The note is always of the nature of a coo, but is especially loud and deep in Myristicivora, Megaloprepia, and some members of Carpophaga, guttural in Haplopelia, mournful in Peristera and Zenaidura, harsh and trumpet-like in Goura; the voice of the Turtle-Dove suggests a purr, while Tympanistria and Starnoenas possess powers of ventriloquism. {328}The food of the Wood-Pigeon is grain, beech-mast, acorns, turnips, and tender shoots of plants; that of Fruit-Pigeons consists of figs, palm-nuts, grapes, and so forth, plucked from the tree, and in the case of Myristicivora bicolor and Globicera myristicivora, largely of the mace which encases the nutmeg; Ground-Doves and other small forms subsist mainly on seeds of grasses; and it may be safely inferred that in most cases the diet varies considerably. Turturoena is stated to eat Cicada larvae; Leucosarcia those of Diptera; Goura and Otidiphaps worms, snails, and insects. Pigeons, unlike birds generally, take continuous draughts of water, immersing the bill to the base. The nest is usually a slight platform of sticks, placed aloft on a branch or in a bush; but our Rock-Dove and Columba phaeonota of South Africa breed in caves or holes in rocks; the Stock-Dove prefers hollow trees, rabbit-burrows, and the like; Geophaps the bare soil; and so forth. Phaps, Peristera, and Zenaida nest either on the ground or in bushes, but the latter appear to be almost invariably chosen by Ground-Doves like Columbigallina and Geopelia. The white eggs are two, or exceptionally three, in number; the Dodo, however, laid only one, and so do Caloenas, Ectopistes, Didunculus, and some species of Carpophaga and Columba, as well as Goura, where it is larger than that of a tame Duck. Societies, such as those of Ectopistes and Caloenas, are most unusual. Some Pigeons breed three times a year, the male commonly assisting in incubation, which lasts from fourteen to twenty-eight days. The members of this Family are shy, but readily tamed; yet the Collared Turtle-Dove is perhaps the only really good cage-bird. Most of them are excellent for the table, Leucosarcia, Geophaps, Goura, and the Treroninae being accounted particularly delicate, while the Wood-Pigeon and the domestic breeds speak for themselves. The great damage, however, done to crops, such as turnips, peas, or barley, by the flocks counterbalances their economic value to a considerable extent, the most typical forms being undoubtedly the worst offenders.

Fam. X. DIDIDAE.–This consists of three extinct species–Didus ineptus, the Dodo of Mauritius, D. borbonicus of Réunion (Bourbon), and Pezophaps solitarius, the Solitaire of Rodriguez.

The Dodo, familiar to all by name, if not by pictures, was an immense Pigeon-like bird bigger than a Turkey, with an aborted keel to the sternum and the wings also aborted. The coracoid and scapula met at an obtuse angle, as in many other flightless species. {329}The huge blackish bill terminated in a large horny hook, the cheeks were partly bare, the short yellow legs were stout, scaly, and feathered on the upper portion; the plumage was dark ash-coloured, with whitish breast and tail, yellowish-white wings, and black tips to their coverts. The short rectrices formed a curled tuft, and the first four primaries were directed backwards.

This uncouth and unwieldy species, of which a full account will be found in the works mentioned below,[210] which have been largely utilized here, was noticed as early as 1598 by the Dutch, who called it Walghvogel, or Nauseous Bird, from their dislike of its flesh, and the island, where it was then found abundantly, Mauritius. The earliest representation was given in 1601 by De Bry, who stated that an example was brought alive to Holland. Other Dutch fleets subsequently visited the island, and several sketches of the Dodo were made, while one of the captains records that it was indifferently called Dodaars or Dronte. Roelandt Savery of Courtrai (1576-1639) painted the Dodo–probably from life–more than once, pictures by him still existing in {330}Berlin (1626), Vienna (1628), the Hague, Pommersfelden, Stuttgart, and London, the last-named belonging to the Zoological Society. The British Museum also possesses an undated picture, another is at Haarlem, a third at Oxford; while one by Goiemare at Sion House (dated 1627), and one said to be by Hoefnagel in the library of the late Emperor of Austria (circa 1620) were possibly taken from living birds. In 1628 Englishmen appeared on the scene, Emanuel Altham having sent a specimen home alive to his brother, while Herbert, accompanying the same fleet, mentioned the Dodo and figured it. About 1634 an example was given to the Anatomy School at Oxford by a Mr. Gosling, and some four years later Sir Hamon Lestrange saw a captive bird in London. Finally, we may note that individuals existed in Mauritius until 1681, as proved by the journal of Benjamin Harry.

In 1865 the discovery of a large quantity of remains in the Mare aux Songes, by Mr. G. Clark, enabled Owen and others to confirm the suggestion of the Danish naturalist, Reinhardt, of the Dodo's affinity to the Pigeons; while in 1889 M. Sauzier, acting for the Government of Mauritius, sent to the late Sir Edward Newton a series of bones from the same spot, enabling the first correctly restored and properly mounted skeleton to be returned for the museum of that island, and the important paper, noticed above, to be published by the last-named and Dr. Gadow. Nearly perfect specimens exist at Cambridge, in the British Museum, and at Paris.

The Dodo is said to have inhabited forests, to have swallowed pebbles, to have uttered a cry like that of a gosling, and to have laid one large white egg on a mass of grass. Hogs and other imported animals seem to have conduced to its extermination, as well as the hand of man.

Didus borbonicus had white plumage, varied with yellow, the first four primaries being directed forwards and downwards. It is mentioned by Tatton (1625), Du Bois (1669), and Carré (1699); while Bontekoe (1646) gave a figure apparently intended to represent it, and another by Pierre Witthoos (ob. 1693) was in existence a few years ago. It was originally called the Solitaire, but this name was also applied to Pezophaps solitarius of Rodriguez by the Huguenot exile Leguat, who described and figured the latter about 1691. Pezophaps was subsequently briefly noticed by D'Heguerty (1751) and again by Pingré (1761), who heard {331}that it still existed in inaccessible districts; while it is also mentioned in an anonymous manuscript discovered at Paris, written perhaps about 1729. Remains came into the hands of Desjardins in 1789 (not fully recognised until 1832), and others were forwarded to England; but much the most important finds were those of the late Sir Edward Newton in 1864, followed up by Mr. Jenner in the succeeding years, and of Mr. H. H. Slater in 1874.[211] In 1875 two complete skeletons were obtained, and fairly perfect specimens of those of each sex are at Cambridge, with others elsewhere.

This Solitaire was larger than a Swan, the male standing about 2 feet 9 inches, and the female 2 feet 3 inches high; the colour of the former was brownish-grey, but the latter varied from the hue of "fair hair" to brown, and had a whitish breast. The slightly-hooked, elongated beak had a feathered ridge or peak at the base of the culmen, the neck was elongated and straight, the legs were longer and weaker than in the Dodo, the wings were rudimentary, the hind part (pelvis) was rounded, the tail was hardly noticeable, and the thigh-feathers were thick, and curved like shells at the end. A spherical mass of bone, "as big as a musket-ball," was developed on the wings of the males; and they used it, in addition to the beak, as a weapon of offence, while they whirled themselves about twenty or thirty times in four or five minutes, making a noise with their pinions like a rattle. The mien was fine and the walk stately, the birds being seen singly or in pairs; the nest was a heap of palm-leaves a foot or more high, the single large egg was incubated by both parents. The food is said to have consisted of seeds and leaves, and a stone as big as a hen's egg was often found in the stomach.

Fam. XI. DIDUNCULIDAE.–Didunculus strigirostris, the Manu-meà or Red Bird of the islands of Upolu, Savai, and Tutuila in the Samoan group, is glossy greenish-black, with chestnut back, rump, wing-coverts, tail and under tail-coverts, but browner wing-quills and abdomen. The hooked and toothed bill is orange, the feet are reddish, and the naked orbits red. The sexes are similar, the young entirely brown. First made known by Strickland on the strength of its discovery in the autumn of 1839 by Peale {332}during the United States Exploring Expedition under Commander Wilkes, it has since been met with by several travellers and missionaries, three living specimens having been exhibited in the Gardens of the Zoological Society of London. By 1863 it was regarded as nearly extinct on Upolu, where it was formerly abundant, though it still held its own on Savai; but in 1874 an increase was reported from the latter island, which was attributed to a change of habits, the birds having become arboreal instead of terrestrial.

The oldest accounts, derived from native sources, stated that Didunculus was essentially a ground species, living on thickly-wooded mountain-sides in flocks of about a dozen, and feeding on berries, plantains (bananas), and yam fruit, while it roosted on low stumps, and bred on the ground, being rather shy, and taking to flight noisily with much flapping of the wings. Mr. Whitmee[212] and others, however, tell us that it now feeds almost exclusively on high trees, roosting aloft, and building in the forks. But as early as 1852 Lieutenant Walpole[213] asserted that the bird bred among rocks, perched and fed on trees, and flew from wood to wood, or even from island to island, so that it is not impossible that its supposed affinity to the Dodo led writers astray, and that its fondness for the ground was greatly exaggerated. No doubt danger from introduced cats and rats would force the nest to be placed higher.

{333}The Tooth-billed Pigeon was usually found in pairs or small parties, and was in great request for food among the natives, who, moreover, kept individuals tethered to sticks as pets, while the chiefs erected small huts in which to feed the flocks. They were often attracted by decoys, and caught with bird-lime. The habits are diurnal, or somewhat crepuscular; the note apparently varies from deep and guttural to low and plaintive; and breeding takes place from May to September, the single egg being white. The birds are decidedly pugnacious in captivity, and occasionally nibble their food in Parrot fashion.

Fam. XII. COLUMBIDAE.–If we omit the Arctic and Antarctic countries, this group forms a remarkably cosmopolitan Family, though with an irregular distribution. Roughly speaking, there are recognised some dozen Palaearctic, and still fewer Nearctic species, with about seventy Neotropical and forty Ethiopian; India possesses about thirty, the Malay Archipelago perhaps a hundred and twenty, New Guinea and the Moluccas a hundred. Many island forms occur in Polynesia, but Australia can barely claim twenty, the New Zealand seas only furnish two, and the Sandwich Islands none.

{334}Sub-fam. 1. Gourinae.–This contains seven species of Goura–G. coronata of Western New Guinea, Waigiou, Batanta, Salawatti, and Mysol, G. cinerea of the Arfak Mountains, G. sclateri of Central and Southern New Guinea, G. albertisi of South-East New Guinea, G. scheepmakeri, probably from South-West New Guinea–all of which have the erect crest-feathers with entirely decomposed webs–G. victoria of Jobi and Mysori, and G. beccarii of Central and North New Guinea–which have them with spatulate tips. The first of these, discovered by Dampier in 1699, is bluish-slate-coloured, with darker wings, and some black on the chin and sides of the head; a broad chestnut band crossing the back, one of white shewing conspicuously on the wing, and one of grey terminating the tail. The other species differ in the amount of chestnut above, the wing-bar being grey and the breast chestnut in some cases. These birds are found near open or cultivated lands, ranging from the coast regions to an altitude of a thousand feet; they feed in small flocks, and eat seeds, berries, and other fruits, buds of plants, worms, and insects. The usual note is long, harsh, and trumpet-like, the love-call a short mournful coo. When disturbed they take to cover, and pitch upon low branches, where they also roost; in the heat of the day they lie in the shade with outspread wings and tail; and in the courting-season the cocks fight savagely for the hens. The nest, a careless platform of sticks, contains one large white egg.

Sub-fam. 2. Peristerinae.–This ranges over both the Old and the New World, Zenaida, Peristera, and their closest allies being confined to the latter, while Turtur, Phaps, and so forth belong to the former.

Group (a).–Caloenas nicobarica, which extends from the Nicobar Islands through the Malay Archipelago to the Solomons, is a metallic-green bird, with bronzy reflexions and blackish head, neck, and upper breast, most of the remiges being black, and the tail with its coverts white. The long narrow neck-hackles, the roughly-scaled legs, and the black knob at the base of the bill are also remarkable features. Partly but not entirely terrestrial, it walks at a great rate, feeds mainly upon the ground on seeds, utters a croaking note, often builds in societies on trees, and lays one white egg. C. pelewensis, of the Pelew Islands, is smaller and bluer.

Group (b).–This section of the Sub-family contains several robust forms, with fairly long, stout legs, and short, rounded wings. {335}Otidiphaps nobilis of Western New Guinea and Batanta, O. cervicalis of South-East New Guinea, and O. insularis of Fergusson Island, are greenish-black, chestnut, and purple, with the bill red, the feet reddish with rough yellow scales, and the nape green, grey, and black respectively. They have no less than twenty rectrices, while the first two have an occipital crest. These Pigeons, said to resemble Megapodes in habits, frequent hills or dense thickets, often near the sea-coast, but are difficult of observation, owing to their shyness; they run swiftly with erect outspread tail, perch on low boughs, and have a harsh cry, varied by a plaintive note; the food consists of fruits, roots, and snails. The nest, containing one egg, is said to be placed at the foot of a tree. Starnoenas cyanocephala, of Cuba and the Florida Keys, is brown above and purplish-rufous below, with a blue crown surrounded by black, a black throat with a white basal line, a white stripe across each cheek, and red bill and feet varied with bluish. This bird, the "Perdiz" of the Cubans, frequents wooded hills and has somewhat gallinaceous habits; the food consists of seeds, berries, and snails, the hollow note having the effect of ventriloquism. Another long-legged, terrestrial genus from New Guinea is Eutrygon; E. terrestris being olivaceous lead-coloured, with rufous outer margins to the brown remiges, while E. leucopareia has a reddish hue on the wing-coverts. Leucosarcia picata, the white-fleshed Wonga-wonga of Eastern Australia, is blue-black with white forehead, pectoral band, and central abdomen. It inhabits the brushes, and feeds chiefly upon the ground on seeds, fruits, and insect-larvae; the flight is of short duration and the habits somewhat Pheasant-like; the nest is in a tree. Phlogoenas contains a score of members ranging from the Philippines and Timor to the Society Islands. P. luzonica of Luzon has purplish upper parts, a greyish-blue head, and yellowish-white lower parts, with a patch of stiff red decomposed feathers over the crop; the inner webs of the remiges are more or less rufous, a characteristic found also in Chalcopelia, Columbigallina, Scardafella, and Leptoptila, from very different parts of the world. P. rufigula, of New Guinea and the islands to the north-west, has the crop-patch yellowish-ochre; P. tristigma of North Celebes is perhaps most striking of all, with its yellow breast and forehead, green head, purple nape, and green and purple tints on the brown upper back; P. stairi of the Fiji and Tonga {336}Islands has a greenish-grey head and brownish upper surface, with brilliant violet-purple on the wings and a vinous breast, while the female differs in being olive-brown, with the head and breast dull cinnamon. P. kubaryi of the Caroline group is almost entirely violet-purple above, the head being grey, the forehead, sides of the neck, throat, and breast white. Geotrygon with some dozen and a half species extends from South Mexico to Paraguay, several of them being peculiar to the West Indies. G. montana, the "Mountain-Partridge," ranges from Key West and Cuba to Paraguay. It has a purplish-rufous upper surface, while the lower parts are whitish-fawn colour, with a purplish breast. The female is olive with a tinge of gold above, and chiefly buff below, with browner breast. G. chrysia of Haiti, Cuba, the Bahamas, and the Florida Keys has reddish-brown upper parts, with reflexions of brilliant purple, green, and gold, and vinaceous-white lower parts. G. violacea of Central America and Brazil, G. cristata, the Mountain-Witch, of Jamaica, G. linearis of Colombia, and other species, bear a general resemblance to the above. These birds frequent thickly-wooded districts or mountainous tracts, where they feed upon the ground on seeds, fallen berries, snails, and slugs. They often have recourse to running, yet the flight is rapid and whirring; the note is a moaning coo, the nest a slight structure on bushes, trees, or even the ground. Osculatia purpurea and O. sapphirina are two beautiful Ecuadorian Pigeons, of which the former has a rich purple crown and occiput, a purplish-violet mantle with duller wings, a violet rump, a bronzy-green hind-neck, a white forehead, throat, and abdomen, a greyish breast, and white cheeks with a black transverse stripe below. The latter has the crown grey, the occiput golden-green. Leptoptila (Engyptila of some authors), distributed from Texas to Argentina, contains about seventeen somewhat similar forms, which have olive-brown upper parts, with red, green, and dove-coloured reflexions, and usually pinkish-white or greyish under parts. The wing-quills almost invariably shew some cinnamon on their inner webs, while in L. rufinucha, the region of the nape is rufous. The White-bellied Pigeon of Jamaica (L. jamaicensis) is an unsuspicious bird which habitually lives on the ground in woods, eats seeds and fruits, runs, walks, or flies for short distances, and sometimes uses straw instead of sticks for its nest. The genus Haplopelia is restricted to the Ethiopian {337}Region, H. larvata of South Africa, H. bronzina of Abyssinia and Shoa, H. principalis of Prince's Island, H. simplex of St. Thomas, H. johnstoni of Nyassa-Land, and H. inornata of the Cameroons, being all much alike. The first-mentioned–common in woods near Cape Town–is plain brown, with green and purple gloss on the crown and nape, a white forehead and throat, and vinaceous breast with coppery reflexions. It is the Cinnamon or Lemon Dove of the colonists, and feeds chiefly on berries, obtained upon the ground.

Group (c).–The third section of the Peristerinae is confined to the Old World, and shews metallic blue or green wing-spots or patches. Ocyphaps lophotes, the swift Crested Bronze-wing of the interior of Australia, is found in flocks, especially near water, and has a remarkable habit, when alighting, of erecting its long, black crest and elevating its tail until they almost meet. It is a grey bird, possessing bronzy-green wing-coverts tipped with white, a metallic purple gloss on the secondaries, and peacock-blue outer rectrices. Lophophaps plumifera of North-West Australia, which has a western race, L. ferruginea, and a southern, L. leucogaster, is a terrestrial species, frequenting creeks in the desert, and running on the ground like a Quail. The nest is a mere hole in the ground lined with a little grass; the eggs are said to be creamy-white. The Plumed Bronze-wing, as it is called, has the general plumage and full crest pale cinnamon, the throat white, with a black median stripe, a black gorget, a crescentic band of grey on the chest with a black line below, and a few purple spots on the secondaries. Geophaps scripta, the Partridge Bronze-wing or Squatter of North-West and East Australia, has a peculiar habit of squatting on the ground or on the branches of any tree in which it takes refuge. It is light brown above and grey below, with curious black and white markings on the sides of the head and throat; the wing-coverts have pale tips, and the innermost of the greater series greenish-purple outer webs. G. smithi of North-West Australia is browner. From the same parts comes Petrophassa albipennis, which frequents rocks, though its nest has not yet been recorded; it is a reddish-brown bird with greyer head, grey centres to the feathers, and concealed purplish spots on the wing-coverts; the throat is black and white, the primaries brown with white bases. Histrioniphaps histrionica, of the interior and North-West of Australia, has brown upper {338}and grey under parts; the head is finely varied with jet-black and pure white, the secondaries shew patches of metallic-purple, and the primaries have white tips and partly rufous inner webs. The female is much duller. It is essentially a Ground-Pigeon, and breeds on the bare soil of the plains; but the flight is much stronger than might be expected, as is also the case with Geophaps. Phaps chalcoptera and P. elegans, of Australia and Tasmania, in their mode of life resemble the preceding, though the latter species is the more terrestrial, while both usually build in low trees or bushes. P. chalcoptera, the Common Bronze-wing, is extremely handsome, the greyish-brown upper surface being relieved by a purple band on the crown and most brilliant bronze and green spots upon the wing; the breast is pinkish, the throat white, and the forehead white with a wash of yellow. The inner webs of the remiges are partly rufous. P. elegans, the Brush Bronze-wing, is a shorter-winged bird, with chestnut throat and grey breast. Henicophaps albifrons of New Guinea and the adjacent western islands has the forehead whitish, the neck and under parts rich reddish-purple, the back blue-black, the wings glossed with golden-green and bronze, and their coverts margined with chestnut. The beak is longer and stouter than in the allied forms, and the bird is partly arboreal. Calopelia puella of West Africa is a fine cinnamon-coloured bird, with blue head and iridescent green spots on the wings. Of Chalcophaps, ranging from India, Burma, and South China, through the islands to Australia and the New Hebrides, Count Salvadori makes two divisions, though the species are little more than local races. Of the first of these, with golden-green mid-back and scapulars, C. indica, the Emerald Dove or Beetle-wing, may be taken as typical; the head is blue with white forehead and sides, the upper back is purplish, the wing-coverts golden-green, the lower back bronzy with two grey bars, the rump nearly black, and the under parts purplish-pink. The female is brown and somewhat redder below, with grey forehead. This species covers nearly the whole range of the genus, but only stretches eastward to Geelvink Bay in New Guinea. C. chrysochlora reaches from Timor to the New Hebrides; C. sanghirensis occurs in Great Sanghir Island; C. natalis in Christmas Island, Indian Ocean. C. stephani, of Celebes and Papuasia, and C. mortoni, of the Solomon Islands, constitute the second division, where the mid-back and {339}scapulars are reddish-cinnamon. These Pigeons frequent bushy districts, feed on the ground on seeds and fruits, run fast, and fly swiftly for short distances. They have a mournful note, breed on low trees, and make a fairly compact nest of roots, grass, or twigs. Chalcopelia afra inhabits Africa south of Abyssinia and Senegambia. It has olive-brown upper parts, with two black stripes across the lower back, and a few large spots of brilliant purple and green on the wing; the under parts are pinkish, and the inner webs of the primaries and their coverts bright rufous. C. chalcospilus, with the spots golden-green, is probably a variety. They inhabit bushy country in pairs, the flight, food, note, and nest being similar to those of Chalcophaps. Tympanistria bicolor is a similar but greyer bird, with the purple spots almost black and the lower parts white; it inhabits Southern Africa, Madagascar, the Comoros, and Fernando Po. The very long-tailed Oena capensis is pale brown above and white below, with black face and throat, grey crown, two black bands across the lower back, and steel-blue patches on the wings. The inner webs of the primaries and their coverts are cinnamon. The female has a white face and throat. It is a bird of rough bushy country, which is seldom found in flocks, utters a deep plaintive note, and breeds in low trees. This species walks with the utmost rapidity, and feeds upon the ground on seeds of grasses and grain. It is found in tropical and Southern Africa, in Madagascar, and at Aden and Jeddah.

Group (d).–The most typical Peristerinae constitute a fourth section, usually with metallic wing-spots, restricted to America. Metriopelia melanoptera and M. aymara range from Ecuador and Peru respectively to Chili and the borders of Argentina. The former is greyish-brown above and vinaceous below, with black wings and tail, the latter has golden spots on the wing-coverts. They are found in small flocks in the valleys of the Andes, and in winter on the coast, being called by the natives "Tortola cordillerana," or "Cordillera Dove." Peristera cinerea is bluish-grey in the male, with lighter under parts, black remiges and outer rectrices, some velvety black spots being very conspicuous on the wings and scapulars. The female is brown, with cinnamon wing-spots. This species ranges from South Mexico to Paraguay; while P. geoffroyi, with white-tipped lateral tail-feathers and a grey breast, inhabits South-East Brazil; P. mondetoura, with {340}chestnut breast, occurs from South Mexico to Peru. They frequent wooded and hilly districts, forming small flocks and uttering a cry resembling "huup-huup." Oxypelia cyanopis, of the interior of Brazil, and Uropelia campestris, of that country and Bolivia, link the above genus to Columbigallina, which contains six species. C. passerina extends from the southern United States and the West Indies to Peru and Paraguay; C. minuta occupies a similar range, except for the United States; and C. cruziana reaches from Ecuador to North Chili–all with naked feet; C. buckleyi inhabits Ecuador and Peru; C. talpacoti, most of South America north of Paraguay; C. rufipennis ranges from Mexico to the north of South America, these three having the metatarsi feathered laterally. C. passerina is olive-grey, with violet spots on the wing and purplish coverts; the feathers of the forehead and under parts being vinous, with dull brown centres to the latter, and those of the hinder portion of the head bluish, with dusky margins, which cause a scaly appearance. The female lacks the purple and red tints. C. minuta, the most diminutive Pigeon known,–though Oena would be smaller but for its tail,–is uniform below. The other species differ but little, though only C. rufipennis has, like the above, the under surface of the wing cinnamon. Flocks of the Ground-Dove or Tortolita, as C. passerina is called, are found amongst open woods and pastures, running about with elevated tails, and feeding chiefly upon the ground on seeds, berries, peas, and grain; if disturbed, they betake themselves with low and noisy flight to a tree; but they are usually very tame, and may often be heard uttering their mournful notes on the roofs of outbuildings. The nest, placed in low bushes or on the ground, is carefully constructed and lined with grass, two or three broods being reared in the season. The hen is said to feign disablement at its nest like a Plover, while the birds apparently dust themselves in gallinaceous fashion. Columbula picui, distinguished by a blue band on the wing-coverts, occurs in South America from Bolivia and Chili eastward.

Group (e).–The fifth section of the Peristerinae exhibit no metallic spots or lustre, while the wings are rounded and the tail is rather long. Gymnopelia erythrothorax, of the mountains of Peru, Bolivia, and North Chili, is brown, with vinaceous head and breast, and remarkably large naked orbits of orange margined with black. Scardafella has crescentic black edges to the feathers, the upper parts being brown and the lower pinky white, while the {341}primaries have cinnamon inner webs. S. squamosa, of Brazil, Venezuela, and Colombia, has a white wing-patch, absent in S. inca, extending from Texas to Nicaragua. These "Scaly Doves," as they are called, seem to be essentially terrestrial. Geopelia humeralis, of Australia and Southern New Guinea, is brown above, with black scale-like markings, a rufous nape, a bluish forehead and chest, a pinkish breast, and a white mid-belly. The remiges are rufous on the inner web. G. cuneata, of Australia only, has small white wing-spots, and no black marginal markings on the feathers. G. tranquilla, of the same country, G. striata, ranging from South Tenasserim to the Philippines and the Moluccas–introduced into Madagascar, the Mascarene Islands, and St. Helena–and G. maugei, found from the Timor group to the Ké Islands, are distinctly banded with black and white, the first round the neck only, the other two on the breast also. These long-tailed species, resembling miniature Turtle-Doves, frequent grassy plains, thickets, or swampy river-sides in small flocks, and flit tamely from tree to tree, alighting with upturned tail; the coo is rarely loud; the food consists of seeds and berries, usually obtained upon the ground; the nest, placed rather low, is of twigs or grass.

Group (f).–Turtur contains twenty-eight Old World forms, reaching eastward to Japan, the Ladrones, and the Moluccas. In habits resembling the members of the genus Columba, they are browner in coloration, and about three quarters of the size; while some exhibit lateral patches of dark feathers tipped with blue, grey, or white on the neck, the plumage whereof in other species is bifurcated and spotted with rufous or white. Many have a black nuchal collar, and a few somewhat fawn-coloured upper parts; the lower surface is more or less vinaceous, and the rectrices, except the two median, are tipped with white or grey. The following may exemplify the range of this sixth section of the Peristerinae:–Turtur communis, the Turtle-Dove of Europe, winters in Northern Africa and Western Asia; T. douraca or risorius (our common cage-bird), extends from Turkey to India and Japan; T. orientalis, accidental in Europe, only from India to Japan; T. tigrinus from the Malay countries to the Moluccas; T. dussumieri from Borneo to the Ladrones; T. semitorquatus, T. isabellinus, and so forth, inhabit Africa; T. picturatus Madagascar, T. aldabranus, T. comorensis, T. coppingeri, T. abbotti, and T. rostratus the neighbouring {342}Islands. The African T. senegalensis is found in the Canaries, and several introduced species occur in Madagascar or Mauritius.

Group (g).–The seventh section of the Peristerinae is characterized by metallic spots near the ear-coverts and an iridescent gloss on the sides of the neck. Melopelia leucoptera, found from Texas to Costa Rica and the West Indies, and the very similar M. meloda of Peru and Chili, have a white wing-patch. One of the notes resembles a cock's crow. Nesopelia, of the Galápagos, links these closely to Zenaida, with six members, found from the Florida Keys, Yucatan, and the Antilles, through South America to Patagonia. Z. amabilis, the Pea- or Mountain-Dove of the islands from the Florida Keys to Antigua, is reddish-olive, with vinous head and breast, two peacock-blue ear-spots, black blotches on the scapulars and wing-coverts, black remiges, and a white band across the secondaries. Chiefly terrestrial, it roosts and nests either on trees or on the ground, the flight being swift, and the note very soft. Zenaidura carolinensis, the Mourning-Dove of North America, including Southern Canada, is not unlike the above, but has the crown, sides of the body, and edges of the wings blue, and in the male the breast purplish. Small flocks often frequent the neighbourhood of houses, while the flight is strong, the note guttural and melancholy, the food of grain, berries, acorns, shoots of plants, and apparently worms. The nest is placed indifferently on the earth or aloft.

Sub-fam. 3. Columbinae.–Ectopistes migratorius, the well-known Passenger-Pigeon, breeds in eastern North America, chiefly in Canada and the adjoining United States, and wanders to the Pacific and Cuba. Its immense colonies are seemingly a thing of the past, though as lately as 1888 a northward flight crossed Michigan, where in 1878, at Petosky, the "roost," or area occupied, is said to have been twenty-eight miles long by three or four broad. The trees were often laden with nests, and during a stay of five weeks several millions of birds are stated to have been captured, chiefly by means of nets and decoys; though earlier authors, such as Wilson, mention many different methods of slaughter. The parents were very noisy, and covered vast distances in search of food; but, save for the sharp call-note, and the single egg, the other habits were as in most arboreal Pigeons.

Coryphoenas crassirostris, of the Solomon Islands, a slate-coloured species with brownish head and crest, resembles in its {343}very stout bill and long graduated rectrices Reinwardtoenas reinwardti, ranging from Celebes to Papuasia, and R. browni, of the Duke of York Island and New Britain. In the two last-named the head is grey, the under parts are white, and the naked orbits red, the former having the back chestnut, the latter black. Closely allied are the two dozen Pheasant-like members of Macropygia, with elongated wedge-shaped tails, from the Indian and Australian Regions, which have rich chestnut, purplish-brown, or cinnamon plumage, with darker shading and iridescent sheen, chiefly confined to the upper surface. The head is usually lighter, the under parts are often buff or vinaceous, and the irides parti-coloured; the naked orbits vary in tint. Inhabiting bushy country or hills up to about eight thousand feet, they fly but short distances, feeding upon the ground on seeds and berries, and uttering a loud monotonous note. M. tusalia, the Cuckoo-Dove, occurs from North India to West China; M. leptogrammica inhabits the Malay Countries; several other species carry the range to the Moluccas; M. tenuirostris occupies the Philippine and Sulu Islands; M. phasianella the eastern half of Australia; M. doreya and so forth New Guinea and its islands; M. rufa the New Hebrides; M. rufo-castanea the Solomons. The two last-named have bifurcated breast-feathers.

Turacoena menadensis, of Celebes, the Togian and Sula Islands, is slate-black with golden-green occiput, neck, and breast, white face and throat, and naked red orbits; T. modesta, of Timor, has the orbits yellow, and lacks the white. Turturoena delegorgii, of Natal, is slaty-black, with a chestnut mantle surmounted by a white band, lilac and green reflexions on the occiput, neck, and chest, vinous under parts, and bare pink orbits. The female is brownish-grey, having a cinnamon head and nape glossed with green, but no white collar. T. sharpii, of East Equatorial Africa, differs in its green crown and nuchal region; T. iriditorques, found from the Gaboon to Liberia, lacks the white band, and has the lateral rectrices tipped with buff; Nesoenas mayeri, of Mauritius, is reddish-brown, with pink head, neck, and lower surface.

The cosmopolitan genus Columba contains nearly sixty members, of which comparatively few inhabit the Palaearctic and Nearctic Regions; the general coloration is blue, relieved by black and rufous, or a metallic red and green sheen. Want of space forbids a description of every form, and the following are in no definite order: but C. palumbus, C. laurivora, C. bollii, C. trocaz, {344}C. leucocephala, and so forth, are Wood-Pigeons; C. livia, C. schimperi, C. affinis, C. intermedia, and C. leuconota are true Rock-Pigeons; C. oenas and its nearest allies being somewhat intermediate. C. rufina, extending from Guatemala to Peru and Brazil, and C. speciosa, ranging further north to Mexico, are especially ruddy; C. ianthina, of Japan and the Liu-Kiu Islands, is unusually metallic; C. grisea, of Borneo and Sumatra, is mainly light grey; C. polleni, of the Comoro Islands, olive-brown; C. arquatrix, of Eastern and South-Western Africa, is flecked with white above and below; C. speciosa, only on the hind neck; C. guinea, of Western and North-Eastern Africa, has bifurcated neck-feathers and triangular white wing-spots; C. leucocephala, of the Florida Keys, Bahamas, Antilles, and Honduras, and C. leucomela, of East Australia, have the crown, and the latter the neck and under parts white; C. leuconota, the "Snow-Pigeon" of Kashmir, Yarkand, and Tibet, has the neck, lower back, and breast white; C. palumbus, our Ring-Dove, Wood-Pigeon, Cushat, or Queest, the habits of which are universally known, extends through the Palaearctic Region from Madeira and the Azores to Persia; it differs from the smaller and darker Stock-Dove (C. oenas), of the same Region eastward to Turkestan, by the white patches on the sides of its neck and the white wing-bar. C. livia, the Rock-Dove, from which our domestic races have sprung, is easily distinguishable from other British species by the white rump and the two black alar bands. The breeding habits of our native birds, and the damage done by flocks of Wood-Pigeons, partly composed of immigrants, have already been mentioned (p. 328). Columba laurivora and C. bollii, which lays but one egg, are peculiar to the Canary Islands; C. trocaz to Madeira, C. torringtoniae to Ceylon, C. palumboïdes to the Andamans and Nicobars, C. metallica to Timor, C. gymnophthalma, apparently to Curaçao, Aruba, and Bonaire, and several forms to Samoa, the Liu-Kiu, Bonin, Fiji, and other groups. C. araucana reaches the Straits of Magellan.

Gymnophaps albertisi, of New Guinea, is grey, with whitish breast, purplish-chestnut under parts elsewhere, and naked red orbits.

Sub-fam. 4. Treroninae.–This includes the Fruit-Pigeons in the widest sense, natives of the Old World, of which the bigger are contained in the first eight genera. Hemiphaga novae zealandiae, of New Zealand, is green, with brilliant coppery reflexions, brownish-purple back, and white abdomen; H. spadicea, of {345}Norfolk Island, and H. chathamensis, of the Chatham group, have greyer wing-coverts and green nape. Lopholaemus antarcticus, of Eastern Australia, is grey, with a fine rufous crest, black remiges, black rectrices banded with grey, and bare reddish orbits; the neck-feathers being hackled as in Caloenas. In Myristicivora the general plumage is white, but M. bicolor, of the Malay Archipelago, has black wing-quills and tip to the tail; the similar M. spilorrhoa of Australia and Papuasia, the yellower M. subflavescens of New Ireland, and the blacker-tailed M. melanura of the Moluccas, have black spots near the vent; M. luctuosa, of Celebes and the Sula Islands, has the remiges nearly grey.

Phaenorrhina goliath, of New Caledonia and the Isle of Pines, is slaty-black, with maroon patches on the wing-coverts and abdomen, black quills, and a broad chestnut tail-bar.

The forty to fifty species of Carpophaga range from India to Hainan and Fiji. C. concinna, found in the Moluccas, Tenimber, Ké, and Aru Islands, is metallic bronzy-green with grey head and lower surface; C. aenea, extending from India and Ceylon to Hainan and Flores, has more vinaceous lower parts and greener tail; C. latrans, of Fiji, is nearly brown above; C. zoeae, of Papuasia, has a chestnut mantle and black pectoral band. C. griseipectus, of the Philippines, has a grey back with blackish-green spots, and a chestnut lower breast; C. basilica, of the Halmahera group, has a pinkish-white head and upper breast, a rufous lower breast, and a broad grey tip to the tail; C. cuprea, of Southern India, is brown, with white throat, greyish-pink head, neck, mantle, and under parts; C. poecilorrhoa, of North Celebes, is glossy greenish-black above with grey head, mantle, and chest, and brown breast with ochre markings; C. pinon, of New Guinea and the Western Papuan Islands, is slaty-grey with a white forehead, a ring of white feathers round the naked red orbits, and a purplish-chestnut lower breast. Large flocks commonly gather after breeding. The seven species of Globicera, remarkable for a fleshy knob at the base of the bill, may be represented by C. pacifica, ranging from New Guinea to Samoa, and C. rubricera, of New Ireland, New Britain, New Hanover, and the Duke of York Island. The former has a grey head, bronzy-green upper parts, bluer remiges and rectrices and pinkish lower surface, the knob being black. The latter has a vinous head, grey mantle, chestnut abdomen, and red knob. {346}Serresius galeatus, of the Marquesas Islands, noted for the feathered skin or "saddle" covering half the culmen, is deep glossy green, with dark grey head and under parts. All these Fruit-Pigeons feed and build on lofty trees, and seldom, if ever, descend to the ground–possessing short legs and broad-soled grasping feet; they have a powerful rapid flight and utter varied notes, occasionally deep and booming like a wild beast's roar; they eat vast quantities of fruit, and some are very fond of mice; while they normally lay two eggs, but exceptionally one.

The five splendid species of Megaloprepia occupy the Northern Moluccas, Papuasia, and Eastern Australia. M. magnifica of the latter country has a greenish-grey head and neck, golden-green upper parts with an oblique yellow band on the wing-coverts, rich purple breast and abdomen, and yellow vent. M. formosa of the Halmahera group lacks the yellow on the wings and has, in the male only, a crimson patch on the greenish breast. The other three species are barely separable. The habits resemble those of Carpophaga, the note being peculiarly hoarse.

Alectoroenas comprises four remarkable forms from Madagascar and the neighbouring islands, of which A. nitidissima of Mauritius has become extinct within historic times, three specimens being still extant at Port Louis, Paris, and Edinburgh respectively. This species, called "Pigeon hollondais" from its colours, which are those of the Dutch flag, is indigo-blue, with white head and neck, vermilion tail-coverts and tail edged with black, and red carunculated orbits, lores, and forehead. A. madagascariensis, of Madagascar and Nossibé Island, has most of the neck slaty-grey, but the head blue, and the tail crimson with a wash of blue and green at the base, while the naked skin only surrounds the eyes. A. pulcherrima of the Seychelles, to which the name of "Pigeon hollondais" has been transferred, has the neck and breast grey, the upper parts, including the tail, black with blue reflexions, the crown crimson, the orbits, lores, and forehead wattled. A. sganzini of the Comoro Islands differs in having a grey head and only the orbits bare. Throughout the genus the long, loosely webbed and bifurcated neck-feathers resemble hackles in appearance. The members are, according to circumstances, tame and stupid, or shy and wary; they are arboreal and fly powerfully, while they feed on dates, figs, berries and grain, the flocks being very destructive to rice-crops. Drepanoptila holosericea, of New Caledonia and {347}the Isle of Pines, with its feathered white metatarsi and fork-tipped primaries, is green, with grey wing- and tail-bars, white throat and yellow abdomen, the last being divided from the breast by a yellowish-white and a black band.

Of the smaller Fruit-Pigeons, which differ but little in habits from the larger, the lovely genus Chrysoenas is confined to Fiji. C. luteovirens has an olive-yellow head, and a bright yellow abdomen and collar; the remaining plumage being yellow, more or less tinged with green, especially on the wings and tail. The feathers of the neck and back are narrowly lanceolate and the tail-coverts long. The female is green, with a yellow wash below, and has nearly brown remiges. C. victor is bright orange, with olive-yellow head and throat and browner wing-quills; the coverts almost conceal the tail, but the long decomposed body-feathers are not especially narrow. The female is green, with yellowish head and orange-margined remiges. C. viridis is dark green, with a golden hue on the back and breast, the head being almost yellow, as are the edges of the quills. The female is green, with grey vent-region. The seventy or more brilliantly coloured members of the genus Ptilopus range from the Malay Peninsula to the Marquesas; New Guinea and Polynesia accounting for a large majority. The following are some of the most striking. P. jambu of the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo, Bangka, and Billiton has the front half of the head crimson, the upper parts bright green, the primaries black, margined with bluish-green, the tip of the tail yellowish, and the under parts white, with a purplish-brown streak down the throat, a rosy smear on the breast, and a red-brown anal region. The female has dull purple on the head and a greyish-green breast. The following three species have bifurcated breast-feathers. P. dupetit-thouarsi of the Marquesas has the crown whitish, encircled by a yellowish line, the upper surface green with yellow margins to the wing-quills and tip to the tail, the scapulars and inner secondaries spotted with blue, the under parts yellowish-green, with a cherry-coloured patch surrounded by orange on the breast, the throat and vent pale yellow. P. swainsoni of Eastern Australia, straying to South-East New Guinea, has a rose-lilac forehead and crown with a yellow margin behind, bright green upper parts with yellow edges to the wing-quills and peacock-blue tips to the inner secondaries and scapulars, a yellow tip to the tail, a {348}pale yellow throat, a dull green breast with silvery grey tips to the feathers, and a lilac band dividing this from the orange abdomen. The female is rather brighter green. P. superbus of the Moluccas, Papuasia and North Australia, has a purple cap, rufous-orange nape and sides of the neck, rich green upper surface, with deep blue spots on the scapulars and wings and a patch of the same colour at the bend of the latter, black primaries with yellow margins, a whitish throat, and a purple and grey breast, separated from the white abdomen and green and white vent by a broad violet-black band. The female has green upper parts, with blue spots on the wing-region and one on the occiput, and a grey and green breast. P. insolitus of New Ireland, New Britain, and the Duke of York Island, with its curious orange frontal knob, is green, with grey lesser wing-coverts and inner secondaries, a grey-tipped tail, an orange abdomen, and a yellowish vent-region. P. aurantiifrons of Papuasia has a yellowish-green head with orange forehead; a white throat; grey neck, upper breast, tip of the tail, and spots on the scapulars and wing-coverts; the remaining plumage being chiefly green. P. nanus of the same districts, the smallest of the Sub-family, is bronzy-green with a greyish band on each side of the breast, a yellow vent, and a purple abdominal patch, lacking in the female. Phabotreron is a group of similar species confined to the Philippines. P. amethystina is bronzy-brown with an amethystine nape and lower surface, the cheeks are crossed by a black line over a white one, the throat is reddish, the tip of the tail grey. The lines on the cheeks and a rounded tail are characteristic of the genus.

The remaining members of the Treroninae are of a greenish or yellowish coloration, generally varied with patches or bands of dull purple, red, orange, or lilac–nearly or quite absent in the females, except in Vinago, where the sexes are similar. This genus is Ethiopian, while the others reach from India eastward to Japan, Formosa, and the Moluccas. Osmotreron contains a dozen and a half species, of which the following may serve as examples. O. vernans, ranging from the Malay countries to Cochin-China, the Philippines, and Celebes, has a greyish head and throat, vinaceous-purple neck, dull green upper parts, yellowish-green lower surface with an orange pectoral patch, rufescent upper and chestnut under tail-coverts; the wing-quills are black with yellow margins to the coverts, and the grey tail exhibits a black {349}subterminal bar on the lateral feathers. The small O. olax of the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and Borneo, has the back maroon, the head and neck grey. O. pompadora of Ceylon has the forehead and throat yellow, the mantle maroon, and the median rectrices green. O. aromatica of Bouru differs in having no yellow forehead, and the bend of the wing blackish.

Treron nipalensis and the very closely allied T. nasica are found from Bengal and Nepal to the Indo-Malay Islands, the Philippines, and Cochin-China; they have grey heads, chestnut mantles, black wings with yellow edges to the coverts and secondaries, cinnamon under tail-coverts, grey lateral rectrices banded with black, and green plumage elsewhere. Butreron capellii, of the Malay Peninsula and neighbouring islands, has the head and upper parts greyish-green, the wings nearly as in the last species, the throat and abdomen yellowish-green, the breast orange, and the under tail-coverts chestnut.

Crocopus, with its three similar members, extends from India and Ceylon to Cochin-China. C. chlorigaster has a grey head and tail, a yellowish-green neck and under surface, a grey band across the mantle, a yellow alar bar, an olive-green back and rump, a purple patch at the bend of the wing, and rufous and white lower tail-coverts.

Half a dozen species of Vinago range from Senegambia and Abyssinia to Madagascar and Cape Colony. V. waalia, found from West to North-East Africa, has a greenish-grey head and neck, olive upper parts, blackish-brown remiges with yellow outer margins, a rich vinous patch on the wing-coverts, a slaty-blue tail, a bright yellow breast, and a buff abdomen. V. calva, of the Ethiopian Region northward of Angola and the Zambesi, has a curious bare forehead and frontal swelling, a yellowish-green head, neck, and lower surface, and a grey collar at the base of the hind-neck. V. crassirostris is confined to St. Thomas and Rollas Islands, West Africa; V. australis to Madagascar. Sphenocercus, with some eight members, having wedge-shaped tails and a general resemblance in colour, reaches from North India, Sumatra, Borneo, and Java, to Japan and Formosa. S. sphenurus, of the Himalayas and the Burmese countries, has the head, neck, and under parts greenish-yellow with a rufous tinge, the back purplish- and bluish-green, the rump and wing-coverts olive with a maroon patch on the latter, and the remiges slaty-black with yellow {350}margins. S. sieboldi is peculiar to Japan, S. sororius and S. formosae to Formosa, S. permagnus to the Liu-Kiu Islands.

Comparatively few fossil forms of the Columbidae have been discovered, but Columba occurs in the Lower Miocene of France and in Malta, while Lithophaps ulnaris and Progura gallinacea are recorded from the Queensland Drifts, and Alectoroenas? rodericana is an extinct species from Rodriguez.

{351}CHAPTER VI

NEORNITHES CARINATAE CONTINUED

BRIGADE II–LEGION II (CORACIOMORPHAE). ORDERS: CUCULIFORMES–CORACIIFORMES

ORDER XII. CUCULIFORMES.

The Order Cuculiformes commences the last great division of Carinate Birds. It contains the Sub-Orders CUCULI and PSITTACI; the former consisting of the Families Cuculidae, or Cuckoos, and Musophagidae, or Plantain-eaters; the latter of the Psittacidae, or Parrots, Parrakeets, Macaws, and Cockatoos, and the Trichoglossidae, or Lory group. Zygodactylous feet (p. 10) are characteristic of the Order, while further structural details are to be found below. Dr. Gadow confirms the close connexion of the two Sub-Orders.[214]

Fam. I. CUCULIDAE.–Here we may accept, in default of full anatomical investigation, the Sub-families of Captain Shelley,[215] namely, (1) Cuculinae, (2) Centropodinae, (3) Phaenicophainae, (4) Neomorphinae, (5) Diplopterinae, and (6) Crotophaginae.

The bill is generally long and curved, being strongly arched in Hyetornis, Piaya, Taccocua, and Zanclostomus; it is straight in Saurothera and Rhinortha, abnormally large in Rhamphomantis and Scythrops, and has the maxilla compressed into a thin elevated plate in Crotophaga. The scutellated metatarsi are commonly stout, and are especially long in the cursorial genera Coua and Geococcyx; in Centropus the hallux terminates in an elongated spur-like claw. The wings are long and straight in the Cuculinae, Diplopterinae, and Crotophaginae, short and curved elsewhere; the primaries numbering ten, and the secondaries usually nine or ten, but thirteen in Scythrops; in the Neomorphinae the quills are about equal in extent. The rounded {352}or wedge-shaped tail is nearly always long, and has ten feathers, except in the Crotophaginae, which have eight; it is forked in two species of Surniculus. Diplopterus has the upper coverts half as long as the rectrices, Dromococcyx has them of the entire length. The impervious nostrils, usually pierced in a swollen membrane, are hidden by bristly plumes in Dasylophus and Lepidogrammus. The furcula is Y-shaped, the tongue is sagittate with retroverted spines on the posterior margin, the syrinx is tracheo-bronchial or occasionally bronchial. Distinct eyelashes are often visible, the after-shaft is rudimentary or absent, the nestlings are naked, and down is only found in adults on the unfeathered spaces.

The plumage of the more typical Cuckoos is brownish or grey, usually with barred under parts, the long flank-feathers covering half the metatarsi; Chrysococcyx, however, contains several beautiful emerald-green forms; while Chalcococcyx is scarcely less brilliant; but Surniculus and Cuculus clamosus are black. Crotophaga is also black. Coccystes, and several species of Coua, have well-developed crests, while Lepidogrammus has a rounded tuft, Guira one of long narrow plumes, and Geococcyx mexicanus an erectile patch. Fork-tipped feathers on the head and neck are not uncommon. The colour of the bill, feet, and iris varies much; the cheeks and orbits are often naked, and may be bright red, blue, or greyish, as in the Phoenicophainae and Centropodinae. Strong glossy feather-shafts, often with filiform extremities, are found in Coua, Taccocua, Phoenicophaës, Rhopodytes and elsewhere, on the head, neck, mantle and chest; Crotophaga has stiff, scale-like borders, and Lepidogrammus metallic horny tips, to the feathers of the first two of these; Dasylophus has fine crimson hair-like tufts springing from above each eye. The beak may be black, green, yellowish, or even, as in Rhamphococcyx, chiefly red. The sexes are alike in most cases.

The Ethiopian and Indian Regions are richest in Cuculidae. New Zealand possesses only two species; but Madagascar, besides other forms, claims the entire genus Coua. In all there are more than a hundred and sixty species of some forty-two genera.

Sub-fam. 1. Cuculinae.–Cuculus canorus, the familiar Cuckoo of Britain and nearly all the Old World, is greyish-brown above and on the throat, the lower parts being white barred with dusky, and the wings and tail shewing a few white markings. A chestnut-brown or "hepatic" phase is sometimes met with. {353}The young are brown mottled with white on the nape. Its flight and general coloration give the Cuckoo a distinctly Hawk-like appearance, and cause it to be systematically mobbed by small birds, while ignorant peasants persecute it mercilessly, and assert that it "changes to a Hawk" in winter. Certain other members of the Family have the same raptorial aspect, notably the Asiatic Hawk-Cuckoo (Hierococcyx); whereas several of the Centropodinae unconsciously mimic Pheasants in their colour, in their red orbits and their wedge-shaped tail. Geococcyx is still more like a Galline bird in some respects; and Surniculus is a decidedly good imitation of a Drongo (Dicruridae).

In early April the Cuckoo's note heralds the approaching summer in Britain, and continues to be heard until June, after which it becomes hoarser and the first syllable is doubled; in July the adults begin to disappear, yet stray examples–chiefly, if not entirely, young–remain up to October, when they migrate as far as South Africa, Ceylon, and Celebes. None breed south of North Africa and the Himalayas. The eggs are invariably deposited in the nests of other birds, which rear the intruder and feed it until it leaves the country; but it is doubtful how many are {354}produced in a season–possibly five or six–or whether the same hen ever places two or more in one nest. It is now certain that the egg is laid on the ground and conveyed to the chosen nursery in the bill, an occurrence said to have been actually witnessed by Adolf Müller, a forester in Darmstadt.

Closely connected with the above parasitic habit is the question of the colour of the egg. Red or blue specimens have undoubtedly been found in Germany and elsewhere, as well as the typical brown or greyish varieties; but they do not always assimilate to those of the foster-parent, albeit to the eggs of Pipits, Wagtails, and so forth, that of a Cuckoo is often exactly similar. The theories advanced to account for this are by no means conclusive, though hereditary habit may afford a clue; we may, however, be sure that the hen cannot determine the colour of her egg.

With us the most usual foster-parents are the Meadow-Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Reed Warbler, Hedge-Sparrow and Robin, perhaps in the above order. They seldom, if ever, seem to resent the intrusion, or to notice their consequent losses. The careful observations of Jenner, Hancock, and Mrs. Blackburn shew that the young Cuckoo, when some thirty hours old, begins unaided to remove from the nest the rightful progeny or unhatched eggs by means of its broad back, which has a central depression for the first twelve days; but after this hollow is filled up the desire is said to cease. It pushes below a nestling with its wings, and raises it with much exertion to the edge of the nest, finally ejecting it by a supreme effort.

The probable reason why the Cuckoo's egg often hatches first is the hen's habit of selecting nests with only one or two fresh eggs. Subsequently she neglects her offspring entirely. It is stated that the males, who alone utter the well-known notes, decidedly outnumber the females, and that no strict pairing takes place; while in the courting season a curious bubbling sound, attributed to the hen, may be heard as two or three individuals chase each other along the hedgerows. Wooded districts and bare hill-moors are equally frequented, trees being constantly used as perches. The quick, straight flight is varied by twists and swoops; the food consists of insects and their larvae, the stomach often becoming lined with hairs of caterpillars. Our Cuckoo does not eat eggs, but various foreign species add to their diet seeds and other fruits, land-molluscs, worms, frogs, lizards, small snakes, birds, and mice. Chalcococcyx lucidus bruises its food before swallowing it.

{355}The genus Coccystes, of South Europe, Africa, and Tropical Asia, includes the Great Spotted Cuckoo (C. glandarius), which has twice occurred in Britain, a crested greyish-brown bird, with a yellowish throat, white under parts and markings above. In Southern Spain and Northern Africa it deposits from two to four eggs in the nests of the Magpies, Pica rustica, P. mauritanica, and Cyanopica cooki, or of the Grey Crow, Corvus cornix; these eggs, like those of the foster parents, being pale green with brown and lilac markings. The note of the male is "kee-ou, kee-ou" or "kark-kark", of the female "burroo-burroo." C. coromandus, chiefly greenish- and bluish-black above with rufous wings and white nuchal collar, and buff below with grey abdomen, ranges from India and Ceylon to China and Celebes, laying roundish, plain green-blue eggs in nests of Crateropus and other birds, and having a true Cuckoo's note. C. serratus of South Africa, which is greenish-black with a white alar band, is somewhat terrestrial, and lays a white egg in nests of Pycnonotus and Sigelus.

Surniculus lugubris, extending from India to China and the Malay Islands, is black, with green and purple reflexions and a few scattered white markings. The tail is sometimes forked. Cacomantis passerinus, of India, Java, and Sumatra, is grey, having an olive gloss above, blue-black rectrices with white bars, and white abdomen. It frequents jungles, utters a plaintive series of whistles, continuing for hours, and lays bluish eggs with purplish, markings in various birds' nests. C. virescens of Celebes and Bouru is said by Dr. Meyer to build its own nest. Chrysococcyx smaragdineus, of Tropical and Southern Africa, is a lovely emerald-green bird, with yellow breast and white-barred lateral rectrices. The female has a partially rufous head and mantle, coppery, bronze, and green upper parts, and white lower surface banded with green. The males whistle loudly to their mates for long periods, perched on tall trees, or hawk for insects in the air. C. cupreus, of the same countries, is in both sexes coppery-green varied with white above, and white with bronzy bars below; it is called "Di-dric" from its cry, and lays white eggs in Sun-birds' and Finches' nests. The similarly coloured Chalcococcyx lucidus of Australia, New Zealand, and the Chatham Islands has a reiterated plaintive note, with the effect of ventriloquism, and foists its greenish-white eggs with brown spots upon Acanthiza and Gerygone.

Of Eudynamis, ranging from India and Ceylon to Australia {356}and Polynesia, the black males are barely distinguishable, but the females vary, and are black, brown, rufous, and white. E. honorata, the noisy Indian Koël, has a loud melodious or hoarse whistling note, supposed to portend rain; it feeds on fruit, and lays from one to four greenish eggs with brown and grey blotches in nests of Crows. E. melanorhyncha is the "foreteller at night" of Celebes.[216] The extraordinary Scythrops novae hollandiae, or Channel-bill, of Australia, Papuasia, and the Moluccas, has a grey head, brownish back, and whitish under parts with indistinct dusky bars, the tail exhibiting a subterminal blackish and a terminal white band. The large maxilla has two lateral grooves, the bare lores and orbits are scarlet. This big bird flies like a Hawk, and is possibly parasitic; while eggs, taken from the oviduct, are white with pinkish-brown spots. The weird cry or shriek is syllabled krok, and the flocks feed on fruits and insects.

Coccyzus americanus, the Yellow-billed Cuckoo of America, has occurred in Britain, and ranges from the Great Plains, Canada, and New Brunswick to Argentina; it is an arboreal species, pairing and building–apparently twice a year–a slight flat nest of twigs, grass, and moss, lined with leaves. It lays from three to five light greenish eggs, and the hen feigns lameness when danger threatens the young. C. occidentalis is a more western form. C. erythrophthalmus, the American Black-billed Cuckoo, has been killed in Ireland and Italy. The coloration in the eight members of this genus is brownish-grey, relieved by rufous, the under parts being buff or white.

Sub-fam. 2. Centropodinae.–This group comprises only the thirty or more large Coucals (Centropus) of the Ethiopian Region, Egypt, Madagascar, India, and the countries thence to China, Papuasia, and Australia. C. sinensis, the Crow-Pheasant, extending from India and Ceylon to China, is black with purple and green reflexions, the mantle being chestnut; C. unirufus of the Philippines is entirely rufous. They are strong-billed, long-legged birds with terrestrial tendencies, noisy yet often shy, which fly heavily, run, climb, leap, or glide with up-turned tail about the trees in forests and jungles, and utter a mellow "hoo-too" or a chuckle. The food consists of insects and their larvae, molluscs, reptiles, small mammals, and nestling birds. They make a large globular nest of twigs and leaves, or even of rushes, grass, and rags, {357}with a lateral hole; it is placed in a tree, a thorny bush, or a tuft of herbage. The three to six oval eggs are white or bluish with a readily-stained chalky coating; the young are soon able to skulk among the foliage. C. toulou is held sacred in Madagascar.

Sub-fam. 3. Phoenicophainae.–Taccocua sirkee, the Indian Sirkeer, has somewhat similar habits, but makes a flat nest. It is olive-brown above, relieved by black and white, and rufous below. Coua is peculiar to Madagascar, C. caerulea having loose blue plumage, glossed with violet on the tail, and dark blue naked orbits; but the other species are more olive or grey, with black or rufous on the head, throat, or mantle. The large, shy members of this handsome genus frequent the edges of forests; but whereas five species fly heavily and climb well, jumping from branch to branch with elevated rectrices, occasionally assisted by their beaks, the remaining seven rarely leave the ground, where they run about with the tail trailing. The note is a harsh "tashu" or a sharp "turruh"; the food consists of seeds, insects, worms, small mammals, birds, and molluscs–the last broken on stones; the nest of twigs and fibres is placed in high trees, and contains two or three white eggs.[217]

Saurothera, Hyetornis, and Piaya are the "Rain-birds" of the Bahamas and Antilles, the latter genus extending to Bolivia and Argentina. They are inactive, wary birds, which hide and creep about with outspread tails when in the trees, but are more at ease upon the ground; the cry is a loud harsh scream or cackle; the food consists of insects, berries, lizards, and mice; the flat nest contains two or three white eggs. P. cayana is reddish-brown above with a violet tinge, and grey below with pinkish throat; the tail shewing a subterminal black bar and a white tip, and the bare orbits being red. Phoenicophaës pyrrhocephalus of Ceylon is dark green, with bluish wings, blackish head and chest, tail varied with white, and white breast; the forehead and sides of the head being red and rugose. It is a fruit-eating forest species, said to be parasitic, though the allied Rhopodytes of the Indian Region lays two or three white eggs in a slight nest of sticks and leaves, while the pugnacious Rhamphococcyx calorhynchus, the "foreteller by day" of Celebes, builds a similar structure.[218]

Sub-fam. 4. Neomorphinae.–Geococcyx mexicanus, the curious Chapparal-Cock or Road-runner of the South-Western United States and Mexico, frequents thinly-wooded country, hilly cactus-regions {358}or barren plains. The plumage is brownish, with white margins to the feathers and a purple tinge on the rufous-mottled head, neck, and breast; the back is greener, the tail more lilac, the abdomen white, the bare orbits blue and red. With its long stout legs this species covers the ground very quickly, running with outstretched neck, elevated crest, slightly expanded wings, and jerking tail, or springing into trees and taking brief flights: it is even difficult to outpace it with dogs or on horseback. It eats insects, snapping some in the bill as it leaps into the air, and enjoys grasshoppers, mice, and lizards; in captivity it is thievish. The note is low, the beak being occasionally clattered. The nest of twigs and grass, placed in bushes, contains from three to nine white eggs, the male apparently assisting in incubation. Carpococcyx radiatus of Borneo, and C. viridis of Sumatra, are the only Old World species in this group.

Sub-fam. 5. Diplopterinae.–Diplopterus naevius, a pale brown {359}bird with darker streaks and white under surface, may represent this Central and South American group, of which the only other members are two species of Dromococcyx.

Sub-fam. 6. Crotophaginae.–Of these birds, peculiar to the New World, Crotophaga ani, the Ani, Black Parrot, or Savannah-blackbird, extending from the Southern United States and the Antilles to most of South America, is glossy purplish- or greenish-black, and has the smooth maxilla compressed into a thin vertical plate, which, like the bare orbits, is black. Its grotesque appearance and alleged malpractices have given it the name of Black Witch in the West Indies. C. sulcirostris, ranging from Texas to Peru, has the bill grooved; C. major of South America is larger and greener. Far from shifting the burden of incubation upon other species, the females form huge co-operative nests of interlaced twigs lined with green leaves in trees, wherein each deposits some five bluish eggs with a chalky incrustation, amounting in all to twenty or more. Around or upon these structures they sit in company. Bold but wary, the Anis flit from bush to bush, or creep and jump about the branches, uttering a mewing sound or a sharper double cry. They are often mobbed by other birds. Flocks gather in wooded or marshy spots, and feed on insects, berries, lizards, and so forth; occasionally digging for their prey, or picking the ticks off cattle.

Guira piririgua, of Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina, is brown and buff above with darker streaks, and buff below, the back and tips of the lateral rectrices being white. From the similarity of habits to Crotophaga it is termed the White Ani in Brazil. Flocks draw near the houses in winter, and sit miserably huddled together on the trees; the note is a long disyllabic whistle, or in the young an hysterical laugh. Usually each pair makes a rough nest of twigs and leaves, laying six or seven pale blue eggs with reticulated chalky coating; though fourteen have been recorded.

Fam. II. MUSOPHAGIDAE.–The Plantain-eaters are striking birds, peculiar to the Ethiopian Region, without Madagascar. They have large eyes and long necks; while the bill, though small in Gallirex, is generally stout and broad with compressed or rounded culmen and serrated margin, and in Musophaga expands into a broad frontal plate behind. The feet are semi-zygodactylous, with reversible outer toe and strong claws; the robust metatarsi are scutellated anteriorly and coarsely granulated posteriorly. {360}The wings are rather short and round, with ten primaries and twelve or thirteen secondaries; the rounded tail of varying length has ten rectrices. The furcula is U-shaped; the tongue sagittate–with bristly apex in Gallirex; the nostrils–hidden in Turacus–are usually oval, but are linear in Schizorhis and Gymnoschizorhis; the aftershaft is large; the nestlings lack down. The red or grey orbits are naked, save in Schizorhis; in Gymnoschizorhis the cheeks and throat are bare and blackish.

The six genera comprise two dozen or more species from about thirty to fifteen inches in length; the general coloration being metallic blue and green or greyish-brown, usually varied with crimson, and in the large Corythaeola with yellow; all have erectile crests of different sizes, except Musophaga violacea. The bill is red, yellowish, or black, the feet are black. The sexes are alike, the young duller. The red feathers yield a peculiar pigment, containing copper, called Turacin, which is reducible to a powder; this is so soluble that the colour is washed away during rain or in a bath, though regained subsequently.[219]

Plantain-eaters are found in pairs, or in small flocks of four to ten, over wooded country near inland or tidal waters, reaching an altitude of some ten thousand feet. The tops of high trees are {361}a favourite haunt, but they are not uncommonly seen amongst the tangled creepers below, flitting from shrub to shrub with undulating flight when disturbed, and alighting with crest erect and up-turned tail. Of some species the flight is clumsy and jerky, of others light and graceful; at times they hover in the air with outspread wings and tail, at times they sport and hop among the branches, expanding and depressing the rectrices. Familiar yet extremely shy and restless, these birds, when wounded, are particularly hard to secure, as they run with great swiftness, and even take refuge in holes in trees. During rain or in the mid-day heat they rest quietly on some bough, but at other times are usually noisy, their harsh reiterated screaming or ringing notes being varied by a cat-like mewing or dove-like sound. The food consists of bananas, tamarinds, papaw-apples, and other fruits, with insects, worms, caterpillars, molluscs, or even small birds. They are occasionally mobbed by their kin, as Cuckoos are. Though some species have been asserted to breed in holes, Schizorhis concolor makes a flat nest in trees, and Gymnoschizorhis leopoldi a loose platform of thorny twigs and roots, both species laying three round greenish- or bluish-white eggs. The flesh is considered a delicacy by the natives.

Turacus (Corythaix) fischeri of East Africa is green, washed with blue on the wings and tail, having a crimson crest tipped with black, a crimson hind neck with white nape, a blackish lower chest and abdomen, and black cheeks margined above and below with white; the remiges are crimson, edged with black, the bare orbits red. T. corythaix is called the Lory in South Africa. Musophaga violacea of West Africa is glossy violet-blue with darker tail, the crown and hind-neck being covered with short, hairy, crimson feathers and partially outlined with white; the chest is greenish, the frontal plate yellow; the wing-quills and orbits are as in T. fischeri. Schizorhis concolor of South Africa is nearly uniform ash-coloured; Gymnoschizorhis personata of Shoa is greyish-brown with paler crest, whitish head and neck, blackish naked cheeks and throat, and dirty green breast.

The remarkable fossil Necrornis occurs in the Middle Miocene of France.

* * * * *

Of all existing Birds the Parrots (Sub-Order PSITTACI) are perhaps the most interesting to the public, being easily procurable, {362}docile, and long-lived pets of gorgeous coloration and amusing habits. The red-tailed Grey Parrot of Africa (Psittacus erithacus) is considered the best talker, yet, apart from individual ability, many species of Palaeornis, Chrysotis, and other genera, are equally clever, if we cannot say intelligent. Professor Skeat identifies the name Parrot with the French Pierrot; but, however that may be, Indian species have been known in Europe since the time of Alexander the Great, and one or more African forms were kept in ornamental cages, and even eaten, at Rome under Nero.

In default of a really satisfactory arrangement we may accept that of Dr. Gadow,[220] who agrees in the main with Count Salvadori,[221] and recognises the Family Psittacidae, with Sub-families Stringopinae, Psittacinae, and Cacatuinae; and the Family Trichoglossidae, with Cyclopsittacinae, Loriinae, and Nestorinae.

There are in all about eighty genera containing some five hundred species, but the variety arises chiefly from colour, while the beak alone would sufficiently determine the Family. This feature is usually short and stout, with strongly arched maxilla and mandible, the former being moveable and hinged to the skull, and the latter truncated. In Nestor and Loriculus the curve is more gradual and the depth less; in the Cyclopsittacinae and some Psittacinae the bill is distinctly notched; in the Stringopinae, Nestorinae, and other Psittacinae it is grooved; while a file-like surface with transverse ridges, below the overhanging hooked tip, distinguishes the Psittacidae from the Trichoglossidae. At the base is generally a large swollen cere, or a similar but very narrow band in various Psittacinae; in the Platycercine group this is very small, and it is more or less hidden by feathers in certain Psittacinae, Cacatuinae, Cyclopsittacinae, and Nestorinae. The feet are permanently zygodactylous, the metatarsus being short–except in Ground-Parrots–compressed, and covered with rugose scales. The abbreviated rounded wings of the terrestrial Stringops, where the keel of the sternum is correspondingly reduced, are comparatively useless; while these members, though usually moderate, may be long, as in Nasiterna and Cacatua, or more acute, as in the Loriinae; the primaries are ten in number, the secondaries from eight to fourteen. The tail varies much, being short and square with projecting spiny shafts in Nasiterna, longer with {363}acuminate feathers in Stringops, moderate in the Loriinae and Cyclopsittacinae, elongated and wedge-shaped in Conurus, Ara, Psittacula, and many species of Palaeornis, long and broad in Platycercus and Cacatua, and so forth. Oreopsittacus possesses fourteen rectrices, every other genus twelve; in Prioniturus the median pair have bare shafts and racquet-tips.

The U-shaped furcula is sometimes entirely absent; a completely ossified orbital ring occurs in the Cacatuinae, Stringopinae, and many Psittacinae; the tongue is short and fleshy, being fringed in the Nestorinae, or having a brush of hairs towards the tip in the Loriinae and Nanodes; the uniquely modified syrinx has three pairs of tracheal and tracheo-bronchial muscles; and a crop is present. The aftershaft is large, the down of the adults and young is uniform, the latter being naked when hatched.

The coloration is commonly gaudy, and particularly so in {364}Macaws; yet some species are sober in tint, and that of the beak and feet varies considerably in different forms. Stringops has a disc of stiff feathers round the eye, Nymphicus and the Cacatuinae possess crests, Deroptyus broad erectile nape-plumes. Bare foreheads, cheeks or orbits, of a red, pink, blue, yellow, black, grey, or white hue are found in Microglossus, Cacatua, Licmetis, Anodorhynchus, Cyanopsittacus, Ara, Poeocephalus, Psittacus, Coracopsis, and Dasyptilus; while powder-down patches or tufts occur on the neck, shoulders, and sides of the Cacatuinae, Psittacus, and Chrysotis. The length varies from some thirty inches in the Great Black Cockatoo (Microglossus) to about three in the diminutive Nasiterna pygmaea. The name Macaw is applied to Ara and its nearest allies, Love-bird to Agapornis and Psittacula, Parakeet to Platycercus and Palaeornis, Lorikeet to Loriculus, Charmosyna, and Coriphilus, Lory to Eclectus, Trichoglossus, Lorius, Chalcopsittacus, and Eos, King Lory to Aprosmictus.

Parrots usually feed and roost in company, though in Eclectus the habits are said to be more solitary; the males are, however, monogamous, each courting a single female, which twitters and rolls the head from side to side when love-making. The haunts include wooded districts, grassy plains, or even rocky hills and sandy flats; Stringops being almost entirely terrestrial, Melopsittacus and Neophema (Grass-Parakeets), with Geopsittacus and Pezoporus (Ground-Parakeets), being mainly so, while Cockatoos and many other forms habitually frequent high trees, though Cacatua galerita, Licmetis nasica, and several species of Platycercus spend much time upon the ground. Most Parrots walk with considerable ease, and climb well; their flight is commonly low and undulating, but is comparatively strong in Nestor, the Macaws, the Lories, and the like; the last-named climb less, and often hop along the ground. Loriculus, when sleeping, generally hangs by one foot. Little drink seems necessary, as the vegetable food is ordinarily succulent; plantains, papaw-apples, figs, and tamarinds being varied by flowers, buds, leaves, hard palm-nuts, and fruits of Platanus, Casuarina, Banksia, Cactus, or Capsicum. Grass-Parakeets and their nearest allies subsist almost entirely on grass-seeds and grain, Licmetis and some other Cockatoos dig for tubers and bulbs, Calyptorhynchus and Nestor search the bark of trees for insects, while the latter and the Loriinae suck honey from the flowers of Phormium and Eucalyptus. Nestor notabilis, {365}the New Zealand Kea, eats the flesh of living sheep, an acquired taste as remarkable as it is destructive. Parrots alone among Birds habitually manipulate their food in their claws, these claws, moreover, greatly aiding them to creep about the branches or to cling to the mouth of their breeding-holes. The usual cry is harsh and discordant, Lories and Macaws making an especially deafening noise; but Cockatoos, besides their scream, utter a softer sound, Loriculus has a monosyllabic note, Nymphicus and Melopsittacus quite a pretty warble. The female hisses when caught upon her eggs, and in captivity many forms talk and whistle. Holes in trees, crevices in cliffs or caves, cavities under stones or roots, and even shallow depressions in the soil, seldom with any bedding, serve for a nest; the spherical or somewhat pointed eggs, which are often deposited in confinement, being dull white, occasionally with a greenish tinge or brownish incubation-stains. The larger species usually lay one, two, or three, some of the smaller as many as twelve, the size varying greatly (pp. 367, 372). Palaeornis habitually cuts a circular hole in rotten trees, and even bores to a depth of three feet; Pezoporus is said to make a mass of grass and rushes in tussocks, Myiopsittacus monachus a globular fabric with a side entrance; Nasiterna, Psephotus, Cyanolyseus, and Conurus will breed in holes in ants' nests or steep banks. The male occasionally assists in incubation, and two broods may be reared in a season. Small or large colonies are sometimes formed, and in both the Old and New Worlds large flocks seriously damage ripe maize and corn, or oranges and other fruits. The birds are often killed for eating, and their feathers used for ornament; for caging, they are limed, captured with decoys, or taken from the nest.

The headquarters of Parrots are in the Australian Region and the Malay countries, which possess a majority of the genera and peculiar species; next follows the Neotropical Region; the Indian and Ethiopian are comparatively poor; the Palaearctic possesses no existing representative; and the Nearctic but one, Conurus carolinensis, which early in this century extended northwards to the Great Lakes, but now only inhabits Florida, Arkansas, and Indian Territory. Cyanolyseus patagonus and Microsittace ferruginea occur at the Straits of Magellan, Poeocephalus robustus at the extreme south of Africa, Cyanorhamphus erythrotis in Macquarie Island; while many forms occupy most limited areas, especially in the West Indies and the Pacific. Of Coracopsis mascarinus {366}of Réunion, Nestor productus of Phillip Island, and N. norfolcensis of Norfolk Island, only a few specimens exist, and those in collections; Palaeornis exsul of Rodriguez and Conurus pertinax of St. Thomas in the West Indies are verging upon extinction. A Macaw seems to have disappeared from Jamaica, and six Parrots from Guadeloupe and Martinique.

The sexes of all the species described below are alike, unless otherwise stated, the young being commonly duller.

Fam. III. PSITTACIDAE.–Sub-fam. 1. Stringopinae.–Stringops habroptilus, the Kakapo or Tarapo of New Zealand, has sap-green upper parts, with yellow middles to the feathers and transverse brown markings; yellower lower surface; and browner cheeks, remiges, and rectrices. The soft plumage, the disc of feathers round the eye, and the nocturnal habits have given this bird the name Owl-Parrot. During the day it usually hides in holes near the ground, emerging towards evening to feed greedily on mosses, bracken, seeds, berries, such as those of Coriaria sarmentosa, and even lizards; while the companies make tracks a foot or more wide across the herbage. The Kakapo inhabits alpine districts or open {367}forests; it climbs well and walks swiftly, but has such limited powers of flight that the natives hunt it on foot by torch-light, or with dogs, which are often seriously wounded by the powerful bill. The note is a croak, grunt, or shriek. Two or three eggs, as large as those of a pullet, are deposited in burrows under tree-roots or rocks, without any nest. It makes a tame and playful pet.[222]

Sub-fam. 2. Psittacinae.–Of this group the nocturnal Geopsittacus occidentalis of South and West Australia, and Pezoporus formosus of the same countries and Tasmania, somewhat resemble Stringops in general coloration. The latter, which has an orange frontal band, rarely resorts to trees, but crouches, skulks, or trusts to its great running powers, flying at most only some hundred yards, with a rapid twisting motion. It haunts sandy plains or marshy districts, laying two or three eggs on a bedding of grass and rushes in long tussocks of herbage.

Our common cage-bird, Melopsittacus undulatus, the Australian Grass-Parakeet or Budgerigar, has a yellow head, with three black cheek-spots surmounted by a blue patch; the nape, back, and wing-coverts are yellow with black transverse markings, the remiges brown with green outer webs and yellow margins, the rump and under parts green, the two long median rectrices blue, the lateral tail-feathers green banded with yellow. These graceful and lively little birds are partly terrestrial, often flocking in thousands to feed upon the seeds of grasses, while they sit motionless during the heat among the foliage. The flight is quick and direct; the note shrill, or warbling; the conduct of individuals towards one another amicably quarrelsome. From three to six eggs are deposited in hollow branches, with no nest. The name Grass-Parakeet is shared with Neophema of Southern Australia and Tasmania, distinguished by a blue frontal band sometimes extending around the eyes. N. petrophila, the Rock-Parakeet, breeds in holes in steep cliffs near water, N. pulchella also shewing a liking for rocks. Porphyrocephalus spurius of West Australia has a maroon crown and nape, green upper parts, black remiges with blue bases and primary coverts, and blue lower surface with scarlet and yellow vent. The flight is swift, the note clucking.

Of the beautiful Australian genus Platycercus, P. elegans, also found in Norfolk Island, may serve as an example: it is crimson-red with black on the dorsal feathers; the cheeks, bend of the wing, {368}primary-coverts, outer webs of quills and the tail being blue. The dozen species haunt grassy hills, feed upon seeds, berries, insects and their larvae, run easily, take short flights, rise with outspread tail, and lay from four to seven eggs in holes in trees without a nest. P. eximius is the Roselle Parakeet of dealers.

Loriculus vernalis is green, tinged with yellowish below and with orange on the back; the rump is red; the throat, the inner webs of the wing-quills, and the under surface of the tail are bluish. The female has little blue on the throat. The flight is rapid, but the birds are not shy; they are found in pairs or small flocks, and are said to suck honey from the flowers. They breed as does the last-mentioned species.

The Ethiopian genus Agapornis shares with the Neotropical Psittacula the appellation Love-bird, due to their habit of sitting huddled together, their mutual caresses, and their intense devotion to each other. If one dies, its mate not uncommonly pines away. A. roseicollis of South Africa is green above and yellower below, the forehead being red, the cheeks and throat rose-coloured, the rump and median rectrices blue; the lateral tail feathers exhibit blue tips, red bases, and a black band. It is found in flocks near water, flying quickly, uttering shrill, rapid notes, feeding on berries and the like, and commonly breeding in Weaver-birds' nests. A. cana of Madagascar, introduced into the neighbouring islands, has the head, neck, and breast grey; A. taranta, of North-East Africa, the forehead red, the rump and tail green; A. pullaria, of West Equatorial Africa, the face orange-red. The sexes differ only in these three species, wherein the under wing-coverts are black in the male, but green in the female, which lacks the grey or red, and in the third case has the face yellowish.

Two dozen members of Palaeornis range from Senegambia to Abyssinia, the Mascarene Islands, India, Ceylon, the Burmese Countries, South China, and the Great Sunda Islands. P. eupatria, the Rose-banded Parakeet or Alexandrine, and P. torquata, the Rose-ringed Parakeet, are similar species from the Indian Region; they are green, with rose-coloured nuchal collar, black neck-stripes, bluish median and yellow and green lateral rectrices, all tipped with yellow, and in the former a red wing-patch. The female shews no pink or black. These birds frequent both hills and plains, being often found in societies; they have a loud musical note, feed on fruits and grain, and lay some four eggs on the chips in a hole cut out by themselves.

{369}The genus Eclectus, extending from the Moluccas with the Tenimber Islands to the Solomon Archipelago, has green males and red females. E. pectoralis of Papuasia is green, with red sides, blue remiges and lateral rectrices edged with green, and yellow-tipped tail. The female differs in having the head, chest, and upper parts bright red, the end of the tail lighter, the breast, abdomen, edge of the wing and a dorsal band blue.

Dasyptilus pesqueti of New Guinea is black, with the tail-coverts, abdomen, sides, much of the wings, and a lateral band on the occiput red; the crown- and nape-feathers are narrow and pointed, the face and throat nearly naked and black. It lives at considerable altitudes in couples or small companies, eating fruit, and uttering a loud, harsh cry. Coracopsis vasa, the Vasa or "loud-voiced" Parrot of Madagascar, sacred to royalty in one of the tribes, and its lesser compatriot, C. nigra, are blackish-brown, with grey wings, rump, and tail, and yellowish naked orbits. The small flocks are partly terrestrial, but fly high; the cry is shrill; the food consists of seeds and other fruits and roots. C. vasa has been introduced into Réunion, C. comorensis and C. sibilans inhabit the Comoros, C. barklyi the Seychelles.

That clever talker, Psittacus erithacus, the Grey Parrot, which ranges across Equatorial Africa, is ashy-grey, with black primaries, red tail, and whitish naked face. It walks well, and climbs admirably by the aid of its beak, flying with chattering screams at considerable elevations, consorting in large companies, and probably nesting in holes in trees. P. timneh is not known to talk.

Poeocephalus robustus of Southern Africa is green, with brownish head, neck, remiges and rectrices; it has vermilion thighs, bend of the wing, and, occasionally, forehead; and naked orbits. The habits call for no special mention. Caica melanocephala of Guiana and Amazonia is green, with yellow cheeks, throat, sides and tip of the tail, a rufous nuchal collar, whitish lower parts, black primaries margined with blue, and green and black naked orbits. Gypopsittacus vulturinus of the Lower Amazons is chiefly green, yellow feathers tipped with black covering the throat, and forming a band at the back of the naked but hairy black head; the thighs are yellow stained with red; the upper wing-coverts blue margined with green, except the lesser, which are orange and red; the primaries are blue and black; the secondaries greener; the rectrices green and yellow, tipped with blue.

{370}The two score members of Chrysotis, commonly termed Amazons, range from Central America to Argentina. C. aestiva, not found north of Brazil, has the plumage mainly green with black edgings, the forehead and lores blue, the crown, cheeks, and throat yellow, the primaries black, blue, and green. The secondaries exhibit red outer webs, the lateral tail-feathers red bases and yellowish tips. Entirely yellow varieties rarely occur in the wild state, but are often produced artificially. These birds breed in holes in high trees, and fly in small flocks, which utter screaming cries, and feed on plantains, berries, oranges, and so forth.

Psittacula contains the green Love-Birds of Central and Tropical South America; they are sometimes tinged with yellow, and have blue on the rump and wings in the male.

Myiopsittacus monachus, the Monk or Loro, of Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina, is green, with grey throat, breast, and head, except the occiput; a blue tinge shewing on the wings, and yellow on the lateral rectrices. It is very common and tame near Buenos Aires, being devoted to favourite spots, and playing havoc with garden fruit, which it pecks and leaves hanging, while at times companies feed on thistle-seeds or devastate grain-fields. {371}Its flight is swift but unsteady, with rapid strokes of the wing and folded tail; yet it mobs Birds of prey, while its noisy chatter disturbs the other woodland species. A nest of thorny twigs, used for shelter throughout the year, is usually woven round the end of some branch, and has a vestibule and an inner chamber, which are repaired before the thin-shelled eggs, from six to eight in number, are laid. Though the entrance, with its overhanging eaves, is in the side or beneath, Opossums and Ducks occasionally take possession. A tree may contain several of these dwellings, which often jointly form a mass sufficient to fill a cart, though not communicating with one another.[223] Cyanolyseus patagonus, of Argentina and Patagonia, is brownish-olive, with red on the belly, yellow on the rump and flanks, blue on the primaries, green on the secondaries, and a whitish gorget. The flight is strong though wavering; the cry loud, short, but pleasing; the food consists of shoots, buds, and seeds; the breeding places are holes in banks. Conurus carolinensis, of Florida, Arkansas, and the Indian Territory, is green, with paler lower parts, yellow head and upper neck, orange forehead and cheeks. It frequents wooded creeks or swamps, feeding on cypress-seeds, beech-mast, and so forth, and breeding in company in holes in trees without any nest. Nearly thirty species of the genus range from Mexico and the West Indies to Bolivia and Argentina, C. guarouba of North-East Brazil being yellow with green remiges, C. solstitialis of Guiana and Brazil mainly reddish-yellow with blue and green wings and tail.

Of the fifteen or more large members of Ara, A. chloroptera, the Red-and-blue Macaw, A. macao, which differs in its yellow and green wing-coverts, and A. militaris, the Red-and-green Macaw, occur from Mexico and Central America to Bolivia; A. ararauna, the Blue-and-yellow Macaw, and A. severa, the Green-and-blue Macaw only extend from Panama southwards. The naked flesh-coloured face is crossed by lines of feathers, except in A. macao. The four closely allied Brazilian species of Anodorhynchus and Cyanopsittacus, or Hyacinthine Macaws, are almost uniform blue. The flight of these gorgeous birds is powerful, their note harsh and screaming, while they crush and eat hard nuts of various kinds.

Nasiterna pygmaea, one of some nine Pigmy Parrots, is green, with dusky markings on the upper surface, yellowish crown, reddish forehead and middle of the lower parts; the two median {372}rectrices are blue, the rest chiefly black, with yellow spots on the outer. The female lacks the red and yellow tints. Small flocks of these birds frequent high trees, creeping about them with the aid of their wings and tails, like Tree-creepers, and at midday dozing in fancied security on the lower branches. They feed upon seeds, and are stated by von Rosenberg to lay two eggs, no larger than those of the Long-tailed Tit, in holes in trees.[224]

Sub-fam. 3. Cacatuinae.–Of the Cockatoos, which are restricted to the Australian Region, the Philippine and the Sulu Islands, Cacatua galerita of Australia and Tasmania, one of the forms with narrow recurved crest-feathers, is white, with the erectile tuft and ear-coverts yellow, the plumage being lax and powdery. C. leadbeateri has a red crest banded with yellow and tipped with white, and a rosy tinge on the head and lower surface. Other species exhibit broad straight white, yellow, or red crests, C. roseicapilla being decidedly pink below and grey above. In this group the bare orbits may be blue, red, grey, or white. These tame and active birds love open wooded country, and often form immense flocks; they fly strongly, hop well, utter loud shrill screams, doze in the heat, feed on roots grubbed up from the ground, seeds and grain, and play havoc with crops of maize and the like. Two or three somewhat pointed eggs are deposited in holes in trees or crevices of rocks. {373}The half-dozen crested members of Calyptorhynchus, which are brown or black with a greenish gloss, and a whitish, red, or yellow band across the lateral rectrices, have a more laboured flight and a comparatively low whining cry; they feed on seeds of Banksia and Casuarina and on caterpillars. Callocephalon galeatum is grey, with a scarlet head and crest. In these two Australian genera the supposed females exhibit yellow markings. Microglossus aterrimus, the Great Black Cockatoo of North Australia and Papuasia, is greyish-black with a long narrow crest, and naked red and yellow cheeks. It is a retiring bird, found in pairs among high trees in thick forests; the flight is comparatively weak, the note a plaintive whistle; the food consists of seeds of Pandanus, Canarium, palm-shoots, and the like; the egg is laid on a bed of twigs in a hollow tree. Calopsittacus novae hollandiae, the crested Australian Cockatoo-Parakeet, is dark grey, with yellow forehead and cheeks, orange ear-coverts, and white wing-patch. The female has yellow marks on the tail and under parts. By no means shy, the flocks feed chiefly on the ground, while individuals fly well and love perching on dead branches.

Fam. IV. TRICHOGLOSSIDAE.–Sub-fam. 1. Cyclopsittacinae.–This includes Neopsittacus and Cyclopsittacus of Timor, North-East Australia and Papuasia, which are coloured red, green, blue, and yellow; the peculiarities of structure have already been mentioned.

Sub-Fam. 2. Loriinae.–Trichoglossus novae hollandiae, Swainson's Lory, is blue, with green head and central abdomen; the remaining under parts being red, the sides, nuchal collar and inner webs of the lateral rectrices yellow. Flocks haunt the Eucalyptus-forests of Eastern Australia and Tasmania, uttering incessant screams, flying swiftly and directly from tree to tree, settling again with a dash, creeping and clinging around the branches, and extracting honey from the flowers with their brush-tipped tongues, besides eating seeds. From two to four eggs are deposited in holes in trees. The various species of Trichoglossus range from Celebes and Timor to Australia and the New Hebrides. Ptilosclera versicolor, of North and West Australia, is green, with yellowish streaks on the body, bluish cheeks and nape, red crown, lores and breast. Coriphilus taitianus of the Society Islands is dark blue, with the lower surface chiefly white; C. ultramarinus of the Marquesas shews a combination of light and dark blue. Lorius extends from the Moluccas to the Solomon {374}Archipelago; L. lory of Papuasia being red, with black crown, blue nape, upper back, central breast and abdomen, and tip of the tail; while the wings and middle portion of the rectrices are green. In habits these three genera seem to resemble Trichoglossus. The members of Eos (Red Lory) are red, relieved by blue, except E. fuscata, which is dusky, with red and yellow markings; they extend from the Sanghir and Tenimber Islands and the Moluccas to the Caroline and Solomon groups. Chalcopsittacus of Papuasia has purplish-black, olive, or green species, usually varied with red.

Sub-fam. 3. Nestorinae.–This contains only the genus Nestor, with five species, of which N. norfolcensis of Norfolk Island, and N. productus of Phillip Island are extinct, while N. esslingi is hardly valid. N. meridionalis, the New Zealand Kaka Parrot, is olive-brown, with reddish cheeks and collar, crimson rump, abdomen and under wing-coverts, brown tail and breast, and grey crown. Several races have been described, varying in the amount of red. The Kaka is fearless, social, sprightly, and noisy, though semi-nocturnal and apt to retire to the deep forest during daylight. It utters harsh rasping and chuckling notes, or musical whistles; while it climbs trees with the aid of its beak and feet, and searches the dead wood for insects. It flies in lofty circles, or at times hops about the ground; the food consists largely of juicy fruits, blossoms, and nectar from the Rata (Metrosideros robusta) or the New Zealand flax (Phormium tenax). In semi-captivity this bird is a good mimic and talker, but terribly destructive to furniture, clothing, and orchard produce; the Maories keep it as a lure, encircling the metatarsus with a bone ring fastened by a cord to the perch. Four oval eggs are laid in hollow trees, in crevices of rocks, or under stumps and roots, occasionally on fragments of bark. Nestor notabilis, the Kea of the south island of New Zealand, has olive-green plumage with blackish margins; the wings and tail are varied with blue and yellow, the latter having a brown subterminal band; the rump and under wing-coverts are scarlet. The female is duller. It frequents rugged slopes of high snowy mountains, descending to the lowlands in winter; the small companies soar aloft, fly from peak to peak, or search for insect-food among the stunted vegetation. Tame, inquisitive, and destructive, the natural habits and food resemble those of the Kaka, allowing for the difference of haunts; but this bird will scream or mew, and lays larger and {375}rougher eggs in crevices of rocks. As is well known, the Kea has of recent years become carnivorous, chasing sheep and devouring their flesh. Perching near the tail and clinging to the wool, it digs a deep hole with its powerful beak, and apparently aims at the kidney-fat, the mandible cutting while the hooked maxilla ensures a firm grip. The propensity is said to have originated from the bird pecking at sheep-skins hanging outside country stations. As it sometimes necessitates the abandonment of sheep-runs, or even attacks horses, a price has been set upon its head.

Of fossil Parrots, Psittacus occurs in the Lower Miocene of France, the large Necropsittacus rodericanus in Rodriguez, and the still bigger Lophopsittacus mauritianus, known from an old picture to be crested, in the Mare aux Songes in Mauritius.

{376}ORDER XIII. CORACIIFORMES.

The Order Coraciiformes contains the Sub-Orders CORACIAE, STRIGES, CAPRIMULGI, CYPSELI, COLII, TROGONES, and PICI, and includes a large number of arboreal forms with comparatively short legs, which often nest in holes, and have blind and helpless young. The group coincides with the Picariae of Nitzsch and Mr. Sclater, except in so far that the former author included the Psittaci, the latter the Cuculi, while both kept the Striges separate.

The Sub-Order CORACIAE consists of the Families Coraciidae or Rollers, Momotidae or Motmots and Todies, Alcedinidae or Kingfishers, Meropidae or Bee-eaters, Bucerotidae or Hornbills, and Upupidae or Hoopoes.

Fam. I. CORACIIDAE.–Two Sub-families may be recognised of these Old World birds, (1) Coraciinae, and (2) Leptosomatinae; the latter containing only the remarkable "Kirombo" of Madagascar.

Sub-fam. 1. Coraciinae.–Most of the twenty or more species of Rollers are brilliant blue and green, varied with reddish, and bear a resemblance to certain of the Crow-tribe, especially to the genus Cissa. The short metatarsus, however, scutellated in front and reticulated behind, is a clear distinction, as in Cissa and so forth it is longer and smooth behind, with elongated scutes anteriorly. It is comparatively long in Ground-Rollers, but they are quite unmistakeable. The bill is strong, decurved, and slightly hooked, being broad and depressed in Eurystomus; the toes are moderately stout with curved claws, while the second and third are united basally; the wings are long, broad and rounded, or shorter in Ground-Rollers, with ten primaries and about thirteen secondaries; the twelve tail-feathers vary in length, five species of Coracias having them very long, and one spatulate. The furcula is U-shaped, the syrinx is tracheo-bronchial, the nostrils are hidden by bristly feathers, the tongue is thin and horny, the aftershaft is small, while there is no down on adults or nestlings. The sexes are similar, the young duller.

The genus Coracias ranges over temperate Europe, all Africa, and Central and Southern Asia eastwards to Celebes, where C. temmincki alone occurs. C. garrulus, which strays to Britain, and breeds from Sweden and Omsk to North Africa and North India, has the head, most of the wing-coverts, and the lower surface light greenish-blue, a red-brown back, dusky and blue remiges, ultramarine bend of the wing and rump, and greenish {377}tail with light blue on the lateral feathers, the outer pair alone having black tips. In the similar C. abyssinicus the two outer rectrices are elongated and tapering; in the more purple C. spatulatus they are cobalt-blue with black shafts produced into small racquets. C. naevius has an olivaceous back, reddish-lilac head and under parts, a white nuchal patch, white streaks on the breast, blue rump, bend of the wing, lateral rectrices and outer portion of the remiges. The genus Eurystomus occupies Tropical Africa, and extends from India to Manchuria, Australia and the Solomon Islands, occasionally reaching New Zealand. E. glaucurus, of Madagascar and Anjuan Island, is bay above and lilac below, with nearly ultramarine wings and cobalt tail tipped with blackish; E. orientalis is bluish-green, with blackish head, remiges and rectrices, some blue on the wing-coverts, an azure patch on the primaries, and a purple throat. E. australis is similar, and is termed the Dollar-Bird from exhibiting its circular light wing-patch when flying.

The members of these two genera are active, noisy, and pugnacious, though shy; they are usually diurnal, but are occasionally observed hawking for insects at dusk; when disturbed they attempt to hide in some neighbouring tree, while they also roost or take refuge from the heat among the foliage. The flight is swift, though not sustained, the wings being closed from time to time; at the courting season the male darts through the air with many a turn and twist, expanding and contracting his tail; and both sexes have the habit of rolling or turning somersaults in their course, and of puffing out their cheeks and throat. The note is a harsh "rack-rack-kack" or "racker-racker," uttered while perched or flying; the food, largely procured when hopping on the ground, and frequently jerked into the air before being swallowed, consists of small reptiles, frogs, beetles, worms, slugs and grasshoppers, if not of grain. Rollers frequent wooded country up to an altitude of about two thousand feet, in pairs or moderate-sized flocks; they occasionally sit huddled together on some branch, but love to perch on tall bare trees or wires, whence they energetically challenge Hawks and Crows. The four or five oval glossy white eggs are sometimes laid on a mass of roots, grass, hair, and feathers, in cavities in walls or under eaves of buildings; but more usually with little or no bedding in holes in trees or banks. In the breeding season the cock summons the hen from her nest, if danger threatens, while both parents {378}dash at an intruder, or settle near him, jerking the head and tail. Many adults are slaughtered for decorative purposes.

The Ground-Rollers, Atelornis, Uratelornis, Geobiastes and Brachypteracias, are curious forms, peculiar to Madagascar. A. pittoïdes has green upper parts with a ruddy tinge, white bars across the short primaries, a fine blue head and tail, except for the two brown median rectrices, and a reddish-fawn lower surface divided by a blue band from the white throat. A. crossleyi has a rufous head and black gular stripes. Uratelornis chimaera is a nearly allied form. Geobiastes squamigera has the upper back reddish-brown, the lower green; the head and under parts are buff, with black scale-like markings, and a black line down the crown. The primaries are brownish, the tail shews a curious combination of green, blue, black, and brown. Brachypteracias leptosomus is yellowish-green above, with bluish margins to the feathers, and a purplish-brown head and neck, while the brownish tail has a subterminal black and a terminal white bar; it is white below, banded or striped with chestnut and black. These forest-species are almost entirely terrestrial and crepuscular, running about in solitary fashion in the dusk, and carefully examining the ground for insect-food, or scratching for worms and the like; occasionally they fly to a low branch, jerking the tail as they alight. The eggs are said to be white.

Sub-fam. 2. Leptosomatinae.–This contains only Leptosoma discolor, the Kirombo or Vorondreo of Madagascar and the Comoro Islands, which has a big crested head; a long, slightly hooked bill, overhung at the base by recurved loral feathers; linear nostrils, placed far forward and covered by a horny plate; metatarsi scutellated on both aspects; and a partly reversible outer toe. The wings are moderate, having ten primaries and twelve secondaries; the long, square tail has twelve feathers; the tongue is tapering, horny and channelled; a large aftershaft is present, and there is a considerable powder-down patch on each side of the rump. The head is grey, glossed with copper and green, the neck duller; the upper parts are shining green and coppery-red, the under parts grey with white abdomen. The slightly larger female is reddish-brown above, with buff markings and only a dull gloss; the head is chiefly black, and the lower surface fawn-coloured spotted with black. This curious bird is very noisy throughout the day, uttering its note, which resembles the {379}syllables "tu-hou" thrice repeated, either while hovering in the air or while ascending or descending in vertical fashion. Meanwhile the wings are struck against the body, and the throat puffed out like a bag. It is found in the forests in flocks of about a dozen, perching and squatting lazily on the branches, and scarcely moving when its neighbours are shot; the food consists mainly of grasshoppers, chamaeleons, and lizards; the nest is said to be made of rushes and placed in holes, the eggs to be white. One female is often accompanied by several males. The Malagasy consider that the "Reò" brings ill-luck, and make it the theme of various tales and chants.[225]

Fam. II. MOMOTIDAE.–The Motmots and Todies fall naturally between the Rollers and Kingfishers, but are also closely connected with the Bee-Eaters, which do not occur in the New World. They compose the Sub-families (1) Momotinae and (2) Todinae, the former ranging from South Mexico and the Antilles to Paraguay, while the latter are restricted to the Greater Antilles.

{380}Sub-fam. 1. Momotinae.–Motmots have loose-webbed green, blue, cinnamon, and black plumage; the sexes being barely distinguishable, and the young similar to the adults, but with less developed tail. The length varies from six and a half inches to twenty. The head is generally rather narrow; the bill is Crow-like, with a few rictal bristles, and has the margins of the mandibles more or less serrated; in Prionirhynchus it is unusually broad and strongly keeled. The scutellated metatarsus is of no great length, the third digit being united to the fourth for about a third of its extent; the wings are rather short and rounded, with ten primaries and eleven secondaries. The tail-feathers are generally twelve, though Baryphthengus has only ten; they are very distinctly graduated, as is well seen from beneath, the median pair being much elongated with racquet-tips, except in Hylomanes, Aspatha and Baryphthengus. The furcula is U-shaped; the tongue is long, thin and frayed out towards the apex into laminae which point forwards; the syrinx is tracheo-bronchial; the aftershaft is small; while neither adults nor nestlings possess down.

Motmots are not shy birds, though they inhabit dense forests and seldom visit the outskirts; they prefer the vicinity of streams, where they may be seen, solitary or in pairs, flitting before the traveller from tree to tree, or sitting motionless on the lower branches, whence they make sudden dashes to secure their prey. This consists of insects caught in the air, small reptiles, or fruit; but in captivity they will eat bread, raw meat, small birds and mammals, often rapping live creatures on the ground or on their perch before swallowing them, as is done by Todies, Kingfishers, and Hornbills. The flight is brief, while the short legs are ill-adapted to the ground. The long, soft, "flute-like" note recalls that of the Hoopoe, and may be syllabled Hu-tu, this being a native name in some parts; it is most commonly heard at dawn, while the bird's habit of jerking its tail up and down as it utters each syllable is comparable to that of Barbets and Toucans. Three or four round, creamy-white eggs are deposited, without any nest, in holes in trees or banks, probably bored by the birds themselves; both sexes being said to incubate in turn. Motmots with racquet-tipped rectrices have been shewn to produce that shape by nibbling off the vanes.[226]

Urospatha martii, ranging from Costa Rica to Amazonia, is {381}oil-green above, with a blue tinge on the blackish primaries and the end of the tail, the two median rectrices being much elongated and having terminal blue racquets; the under parts and head are cinnamon, the cheeks black, while a tuft of long black feathers adorns the neck below. Eumomota superciliaris of Central America is green above, with cinnamon mantle and blue remiges and rectrices tipped with black, the two median tail-feathers having elongated bare shafts with broad racquet-tips, half blue and half black. On the sides of the head are black bands and light blue eyebrows, while the throat is black with long blue lateral feathers, and the abdomen chestnut. Momotus brasiliensis, extending from Guiana to Northern Brazil, is somewhat similar in colour, but has little red on the back; the head is cobalt-blue with black on the crown and sides; the under parts are green with a rufous tinge. The long throat-feathers are black with light blue edges. Aspatha gularis of Guatemala is bright green above, and has a yellowish breast; the abdomen and throat are pale blue, with a black tuft at the base of the latter; the sides of the head are reddish-fawn with black ear-coverts. The tail is normal.

Sub-fam. 2. Todinae.–This includes four diminutive species of the genus Todus, structurally resembling the Motmots; the tail, however, being short and square, the wings abbreviated with only ten secondaries, the beak flattened and but faintly serrated, and the rictal bristles well-developed. The long metatarsus is {382}covered with one scale; the marginal laminae of the tongue point backwards.

Todies frequent hilly districts and woods, and especially the vicinity of ravines, being very active on their feet, and taking short rapid flights from branch to branch when disturbed. They used to be considered close allies of the Flycatchers, probably owing to their habit of darting out upon their prey from some branch, to which they return immediately. They sit with upturned bill and head drawn in, their wings vibrating and their plumage puffed out, and when thus perched they are so unsuspicious that they may sometimes be caught with a butterfly-net, or even with the hand. The pugnacious males chase each other, clattering their bills, and, while courting, ruffle themselves up and droop their wings. The three or four globular white eggs are laid in a hole low down in the face of some bank, which is excavated to a considerable depth and commonly turns at right angles; the terminal chamber usually containing a slight nest of fibres, grass, moss, or cotton. In captivity Todies make engaging pets.

The coloration is green, with a bright red throat, yellowish-white or pinkish under parts, and yellow, green, or pink feathers on the flanks. The bill is dull red. Todus viridis inhabits Jamaica; T. subulatus Hispaniola; T. multicolor, which has a blue spot on each cheek, Cuba; T. hypochondriacus Porto Rico. The length varies from three and a half to four and a half inches.

Fam. III. ALCEDINIDAE.–The Kingfishers, with the Sub-families (1) Halcyoninae, or Wood-Kingfishers, and (2) Alcedininae, or Water-Kingfishers, are remarkable not only for the aberrant species found among them, but also for their peculiar forms and particularly brilliant colours, at once strikingly contrasted and tasteful. The head looks disproportionately large, an appearance often heightened by the crest and the long, stout bill. This feature in the Alcedininae is compressed and sharp-pointed, with keeled culmen and upcurved genys; in the Halcyoninae it is broader and rounder, and sometimes grooved. In Syma the maxilla is {383}serrated, as in the Momotidae; in Carcineutes and Dacelo it exceeds the mandible, and in Melidora it is hooked. The feeble metatarsi are scutellated or rarely reticulated; the third and fourth toes are joined for most of their length, the second and third for one joint, all being broad below; the claws are sharp and curved. Ceyx and Alcyone have the second digit aborted. The wings are short and rounded, yet powerful, the primaries being eleven in number, with the outer much reduced, the secondaries from eleven to fourteen; the tail is commonly abbreviated, but in Tanysiptera has a median pair of greatly elongated racquet-tipped feathers; that genus, moreover, possesses but ten rectrices instead of twelve. The furcula is U-shaped, the syrinx is tracheo-bronchial, there is no aftershaft, the adults are uniformly downy, the nestlings are naked. The tongue is rudimentary, though said to shew an approach to that of the Motmots in Pelargopsis. The sexes may be similar or dissimilar, even in the same genus; the young are like their parents, or somewhat duller. The colours of the Family are most variable, a combination of blue, green, and chestnut being frequent, while almost uniform red, or black and white, are not uncommon; the beak may be black, red, yellow, or parti-coloured. About twenty genera, with some hundred and fifty species, occupy nearly the whole globe, though by far the greater number are found from Celebes to Papuasia, while Ceryle alone is American.

The habits in the Family are as diverse as the styles of plumage. The Water-Kingfishers love shady haunts by quiet lowland streams, where the fishes which form their chief diet abound; in such situations they may be seen sitting patient and motionless on some favourite overhanging bough or projecting stone, from which they dart out like an arrow upon their prey. If successful, they return immediately to their perch, on which they beat the fish before jerking it down the throat. At other times they hover over the water with vibrating pinions, or dive perpendicularly with closed wings. They are not, however, entirely piscivorous, but eat insects and small crustaceans, especially when they seek the sea-shore, as do several species of Halcyon, Alcedo, and Ceryle, including our native Kingfisher, chiefly towards winter. In tropical countries reeds and sugar-canes serve for perches. The flight is straight and quick, but not long sustained; the note is either high-pitched, and of two or three syllables, which may be {384}likened to "tit-it-it," or is loud and harsh; it is most frequently heard as the birds skim over the streams in the anxious time of breeding, while the young have similar cries, and are very noisy just before leaving the nest, which they render extremely foul. The eggs are laid in holes in perpendicular river-banks, disused gravel-pits and the like, or even in cavities in walls or rotten stumps, the circular tunnel usually penetrating to a depth of two or three feet, and forming an enlarged terminal chamber. The number of eggs varies from four to ten in different species; they are round, white, glossy, and thin-shelled, and look very pink when they are fresh; they usually lie on a bed of fish-bones, consisting chiefly of vertebrae, not uncommonly deposited before laying begins. Ceryle rudis is stated to make a nest of grass, C. amazona one of sticks and straw, the former at times breeding in colonies. The male has been known to assist in incubation, which lasts a fortnight or more; while two broods are occasionally reared in the season, especially in warmer climates. The Wood-Kingfishers prefer shady forest-regions, not necessarily near water, but also frequent the vicinity of houses; their food consists of insects caught in the air, caterpillars, reptiles, frogs, crustaceans, worms and molluscs, though they occasionally eat fish. The nests, placed in holes in trees or banks, are said in some cases to be of a few straws, dry leaves, or moss. The genus Dacelo and its allies, including the largest forms of the Family, are natives of Australia and New Guinea, where they often inhabit very dry situations. They will even eat small mammals or birds, bruising them before deglutition, and lay two or three white eggs in holes in trees without any nest. The note is an extraordinary loud gurgling or barking sound, from which they are called "Laughing Jackasses."

Kingfishers are difficult to keep in captivity, while hard frosts cause much mortality, though the use of the feathers for artificial flies or for ornament adds to the scarcity. The males are at times very pugnacious. Many fables are connected with the Family; for instance, Ceyx and Alcyone were said to have been changed by Zeus into Kingfishers, while Aeolus, father of Alcyone, kept the weather calm in midwinter (the fourteen halcyon days), when the birds formed a floating nest upon the deep. A dried specimen, if hung up, was supposed to act as a weathercock with its bill, as Shakespeare intimates.

{385}[Illustration: FIG. 80.–Racquet-tailed Kingfisher. Tanysiptera dea. × ½. (From Malay Archipelago.)]

Sub-fam. 1. Halcyoninae.–Tanysiptera sabrina of the Moluccas, one of the members of a large and very beautiful genus, is white, except for the crown and wing-coverts, which are bright blue, and the cheeks, nape, remiges, upper back and scapulars, which are bluish-black. The two median rectrices have bluish shafts with white racquet-tips; the bill is red. T. nympha of New Guinea differs in its blue tail, vermilion rump and under parts. Cittura cyanotis of Celebes has a rufous head and chestnut tail, a brown back with partially buff scapulars, bluish-black wings with blue coverts, a blue eye-streak (black in the female), a lilac under surface, and a dark red bill. Halcyon coromandus of Eastern Asia is brown with a lovely lilac tinge above and a sky-blue rump, the lower parts being orange-rufous, and the bill red. H. cyaniventris of Java is rich blue above; the head and wing-coverts are mainly black, the lower parts ultramarine, the throat and cheeks rufous, extending as a collar to the nape; the bill is dark red. H. semicaeruleus of Arabia, West and East Africa, has a whitish head and under parts, with a chestnut {386}abdomen; the upper parts are black, with azure lower back, tail and wing-quills, the bill is red. H. saurophagus of Papuasia and the Moluccas is blue, with white head and under surface, and black bill. H. nigrocyaneus of the former region is black and blue, with white throat, pectoral band and dorsal markings, the bill being black. The female is whiter below. H. lindsayi has dingy green upper parts with buff spots, and a black eye-stripe surmounted by an azure band, both of which extend round the back of the head; the neck and throat are cinnamon divided by a blue stripe, the under parts white mottled with green; the bill is black. The blue parts are green in the female.

Dacelo gigas, the "Laughing Jackass" or "Settlers' Clock" of Australia, is mainly brown above with a white stripe on each side of the head; the tail is rufous and black, the rump of the same colour in the female, greenish-blue in the male; the lower surface is dirty white, the bill blackish. Clytoceyx rex of New Guinea has an immensely thick, blunt, and rather short bill; it is brown above, with a rufous collar, blackish back and neck-stripes, light azure rump, greenish tail and wing-quills; below it is light chestnut with white throat. Carcineutes pulchellus of the Malay countries, Sumatra, and Java has the forehead, cheeks, and collar chestnut, the crown azure, the upper parts black with blue and white bands, the under parts rufous with white throat, the bill red. The female is rufous with black bars above, and white with black spotting below. Syma torotoro of Papuasia is greenish, with blue tail and rump, orange-rufous head and under parts, and a black collar. The crown is black in the female. The serrated bill is yellow. The genera Ispidina and Ceyx furnish the pygmies of the Family, varying from about four to six inches in length; the coloration in the former is usually blue and black above and chestnut below, with a red bill; but I. madagascariensis of Madagascar is entirely rufous, except for some white on the neck and lower surface. C. euerythra, of the Malay countries and the Philippines, which is red with a lilac tinge above, has several similar congeners; here again, however, blue, black, and orange are not uncommon hues.

Sub-fam. 2. Alcedininae.–Alcyone azurea of Australia has dark azure-blue upper parts, reddish-orange lower surface with lighter throat, and a whitish patch on the sides of the neck. Corythornis cristata is ultramarine with light chestnut under {387}parts, the crest being green with black transverse stripes, and the bill black. Alcedo ispida of Britain, the whole of Europe, and the greater part of Asia, has greenish-blue upper parts, brighter blue head and tail, chestnut under parts and broad eye-streak, white throat and patches at the side of the neck, and black bill, often orange at the base. A. beryllina of Java and Lombok differs in being entirely greenish-blue above, and white with a blue chest-band below. Ceryle is the sole genus found in the New World, though it occurs also in South-East Europe, most of Asia and Africa; C. alcyon, the Belted Kingfisher, alone reaches the Northern United States and Canada. The half dozen large crested species are generally black and white, relieved by chestnut or grey, but C. amazona and its nearest allies are dull green above.

Pelargopsis gurial of India and Assam, one of the "Stork-billed Kingfishers," has a brown head, yellowish-fawn collar and under parts, dull green mantle and tail, greenish-blue lower back, and red beak.

Fam. IV. MEROPIDAE.–The Bee-eaters are extremely brilliant and graceful birds, which range over the temperate and tropical portions of the Old World, being especially plentiful in the Ethiopian Region, and somewhat less so in the Indian. The Palaearctic countries possess only four species, but Celebes alone has three, one of which (Merops ornatus) extends through the Moluccas to Papuasia and Australia.

The bill is long and gradually curved, with a culminar ridge and deflected mandible, the maxilla being grooved and more arched in Nyctiornis. The short, stout metatarsus, which is weaker in Merops, is scutellated anteriorly and reticulated posteriorly; the abbreviated toes–rather longer in Nyctiornis–have slender curved claws, and are united in the case of the third and fourth to the last joint, in the second and third to a less extent. The usually short and rounded wings are long and pointed in Merops and Dicrocercus; the primaries number eleven, or ten in Nyctiornis, and the secondaries twelve or thirteen. The tail of twelve rectrices is even in Melittophagus and Nyctiornis, deeply forked in Dicrocercus, and square with two elongated and tapering median feathers in Merops and Meropogon. The furcula is U-shaped, the tongue is lanceolate, the nostrils are concealed by dense feathers in Nyctiornis and Meropogon; {388}the syrinx is tracheo-bronchial, the aftershaft is rudimentary; while there is no down in adults or nestlings.

The flight of Bee-eaters is rapid and Swallow-like, and they have a habit of sitting on dead branches or even upright sticks, from which they dart in pursuit of their prey, to return again promptly after the manner of Flycatchers. They skim actively over the surface of the earth, sail aloft in circles, or float with slightly upturned wings in the air; while they rest among the foliage at mid-day, and not uncommonly roost in a row on some branch at night. Occasionally they may be seen dusting themselves like Larks. Nyctiornis is less energetic, and loves dense forest-shades or woods of lofty trees, as does Meropogon; but the other forms prefer more open country, and frequent the neighbourhood of swamps or rivers, as well as arid districts. Merops is constantly seen in flocks, Melittophagus less often; Nyctiornis, with rare exceptions, lives singly or in pairs. The last-named sometimes will not stir even when shot at, and none of the Family are by nature shy. The note is, according to circumstances, a loud harsh whistle or a soft flute-like sound; but Nyctiornis utters a deep croak, ending in a churring noise, puffing out the gular plumes meanwhile and nodding the head up and down. The birds are not ordinarily noisy. It is when hawking in the air that the brilliant colours are most strikingly displayed, the snap of the bill being at such times distinctly audible; insects are also picked off the backs of cattle, and, more rarely, captured on the ground; while Merops philippinus, and no doubt other species, bruise their prey against their perch. The name Bee-eater is well deserved, for in Spain Merops apiaster is a perfect pest to the bee-keeper, catching the workers as they enter and leave the hives. The indigestible portions of the food are cast up as pellets, often found in the nest. The four to six round, glossy white eggs are deposited in holes in banks, or even in tunnels bored vertically downwards in level ground, which extend to a depth of from three to ten feet. Merops superciliosus and M. nubicus alone are said to make a slight nest of straw and feathers, the members of this genus and of Melittophagus often forming large colonies. The flesh is palatable, while the plumage is in great request for decorative purposes.

The sexes are similar, the young duller, with the rectrices {389}never much elongated; Meropogon and Nyctiornis have the gular feathers broad and lengthened into a tuft.

The Family contains five genera with some thirty-five species, varying in size from fourteen inches in Merops natalensis to about six and half in several forms of Melittophagus. Nyctiornis amictus, of the Malay countries, is green, with lilac forehead and crown, scarlet cheeks and throat-tuft, and a few greenish-blue plumes at the base of the bill. Meropogon forsteri of Celebes is also green, but has the crown, gular plumes and breast cobalt-blue, the occiput and nape brown, the abdomen dusky, and the lateral tail-feathers reddish-brown margined with green. Merops apiaster has ruddy-brown head, neck, upper back, and broad alar bar, buff lower back, green wings and tail with black tips to the long median rectrices, light blue upper tail-coverts, pale green and white forehead, black ear-coverts, and bright yellow throat, divided from the greenish-blue under parts by a black band. It not unfrequently visits Britain–as the Blue-tailed Bee-eater, M. philippinus, is said to have done once–and ranges from South Europe to Central Asia and North Africa, wintering in North-West India and South Africa. M. viridis, extending from Senegambia to North-East Africa and Cochin China, is yellowish-green, with a rufous tint on the hind-neck, much buff on the wing- and tail-quills, a black band washed with blue on the fore-neck, and some blue and black on the face. M. nubicus of the northern half of the Ethiopian Region has crimson-pink upper parts, blue-green head and throat, light blue rump and abdomen, {390}rose-pink breast, black markings on the sides of the head, and black tips to the remiges and rectrices. Melittophagus gularis of West Africa is glossy black above, with bright blue on the forehead, rump, wings and median tail-feathers; the throat is crimson, the lower surface black with blue streaks; the wing-quills are for the most part rufous margined with black.

The Old World Families Bucerotidae and Upupidae are united under the latter appellation by Dr. Gadow,[227] who recognises the Sub-families Bucerotinae or Hornbills, Upupinae or Hoopoes, and Irrisorinae or Wood-Hoopoes; but the two aforesaid groups should decidedly be kept separate.

Fam. V. BUCEROTIDAE.–The Hornbills derive their name from the immensely developed bill and casque, or helmet, found in such forms as Buceros (p. 395), though the excrescence in Aceros and some species of Lophoceros is rudimentary. It may be mentioned that the huge beak of the Toucans denotes no affinity to this group. The casque–open in front in Bucorvus–is more or less filled with cellular bony tissue, or with an almost solid mass of bony columns in Rhinoplax; the mandibles are occasionally serrated. The metatarsi are short, save in the terrestrial Bucorvus, and are rough and scaly; the toes have broad flat soles, the second and third being united for one phalanx, the third and fourth still further. The powerful wings have eleven primaries, and from ten to sixteen secondaries, while the under coverts do not perfectly cover the base of the quills. The tail has ten rectrices and is usually long, though shorter in Bucorvus; it is either square or graduated, and has the two median feathers much elongated in Rhinoplax and Ortholophus. The furcula is U-shaped, the tongue rudimentary; the aftershaft is wanting; there is no down on the adults or callow young; and the eyelashes are prominent, a rare feature among birds. In most forms the atlas (p. 5) fuses with the axis.

These arboreal birds, termed "Calaos" in French, frequent deep tall jungle or cultivated districts near rivers, up to five thousand feet; most, if not all, of the species descending from the trees in the morning and evening, when they have been observed bathing in streams, and digging up loose soil with their beaks. Bucorvus spends much of the day upon the ground searching for food.

{391}[Illustration: FIG. 82.–Hornbill. Dichoceros bicornis. Female and young. (From Malay Archipelago.)]

The flight, often prolonged to considerable distances, is heavy and slow, the unwieldy body acting as a great drag, though counterbalanced by the pneumaticity, or air-containing nature of the bones, which is perhaps greater in Hornbills than in any other birds. On the wing a sound is generally produced like that of a steam-engine, possibly due to the open nature of the quills; but Rhinoplax, Berenicornis, Anorhinus, and Anthracoceros malabaricus are said to fly noiselessly. In some species the wing-action is regular; in others, rapid strokes alternate with sailing movements on outspread pinions; the head is usually drawn in and the tail depressed; while flocks proceed in single file. Individuals alight heavily, and {392}from their bulk are restricted to the stronger branches, along which they shuffle awkwardly, even assisting themselves with their beak.

Hornbills may be met with singly or in pairs, but ordinarily form parties of five or six, if not of larger numbers, gathering together to feed or to roost at fixed spots, which they leave before sunrise. They are not naturally shy, and if disturbed only resort to some neighbouring tree, where they may be often observed sitting on the boughs during the mid-day hours, with puffed out plumage, open bill, and head sunk upon the back as if overcome by the heat. From time to time while perched they elevate or depress the crest and utter loud yelping cries, not uncommonly flapping their wings and bowing their heads; when feeding they constantly chatter in chorus like Parrots, and vanish with shrill screams if intruders appear. The characteristic note, however, is a harsh, continuous sound, intermediate between the bray of an ass and the shriek of a railway engine; that of Bucorvus abyssinicus has been syllabled "hūm-hūm," and that of B. cafer, the "Bromvogel" of South Africa, has been said to resemble a lion's roar, and to be audible for a mile. All the species are apparently most noisy in the morning and evening, or before rain.

Fruits and insects–the latter occasionally hawked for in the air–constitute the normal food, but the larger forms devour small mammals, birds, eggs and reptiles, with grubs, flowers, and young shoots; while Bucorvus, which feeds chiefly upon the ground, and hops rapidly, will eat tortoises, mandioc-roots, and so forth. Berries of Strychnos and figs seem greatly in favour. Nearly everything is swallowed entire, with a backward jerk of the head, animals having the life beaten out of them previously, and most substances being tossed up into the air. The male has a most curious habit of casting up the lining of the gizzard with its contents enclosed, possibly to feed the female or young.[228]

A hole in a tree or a cavity at the junction of two branches serves for the nest, wherein the hen is enclosed by a plaster of dung or like material; there, under penalty of death, she remains until she emerges dirty, wasted and enfeebled, when the brood is hatched. From one to four dingy white eggs with coarse pores are deposited upon the débris or a few feathers. Contrary to expectation, observations seem to shew that the female walls herself in; but, however that may be, the cock feeds her through {393}the small opening left, and is even said to knock with his bill to attract her attention as he clings to the bark. He shews great anxiety about his charge, and the hen screams and bites if molested. Various members of the Family expand the tail and inflate the throat when courting; some thrive fairly well as pets; while Aceros nipalensis of India, and Dichoceros bicornis, the Homrai, ranging thence to the Malay countries, are said to be excellent eating. The latter is sacred to Vishnu; the immured female of Rhytidoceros subruficollis serves as a type of virtue to the Burmese; and natives believe that the plaster for the holes is composed of gum and earth from the four quarters of the globe. In South Africa the Fingoes think that their cattle will contract disease if Hornbills are shot; Kafirs consider that drought will cease if one of them is sunk under water and drowned; Ovampos pretend that the eggs are too brittle to be handled.

Some nineteen genera may be admitted, from the Ethiopian, Indian, and Australian Regions, with about seventy species, more than thirty of which occur in each of the first two areas; a couple inhabit Celebes, and one ranges over the Moluccas and Papuasia to the Solomon Islands. None inhabit Australia.

The somewhat scanty plumage is usually black, white, and grey; but a greenish or bluish tinge, or rufous heads and lower parts are not unfrequent. Crests are present, except in Bucorvus; Ceratogymna has a gular wattle; Berenicornis and Ortholophus exhibit long upcurved loral plumes; while the orbits and throat are more or less naked, and usually of brilliant colours, these with the bill and casque being often a distinguishing mark between the sexes. The last develops gradually in the duller young.

Rhinoplax vigil of the Malay countries, termed the Helmet Hornbill, has a line down the back and the neck naked and red. The casque is yellow in front and red behind, and is much used by Eastern artists for carving and making brooches. Berenicornis comatus, of the same districts, has a moderate black keeled casque, and bare blue orbits and throat. The female exhibits less white. Bycanistes buccinator of East Africa has a large blackish furrowed casque and purple naked areas. Lophoceros nasutus of North-East and West Africa, has the bill and rudimentary casque black, with a yellow streak on the maxilla and several oblique yellow ridges on the mandible, the bare orbits apparently grey. In the female the bill shews red in place of black.

{394}[Illustration: FIG. 83.–Plait-billed Hornbill. Rhytidoceros undulatus. × ⅕-⅙. (From Nature.)]

Ceratogymna elata of West Africa has the gular wattle, orbits, and bare throat blue, with red on the first and a median line of feathers on the last, and an abrupt, high whitish casque, which is black at the base in the male. The hen has a rufous head and neck. Rhytidoceros plicatus of Papuasia and the Moluccas has a reddish and white casque with obliquely overlapping plates, pale blue naked orbits and throat. The head and neck are chestnut in the male, black in the female. Cranorhinus cassidix of Celebes has a red casque, high in front and rounded posteriorly over the skull; both mandibles are yellow with red bases, and exhibit grooved plates, the bare parts being chiefly blue with a black bar on the throat. {395}The head and nape are chestnut and black in the respective sexes, the hen having the casque yellower. Penelopides manillae of the Philippines has the moderate, compressed casque transparent brown, and the naked areas white, becoming purplish in the female. Anthracoceros coronatus of India and Ceylon has a large yellow subcrescentic casque blotched with black, a bare white throat and blackish orbits, the latter being white in the hen. Dichoceros bicornis (Fig. 82) of India and the Malay countries has a large yellowish-red casque, hollowed and ending in two points anteriorly, which shews black markings in the male; the naked orbits are pinkish. Buceros rhinoceros of the Malay Peninsula and Indo-Malay Islands has a large red, orange, and black casque, curved up in front, and red orbits; the female having less black on the former. Bucorvus (Bucorax) has a large black casque, nearly or quite closed in B. cafer of South and East Africa, but open anteriorly and ridged in B. abyssinicus of North-East and West Africa. In the respective species the naked parts are red and blue in the male, blue and purple in the female. Some writers adopt a Sub-family Bucorvinae for this genus.

The fossil Cryptornis of the Upper Eocene of France is referred to the Hornbills.

Fam. VI. UPUPIDAE.–Sub-Fam. 1. Upupinae.–This consists of a single genus with five similarly-coloured graceful species, which have the beak long and slightly arched, the metatarsi short and scutellated throughout, the toes rather long and the claws curved. The third and fourth digits only are joined at the base. The broad wing has ten primaries and an equal number of secondaries, the short, square tail has ten rectrices, the nestlings possess a little down. Otherwise the structure resembles that of Hornbills.

Generally found solitary or in pairs, Hoopoes stalk proudly along the ground, nodding their heads, expanding and contracting their crests, and uttering the soft reiterated "hoop" or "hoo," from which is derived their name. Besides probing the soil, the bird taps the ground with its bill or foot, and some persons think that worms are brought to the surface by the vibration; but it will also tap any perch, whether on branch, stump, or wall. The food consists of flies taken on the wing, insects generally, and worms; individuals being frequently observed climbing rocks or branches of trees in search of prey, and carefully examining heaps of refuse. Before being swallowed the larger objects are {396}smartly rapped on some hard surface, and most are tossed into the air. The flight is strong, undulating, and seldom protracted, though Hoopoes often escape from Hawks; they can also run rapidly. The nest, placed in holes in trees, walls, or rocks, consists of a little straw or a few twigs, with some feathers or hair; it is always, however, marked by the addition of ordure to the lining, and sites are on record in coffins or decaying bodies.[229] During incubation the cock feeds the hen, who hardly stirs from her post; the eggs number from four to seven, and are pale greenish-blue with distinct pores. These birds are fond of dusting themselves in loose soil; the male is decidedly pugnacious, except in captivity; and the flesh is considered a delicacy in Southern Europe. Arabs venerate them and ascribe to them medicinal properties. Most persons are familiar with the story of Allah granting to Epops a golden crest, exchanged afterwards at the bird's request for one of feathers.

Upupa epops not unfrequently visits Britain, where it has nested on several occasions; it breeds from Southern Scandinavia to Northern Africa and the Atlantic Islands, migrating a little {397}further south; while it extends through most of Asia and reaches Japan. The fine erectile crest, the head, neck, and lower parts are cinnamon-coloured; the remaining plumage is black, varied with buff and white; a band of the latter crosses the tail; and the head plumes are tipped with black and white. U. marginata of Madagascar has a larger outer primary and a narrower tail-band; U. indica, with darker cinnamon tints, extends from India to Hainan, and intergrades with U. epops; U. somalensis of Somali-Land is intermediate between the last and U. africana of South Africa, which exhibits no white on the primaries or crest. Females and young are duller and less crested.

A fossil form, Limnatornis, occurs in the Lower French Miocene.

Sub-fam. 2. Irrisorinae.–The Wood-Hoopoes, differing from their allies in the longer and more decurved bill, especially noticeable in Rhinopomastus, the long wedge-shaped tail, and the absence of a crest, are commonly seen in flocks of from six to eight; they are shy, restless and noisy, flitting from bush to bush with undulating motion and expanded rectrices, while they also creep about probing the crannies of the highest trees–to the great detriment of the tail–or search the ground for grubs and insects generally. The note is harsh and chattering; the nest, said to be foul like that of their allies, is placed in holes in trees, the eggs being apparently white. The plumage is metallic purple, blue or greenish, with white wing-patch and tail-markings, the females and young being less bright, with shorter beaks.

Irrisor occupies the Ethiopian Region, I. viridis and I. erythrorhynchus having the head and throat bluish-green, I. bollii those parts buff, I. jacksoni nearly white. Three species of Scoptelus inhabit North-East and West Africa, three of Rhinopomastus extend from the former country and the Congo to South Africa.

* * * * *

The Sub-Order STRIGES, containing the natural and well-marked group of the Owls, was until lately usually treated as a mere Family situated next to the diurnal Birds of Prey (Accipitres of this work), whatever name or rank may have been given to the combined assemblage. Gradually, however, a conviction has arisen that these nocturnal–or chiefly nocturnal–Birds of Prey deserve a higher position than that of a Family, while Dr. Gadow, in the classification here mainly adopted, agrees with those who would separate them widely from their former associates, and places {398}them in close proximity to the Nightjar alliance (Caprimulgi), the members of which they certainly resemble in their soft plumage, large eyes, and crepuscular tendencies.

Fam. VII. STRIGIDAE.–This, which contains all the Owls, may be divided into two Sub-families, (1) Striginae and (2) Buboninae.[230] In the former, or Screech-Owl section,[231] the sternum has its broad keel joined to the furcula, and exhibits no notches behind; in the latter, containing the remaining genera, the clavicles do not always form a furcula, nor do they meet the sternum, which shews one or two pairs of projections posteriorly. In this section, moreover, there is a bony loop bridging the channel in the metatarsus which contains the common extensor tendon of the toes, as is the case in the Osprey. Pterylography would lead to the same subdivisions. Between the two groups lie Photodilus of the Indian Region, now referred to the Buboninae, and Heliodilus of Madagascar, which is classed with the Striginae.

The head is large; the neck short and thin; the bill moderate in length, but stout, with a sharp hook at the tip; the culmen is usually curved, but is straighter in Strix, while the basal cere is more or less covered by feathering, especially in Nyctea. The short, strong metatarsi–somewhat longer in Speotyto and Sceloglaux–are flattened in front and covered with small scales. They are usually feathered, though in Ketupa and Scotopelia they are all but bare, while they are partly so in Scops gymnopus and S. nudipes, the two former having the toes provided with spicules below, as in Pandion. Many forms have the plumage extended as a thick covering of soft feathers or bristles to the claws, which are normally long, sharp, and curved, that of the middle toe having a serrated margin in the Striginae. The digits are padded beneath, and the fourth of them is reversible at will, enabling Owls to perch with either one or two toes behind. The wings are long, or fairly so, very broad, and more or less rounded, Scops and Strix being instances of greater length, Bubo, Sceloglaux, Speotyto, and Photodilus of shortness; the primaries number eleven and the secondaries from eleven to eighteen. The tail of twelve rectrices is generally short and somewhat rounded, though longer in Surnia. The large {399}eyes are directed obliquely forwards, but those of Ninox are said to have a less staring look; Owls, moreover, have little power of turning the eye-ball, and consequently add to their grotesque appearance by constantly moving the head from side to side. The upper eye-lid shuts over the eye, and not the lower, as in birds generally; the iris is extremely sensitive, contracting and expanding continually. The external ear varies in an extraordinary way, the "conch," or large shell-like aperture, often having its ample membranous margin developed into an elevated operculum or flap which stretches partially or entirely down the anterior side. In Asio and Syrnium the ear-openings are asymmetrical, those of the former reaching nearly the whole height of the skull and being directed respectively upwards and downwards; in Nyctala this asymmetry extends to the bones of the skull itself. The large ear is apparently correlated with a keen sense of hearing in some cases, but not in all.

The furcula, when complete, is U-shaped; the tongue is fleshy, and somewhat horny below; the nostrils, placed towards the front of the cere, are rather large, and usually concealed by bristles; the syrinx is bronchial; the after-shaft is absent or rudimentary; down occurs in the adults only on the unfeathered spaces, but in the nestlings forms a woolly coating, which may be brown or dusky, as in the Snowy Owl, white as in the Screech-Owl, yellowish or grey, as in many species.

The sexes are alike, the female being larger than the male. The young resemble the adults, but, at least in certain cases, are more rufous or buff; further information is, however, needed as to the successive stages. All Owls exhibit a certain similarity, while their ample plumage creates an erroneous impression of bulk; the feathers–most compact in Surnia–are soft, with an admixture of hairs and with weak, brittle shafts, to which facts the noiseless flight is largely due. An erectile tuft decorates each side of the crown in Bubo, Asio, Scops, and Ketupa; but the most striking outward characteristic is the ruff of several series of small, stiff-shafted, recurved feathers, originating from a fold of the skin round the cheek, which support the larger feathers of the overlying disc around the eye. The latter is very complete in Strix, Syrnium, and Asio, being in the first-named rather triangular than circular; but in Surnia, Speotyto, Bubo, and Scops, not to mention other cases, it is far less perfect.

{400}Syrnium cinereum, one of the largest members of the Family, is thirty inches long, though Bubo possesses species that are perhaps more powerful; on the other hand, Micrathene whitneyi and Glaucidium cobanense measure about five inches. Omitting the white or yellowish-white forms, the coloration of Owls may be stated to be a mixture of black, brown, rufous, grey, yellow, and white, while barring is frequent on the wings and tail. The pattern is always difficult to describe, nor can more than an indication of it be given in the space available below. Permanent rusty-red and grey phases occur in many species, or more rarely a brown phase; such species as exhibit two of these being termed dimorphic, though dichromatic would better express the meaning. The bill is blackish, dusky, or yellowish. The moult in the Strigidae appears to be very gradual.

Owls are an exceptionally cosmopolitan group of birds, a large proportion of the genera being common to both hemispheres; Ketupa, Scotopelia, Ninox, Heteroglaux, Sceloglaux, Carine, Photodilus and Heliodilus are, however, peculiar to the Old World, Speotyto, Gymnasio and Micrathene to the New. The Short-eared Owl (Asio accipitrinus) is found at various seasons throughout the globe, except, it would seem, in West Africa, Australia, the Moluccas, Papuasia, and Oceania; it occurs even in the Sandwich, Galápagos, and Falkland Islands. The Screech-Owl (Strix flammea) has an even wider range, but is not met with in Norway, the north of North America, or New Zealand. Authorities differ as to the genera and species to be recognised, but certainly many more of the latter are now known than the one hundred and ninety at which Dr. Sharpe put the total in 1875.[232]

The members of this Family frequent districts of the most varied description, whether they be wooded highlands, rocky ravines, or cultivated lowlands; the Snowy Owl (Nyctea scandiaca) nests chiefly on the fjelds and barren lands towards the North Pole; while the Burrowing Owl (Speotyto cunicularia), which is equally at home on the sandy plains of North or South America, is exceptional as an instance of gregarious habits in the group. The majority, being nocturnal, are ill at ease in sunlight, a fact which may explain the apparent discrepancy between their habitual shyness and their bold conduct at the nest or when wounded; many are then positively dangerous, and prove worse adversaries {401}than Falcons or Eagles. In the perpetual day of the Arctic summer the Snowy Owl and the Hawk-Owl (Surnia ulula) cannot of course be nocturnal, while to a limited extent various species of Bubo, Scops, Ninox, Glaucidium, Carine, Nyctala, and Asio may be seen abroad in the hours of light; so that in many cases sight may aid in the capture of prey as much as hearing.

The noiseless flight is buoyant, but usually slow and somewhat wavering, with frequent beats of the wing; occasionally it is more direct, and in Surnia ulula almost Hawk-like. Owls apparently prefer to perch with the first and fourth toes behind, and on a level surface to stand with three toes in front; their gait on the ground is awkward, and being arboreal birds–with the exception of Speotyto and Sceloglaux–they rarely walk to any extent.

The food consists of small mammals, such as lemmings, rats, voles, and mice; of insects, with perhaps beetles in especial; and to a less degree of birds, reptiles, bats, worms, slugs, and snails. The stronger forms even capture young fawns, rabbits, hares, large grouse, and so forth, Ninox connivens being a great enemy of the young of the Koala (an Australian marsupial); while the Snowy, Mottled, Screech-, and Wood-Owls occasionally take fish, which, with crabs, constitutes the chief diet of Ketupa. The manner of procuring sustenance varies with the object sought. Insects are frequently caught upon the wing, but ordinarily the ground is quartered after the manner of Harriers, and a pounce made upon the prey, which is secured in the long curved talons. The smaller creatures are swallowed entire or carried in the bill; the bigger are conveyed, hanging between the feet, to some convenient spot, where they are torn to pieces and sometimes plucked. Bones, fur, feathers, beetles' elytra, and the like are ejected as round or cylindrical pellets, which commonly lie thickly around the nests or feeding-places, and clearly shew the nature of the food.

The note varies from a loud hoot to a low, muffled sound or a clear, musical cry; the utterance of both young and adults being in some cases a cat-like mew, while the Screech-Owl snores when stationary. The "hoot" is said to be produced by closing the bill, puffing out the throat, and then liberating the air, a proceeding comparable to that of the Bitterns (p. 88). On the whole the voice is mournful and monotonous, but occasionally it resembles a shrill laugh. If a nest be made, it is commonly placed in a hole in a tree or on a ledge of rock, but many species {402}simply deposit their eggs on the débris naturally found in cavities.

To descend to a few particulars, the Snowy and Short-eared Owls, certain other species of Asio, and in some cases the Eagle-Owls (Bubo) breed upon the ground, often near some sheltering tuft, and use little or no bedding; Speotyto collects a mass of grass, dry leaves, feathers, and rubbish in burrows; the Wood-Owls (Syrnium), the Long-eared Owl (Asio otus), and several other forms utilize deserted nests of Pies, Crows, Squirrels, and the like, commonly adding a fresh lining; the first-named alternatively choose holes in trees or in the ground; while Carine glaux has been known to breed in ant-hills. The Screech-Owl (Strix) and most of the smaller members of the Family deposit their eggs in crevices in rocks or banks, in natural cavities in trees, or even at the junction of two large branches; towers, lofts, dovecots, and belfries being well-known sites for the former. Apparently none of the above excavate their own holes in the wood, or do more than clear them out; a few, however, decorate the nests they usurp with green foliage, as do so many Buzzards and Eagles. The habits sometimes undergo a decided change, as when the Short-eared Owl in the Aleutian Islands, and the Screech-Owl in Texas and India take to fairly deep burrows.

The Strigidae are exceptionally early breeders; for instance, Long-eared Owls' eggs have been found in England at the end of February, and those of Bubo virginianus in that month in the United States; it is true the Screech-Owl is later in this country, but this does not seem to be the case with its American race. Where fresh sets are found late in the year, the first have generally been destroyed, and a second brood is uncommon, though the contrary holds true during vole- or lemming-plagues, when food is unusually abundant; at such times, moreover, the number of eggs is abnormally large for the species. The usual tale varies from two to ten, while the bigger forms as a rule do not deposit so many. Much has been made of the fact that the Screech-Owl (with the Eagle-Owl and other forms) lays at considerable intervals of time; but this is certainly not always true, and in many cases the varying size of the embryo is easily accounted for by supposing the parent to sit as soon as the first egg is deposited. On the other hand, occasional breaks certainly occur in the laying, and pairs of eggs are often produced almost simultaneously; yet the bird has {403}no regular habit of allowing the subsequent eggs to be hatched by the warmth of the oldest nestlings; and the reader may be reminded that in other groups, such as the Harriers and Divers, a very similar inequality in the development of the eggs may be observed. Exceptionally the white shell is said to be tinted with blue or yellow, or to be even marked with lilac and brown in Bubo coromandus.[233] The shape is normally oval or nearly spherical, but longer or even pointed specimens are not uncommon, while the larger the size the less glossy is the texture. The male is generally to be found near at hand if the nest is disturbed, and undoubtedly assists in some cases in incubation, which lasts about four weeks. The hen hisses when caught in a hole, and invariably sits closely; while both parents frequently remain near an intruder, and "click" their beaks at him in exactly the same manner as the pugnacious nestlings do.

Owls are constantly mobbed by other birds, especially when dazed by sunlight, the Little Owl being used as a lure on the Continent. They migrate to a greater or less extent, the autumnal visits of the Short-eared Owl being especially well-known in Britain; yet the Snowy Owl often remains in the far north in winter. The flesh is not generally reckoned palatable, but Bubo, Asio, Nyctea, Carine and Scops at least are eaten by the natives of various countries; superstition, however, usually prevents the murder of an Owl, which is usually supposed to entail evil, though in a few places good luck. In Andalucia the Scops- and Screech-Owls are believed to be the devil's birds, and to drink the oil from the lamps in saints' shrines; the Malagasy consider the members of the Family embodiments of the spirits of the wicked; and country folks' belief in their connection with death and the churchyard dates back at least to the time of Shakespeare, who makes one of his characters call the owl's hoot or screech a "song of death." Many species are well-adapted for aviaries, and breed freely; and the Little Owl (Carine noctua) has done so when liberated in Britain.

Sub-fam. 1. Striginae.–Strix flammea, the nocturnal White, Screech-, or Barn-Owl, is orange-buff above, with brown, grey and white markings, but is white below and on the complete facial discs. The dark grey phase has the white parts tinged with orange and a few distinct blackish spots beneath. The legs are entirely, and the toes partially, covered with bristly {404}feathers. As mentioned above (p. 400), the bird is almost cosmopolitan, if we disregard the sub-species proposed. It is rare in northern Scotland. It lays its four to six dull white eggs, without any nest, in hollow trees, crevices in masonry or rocks, towers, belfries, lofts, and so forth, and has been known to breed in holes in banks or cliffs in America, between forking branches in the Philippines, and on the ground in Madagascar. The eggs are not uncommonly deposited at considerable intervals. The food consists chiefly of small rodents, though birds, bats, insects, and even small fish are eaten; the note is a weird screech, while young and old make a snoring noise at the nesting place. When this bird frequents dovecotes it destroys the rats which prey upon the eggs and young of pigeons, and is itself practically harmless. According to Dr. Sharpe[234] the following may also be admitted as valid species: S. novae hollandiae of Australia, S. tenebricosa of that country and New Guinea, S. capensis of South Africa, and S. candida, the Grass Owl, ranging from India to China, Formosa, North Australia, and Fiji. S. castanops of Tasmania may perhaps be added, and S. aurantiaca of New Britain is certainly distinct, but may not belong to this genus.

Heliodilus soumagnii of Madagascar is cinnamon-rufous above, with a few black spots on the head, and bars on the wing and tail; it is lighter below and pinker on the face. The toes are bare.

Sub-fam. 2. Buboninae.–Photodilus badius, found from the Eastern Himalayas to Ceylon, the Burmese Countries, Borneo, {405}and Java, is a somewhat similarly coloured bird to the last-named, and utters a single reiterated note. The habits are unknown.

Nyctala tengmalmi, Tengmalm's Owl, inhabits the forests of Northern and Central Europe, Siberia, and Arctic America; it has brown upper parts barred and mottled with white, and whitish lower surface banded and streaked with brown; the facial discs are fairly complete, the legs feathered to the end of the toes. Only partially nocturnal, it utters a soft whistle or bell-like note, feeds on small rodents, birds, and beetles, and lays from four to six, or exceptionally ten, eggs in holes in trees. Its only congener, N. acadica, called the Saw-whet Owl from its grating cry, occurs in America from Mexico northwards.

Syrnium aluco, the Tawny, Brown, or Wood-Owl of Great Britain–not found in Ireland–ranges through most of Europe and Northern Africa to Palestine, and it is said to Tibet; the colour above is grey and brown, with white spots on the wing-coverts and tip to the tail; the lower parts being rufous-white, mottled and streaked with brown. The perfect facial discs are greyish, the legs are feathered to the claws. A rufous phase is even more common in this country. It is an arboreal and entirely nocturnal species, which makes the woodlands ring with its note in the autumn gloaming, and less frequently in the morning; the sound resembling hŏo-hŏo-hŏo-hōo once or twice repeated, rather than the Shakespearean tu-whit, to-who. Surface-swimming fish vary the usual diet. From the middle of March onwards three or four large oval eggs are deposited in hollow trees or deserted nests of other birds; or even in caves, lofts, and rabbit-burrows, though trees may be near to hand; sometimes a scanty lining of twigs, grass, down, feathers, or fur is added. This genus, with about thirty species, extends over nearly the whole globe, except Madagascar and the Australian Region; some of the best known members being the northern S. lapponicum, the Lapp Owl, and its American race S. cinereum–much larger and greyer birds than S. aluco, with curious concentrically marked facial disks–and the whiter broadly streaked S. uralense of Northern and Central Europe and Siberia, which is said at times to bleat like a goat. India furnishes S. nivicola and S. newarense of the Himalayas, S. ocellatum and S. indranee, the last-named extending to the Malay Peninsula; S. sinense occurs in that district Burma, Cochin China and Java, S. leptogrammicum in Borneo. {406}S. nebulosum of eastern and S. occidentale of southern North America extend to Mexico; whence S. virgatum, S. perspicillatum, S. albigulare and other species range to the middle of South America. S. rufipes is a native of Chili and Patagonia. Finally, S. nuchale inhabits Western, S. woodfordi Southern and North-Eastern Africa.

Asio otus, the Long-eared Owl, is buff, streaked, mottled and vermiculated with brown and grey, especially on the upper parts, which appear almost brown. The buff facial discs are complete; the feathering of the legs extends more or less over the toes; the two long head-tufts are erectile. It occurs throughout Europe, in Asia ordinarily north of the Himalayas, in China, Japan, the Atlantic Islands, and North Africa, being replaced in America southwards to Mexico by the sub-species A. americanus (wilsonianus). A. accipitrinus, the Short-eared Owl, one of the most widely distributed of birds, inhabits or visits nearly the whole globe (p. 400). It is lighter and less streaky than the last form, with much shorter tufts. A. mexicanus, ranging from Mexico to Brazil, A. madagascariensis, peculiar to Madagascar, A. capensis of that island and most of Africa, which strays to Spain and Arabia, A. stygius, found from Mexico and Cuba to Brazil, and its Jamaican representative, A. grammicus, complete the genus. The last three have comparatively bare toes. The Long-eared Owl resembles the Wood-Owl in general habits, and even, it is said, breeds at times upon the earth; but it almost invariably relines deserted habitations of other birds or of squirrels with a scanty supply of twigs, grass, fur, down, or feathers, and lays from four to six oval eggs from the end of February onwards. Pies' nests are in great request, especially those of the preceding season. This somewhat silent species utters a single hoot, or else a mewing cry, often erroneously attributed to the young alone; the parents sit on the tops of trees when the nursery is disturbed, and click their beaks, just as the nestlings do. The Short-eared or Marsh-Owl makes a nest of the surrounding substances, with a few feathers, among heather, sedge, or marshy herbage, sometimes sheltered by some tussock or bush, and normally deposits from four to eight eggs; but during the vole plague on the Scottish Borders in 1890-92, when these birds abounded, they produced as many as thirteen each. In Unalashka a similar structure is made in holes in banks. Should the sitting parent be disturbed, it commonly utters a harsh scream, and hovers or circles around {407}with continued cries, which summon its mate, if near; at other times little noise is made, though this species is unusually diurnal. If quartering the flats for food its flight is sufficiently powerful; but if suddenly flushed it is wavering or zig-zag, as is well seen in autumn, when the bird is named "Woodcock-Owl" in Britain, from its arriving at the same time as Woodcocks.

Micrathene whitneyi, of the South-Western United States and Mexico, is grey, mottled with brown and a little rufous; the lower parts being whiter, and some white also shewing on the nape, wing-coverts, and throat. It breeds in holes in cacti and the like. The genus Glaucidium, or Pigmy-Owl, comprises some twenty members, distributed over most of the globe, except the Australian Region, while one inhabits Europe. The coloration is blackish- or ashy-brown, greyish, or rufous; browner and redder phases often occurring in the same species. The upper parts exhibit the usual dark mottlings, and yellowish or white markings; the under surface is lighter; a whitish collar sometimes occurs above, or a dusky gorget below. The facial discs are rather imperfect, the toes may be thickly feathered or only hairy. The habits of G. passerinum of Northern and Central Europe are apparently representative of these forms, which are, according to circumstances, shy or fearless, though strong and rapacious for their size; they capture birds bigger than themselves, bats, rodents, moths, and large insects generally. By preference arboreal, and denizens of hilly woodlands, gardens, and orchards, they doze in trees during the day; yet they are not entirely nocturnal, and may be seen after sunrise pursuing their prey with rapid, jerky flight, very different to that of the more slowly-flapping crepuscular species. The note varies from a loud clear whistle to a short hissing or longer gurgling sound; the three to five roundish eggs are laid in hollow trees. The largest form, G. cuculoïdes, found from the Himalayas to Siam, does not attain twelve inches (G. whitelyi of China and Japan being barely separable), while G. cobanense of Guatemala is only five inches long, and is the smallest Owl known. G. radiatum inhabits India, G. brodiei the Himalayas, G. castanonotum Ceylon, G. sylvaticum Sumatra, G. castanopterum Java, G. pardalotum Formosa, G. perlatum most of the Ethiopian Region, G. capense South Africa; G. gnoma ranges from British Columbia to Guatemala, G. ferox (with its races) from Texas to Bolivia and Brazil; G. siju occupies Cuba, G. jardinii New {408}Granada and Venezuela, G. pumilum Brazil, G. nanum Chili and Patagonia.

Sceloglaux albifacies, the Laughing Owl of New Zealand, is rufous-brown, with the middle of the feathers dark, and a few marks of white and buff above; the tail is barred with fulvous, the fairly perfect facial discs exhibit radiating brown streaks; the toes are hairy. For an Owl this peculiar species has the head small, the wings short, and the metatarsi long; it strides along or hops at a considerable rate on the ground, and flies only at night, uttering a peculiar shrill laugh or a loud barking call-note. It is fast becoming extinct in its bleak mountain-haunts, where it conceals itself by day–and also nests–in dry crevices of rocky gullies; it lays from one to three eggs at considerable intervals, if we may judge from captive specimens. The female is smaller than the male, who occasionally incubates. As the Maori rat of New Zealand is extinct, the food now consists of the introduced Mus decumanus, with insects, birds, and so forth.

In the genus Ninox the prevailing colours are grey, brown, and rufous, relieved by a little black and white, the question of dichromatism not being yet settled. The facial discs are somewhat imperfect. The thirty or more species extend from Madagascar, India, and Ceylon to Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and the Solomon Islands, having their headquarters in the Moluccas and Papuasia; but, with the exception of Scops, there is perhaps no group in the Family where the status of the members is more doubtful. They are sometimes termed Hairy or Hawk-Owls, though the true Hawk-Owl is Surnia ulula. N. scutulata, ranging from India to Japan, Formosa, Ternate and Flores, frequents forests and gardens, sallying forth at dusk, darting upon insects from its perch on some dead branch, uttering a reiterated double note, and laying its eggs on dried leaves in hollow trees. N. strenua, N. connivens, and N. boobook are Australian species, of which the first is a powerful bird with a hoarse, mournful voice, mainly nocturnal, but wakeful and speedy in the daytime. It frequents lonely forests and thick "brushes" on hills, being less widely distributed than the more diurnal N. connivens and N. boobook. The latter may be seen in sunlight capturing birds or insects in the woods, but the note of "boobook," or "buck-buck," from which it gets its native name, is only heard at night. The colonists compare the cry with "cuckoo," and believe that the {409}Cuckoo visits Australia and there assumes nocturnal habits. The flight is rapid and Woodcock-like, the three eggs are deposited in holes in trees, with no nest. N. (Spiloglaux) novae zealandiae, of New Zealand, called from its cry "More-pork,"[235] is dark brown above with white spots on the scapulars and wing-coverts, and is tawny with brown streaks below. By day it hides in trees or crevices of rocks, and appears at dusk to prey on rats, mice, birds, lepidoptera, beetles, and crickets. Besides the usual note, a shrill scream or croak is not unfrequently heard; the young make a snoring noise, and adults click the beak when angry. Two or three eggs are laid in hollow trees or under boulders. Of other species N. maculata is restricted to Tasmania and Norfolk Island, N. albaria to Lord Howe Island, N. obscura and N. affinis to the Andamans and perhaps the Nicobars, and N. natalis to Christmas Island, Indian Ocean; while from the Philippines and Celebes to the Solomons the numbers increase greatly, and many islands have their own peculiar forms.

Gymnoglaux nudipes of the Antilles, remarkable for its unusually bare metatarsi, is brown above and white below, with rufous barring throughout; G. lawrencii of Cuba having the leg-feathers less extended, and being spotted with white on the more uniform upper surface. Speotyto cunicularia, the Burrowing Owl, a comparatively long-legged and short-winged bird with incomplete facial discs and unfeathered toes, is umber-brown varied with yellowish and white, the lower parts becoming lighter. From the confines of British Columbia it extends through the Western and Southern United States, a few of the Antilles, and the greater part of the Neotropical Region, several fairly distinct races having been described. Large communities in North America occupy the burrows of prairie-dogs, rats, ground-squirrels, or badgers; in South America those of the biscacha, the Patagonian hare, and even of armadillos and large lizards; but they are said to make their own holes, if necessary. The homes seem usually to be shared by the separate pairs with the original owners, and sometimes with intruders such as rattlesnakes; while a nest of grass, feathers, and rubbish is made at the further end, where from five to ten eggs may be found, surrounded by castings. Mainly diurnal and generally fearless, these birds fly strongly for short distances, and procure their food of small mammals, birds, reptiles, and insects, {410}chiefly on the ground, where they are quite at ease. A croaking sound is made while courting, but the ordinary cry is long and shrill; both parents, moreover, fly chattering over an intruder at the breeding colonies, while individuals often sit bowing or twisting their heads about on the roofs of houses.

Carine noctua, the Little Owl of British authors, is greyish-brown above with white markings, and white with brown streaks below. The facial discs are imperfect; the toes are bristly–or {411}feathered in the race from Northern and Central Asia (C. plumipes or bactriana). Another race (C. glaux), of a more sandy colour, occupies North Africa, whence the species ranges to Denmark, the Baltic and the Urals, and through Palestine and Afghanistan to East Siberia and North China. It occurs in England, where liberated specimens breed, but possibly diminish in numbers. C. spilogastra is found in Abyssinia, C. superciliaris in Madagascar, C. brama in India and Baluchistan. The Little Owl is semi-diurnal, and haunts wooded country and orchards; the flight in the day is undulating and slow with many flaps; the note is a muffled monosyllabic or disyllabic cry, a noisy bark, a mew, or a wail; the food consists of rodents, birds, reptiles, frogs, insects, snails, and worms. From three to five eggs are deposited on débris in crevices of rocks or masonry, in buildings, hollow trees, or even ant-hills. Of old the European form was the bird of Pallas Athene and the emblem of wisdom, but whether from its grave appearance when quiescent, or–sarcastically–from its buffoon-like contortions and bowings must remain doubtful; we may, however, compare the Malagasy name of Scops magicus, "atoroko," which means "I am going to say," and the similarly philosophic look that it can put on.

Surnia ulula or funerea, the Hawk-Owl, ranges from Scandinavia and North Russia to Kamtschatka or even Alaska, whence a race with a blacker head, and broader, redder bands below, stretches through Arctic America, and visits Britain more commonly than the typical form. This is dark brown above, freely marked with white, and white below, with distinct but narrow brown bars; the facial disks are very imperfect, the toes are feathered to the claws. The exceptionally compact and firm plumage, the short, acuminate wings, and the long tail conduce to its Hawk-like appearance, heightened still more by the quick flight, the fierce manners, and the shrill Kestrel-like cry. From their native pine-forests a few individuals wander southwards towards winter; while at home they feed on lemmings and rodents generally, Willow Grouse and other birds, and insects. They sit watching for prey on bare branches or stumps in the sunlight, occasionally dashing after a Jay or the like; not unfrequently they quarter the ground like a Harrier, and of course hunt at night also. From three to eight eggs are deposited on a few chips in hollow stumps, in boxes set up by the Lapps, or in a relined nest of some other species; the parents being perfectly fearless in their attacks on an intruder.

{412}Nyctea scandiaca, the white Snowy Owl, occasionally exhibiting spots or broken bars of black, has ill-developed facial discs and hardly visible tufts, but very thickly feathered feet. It inhabits the circumpolar fjelds, tundras, and barren grounds, straying as far as Britain, France, Lower Austria, the Indus Valley and the Bermudas in winter; but when rodents abound on the fells of Norway and Sweden a greater number remain there to breed. The flight is strong and easy; the habits are diurnal; the food consists of lemmings, rats, mice, squirrels, hares, birds large or small, fishes, and doubtless insects. It is called Harfäng (hare-catcher) in Scandinavia. This Owl either catches the fishes in one claw as it skims over the water, or crouches on some stone or piece of ice till the moment comes to strike; at times, moreover, it will follow sportsmen in the field. The cry, seldom heard, is wild and wailing. The large, oval eggs, numbering from three to five, or even ten when food is plentiful, are deposited in holes scraped in the soil on ledges of rocks or other eminences, sometimes lined with moss and feathers; they appear occasionally to be laid in pairs at intervals. The parents, though usually wary, will attack a man at the nest.

The cosmopolitan genus Scops, found almost everywhere except in the extreme north, Australia, Oceania, and the southern portion of South America, contains some fifty so-called species which it would be useless to discuss in the present state of our information, though certain of them are mentioned below. Rufous, brown, and grey phases undoubtedly occur, but the various plumages are still very imperfectly understood. Perhaps two-thirds of the forms occur in the Old World, yet only one (S. giu) inhabits the Palaearctic Region west of Japan, though there we find S. semitorques. The general coloration is a mixture of grey, brown, chocolate or rufous, with a less amount of black, yellowish, and white; some species are finely vermiculated, others hardly at all, while several are almost barred below and many are distinctly banded on the tail. The facial discs are incomplete, but the head-tufts are well developed; the metatarsi and toes are feathered, or bristly, or the latter are occasionally bare. Scops giu, the Petit Duc of France, which visits Britain and Holland, extends over Central and Southern Europe, Asia Minor, Palestine, Persia, and Turkestan, occurring in North Africa, and migrating as far southwards as Abyssinia and Senegal. Sub-species occupy the Ethiopian Region, and Asia to Japan and {413}Siam; S. brucii, ranging from Transcaspia to India being possibly separable. The type species is grey above with the middle of the feathers dark, the back being vermiculated with brown and the wings spotted with white; the whitish lower parts are more streaky and the toes bare. It feeds by night on mice, small birds, grasshoppers, moths, and beetles; and utters a melancholy metallic single note, which rings monotonously through the woods it haunts; in the day it hides in thick cypresses and the like. Five or six roundish eggs are deposited in holes in trees, rocks, and buildings, or rarely in deserted birds' nests; no bedding being added, though the opposite is the case in some Indian species. S. asio, the Mottled or American Screech-Owl, reaches with its different races from Alaska and Canada to Guatemala, and is said to have a wailing cry, varied by deep guttural trills. S. flammeola occurs from Colorado and California to Guatemala; and thence various species carry the range to Brazil. The Ethiopian Region generally is tenanted by S. leucotis, the Gold Coast by S. icterorhynchus, Anjuan in the Comoros by S. capnodes, Madagascar by S. rutilus–though this is said to be a form of S. magicus, extending from Celebes to about New Guinea; the Indian Region and the Moluccas possess a large number of species, among which S. gymnopus of India (with half-naked metatarsi like S. nudipes of Veragua) may be mentioned.

Bubo ignavus, the Eagle-Owl, which visits Britain, and is the Grand Duc of the French, is blackish-brown above, with yellowish-rufous mottlings and interrupted wing- and tail-bars; it is yellowish-buff below with blackish streaks and indistinct transverse markings. The facial discs are fairly distinct, the head-tufts are long, and the toes thickly feathered. This fierce species, one of the largest of the Family, inhabits rugged mountains and forests throughout Europe, Asia north of the Himalayas to Japan, and North Africa; it is partly diurnal, and preys chiefly upon hares, rabbits, large game birds, and rodents, being said moreover to attack fawns. The flight is powerful, though undulating and flapping; the cry is a deep "hoo, hoo," occasionally sounding like a laugh or neigh. Two, or rarely three, roundish eggs are deposited in holes scraped in the soil on rocky ledges or on banks, in disused birds' nests, in hollow trees, or even between their branches or roots; little lining, if any, being added. Nearly allied forms are B. turcomanus of South-West Siberia and Turkestan, {414}B. blakistoni of Japan, and B. dorriesi of East Siberia; B. milesi is found at Muscat, B. abyssinicus in Somali-Land, B. bengalensis–which eats reptiles and crabs–in India, B. nipalensis and B. coromandus–which occasionally lays eggs spotted with lilac and brown–in the same country and Burma, B. orientalis in Malacca and the Great Sunda Islands, B. philippensis in the Philippines. B. lacteus covers all the Ethiopian Region, except the west, where B. shelleyi, B. lettii, B. leucostictus and B. poënsis occur, the last being also met with in Fernando Po. B. ascalaphus inhabits North Africa and Palestine, B. cinerascens North-East and B. maculosus South Africa, B. capensis extending from the South to the East. All North America is occupied by B. virginianus, barred instead of streaked below; the species or sub-species B. nigrescens and B. magellanicus coming respectively from Ecuador and the districts from Peru and Brazil to the extreme south. Some forms have more white in the plumage than the British Eagle-Owl, or bare toes. All seem destructive to game and often to poultry. B. ignavus and B. virginianus have been kept in confinement in England, and the former has propagated freely.

Scotopelia peli, of West Africa and the Zambesi Region, has rufous upper parts with black bars, and fawn-coloured lower surface with the bars less regular; it feeds on reptiles and fish as well as small animals. This fine large bird has two congeners, S. ussheri of Fantee and S. bouvieri of the Gaboon. Ketupa ceylonensis, a still bigger species, ranging from India and Ceylon to Hong-Kong, is buffish-brown above, with the middle of the feathers blackish, and fulvous below with dark streaks and closely set brown bands, the throat being white. K. flavipes, of the Himalayas and China, and the smaller K. javanensis of the Malay Peninsula, Siam, and the Great Sunda Islands, have no bands below; but all have fine head-tufts and naked legs. They frequent coasts or wooded streams, where they can easily procure their main diet of fish, crabs, and insects; they remain under cover in the day, and the last-named at least utters a soft, low whistle. The two roundish eggs, which have the surface pitted like those of the Eagle-Owl, are often laid on ledges or in recesses of rocks, in hollow trees, or at the junction of the larger branches, but more commonly a deserted nest is relined for the purpose.

Of fossil forms referred to the Family, Necrobyas harpax and N. rossignoli are described from the Eocene of France, together {415}with Otus (i.e. Asio) and Bubo; the latter genus and Strix occur in the Lower Miocene of the same country, Strix also in the Malta caverns and in the Mare aux Songes in Mauritius, Nyctea at Torquay and in France, Bubo in Wyoming, Badiostes in Patagonia.

* * * * *

The Sub-Order CAPRIMULGI consists of the Nightjar or Goat-sucker group, with the Families Caprimulgidae, Podargidae, and Steatornithidae, of which the latter contains only the remarkable Guácharo. The Caprimulgidae may be divided into the Sub-families (1) Caprimulginae and (2) Nyctibiinae. Authorities disagree as to the exact relationship of these birds to their allies, here classified as Coraciiformes; but that all are allies is certain, while both in appearance and habits Nightjars are decidedly Owl-like.

Apart from the Steatornithidae, the skull is flattened, the eyes are large, the beak is short and extremely broad, being hooked and toothed in the Nyctibiinae and occasionally decurved in the Caprimulginae and Podargidae; the gape is enormously wide, and is in many cases provided with stiff bristles, which in Aegotheles have long lateral filaments. An appearance of great size is given to the head by the loose plumage. The feet are fairly strong, with the digits somewhat united basally; the anteriorly scutellated metatarsi vary from comparatively long and bare in Nyctidromus and the Podargidae to very short and feathered in Nyctibius. The outer toe of the Caprimulginae has only four joints, and the mid-toe has a pectinated claw, while in the Podargidae and some Caprimulginae the hallux is partially reversible. The pointed wing has ten primaries, sometimes much elongated (p. 418), and eleven or twelve secondaries; the tail may be square, rounded, graduated, or forked, and has ten rectrices, occasionally lengthened or even racquet-tipped (loc. cit.). The furcula is U-shaped, the tongue short; the slit-like nostrils are basal and overhung by a membrane and feathers in Podargus and Batrachostomus, whereas they are open and near the tip of the bill in Aegotheles, but soft, tubular, and often elongated in the Caprimulginae. The syrinx is bronchial, sometimes tending to tracheo-bronchial; the aftershaft is rudimentary; the adults have down only on the unfeathered tracts, while the nestlings have a thick covering of it, which is generally buff or grey, but white in Podargus and Batrachostomus.

The length varies from about twenty inches in Nyctibius and Podargus to seven or eight in Caprimulgus parvulus and {416}Phalaenoptilus nuttalli. The characteristically soft plumage shews an intricate mixture of brown, grey, fawn, black, and white, and is ordinarily barred and minutely freckled, but frequently patched or spotted with white; it is, however, impossible in a limited space to describe the species in detail, though it may be noticed that several have reddish nuchal collars; and some exhibit rufous and grey phases–unless, as may be the case, the rufous forms are females–while others from arid districts have a protective coloration of a more or less sandy hue. In the Podargidae large powder-down patches occur laterally on the rump, in the Nyctibiinae on the breast and sides. The sexes are often alike, the young either resembling the female, or assuming the full plumage at once. Lyncornis, Otophanes, and Batrachostomus have head-tufts like those of some Owls, the constituent feathers in the last genus being bristle-pointed.

Nightjars are found in most parts of the world, while the northern species habitually move southwards for the winter, Podager and Chordiles, at least, flocking in August and September. The most typical forms are distinctly crepuscular, and pass the day–as our British bird does–quiescent on the soil, or upon some post or fence, often concealing themselves below shrubs or herbage, or in hollow stumps. At such times they will almost permit themselves to be trodden upon before rising from the ground, and sit with their eyes closed; on branches the body is ordinarily placed lengthwise, but on thin palings or wire this is of course impossible. Nyctidromus exhibits more terrestrial habits, and walks instead of shuffling; the American Bull-bat (Chordiles virginianus) hawks in the full glare of the sun. The more diurnal species frequently rise to a considerable height in the air, sailing backwards and forwards with an easy, flapping motion, descending with undulating swoops, or remaining momentarily poised aloft, and then darting suddenly upon their prey; the flight of their nocturnal allies is weaker and more lowly, being jerky, twisting, and erratic. Some forms, if not all, when inspecting an intruder turn the head almost completely round. The vibrating sound often accompanying the passage through the air may be produced by the wings coming into contact, as is the clapping noise occasionally heard; but the cause is not certainly ascertained, nor is that of the far-resounding churr uttered by the male of the Common Nightjar while stationary. The birds are, however, often quiet on the {417}wing, and steal upon the listener noiselessly with the mouth widely opened. The voice is generally hollow, but is described in various cases as a "croak," a "loud shrill cry," a "sad whistle," a "jarring note," or a "moan"; while the American Whip-poor-Will (Antrostomus vociferus), Chuck-Will's-widow (A. carolinensis), and Poor-Will (Phalaenoptilus), as well as the Tasmanian More-pork (Podargus cuvieri), are so called from the sounds they rapidly utter. The second of these is said to be silent when breeding, contrary to the habit of our Nightjar. The food consists as a rule of insects, and especially beetles, captured in the air; but the Podargidae are asserted to pick Phasmidae and Cicadidae off the trees, and even to eat fruit–as Steatornis does–or mice.[236]

Most Nightjars make no nest, but lay one or two white, yellowish, or pinkish eggs, beautifully marbled or scrawled with black, gray, brown, or violet, on the ground in open spots, frequently shaded by trees, ferns, or gorse. More rarely lichen-covered rocks or flat house-tops are chosen. Phalaenoptilus has white eggs, like those of the Podargidae, among which Podargus makes a flat, loose structure of twigs and grass upon some branch to contain its complement of three, and Batrachostomus deposits one on a peculiar pad of brown or greyish down, which is fixed to a bough and is at times based on a little bark, lichen, moss, or leaf-refuse.[237] Aegotheles lays from three to five in hollow trees, the parent hissing if caught upon them. Eggs of Ae. wallacii are stated to shew pale streaks. Nyctibius appears to breed in hollows of branches or stumps, and not on the ground.[238] Nightjars sit very closely, and are said to remove the contents of the nest if disturbed; the young, though hatched helpless, quickly learn to escape from danger; while the parents occasionally feign lameness to divert attention from them. The males sometimes incubate.

The superstitious of all classes are inclined to view these birds with dread, a fact due to their nocturnal habits and Owl-like aspect, coupled with their strange utterances and sudden apparitions. The Indians of Central and South America think that they portend serious evil, but refuse to kill them; while in England gamekeepers and others are only too ready to shoot them under the unfair designation of "Night-hawk."

Fam. VIII. CAPRIMULGIDAE.–Of this group some eighty species {418}occupy nearly the whole globe, except the coldest parts, the Eastern Pacific Islands and New Zealand.

Sub-fam. 1. Caprimulginae.–Caprimulgus europaeus, the Nightjar, Goatsucker, or Fern-Owl, visits Britain for the summer, and extends from Europe and North Africa to South Mongolia in Asia, reaching North-West India and South Africa in winter. C. ruficollis of South-West Europe and the neighbouring portions of Africa has once occurred in England, as has C. aegyptius of North-East Africa and West Asia. The genera Heleothreptus of Brazil and Argentina, and Macrodipteryx of Tropical Africa, contain respectively one and two members, remarkable for the extraordinary elongation of the remiges in the male. H. anomalus has the first six primaries curved inwards, the seventh, eighth, and ninth prolonged–especially the eighth; M. vexillarius, the Pennant-winged Nightjar, has the same three feathers produced, but the ninth in particular; M. macrodipterus has the ninth alone extended, with long bare shaft and racquet-like tip: and this is at times erected when the bird is sitting on the ground. Scotornis climacurus of the north of Tropical Africa, the four species of Hydropsalis, inhabiting South America southwards to Argentina, and the three of Macropsalis, ranging from Panama to Bolivia and South-East Brazil, have enormously elongated rectrices, the median pair being highly developed in the first-named, the whole number in the second, and the lateral pair in the last. These long feathers seem to impede the flight but little, though Hydropsalis constantly opens and shuts its tail in the air.

Sub-fam. 2. Nyctibiinae.–Six species of Nyctibius occur in Tropical America, including Jamaica, and utter wailing cries.

{419}Fam. IX. PODARGIDAE.–This group includes some five and twenty members of the genera Podargus, Batrachostomus[239] (Frog-mouth), and Aegotheles. The first and last occupy Papuasia, Tasmania, and Australia, the second ranges from the Himalayas to Ceylon, the Philippines, and Malay Islands.

Fam. X. STEATORNITHIDAE.–This contains only the curious Guácharo, or Oil-bird (Steatornis caripensis) discovered in 1799 by Humboldt and Bonpland at Caripé in Venezuela, but now known to breed also in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, as well as in Guiana and Trinidad. Somewhat intermediate between the Owls and the Nightjars, this species is about the size of a Crow, with a similar hard beak, hooked and deeply notched, while it has twelve long stiff bristles on each side of the gape. The tibiae and metatarsi are covered with smooth, flesh-coloured skin, the toes being deeply cleft, and not basally united. The tongue is thin and triangular, the nostrils have a horny covering, the after-shaft is fairly large, while the rest of the structure is mainly Caprimulgine. The acuminate and not particularly soft feathers are chocolate and grey, with darker barring above, and shew white spots, often surrounded by black, in various parts. This bird inhabits sea-side or mountain-caverns, only issuing forth at dusk to traverse considerable distances in search of its food, which consists mainly, if not wholly, of fruits. The flight is noiseless, and occasionally high in the air. Visitors to the breeding caves are suddenly surrounded by a circling crowd of Oil-birds uttering loud croaking or rasping cries, the effect being enhanced by the rush of multitudinous wings. A more plaintive note is uttered by individuals at rest. The numerous nests, each containing from two to four white or dirt-begrimed eggs, are flat circular masses of a clay-like substance, placed on ledges or in holes; while the nestlings are considered a table delicacy, though said to be scented like cockroaches. The natives systematically kill large numbers at certain seasons by knocking them down with poles when scared by torchlight, and melt out the abundant fat to procure the oil, which gives the bird its name. This oil is used for illumination or cooking, and keeps admirably.

* * * * *

The Sub-Order CYPSELI consists of the Families Cypselidae or Swifts, and Trochilidae or Humming-birds,[240] which were first {420}grouped together by Nitzsch as Macrochires (long-handed forms) from the length of their manual bones, though really the parts of the wing nearer the body are proportionally most elongated.

Swifts certainly differ from Humming-birds in the broad, flat skull, the short curved bill, and the extremely wide gape, besides their comparatively sombre coloration; but these facts cannot be allowed to militate against an alliance so strongly confirmed by many points of structure, while nothing but the pardonable ignorance of former times caused the Family to be united with their Passerine analogues, the Swallows. The Cypselidae agree with the Trochilidae in the number and colour of their eggs, and the extraordinarily deep keel of the sternum, which, with the long wings, gives so great a power of flight.

Fam. XI. CYPSELIDAE.–Of this group three Sub-families may be recognised, (1) Macropteryginae, (2) Chaeturinae, and (3) Cypselinae.

The short but robust metatarsi are scutellated anteriorly, the scales being nearly obsolete in the Chaeturinae; fairly powerful claws terminate the free toes, which are all directed forwards in the Cypselinae, though the hallux is somewhat laterally inclined in Panyptila, and is said to be occasionally versatile in the other Sub-families. The middle and outer digits in the Cypselinae have the further peculiarity of possessing only three joints, while the metatarsi or even the toes are feathered. The ten primaries, and especially the exterior, are extremely long, with thick narrow outer webs; the short secondaries vary from six to eight. The square or forked tail has ten rectrices–not uncommonly rigid and pointed–as against twelve in Swallows. The furcula is U-shaped; the tongue sagittate; the syrinx tracheo-bronchial (the muscles not being inserted on the bronchial rings); the aftershaft is large or small; the adults have a little blackish down on the unfeathered spaces; the nestlings are blind and naked.

The coloration is usually greenish-black or mouse-brown, occasionally with a white chin, breast, or rump; a rufous collar or chestnut ear-coverts occur in Macropteryx and Cypseloïdes, where alone the males differ from the females, and the young from both. The Family ranges over the whole world, with the exception of the extreme north and south, New Zealand and some other islands; the six genera containing about eighty species varying in size from about four to fourteen inches.

{421}Swifts are essentially aërial, seldom alighting upon the ground, or perching except at night,[241] though they will cling to the entrance of their breeding quarters for a few seconds before entering. From a smooth flat surface they can hardly rise, but in the air they are perfectly at home, whether wheeling and circling at great altitudes, chasing each other aloft, consummating their love affairs, or sweeping over the earth's surface in pursuit of insects attracted by the damp. The exceptionally rapid flight is strong and practically unlimited in duration, two or three quick movements of the wings being repeatedly succeeded by a gliding motion. Though not gregarious in the ordinary sense, they habitually breed in company, and Collocalia nests in vast colonies; a solitary bird, moreover, is comparatively seldom seen, and both before and during incubation our Common Swift flies in screaming flocks around the chosen sites. This species will pass and re-pass close to a pedestrian's head with noisy and apparently vicious rush, even when far from the nest; yet it is not really the intruder but insects that are the attraction, the food being entirely of that nature, and invariably captured in the air, while the beak may be seen filled to repletion when nestlings require to be supported. The voice is a shrill scream, constantly repeated. The districts frequented are of every description, Cypselus andicola and C. horus being particularly alpine; the nest varies to a considerable extent, though a glutinous substance secreted by the highly developed salivary glands is a constant, or frequently almost the sole, material. The situation may be a hole under thatch, slates or tiles; a crevice in a building, cliff, or tree; the perpendicular wall of a cave; the upper side of a branch, palm-leaf, or broad stalk; the lower surface of a rock, and so forth. The shape of the structure is tubular in Panyptila, where it is composed of seeds of plants; but generally it is saucer-like, the materials being straw, feathers, twigs, moss, or cottony vegetable matter, the first two of which have been stated to be caught floating in the air. The American Chimney-Swift plucks off branchlets as it flies. Cypselus affinis and the species of Collocalia commonly join their nests together in masses; Palm Swifts do so more rarely; Cypselus caffer even utilizes those of other birds. The dull white eggs are oval and almost uniform at each end; {422}two or four being the usual complement, though three are exceptionally found, and Macropteryx lays only one.

Sub-fam. 1. Macropteryginae.–The Tree-Swifts, as they are called, have very soft plumage, a long, deeply-forked tail, a patch of downy feathers on the flanks, and elongated plumage on the top or sides of the head. They range from India and Ceylon through the Burmese and Malay countries, and the islands thence to the Solomon Group. Macropteryx coronata of India, Ceylon, Burma, and Siam has bluish ash-coloured upper parts, glossed with metallic green, especially on the crested head, wings, and tail; the under surface is greyish and white, the chin and ear-coverts are rufous. The female lacks the chestnut. The nest is a half saucer of bits of bark and feathers, gummed by saliva to a branch some twenty feet from the ground, trees being usually selected in rough jungle on low hills. It contains one egg, and is so small that the sitting bird quite conceals it. Other species are M. longipennis, M. wallacii, M. comata, and the larger and most eastern M. mystacea.

Sub-fam. 2. Chaeturinae.–Of the three genera, Chaetura, Cypseloïdes, and Collocalia, the first occurs from Central Asia and India to Japan, New Guinea and Australia; in Tropical Africa; and in the Nearctic and Neotropical Regions, except the extreme north and south. All the species, numbering about fifty, have rigid tail-feathers with more or less projecting spiny shafts, save in Collocalia.

Chaetura caudacuta, which has strayed to Britain and New Zealand, ranges from Mongolia and Japan to China and the Eastern Himalayas, wintering southwards to Australia and Tasmania. It is dusky-brown with greenish-black head, wings, and tail, white forehead and breast. The nest, placed on cliffs or in hollow trees, is probably similar to that of the next species, several pairs nidificating together. C. pelagica, the "Chimney Swallow" of the United States, chiefly found in the east, but extending to the Fur Countries and the Great Plains, and in winter at least to Mexico and Yucatan, is dark grey, with lighter lower surface, blackish head and wings. It has almost ceased to breed in trees, but fastens its semicircular nest of small twigs, glued together with salivary secretion, to the inside of chimneys, laying from four to six white eggs. C. zonaris, extending from the West Indies and Mexico to Argentina, is uniform blackish-brown with white collar and breast; C. novae guineae of Papua is glossy greenish-blue above, and grey below, with an {423}exceptionally short tail; C. ussheri of the Gold Coast is dark brown, varied with a good deal of white; C. cassini of the Congo and Gaboon, and C. boehmi of East Equatorial Africa, are glossy black with less white. C. acuta of the West Indies, C. grandidieri of Madagascar, and other forms, complete the genus.

In Cypseloïdes the shafts of the rectrices scarcely project perceptibly; while the tail is emarginate in C. niger of western North America, the Antilles, and Guiana. The coloration is plain black or brown, with a reddish collar round the neck in the males of C. rutilus and C. brunneitorques. The genus ranges to Peru and Brazil. The nest, placed in holes in houses and so forth, is made of straw, leaves, and rubbish; the eggs are four or five.

Collocalia is an especially interesting section of the Family, on account of the nests furnishing the birds'-nest soup of the Chinese. Being formed of the dried secretions of the salivary glands,[242] these are almost entirely glutinous, and when newly built are termed white or "first quality." The thirteen diminutive species are black or brown above, occasionally with a blue gloss, and white on the rump or tail; the under parts being whitish or grey. They are not migratory, but extend over most of the Indian and Australian regions, except the northernmost portions, being found as far south as North Australia. One form reaches the Mascarene Islands. Huge numbers breed in company in dark caves, sticking their nests close together upon the rocky walls, or even joining them in masses; the materials may include moss, straw, lichen, and so forth, but inspissated saliva is the chief, and often the only, constituent, especially in C. fuciphaga. Brown nests are those discoloured by use, or spoilt by an admixture of foreign substances, and are considered hardly worth collecting. Two eggs are the usual complement. The caverns are entered from boats below, or by ladders from above, other ladders or poles notched for the feet being fixed in the rocky flooring of the interior. These are ascended by natives armed with long-pronged forks, who obtain hundreds of nests at one gathering. Bats occupy the caves by day, the birds by night or when incubating; while at any time the noise of the escaping denizens is almost deafening. The breeding sites are a very lucrative property. The especially valuable C. fuciphaga, which obtained its specific name from the erroneous idea that it built {424}with partly digested sea-weed, extends (if we include several more or less distinct races) from the Duke of York Island and the Ladrones in the east to the hills of India, Ceylon, and the Mascarene Group in the west, a small species of slightly more eastern range with whitish band on the rump being known as C. francica.

Sub-fam. 3. Cypselinae.–This contains only the genera Panyptila and Cypselus, granted that the latter is not further divided. The former has feathered toes, a deeply forked tail with pointed outer feathers, and soft, silky black plumage, varied with white. The very remarkable architecture of P. sancti hieronymi of Guatemala is described as follows by Mr. Salvin:[243] "The nest of this species is composed entirely of the seeds of a plant, secured together and hung from the under surface of an overhanging rock by the saliva of the bird. The whole structure measures 2 feet 2 inches in length, and is about 6 inches in diameter. The entrance is at the [lower] end, and the hollow for the eggs at the top." The cavity in the above case was in the shape of a walking-stick, with its knob bent laterally at the top, while a false entrance shewed at one side. P. cayennensis, ranging from Nicaragua to Brazil, makes a similar nest on trees.

The coloration of the twenty or more species of Cypselus is sooty-black or mouse-brown, frequently exhibiting a metallic gloss, while the collar, rump, abdomen, or edges of the feathers may be white. A forked tail is not uncommon, and the strong toes are feathered in C. melanoleucus and C. squamatus. C. apus, the Common Swift or Deviling of Britain, is found through Europe, North Africa, and Asia southward to the Himalayas, migrating to South Africa, Madagascar, and Southern Asia. A paler race (C. pallidus or murinus) extends from the Atlantic Islands and the Mediterranean basin to Bogos Land and Sind. The habits are well-known; but it may be observed that in flying the wings take the form of a bent bow, and that on the Continent it builds in hollow trees instead of in holes under eaves, in walls or cliffs. Few individuals remain with us after early September. C. unicolor is peculiar to Madeira, the Canaries, and the Cape Verd Islands; C. affinis reaches from Africa and Palestine to India; C. melba, the "Alpine Swift," inhabits the same Asiatic countries, extending westward to South Europe and North Africa, and wandering north to Britain and Heligoland.

{425}[Illustration: FIG. 88.–Swift. Cypselus apus. × ⅓. (From Natural History of Selborne.)]

C. caffer occurs in South Africa, Abyssinia, and Uganda, and exceptionally on the Congo; C. horus across Tropical Africa; C. andicola in Argentina, Peru, and Bolivia: C. montivagus in the last two countries. C. pacificus of East Asia, with Japan and the Burmese countries, reaches Australia in winter. Some species lay four or five eggs, and C. melanoleucus of western North America utters a peculiar twitter in its nest, placed in clefts of rocks.[244] Five species of Tachornis, or Palm-Swift, here included under Cypselus, are found throughout the Ethiopian Region, from India and the Malay countries to China, and in the West Indies; T. (Claudia) squamata occupying Guiana, Brazil, and East Peru. The toes point forward in two pairs, the tail is forked. These birds usually attach their nests {426}of cottony down and feathers to the leaves or spathes of palms with their saliva, but also breed on native huts.

Fossils referred to Cypselus and Collocalia occur in the Lower Miocene of France, while Aegialornis of the Eocene (p. 315) is placed here by M. Milne-Edwards and re-named Tachyornis.

Fam. XII. The TROCHILIDAE, or Humming-birds, so called from the sound often made by the vibrating wings, are New World forms noted for their grace and beauty. The English name dates back to at least 1632, while one species from Hispaniola is mentioned as "paxaro mosquito" by Oviedo in his Hystoria general de las Indias, as early as 1525. This appellation still remains as the French "Oiseau-mouche," that of Trochilus having been borrowed from Pliny by Barrère, who believed Humming-birds to be allied to the Wren, the Trochilus in part of the Latin author. Τροχίλος, however, was applied by the Greeks to the smaller Plovers (p. 295), and apparently ὄρχιλος to the Wren, so that Pliny or his copyists originated a chain of errors. From native sources we have the names Guainumbi, Ourissia, and Colibri, from the Spanish "Picaflor" and Tominejo (atom); from Mexico "Chupa-rosa" and "Chupa-myrta" (Rose-sucker and Myrtle-sucker); from the West Indies "Murmures" and "Bourdons."[245]

The sternum is enormously developed both in length and depth of keel, thus furnishing a wide base for the attachment of the particularly strong wing-muscles, which support the untiring flight. Herein Humming-birds resemble Swifts, but the head is much more compressed, and the bill is slender and elongated, except in nestlings; they are in fact the longest billed members of the Class Aves in proportion to their size, which in this Family reaches the minimum. Both mandibles may be serrated, and the maxilla is hooked in Androdon and Rhamphodon; but for details of the variable beak, remiges and rectrices, reference must be made to the species described below. The metatarsus, feathered in such genera as Eriocnemis and Loddigesia, is short; the toes being usually diminutive, but sometimes stronger, and the claws either small and rounded, or elongated, curved, and sharp. The ten primaries, of which the outermost is the longest, except in Aithurus–where it is shorter than the next–are frequently rigid; in the male "Sabre-wings" (p. 435) the shafts of two or three are extraordinarily dilated and curved; while the tenth is occasionally {427}filiform at the tip or narrowed throughout. The secondaries are only six, or rarely seven. The tail of ten feathers may be long or short, but differs profoundly in shape, texture, and colour; being for example cuneate in Phaëthornis and Sphenoproctus, nearly square in Urosticte and Hylocharis, rounded in Adelomyia and Polytmus, deeply forked in Sappho, Lesbia, and the four genera next named, of which Prymnacantha has the outer pair of rectrices very narrow and pointed, Loddigesia, Spathura, and Discura spatulate.

The very characteristic tongue consists of a double tube, tapering and separating into two externally lacerated sheaths at the tip, which contain the extensile portion. The "horns" of the hyoid apparatus are greatly elongated, and pass round and over the back of the head, meeting near the top, and thence stretching in an ample groove to terminate in front of the eyes. This arrangement, analogous to that found in Woodpeckers, allows the tongue to be suddenly protruded to a considerable distance, and withdrawn again in an instant. The furcula is U-shaped; the syrinx has one or two pairs of tracheo-bronchial muscles; the aftershaft is very small; a crop is present; while down is absent from both nestlings and adults.

Except in the "Hermits" (p. 435), the brilliant coloration almost defies description, the most exquisite metallic[246] or jewel-like hues glorifying a background of green, blue, or brown; while crests, ear-tufts, neck-frills, and pendent beards ending in points or forks, add to the effect. Only among the Passerine Sun-birds (Nectariniidae) of the Indian and Ethiopian Regions can a fitting parallel be found; but these, though often erroneously termed Humming-birds, have no connexion with our New World group. Eulampis and Pterophanes are exceptional in not having dusky remiges. The females are usually sombre in comparison, and lack the ornaments of their consorts, which are said to be occasionally smaller. The statement that young males have no distinctive plumage seems incorrect.

These gems of Ornithology extend from the north to the extreme south of America, the habits differing slightly with the climate; Selasphorus rufus of the Western United States reaches Mt. St. Elias in Alaska, Trochilus colubris occurs in the east up to lat. 57° N., Eustephanus galeritus frequents Tierra del Fuego {428}even in snowy weather, while Oreotrochilus chimborazo and O. pichincha brave the storms of the volcanic regions of the Andes of Ecuador, close to the perpetual snow at a height of sixteen thousand feet. The forms found in the furthest north and south are few, and draw towards the equator at the cold time of year; while the successional flowering of insect-attracting plants, and the seasonal alteration of the snow-line, cause latitudinal or altitudinal movements of the same nature. Only eighteen species are recognised as occurring north of Mexico by New World ornithologists, but many more inhabit Central America, which are either peculiar to that region and even its elevated tablelands, or range into South America; none, however, being migrants in the strict sense of the word. The headquarters of the Family lie in Colombia and Guiana, though Venezuela, Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil claim many, and some of the finest, forms: on the other hand, the dry Peruvian plains and the Argentine Pampas lack sufficient insect-food to be favourite residences. With regard to the West Indies the numbers increase from the Bahamas to Trinidad, each island often having its own species; Eustephanus galeritus, E. fernandensis and E. leyboldi occupy the Juan Fernandez group, and the first-named Chili and the Straits of Magellan also. Humming-birds may be roughly divided as alpine, sub-alpine, and lowland, while it may be noticed that comparatively few inhabit the great forest-clad delta of the Amazon, the congenial centre of so much bird-life.

The Trochilidae live almost entirely in the air, and fly powerfully, though seldom to great distances; they will flit from flower to flower for hours, darting off to each new blossom with arrow-like speed, and remaining suspended before it, with the body vertical and the wings in a state of tremulous motion, while probing the inmost recesses. This is commonly accompanied by a vibratory movement of the tail, which in some cases opens and shuts like a fan. The humming sound, produced at each new departure or change of course, and audible for several yards, is due to a pulsation of the wings, so rapid that little can be seen of the bird but an indistinct misty outline. Messrs. A. and E. Newton give the following charming account of Eulampis holosericeus[247]:–"One is admiring the clustering stars of a Scarlet Cordia, the snowy cornucopias of a Portlandia, or some other {429}brilliant and beautiful flower, when between the blossom and one's eye suddenly appears a small dark object, suspended as it were between four short black threads meeting each other in a cross. For an instant it shows in front of the flower; an instant more, it steadies itself, and one perceives the space between each pair of threads occupied by a grey film; again another instant, and emitting a momentary flash of emerald and sapphire light it is vanishing, lessening in the distance, as it shoots away, to a speck that the eye cannot take note of,-–and all this so rapidly that the word on one's lips is still unspoken, scarcely the thought in one's mind changed. It was a bold man or an ignorant one who first ventured to depict Humming-birds flying; but it cannot be denied that representations of them in that attitude are often of special use to the ornithologist. The peculiar action of this, and probably many or all other species of the Family, is such, that at times, in flying, it makes the wings almost meet both in front and behind at each vibration. Thus, when a bird chances to enter a room, it will generally go buzzing along the cornice; standing beneath where it is, one will find that the axis of the body is vertical, and each wing is describing a nearly perfect semicircle. As might be expected, the pectoral muscles are very large, indeed the sternum of this bird is a good deal bigger than that of the common Chimney Swallow (Hirundo rustica, L.). But the extraordinary rapidity with which the vibrations are effected seems to be chiefly caused by these powerful muscles acting on the very short wing-bones, which are not half the length of the same parts in the Swallow; and accordingly, great as this alar action is, and in spite of the contrary opinion entertained by Mr. Gosse (Nat. Sojourn in Jamaica, 240), it is yet sometimes wanting in power, owing, doubtless, to the disadvantageous leverage thus obtained; and the old authors must be credited who speak of cobwebs catching Humming-birds."

{430}Darwin[248] writes of Patagona gigas: "Like others of the genus, it moves from place to place, with a rapidity which may be compared to that of Syrphus among diptera and Sphinx [especially the Humming-bird Sphinx (Macroglossa stellatarum)] among moths, but whilst hovering over a flower, it flaps its wings with a very slow and powerful movement, totally different from that vibratory one, common to most of the species, which produces the humming noise." This slower movement has been observed also in Pterophanes temmincki, and no doubt in other large forms, of which the aerial course is perhaps more zigzag and jerky than elsewhere. Certain species habitually sit with puffed out plumage and somewhat elevated bills; others soar, or skim the surface of water like Bats; the tail-feathers, moreover, are often moved sideways or twisted during flight, especially when they are elongated or spatulate; and Loddigesia constantly extends them perpendicularly to the body, if not further forward, though the racquet-tips may at other times be almost in contact.

The food consists almost entirely of insects, while the alimentary canal shews but little trace of honey, which the birds nevertheless seem to enjoy, when swallowed with the creatures which it allures; and as these appear on the lips of flowers chiefly after wet, or in the morning and evening, their feathered foes are naturally then most active. Cacti, alstroemeriae, orchids, and composites seem particularly attractive, and tubular blossoms to the long-billed species especially. Those with shorter beaks, being unable to penetrate the deepest tubes, are said to pierce the hinder portions, while it is asserted that those with extremely curved mandibles even make use of a twofold process, first inserting the tips, and then raising themselves slightly so as to penetrate the recesses. Rhamphodon, Phaëthornis, Eutoxeres, and Chlorostilbon examine the crevices of trees and walls for spiders, which they habitually eat; while the "Hermits," balanced in the air, pass the bill carefully though quickly over the lower surface of leaves in search of insect-diet. Oreotrochilus pichincha has been observed clinging to rocks and feeding upon the ground; Aithurus, Petasophora, Pygmornis, Lampornis, Patagona and other species, take up posts on dead branches or twigs, thence darting upon their prey in Fly-catcher-like style. Gould once managed to reach the shores of England with two examples, kept alive on sweetened water and yolk of egg.

{431}The males are extraordinarily pugnacious, and one will furiously set upon another who interferes in the least with his comfort, the pair circling around with reiterated, high-pitched notes, attacking and withdrawing in turn, almost heedless of a fall or collision; finally, beak grasps beak, and the struggle grows more intense, until the defeated combatant retreats to some friendly tree, only to renew the fight with vigour unimpaired should his defiant note exasperate his rival beyond control. Or again, should a prowling hawk, an inoffensive heron or thrush, or even a human being, pass perilously near a nest, the cock will make a determined onslaught, often with complete success; the hen following his example, if she feels called upon to protect her charge. These tiny creatures seem absolutely fearless, and frequently feed at once from the hand when caught.

The twittering voice is variously described as a chirp, a squeak, a querulous warble, a whistle, a loud clear piping cry, or a shrill screech, while the absence of proper song-muscles makes it difficult to credit Gosse's statement that Mellisuga minima utters a weak, sweet warble, lasting for ten minutes.[249]

The nest is usually a moderately deep, round or oval cup-like structure, which may be no larger than a walnut-shell; this is formed of the cottony down of plants, moss, wool, or like materials, felted into an extremely light and spongy mass, and often decorated externally with lichens, cobwebs, shreds of bark, or even feathers and dry leaves. It is placed in a small fork, saddled upon a bough, hung from creepers, laced among branchlets, or exceptionally fastened to thatch. In Rhamphodon, Phaëthornis, Cephalolepis, Heliothrix, and possibly elsewhere, a fabric of very delicate twigs, fibres, and bark is attached to the lower part of a palm or similar leaf, several rings of supporting fibre encircling the portion near the stalk, and spiders' webs or silky threads aiding to sustain the sides of the structure, which in depth and make recalls that of the Reed-Warbler. Oreotrochilus forms a peculiar "hammock" of moss, grass, and so forth, attached by like contrivances to rocks; or at times suspends a mass of wool, hair, moss, and feathers, as large as a child's head, with a small depression above for the eggs, from pendent roots, tendrils, or creepers. This is said to be weighted on either side, if necessary, with small stones or morsels of earth, and is repaired for use in {432}successive years. Humming-birds never lay more than two eggs, and sometimes only one; these are plain dull white, and similarly shaped at both ends. The young are hatched blind and naked, and are then about the size of humble bees: but they leave the nest comparatively soon, and are precocious as regards flight. The duration of incubation, which is apparently not shared by the male, is variously stated at ten, twelve, or even more days, and two broods are said to be reared in a season; the first point is clearly doubtful; but, considering the extent of the season fit for nidification, the latter is not improbable. The parents have been known to add to a nest, as the young outgrew it. The cock courts the hen most assiduously, circling around her with dilated throat and swelling plumage, and searching for food to offer, while he carefully watches over her when sitting. Humming-birds have been often said to be killed with water in place of lead, but in truth diminutive pellets of the latter are used, as an alternative to the blow-pipe with its clay ball, or to bird-lime. Immense quantities are exported for decorative purposes, and the Mexicans make pictures of the feathers.

The late Mr. Salvin, who divided the Family into groups by the serration of the beak,[250] recognised a hundred and twenty-seven genera with some five hundred species, while Audubon, Bates, Gosse, Gould, Mulsant, Wilson and Waterton, Count Berlepsch, Messrs. Elliot, Hartert, Ridgway, and Wallace may be mentioned among other Trochilidists. The largest form, Patagona gigas, measures nearly nine inches, Mellisuga minima and others about two and a half.

(1) Forms with distinctly serrated beaks. Heliothrix of Central and South America southward to Brazil contains three members with wedge-shaped bills and blue tufts behind the ears. The females differ little from the males in colour, but have longer tails. Augastes contains the two "Vizor-bearers" of South-East Brazil, so-called from the appearance of the head and throat; A. lumachellus is bronzy green, with a very brilliant green throat terminated by a red line, a little blue shewing between these two colours; the crown is velvety black, the pectoral band white, the tail bright bronzy-red. The female is less highly coloured and has a green head. Rhamphodon naevius of the same country, and Androdon aequatorialis of Colombia and Ecuador, have the bill strongly hooked; the latter is brownish-green above and greyish below, with a blue nape and white rump-bar.

{433}[Illustration: FIG. 90.–Long-tailed Humming-bird. Aithurus polytmus. × ½.]

Chlorostilbon, ranging from Mexico to Argentina, possesses some dozen green species with blue or purplish tails, which are forked or rounded; Panychlora of Colombia and Venezuela is similar; Sporadinus, differing in its bronzy-black rectrices, inhabits Florida, the Bahamas, and the greater Antilles. In Aithurus polytmus, peculiar to Jamaica, the two tail-feathers next to the outer pair are immensely elongated, and, after crossing one another, bend outwards in a curve; the lateral rectrices are bluish-black, as is the head with its divided crest; all the other parts being luminous green, and the bill red with black tip. The female is chiefly green above and white below, with brownish crown. The two species of Microchera of Panama, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua, change with the light from coppery-red to black, and have a greenish throat, a white crown, and a partly white tail, except the median feathers. The hen is green above and white below. Lampornis, with about ten species, ranges from South Mexico and the West Indies to Brazil. L. violicauda, the South American "Mango," is green with velvety black abdomen and throat, the latter being edged with blue; the lateral rectrices are violet. Avocettula recurvirostris of Guiana, with its golden green coloration, emerald breast, and tail fiery red beneath in the male, has an upturned tip to the bill, recalling that of the Avocet. The female is chiefly white below. Eulampis holosericeus, extending from Barbados to St. Thomas, is golden-green, {434}with glittering blue tail-coverts and chest; the rectrices are steel-blue, the wings and abdomen blackish. E. jugularis, of the Windward Islands, has green wings and red throat. Petasophora contains some seven members, ranging from South Mexico to Bolivia and Brazil, with fine blue or purple ear-tufts, which occasionally meet in front. Chrysolampis mosquitus, extending from New Granada to Guiana and Brazil, with Trinidad, is often called the Ruby-and-Topaz Humming-bird, from its ruby-red head and nape, and topaz-orange throat and breast; the upper surface is velvety brown, the tail chestnut, the abdomen olive. The plumage of the male is largely used for decoration; but the female is chiefly dull bronzy-green with whitish lower parts.

(2) Forms with feebly serrated beaks. The large musky-scented Pterophanes temmincki, of the Andes from Colombia to Bolivia, is dark green, with the whole wing blue above and below, except for its black tip. The hen-bird is rufous beneath and has purplish-black remiges. Diphlogaena iris, the lovely fork-tailed Rainbow, has a golden-green forehead, an orange-scarlet crown with a rich violet-blue median stripe, a black nape, a lustrous lilac throat-spot, a chestnut rump-region, tail and abdomen, and green plumage elsewhere. The female has little or no copper or blue tints. This species inhabits the Andes from Ecuador to Bolivia, and has two similar congeners. Cyanolesbia gorgo of Colombia and Venezuela is green, with the throat sapphire-blue and the tail violet-blue in the male, these parts being white and nearly green respectively in the hen, which has the under parts chestnut. Sappho, of Peru, Bolivia, Chili, and Argentina, includes two exceptionally lovely birds with long forked tails and luminous throats. S. sparganura, the "Sappho Comet," is bronzy-green with crimson back and fiery orange rectrices, which are black at the tip and brown at the base. S. phaon has both the above parts lustrous crimson. The females have short tails and lack the red back. The four members of Lesbia, another genus with a long forked tail, occupy the Andes from Colombia and Venezuela to Bolivia; L. victoriae, the "Train-bearer" of Bogota, being golden green with glittering throat and purplish-black tail tipped with green; the hen is green and white below, and has the narrow rectrices shorter. Metallura, with about nine species, is found in the same countries. Eustephanus galeritus of Chili, the Straits of Magellan, {435}and Juan Fernandez, which haunts damp shady spots, is bronzy-green, with fiery red crown, and greyish-white under parts spotted with green. The female has the crown green. E. fernandensis inhabits Juan Fernandez, and E. leyboldi Masafuera. Panterpe insignis of Costa Rica is bluish-green, with glittering blue crown and breast, blue-black tail, and bright scarlet throat shading into orange laterally. Cyanomyia verticalis of Mexico is brownish-green above and white below, with shining cobalt head and sides of the neck, and a reddish bill. The hen has a duller crown. Amazilia contains some thirty diverse members ranging from North Mexico to Peru, Guiana, Trinidad, and Tobago. A. pristina of Peru is greenish-bronze, with chestnut sides, rump, and tail, emerald throat, and white middle to the breast and abdomen. A. cyanura of Guatemala and Nicaragua is entirely green, though bluer towards the tail, and shining below. Cyanophaea caeruleigularis of Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia is bright green, with glittering violet-blue chest. Hylocharis ranges from Guiana to South Brazil, H. sapphirina being deep green, with bronzy rump and tail, chestnut chin, sapphire-blue throat and breast. The female is whitish below with little blue.

(3) Forms with smooth beaks. Eutoxeres, which has the bill curved almost into a semi-circle, was placed by Gould with Rhamphodon and Phaëthornis in a Sub-family Phaëthornithinae, as opposed to Trochilinae, but this has not been generally accepted. The sixteen or more species of Phaëthornis, extending from South Mexico to Bolivia and Brazil, are often termed "Hermits" from their sombre tints of dull green, grey, and brown, or from their habit of frequenting dark forest-recesses. The tail is cuneate and the claws rather large. Eupetomena macrura of Brazil and Guiana, termed the "Swallow-tail" from its forking rectrices, has the two outer primaries in the male with curved and dilated shafts; the three outer feathers being similar in Campylopterus and Sphenoproctus, which range through Central America, and in the last case northern South America. The members of these three genera are denominated "Sabre-wings." The above species is green, with deep cobalt head and throat, and steel-blue tail. Eugenes fulgens of South Arizona, Mexico, and Guatemala is bronzy-green changing to black, the throat being lustrous green, and the crown rich violet. The female has a brownish crown, and greyish lower surface. E. spectabilis of Costa Rica is similar. {436}Docimastes ensifer of Colombia and Ecuador, which has a straight bill, longer than the head and body together, is coppery-green, with black cheeks and throat, and glittering green breast; the last being green and white in the hen. Florisuga mellivora, the Jacobin, occurring from South Mexico to Amazonia, is green, with the head and entire neck blue, the base of the hind-neck, the abdomen, and the middle of the lateral rectrices white. The female is chiefly green, varied with white below. Topaza pella, the "Crimson Topaz" or "King Humming-bird" of Guiana, is golden-red above, with greenish-orange rump, dark purple and cinnamon wings, and rufous lateral rectrices. The two median tail-feathers are bronzy with black tips; the next pair, which are elongated and curve outwards, are purplish-black; the throat is lustrous golden; the narrow pectoral band is black; the remaining lower parts are crimson. The hen is grass-green, with crimson on the throat, and black and cinnamon on the outer tail-feathers. The nest has been stated to be made of a fungus, and certainly the appearance justifies the assertion; but Dr. Paul, a great authority on Fungi, writes of an example which he brought home for the author from the Pomeroon river:–"The felt is formed of the fluff which clothes the young flower-spathes of the Kokerite Palm (Maximiliana martiana)," and his evidence ought to settle the question. T. pyra, of the Rio Negro and Eastern Ecuador, is redder above, with no cinnamon on the wings or lateral rectrices. The genus Oreotrochilus, and the four next succeeding, have particularly strong feet. In common with some half a dozen congeners which range southwards to Chili, O. pichincha of Ecuador inhabits the cloudy regions of the Andes near the snow-line; it is olive-green above, and has an entirely violet-blue head and throat, the latter being followed by a black line and white lower parts, while the lateral tail-feathers are steel-blue and white. The female is green above, ashy and white below. Oreonympha nobilis of Peru, which has a peculiar habit of suddenly stopping in its flight, is a large bird with somewhat forking rectrices. The main colour is bronzy-brown, with a blue crown divided in the centre by a brown bar; the black of the cheeks runs to a point below; the chin is green and the beard crimson; the lower parts are greyish-white; the tail has the external pair of feathers white. The hen has a brown and greenish crown and a black throat. Oxypogon guerini of {437}Colombia, the "Warrior" or "Helmet-crest," is dark green, with blackish sides to the head, a black and white crest, a green and white chin margined with black, a white beard, a greyish abdomen, and purplish and white lateral rectrices. The female lacks the elongated feathers, and has white under parts spotted with dusky. Rhamphomicron heteropogon of Colombia, one of the sharp-beaked "Thornbills," is greenish-bronze, with browner tail and abdomen, and a long amethystine beard surrounded by bronzy-black. R. microrhynchum, having rich purple upper parts and a lustrous green throat, extends to Ecuador, while other members of the genus range to Bolivia. The hens are comparatively dull. Opisthoprora euryptera of Colombia, which is bronzy-green with a little rufous and white below, has an upcurved bill, like Avocettula. Patagona gigas, the largest Humming-bird known, inhabits the Andes from Ecuador to Chili; it is greenish-brown, with white rump and rufous under parts. In Aglaeactis, of the Andes from Colombia to Bolivia, the coloration is brown, dark buff, or black, with glittering amethystine or green lower back, and a white or buff pectoral tuft. The chief marvel of the Family is, however, Loddigesia mirabilis, originally found in Northern Peru by a botanist named Matthews, and rediscovered by M. Stolzmann[251] in almost the same locality. It is shining bronzy-green, with whitish under parts surrounding a black central area; the head and its crest are lustrous cobalt-blue, the throat is emerald-green with black margin, the metatarsi are covered with white feathers. The two lateral rectrices are extraordinarily prolonged, and resemble black wires with large steel-blue terminal discs; the shafts normally cross each other at their bases and again near their tips, but the discs are frequently brought together in flight, or extended horizontally, if not turned above the head. The median tail-feathers are much reduced. The female is green, varied with white below; the external pair of steel-blue lateral rectrices shewing small spatules. Cephalolepis delalandi, of South-East Brazil, is bronzy-green above, and fine violet-blue bordered with grey below, while the long glittering green crest terminates in a single black plume. The crestless hen is grey below. Eriocnemis, of the Andes from Colombia and Venezuela to Bolivia, shares with Panoplites and the spatulate-tailed Spathura of the same regions the characteristic of possessing {438}muff-like tufts of black, white, or buff, which cover the metatarsi. To take an example of the twenty or more species, where the sexes are fairly similar, E. cupreiventris is bronzy-green, with brighter under surface, purplish-black tail, reddish abdomen, and lustrous blue under tail-coverts. Calothorax lucifer, the "Mexican Star," is golden-green above and white below, with shining lilac-red throat; it has purplish-black lateral rectrices tipped with white, of which the outer is filiform, as are the external four in Acestrura of northern South America. Selasphorus rufus, of western North America, from Alaska to Mexico, is cinnamon above and white below, with golden-green crown and glittering red throat; the head-feathers are bordered with rufous, and the sub-median tail-feathers are emarginate. The female has chiefly green upper and white under parts. S. platycercus, resembling the next species, but with a rosy-red throat, occupies the Rocky Mountains and extends to Guatemala, the genus reaching Panama. They constantly have the outer primary or outer rectrix attenuated. Trochilus colubris, found at different seasons from the Fur Countries and the Great Plains to Guatemala, is green above and whitish below, the chin being black, the throat glittering ruby-red, and the forked tail chiefly bluish-black. The hen lacks the red colour. T. alexandri of western North America differs in its violet-purple throat. Calypte annae and C. costae of the South-West United States are green birds with mainly whitish lower surface, and have the crown and throat rosy and lilac respectively. The latter form has elongated gular plumes, as has the bluer Cuban C. helenae, where they are crimson. The minute Mellisuga minima, or "Bee Humming-bird," of Jamaica and San Domingo is green above and white below, with dusky throat-spots in the male. The equally small Chaetocercus bombus of Ecuador is green, with rosy throat, buff breast, and chiefly purplish-black rectrices, of which the outer four are short and spiny; the female is green above and cinnamon below.

Thaumastura cora, the "Peruvian Sheartail," is golden-green, with crimson throat shading into blue, and white under surface; the black and white tail has two enormously elongated sub-median feathers. The hen is white below, with buffish throat and flanks. Prymnacantha popelairii, one of another group of Thornbills (p. 437), has a yellowish-green crest with two long black filamentous plumes; the upper parts are bronzy-green with a white rump; the lower parts are black, with a glittering green {439}throat and rufous tibiae. The forked tail has the pointed narrow feathers steel-blue with white shafts. The hen has a dark green crown and black and white throat. This genus extends from Costa Rica to Bolivia and Brazil. Lophornis covers the same area, but reaches Mexico. L. ornatus has beautiful fawn-coloured tufts with green terminal spots, on the sides of the neck; and is chiefly bright green and cinnamon, with a rufous and purplish rump and a chestnut crest; the female exhibits more white below and lacks the crest and tufts. The remaining half score of species are similar or even more brilliant. Heliactin cornuta of Brazil alone of the Family has resplendent purple, green, and gold tufts above and behind the eyes. The coloration is shining green, with a bluer crown, black cheeks and throat, and white lower parts. The hen is green above and white below, with buff throat.

* * * * *

Fam. XIII. COLIIDAE.–This group is the only constituent of the Sub-Order COLII or Colies, termed Mouse-birds in South Africa from their creeping habits. They were formerly classed among the Passerine Fringillidae, to which they bear a certain outward resemblance, while at a later date a partial study of the anatomy seemed to point to an affinity with the Plantain-eaters; but it is now generally recognised that they should be placed among those Families which in this work form the Order Coraciiformes. They are small, tough-skinned birds, which would appear larger were it not for the short, dense feathering; the bill is stout and Finch-like, the long metatarsus exhibits one series of scutes in front, and reticulations behind; the toes with their slender claws are all directed forwards, but the hallux and apparently the outer toe can be turned backwards. The wings are weak and rounded, with ten primaries and nine secondaries; the very long tail has ten rectrices, the outer pair not being greatly developed. The furcula is U-shaped; the syrinx has one pair of tracheo-bronchial muscles; the tongue is flat and cartilaginous with horny papillae; an after-shaft is present; the adults, and probably the nestlings, have no down.

Colies frequent forest-districts, especially where the bush is thick; they are active, yet not very shy, and are usually found, except during the breeding season, in flocks of some six to eight individuals. The flight is laboured, with many a quick beat of the wings; but it is direct and fairly rapid, though seldom sustained beyond some neighbouring tree, where the bird may be seen stealing {440}through the foliage, and aiding its creeping movements with its bill. The most peculiar habit, however, is that of climbing with the whole metatarsus applied to the branch, a fact which adds greatly to the mouse-like appearance. When roosting, Colies are said to pack themselves together in masses, and to hang by the feet; rarely are they seen perching or hopping, though they often cling to the boughs with the head downwards. The note is disagreeable and harsh. The cup-shaped nest of twigs, roots, and grass, with a lining of wool or finer grasses, is placed in thick bushes, or near the ground in low trees; the three or four eggs, hardly pointed at either end, are dull white, sometimes streaked with orange or brown. Fresh leaves are not uncommonly added below them. The food consists almost entirely of fruit, though green shoots, or even insects, are believed to be occasionally eaten.

The eight or nine species of the single genus Colius, ranging through the whole Ethiopian region except Madagascar, vary in coloration from brown with darker vermiculations or bars to {441}grey or ash-colour, the abdomen being buff. Fine crests add to the general appearance. C. macrurus is remarkable for a tuft of blue feathers on each side of the nape; C. leucocephalus has a white head; C. leucotis white ear-coverts; C. nigricollis a black forehead and throat; C. capensis two stripes of black on the back enclosing one of white; while that species and C. castanonotus have maroon rumps. The bare skin surrounding the eye is scarlet in C. erythromelon, C. macrurus, and C. capensis, and apparently bluish-grey elsewhere. The legs are red in life, fading to buff after death. C. striatus is very nearly uniform brown, C. erythromelon shews a greenish tinge and has some buff on the head. The sexes are similar, nor are the young very different. The length is from eleven to fourteen inches. Kafirs consider these birds very good eating.

Fam. XIV. TROGONIDAE.–The Trogons are the sole tenants of the Sub-Order TROGONES, a very distinct group of birds of brilliant coloration–the Quezal, as will be seen below, being the most splendid of all. Their general aspect is somewhat heavy; the neck is abbreviated; the bill, stoutest in Pharomacrus and most slender in Euptilotis, is short and strong, with a wide bristly gape, and a curved culmen terminating in a hook. The maxilla in these genera, as well as in Harpactes and Hapalarpactes, has a terminal notch, while both mandibles are more or less serrated in adults of Trogon, Hapaloderma, Tmetotrogon, and Prionotelus. The foot is comparatively small and weak, with the short metatarsus feathered and somewhat scaly; the second toe is reversed, a heterodactylous arrangement (p. 10) unique among birds. The moderate wing has ten primaries, and from eight to ten secondaries; the upper wing-coverts being elongated in Pharomacrus, especially in the males. The long rectrices are twelve in number, and are concave at the end with divergent tips in Prionotelus; the feathers, moreover, are often square at the extremity–a noticeable peculiarity in the Family; while in the Quezal, Pharomacrus mocinno, the male has enormously developed upper coverts to the tail, which extend far beyond it, the two median being the longest; in its congeners and in females generally they equal the rectrices; in Euptilotis they are only half the length. The furcula is U-shaped; the tongue flat; the syrinx tracheo-bronchial; the aftershaft long; the nostrils are bristly; the adults have no down; and the nestlings are said to be naked for a short period. The large soft {442}feathers are easily detached from the delicate skin. The male of Pharomacrus mocinno has a fine rounded crest, less developed in the female and in its other congeners. Euptilotis, Tmetotrogon, and Prionotelus have the ear-coverts filamentous and hair-like. Pharomacrus pavoninus has a red bill, as has Prionotelus in part; the usual colour in the former genus, and in Trogon and its allies, being yellow for the cock and more horn-coloured or black for the hen, but in Harpactes violet or bluish, with a duller tip in the female. The orbits are partially or entirely bare in Hapaloderma, Harpactes, and Hapalarpactes, the skin being, it would seem, yellow, violet, or blue. The Family ranges through the tropical portions of the Indian, Ethiopian, and Neotropical Regions, Harpactes and Hapalarpactes being found in the first, Hapaloderma in the second, and the other five genera in the third. Trogon ambiguus reaches northwards to Arizona and Texas. The number of species is nearly fifty, of which the largest (Pharomacrus mocinno) measures some fourteen inches, the smallest (Harpactes duvauceli) about nine.

Trogons are usually seen singly or in pairs, though sometimes in small flocks; they are rarely shy, and often so unsuspicious that they may be killed with a stick. They customarily sit almost motionless in the mid-day heat, with the head drawn in upon the shoulders and the body vertical, every now and then opening and shutting the tail. Their haunts are in the thickest forests, which they seldom leave for more open or sunny places; here they creep about the trees or sit some half-way up on leafless branches, darting off to catch a passing insect or to secure a tempting fruit, since nearly all their food is taken on the wing. The noiseless flight is rapid, but short and jerky, with occasional undulations. The Quezal, at least, clings to trees like a Woodpecker, but the feet are ill adapted to climbing, and perfectly unfit for walking. The voice of this species consists of two plaintive sibilant notes, gradually swelling into a loud cry, and varied by discordant sounds; many forms, however, utter a reiterated "cou-cou," and will also cluck, whistle, or chatter, though ordinarily silent, except when breeding. The food of the New World species is stated to consist principally of fruit, but lizards, grasshoppers, lepidoptera, caterpillars, ants, beetles, small crabs, and terrestrial molluscs are eaten; while the Old World forms seem to prefer an insect-diet. No nest is made, but a hole is usually bored or enlarged in the top or side of a rotten stump or branch, in which {443}are deposited from two to four roundish eggs of a white, bluish, greenish, or buff colour. Trogon surucura has been observed clinging to a tree-trunk and excavating a cavity in an ants' nest. The male at times incubates. The flesh is not unpalatable.

Hapalarpactes reinwardti of Java is dark bluish-green above with a more olive crown, and yellow below with orange abdomen; the primaries are black and white, the secondaries and their coverts green with yellow bars, the rectrices purplish as compared with the back, the lateral pair freely marked with white. The female has brown instead of yellow on the wing. H. mackloti of Sumatra has the rump chestnut in the male. The genus Harpactes ranges from India and Ceylon to Cochin China, the Indo-Malay Islands, and the Philippines. H. kasumba has the crown, throat, and chest black, the nuchal collar and under parts crimson, while a white band divides the two colours below; the upper parts are orange-rufous; the two median rectrices chestnut tipped with black; the rest of the tail and the wings black and white. The hen is brown above, becoming rufous towards the rump; the throat and chest are grey, the remaining lower surface and the wing-markings buff. H. orescius has an olive-yellow head, a brilliant orange breast, and a chestnut back; the female being more sombre. Hapaloderma narina, ranging from North-East Africa to Cape Colony and thence to Angola, is brilliant bronzy-green above; the wings and tail are black and white with a blue and green wash, the secondaries and wing-coverts being vermiculated with white; the chest is green; the breast and abdomen are crimson. The hen has the throat and chest brown, the breast duller. H. constantia extends from the Calabar River to Fantee, H. vittatum is East African. The genus Trogon is found from South Arizona and Texas to North Argentina. T. mexicanus is bronzy-green above and on the chest, the sides of the head and the throat being black, and the remaining under parts crimson, surmounted by a white band; the wings are blackish with white vermiculations on the secondaries and coverts; the two median rectrices are green with black tips, the others black and white. The female has the chest and upper surface, including that of the tail, brown, the wing-vermiculations buff. T. surucura has the most southerly range of the two dozen species. Prionotelus temnurus, peculiar to Cuba, has the sexes similar; the upper parts are bronzy-green, the head is black, glossed with purple and blue, the under parts are grey with crimson abdomen.

{444}[Illustration: FIG. 92.–Quezal. Pharomacrus mocinno. × ¼.]

The six middle tail-feathers are bronzy-green, tinged with purple, the remainder and the wings black and white. In Tmetotrogon rhodogaster, restricted to San Domingo, the upper surface is bronzy-green, the lower grey with crimson abdomen. The blackish wings have white-edged primaries, the median pair of rectrices are purple and green, the others purplish-blue. The female has white bars on the upper wing-coverts. Euptilotis neoxenus of Mexico has a greenish-black head and throat, and a crimson breast and abdomen, while the rest of the plumage is bronzy-green, except for the black and white wings and the six purplish-black median rectrices. The hen has a greyish head, throat, and chest. Pharomacrus mocinno, the Quezal of the higher districts from Guatemala to Veragua, is brilliant iridescent green above, tinged with blue on the far extended tail-coverts; the throat is green, the under parts are gorgeous crimson, the remiges and the six median rectrices are black, the remainder chiefly white. A full crest and elongated wing-coverts add to the bird's appearance. The female has the long feathers less developed; the head and under surface brownish-grey, with a {445}green tinge on the former and on the chest; the vent crimson. Three other species range from Colombia to Bolivia. The decorative feathers of the Quezal were reserved for chiefs in olden times.

Trogons are ancient forms which once occurred within the Palaearctic countries, as is shewn by the discovery of the fossil Trogon gallicus in the Lower Miocene of France.

* * * * *

The Sub-Order PICI contains, according to Dr. Gadow, the Families Galbulidae, or Jacamars and Puff-birds, Capitonidae, or Barbets and Honey-guides, Rhamphastidae or Toucans, and Picidae, or Woodpeckers and Wrynecks. All these undoubtedly belong to that author's Order Coraciiformes, though Garrod and W. A. Forbes included the Galbulidae and several of the allied Families in their Passeriformes.

Fam. XV. GALBULIDAE.[252]–This may be divided into the Sub-families, (1) Galbulinae, or Jacamars, and (2) Bucconinae, or Puff-birds.[253] The former have a long straight bill, compressed and pointed, with angular genys; Jacamerops, however, having it curved, ridged, and dilated basally. The feet are weak, the metatarsi being scutellated in front and smooth behind, with the toes zygodactylous; while Jacamaralcyon alone lacks the hallux. The rounded wings have ten primaries, with the outer much reduced, and from ten to twelve secondaries; the tail of twelve feathers is sometimes short and square, sometimes long and more or less graduated, the external pair of rectrices being diminutive or absent. The furcula is U-shaped, the tongue long, tapering, and membranous; the nostrils are slightly bristly, with an internal membrane in Jacamerops; the aftershaft is rudimentary; and there is no down on the adults or the blind nestlings. The plumage is particularly soft.

Sub-fam. 1. Galbulinae.–Jacamars are ordinarily brilliant coppery- or golden-green above, and more or less rufous below; though the upper parts may be metallic blue, chestnut, or greyish-black. The bill and feet are generally blackish; but in Galbalcyrhynchus, Brachygalba albigularis, and B. melanosterna, the bill is white, in Galbula albirostris and G. cyaneicollis it is yellow and black. The largest species (Jacamerops grandis) is not eleven inches long. The females resemble the males, or are paler below, {446}and lack the usual white throat. The Sub-family ranges from Mexico to South Brazil.

These birds are usually found towards the outskirts of forests near water, where they frequent lofty trees, and commonly sit crouched upon some dead or slender branch for hours, merely moving the head from time to time. The food consists of insects–especially flies or moths–which are often caught upon the wing, and crushed against the boughs before they are swallowed, the bird sallying forth and returning to its perch like a Fly-catcher. The regular note is short and seldom heard; but Jacamaralcyon has, according to the natives, an agreeable whistling song. The flight is quick and jerky. Generally found solitary or in pairs, the various species occasionally bathe in small flocks. The three or more roundish white eggs are laid in holes in banks, or possibly in old stumps. In some districts names equivalent to "Large Humming-birds" are given to Jacamars; while early writers confounded them with Kingfishers.

Urogalba paradisea of Guiana, Peru, and Brazil, and U. amazonum of Upper Amazonia, characterized by an extremely long and tapering median pair of tail-feathers, are dark blue, with bronzy and green reflexions, brownish heads, and white throats. Seven out of ten members of the genus Galbula are also Amazonian; the remainder reaching South Mexico, Bolivia, and South-East Brazil, and one of them Trinidad and Tobago. G. albirostris is brilliant bronzy-green above, with rufous lower parts and white throat; most of its congeners being fairly similar, though G. chalcothorax has a decided red and blue gloss on both surfaces and a white abdomen. Brachygalba, which extends from Colombia to Amazonia, includes six diminutive forms, with a varying admixture of green and brown above, of black, brown, rufous and white below. Jacamaralcyon tridactyla of South-East Brazil is greenish-black, with a brown, rufous-streaked head, and a white mid-breast and abdomen. Galbalcyrhynchus leucotis of East Ecuador and Upper Amazonia is chestnut, with white cheeks and darker head and quills. Jacamerops grandis, ranging from Veragua to Amazonia and Ecuador, is bright coppery-green, with blackish wings and tail, a white throat-patch, and a chestnut abdomen.

{447}[Illustration: FIG. 93.–Puff-bird. Bucco hyperrhynchus. × ⅜.]

Sub-fam. 2. Bucconinae.–The Puff-birds differ structurally from the Galbulinae only in having shorter and stouter beaks, with hooked or incurved tips; stronger metatarsi, which are scaly behind; fully developed lateral rectrices; and no aftershaft. The habits of the two groups are similar, while the aforesaid English name probably refers to the puffy appearance of the head while the birds are resting. They are black, brown, or rufous in hue, relieved by white markings; the bill being red in Bucco chacuru, B. maculatus, B. striatipectus, and B. collaris, and red or yellow in Monacha. The entire range of the Family, extending from Guatemala and Honduras to Argentina, is occupied by the twenty hook-billed species of Bucco. B. dysoni is blue-black, with a white under surface crossed by a broad black band, and a white forehead and nape; B. hyperrhynchus is similar with a larger bill; B. collaris differs in its rusty-red upper parts barred with black; B. bicinctus has these mottled with brown, and two black bands on its buff breast; B. maculatus has a rufous chest and black spots on the white belly; and so forth. The half-dozen species of Malacoptila, extending from Guatemala to Brazil, are brownish birds, striated with rufous; the lower parts being more or less fulvous, often with black and white breast-bands. The diminutive Micromonacha lanceolata of Upper Amazonia is rufescent above; the forehead and under parts are relieved by black, while each outer rectrix has a black bar. The Nunlets (Nonnula rubecula and its congeners) are also among the smallest of the Family, and are distributed from Panama to Peru and Brazil; they are brown above and ferruginous beneath, with a little white. Hapaloptila castanea of Colombia and Ecuador is a hook-billed species, with olive-grey upper and chestnut under parts, a white forehead and throat. Monacha comprises about seven large blue-black forms, ranging from Nicaragua to South-East Brazil and Bolivia, some of which have white on the wings {448}and round the base of the bill. Chelidoptera tenebrosa, the Swallow-wing, of Venezuela, Guiana, and Amazonia, has long wings and a short square tail; the colour being blue-black, with a chestnut lower abdomen and white tail-coverts. The larger C. brasiliensis inhabits Brazil. This is apparently the only member of the group of which the nest has been found; it was a mere hole in a bank, containing two shining white eggs.

Fam. XVI. CAPITONIDAE.–This is here taken to contain the Sub-families (1) Capitoninae, or Barbets, and (2) Indicatorinae, or Honey-guides. Much confusion has arisen from the fact that Brisson included the former in his genus Bucco, while subsequently Garrod and W. A. Forbes combined the Rhamphastidae (Toucans) with the above-mentioned groups in their Capitonidae.

Sub-fam. 1. Capitoninae.–Barbets are heavy, ungraceful birds, with large stout bills, which are swollen at the base, occasionally sulcated, and more or less beset with bristles. Pogonorhynchus and Tricholaema have the maxilla toothed–generally strongly, while that of Tetragonops fits into a fissure in the truncated tip of the mandible. The scutellated feet are fairly powerful, with zygodactylous toes and rather long claws; the moderate wings have ten primaries, and ten or eleven secondaries; the tail of ten rectrices is more usually short than long, and may be square, rounded, or graduated. The clavicles are somewhat reduced; the tongue is said to be thin, short, and cartilaginous; the nostrils are often bristly, an aftershaft is present; while both adults and young lack down.

The brilliant plumage commonly exhibits vivid contrasts of scarlet, blue, purple, or yellow on a green ground, but Calorhamphus and Gymnobucco are sombre in hue; different species, moreover, have crests, naked orbits, or brightly coloured bills. The sexes are alike, except in Capito; the young are duller.

The members of this Family are strictly arboreal, and inhabit forests, or well-timbered cultivated districts and gardens; not being usually shy, or easily disturbed while feeding in flocks. The tops of trees are their natural resort, yet pairs frequently descend to the bushes, where they hop from branch to branch; they also climb up and down the trunks, and some African forms are said thus to search the cracks for insects. The flight is powerful and undulating, but Barbets are inactive birds, and often sit motionless for hours, their plaintive whistle, or noisy ringing note of two or three syllables being heard at intervals {449}throughout the day or on moonlight nights. The latter cry is variously syllabled kuttooruk, tok-tok, or poo-poo-poop, while its likeness to the sound of striking metal has given the name of "Copper-smith", "Tinker-bird," and "Iron-smith" to Xantholaema haematocephala, Barbatula pusilla, and Cyanops faber. While uttering their protracted notes Barbets often move their heads from side to side, and certain American species jerk their tails over their backs like Toucans. The food consists of fruits of every sort, buds and petals of flowers, and even green bark, or in many cases almost entirely of insects; in captivity pieces of meat or small birds seem acceptable, the latter being usually battered upon some hard substance before being swallowed. When feeding on trees these birds are so noiseless that the falling berries alone betray their presence, while they quit the feast with great reluctance. They cut neat circular nesting-holes, which turn downwards and widen out below, in soft or decaying wood, generally on the under side of a branch; and lay three, four, or even five eggs, oval, thin-shelled, white and somewhat shining, on a few chips or sometimes other substances. A week or two may be occupied in excavating the cavity, while it is a moot question whether the tapping that goes on in spring is made in finding suitable breeding quarters or in obtaining insects. Von Heuglin saw two borings in banks. The young accompany their parents for a considerable time. Barbets do not thrive well as cage-birds.

The range extends throughout Tropical Asia, Africa, and America, and even slightly beyond those bounds in the two former; but America possesses only the large genus Capito and the two species of Tetragonops, whereas the other regions divide the remaining groups fairly evenly between them. Captain Shelley[254] admits nineteen genera and a hundred and ten species. The former are difficult to diagnose, and depend largely on colour; of the latter the subjoined are merely a few of the most typical or remarkable forms. Pogonorhynchus (including Erythrobucco and Melanobucco) and Tricholaema, including respectively some fifteen and ten species, are exclusively African groups, noticeable for the long, black bristles before the eye and below the beak. P. dubius of West Africa has bluish-black upper parts, with a little crimson on the wing-coverts and a white dorsal patch; the cheeks and ear-coverts are crimson, separated by a black line; {450}the anterior under parts are crimson, the posterior scarlet, these being divided by a black pectoral band, and relieved by yellowish patches on the sides; the bill is reddish-yellow, the naked orbits are orange. Tricholaema leucomelan of South Africa is blue-black above, with plentiful yellow and scanty white markings, but white below with black throat. The forehead is crimson, the eyebrow and orbits are yellow, the bill is blackish. The breast-feathers have hair-like shafts. Gymnobucco calvus of West Africa is brown with paler streaks; having the bill and chin-bristles yellowish, and browner bristles round the nostrils in at least one sex. The naked head is blue. Barbatula, of the Ethiopian Region generally, contains a dozen small species, which exhibit soft loose plumage of black, varied with red, yellow, or white. B. minuta, extending from North-East Africa to Senegambia, has the forehead scarlet, the rump and under surface yellowish, the bill black, and somewhat scanty bristles. Stactolaema anchietae of Benguela, and S. olivaceum of East Africa, are respectively brown with yellowish head and throat, and olive-green with those parts blackish. The bill is black. Calorhamphus hayi, found from South Tenasserim to Sumatra, is yellowish-brown above and yellowish-white below, with black-shafted spiny crown-feathers, rufous throat, black bill, reddish orbits and no chin-bristles. C. fuliginosus of Borneo is similar. Megalaema, Chotorhea, Cyanops and Mesobucco, with about thirty members in all, extend from India and Ceylon to China, Formosa, Hainan, and the Great Sunda Islands. They are soft-plumaged green birds, having parti-coloured heads and throats tinted with blue, yellow, red, and black, or merely brown and white; the bill and feet are yellowish, greenish, or black. The bristles vary in their development. Psilopogon pyrolophus, of the mountains of the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra, is green, with a black forehead, a brownish head crossed by a greyish-white band, and a double belt of yellow and black below the green throat. The long nasal bristles are black, tipped with scarlet; the superciliary stripe and lower eye-lid are green; the upper eye-lid is yellow; the bill is yellowish-green with black central band; the legs and orbits are greenish. The unusually long tail is much graduated, and has pointed median rectrices, while these are square in some ten Ethiopian species of Trachyphonus, where the tail is similar. T. cafer of South-East Africa is bluish-black above with white markings; {451}the rump being yellow; the upper tail-coverts scarlet; the forehead, sides of the head and lower parts yellow, with a tinge of scarlet on the throat, which is followed by a black and white gorget. The fine occipital crest is black, the beak green; the feet and orbits are dusky. T. margaritatus, of North-East Africa, has brown upper parts with round white spots; the upper and lower tail-coverts are crimson; the rump, head, neck, and under surface are yellow, except for the crown and marks on the hind-neck and throat, which are black, and for an indistinct chest-band of red, surmounted by one of brown. The beak is red, the feet are bluish. The exclusively Central and South American Capito is the only genus in which the sexes differ; the dozen or more species have, moreover, few bristles round the bill. C. niger of Guiana is black above, varied with yellowish and buff, and sulphur-yellow below with a few black spots, which become plentiful in the female. The forehead, cheeks, and throat are orange-scarlet, the bill is plumbeous. C. salvini of Costa Rica and Panama has green upper and yellow under parts; most of the head and the throat being scarlet, the flanks green and white, and a whitish band descending the sides of the neck. The female lacks the scarlet, but has a dull golden crown and nape, pale blue cheeks, and an orange gorget below the green throat. The bill is greenish-yellow, the orbits are yellowish. Tetragonops rhamphastinus of Ecuador, in which the nostrils lie in grooves, has the crown black, with white sides merging gradually into a blue-grey throat; a glossy black nuchal crest; a rufous-olive mantle; orange lower back and upper tail-coverts; blackish-blue wings and tail; scarlet breast with orange sides; and yellowish-green abdomen. The bill is orange-yellow with dusky tip. T. frantzii of Costa Rica, called "Gallinita" from its chicken-like cry, has greenish-olive upper and yellowish-green lower parts, with golden-orange forehead, cheeks and throat, a plumbeous bill, and a similar crest to its congener. This genus bears a certain resemblance to the Toucans.

Sub-fam. 2. Indicatorinae.–The Honey-guides are contained in the two genera Indicator and Prodotiscus, with nine and two species respectively, which were formerly placed among the Cuckoos. Their chief interest centres in the fact that they are said to conduct travellers to bees' nests, as will be seen below.

From the Capitoninae, Indicator differs in the stout {452}Finch-like bill with ridged and laterally swollen maxilla, while that of Prodotiscus is more slender and pointed. Moreover, the metatarsi are short; the nostrils possess a narrow membrane and are not bristly; and the rectrices number twelve, save in the last-named genus, which has ten. The curiously interrupted range includes the whole Ethiopian Region, except Madagascar; the Himalayas; and the Malayan and Bornean mountains. The sexes are generally similar, while almost all the forms, which hardly exceed a Lark in size, are chiefly dull brown, with a yellow wash, and some white on the rump, tail, or wings.

Indicator xanthonotus of the Himalayas is blackish above, with golden forehead and orange rump-region, and greyish below; the latter colour merging into yellow on the throat and black on the abdomen. I. archipelagicus of the Malay Peninsula and Borneo, and I. sparrmani of Tropical Africa, except the western forests, exhibit a yellow shoulder-patch; while the males of the latter and of I. major of the same districts have black throats, which are whitish and yellow in the respective females. I. minor, and the remaining Ethiopian species, differ from the last two forms in having no white on the lower back. Prodotiscus regulus of Natal, and P. insignis, ranging from the Gaboon to East Equatorial Africa, are particularly dull.

Circumstantial accounts of eye-witnesses so clearly shew that bees' nests are found through the instrumentality of these birds, that their intention can hardly be doubted, and it has been said that not only man but the ratel (Mellivora capensis) is conducted; the object of attraction, however, occasionally turns out to be a leopard, cat, snake, or dog. Honey-guides call attention by a shrill cry or hiss, and will even fly in the face of a traveller, as if enraged at not being followed; they eat bees, grubs, and honey, and are asserted to lay white eggs in the nests of Barbets and the like.[255] Sir John Kirk writes[256] of the habits of Indicator minor–"The Honey-guide is found in forests, and often far from water, even during the dry season. On observing a man it comes fluttering from branch to branch in the neighbouring trees, calling attention. If this be responded to, as the natives do by whistling and starting to their feet, the bird will {453}go in a certain direction and remain at a little distance, hopping from one tree to another. On being followed it goes further; and so it will guide the way to a nest of bees. When this is reached, it flies about, but no longer guides; and then some knowledge is needed to discover the nest, even when pointed out to within a few trees. I have known this bird, if the man after taking up the direction for a little then turns away, come back and offer to point out another nest in a different part. But if it do not know of two nests, it will remain behind. The difficulty is, that it will point to tame bees in a bark-hive as readily as to those in the forest. This is natural, as the bee is the same; the bark-hive, 'Musinga' as it is named, being simply fastened up in a tree and left for the bees to come to. The object the bird has in view is clearly the young bees. It will guide to nests having no honey, and seems equally delighted if the comb containing the grubs be torn out when it is seen pecking at it."

Fam. XVII. RHAMPHASTIDAE.–The Toucans[257] are easily recognisable by their huge beak, only paralleled by that of the Hornbills, of which some authors have considered them the Neotropical representatives; but whereas in the latter this beak is usually surmounted by a casque of varying size, in the Toucans it is shaped much as usual, though abnormally developed. It does not seem to interfere with the bird's powers of flight or feeding, and indeed the structure of both mandibles is admirably calculated to combine bulk with strength and lightness; the external walls being so thin and elastic that they are said in some species to be compressible by the fingers, while the inner cavities are filled with a network of bony columns, to which the air has constant access. Moreover, the maxilla is so perfectly hinged to the skull that the utmost ease in mastication is secured, the serrated edges further aiding in the process. In Aulacorhamphus the mandibles are grooved, and Andigena laminirostris has a square basal plate on each side of the culmen. The metatarsi are stout and scutellated on both aspects, the toes are papillose below, the claws sharp and curved. The somewhat weak wings have ten primaries and twelve secondaries; the square, rounded, or graduated tail of ten rectrices is capable of free vertical motion, and is frequently jerked up over the back. The furcula is U-shaped; the tongue is long, thin and narrow, with feather-like margins towards the tip; the nostrils {454}open backwards behind the bill-sheath in Rhamphastus, upwards or sideways near the hind part of the culmen in the other genera; the syrinx is tracheo-bronchial; the aftershaft is rudimentary or absent; and neither adults nor nestlings shew any down.

The coloration of the long, loose plumage, and of the beak and naked orbits, is most brilliant and varied; the females are smaller and duller than the males, and quite unlike them in Selenidera; while the young resemble the former, but have softer and differently-tinted bills. The feet are grey or green. Pteroglossus beauharnaisi has the black shafts of the crown-feathers dilated and coalescent with the barbs, producing an appearance like curls of horn.

Toucans, except just after moulting, are shy and restless; they are more or less gregarious, and small flocks gather to feed or bathe in the morning or evening; at noon they sit motionless on some lofty tree, but at other times may be seen jumping about the branches. At night they roost with the tail thrown forward upon the back, and the head turned to meet it. Their flight is easy, graceful, and direct, accompanied by occasional noisy flaps of the wing, the bill being carried horizontally; they rarely seek the ground, where they hop about obliquely in awkward fashion. All the species live chiefly on fruits, including seeds; but Azara's statement that they destroy small birds, and devour both eggs and young, is possibly quite correct, as in captivity they exhibit great excitement and delight when furnished with meat, mice, reptiles, and so forth,[258] tearing the food to pieces and masticating it with their serrated mandibles. Should, however, the object be small, they throw back the head and swallow it at a gulp; while a curious habit has been observed of regurgitating the substances for further mastication. Caterpillars, ants, and the like are added to the diet in the breeding season. When feeding in company, Toucans, like Rooks, post a sentinel, whose harsh, chattering scream can be heard for at least a mile: they are especially noisy in the morning and evening, or in wet weather. The unmelodious cry seems to vary considerably in the different species; being described as a croak, a hoarse note, a clear yelp, or a jarring sound like that of a Mistletoe Thrush. Owls and diurnal Birds of prey are often surrounded by a noisy mob of Toucans, which jerk their tails as they follow. Two oval and somewhat glossy white eggs are deposited in hollow limbs of tall trees. These birds are frequently eaten by {455}the colonists and natives, the latter using their plumage to decorate their bows or their persons, while the beaks make convenient powder-flasks. They are easily tamed, and become amusing pets. The various forms extend throughout the forests of Tropical America down to the mangrove swamps of the coast, some occurring at an altitude of from six thousand to ten thousand feet on the mountains; northwards Rhamphastus carinatus, Pteroglossus torquatus, Aulacorhamphus prasinus, and A. wagleri reach South Mexico; southwards, Rhamphastus toco ranges to Argentina; but westwards no species crosses the Andes south of the Gulf of Guayaquil. They are not represented in the Antilles, though Rhamphastus vitellinus extends to Trinidad. Dr. Sclater[259] recognises five genera, comprising fifty-nine species, the majority inhabiting Amazonia and Guiana.

The genus Rhamphastus contains fourteen members, with {456}nearly the same range as that of the Family, including the type and sole Argentine species R. toco, one of the largest forms, two feet in length. This is black, with white rump, throat and fore-neck (the last bordered with red), crimson vent, blue orbits, and orange bill terminally blotched with black, which has been likened to a lobster's claw. Several species have the throat and rump yellow or orange, or the latter scarlet, as in R. ariel. The brilliant bill and orbits vary considerably in colour; the tail is square. Andigena comprises some five forms from the highest forests of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia, olive-brown or dark green above, and with hair-like bluish-grey plumage below; the crown is black, the nape black or grey, the vent scarlet, the rump yellow, and the tip of the graduated tail chestnut, except in one instance. The bill shews black, yellow, or red, in varied combination, A. laminirostris having a square ivory-white basal plate on each side of the maxilla. A. bailloni, of South-East Brazil, doubtfully placed in this genus, has a scarlet rump, yellow under parts, greenish and reddish bill, and red orbits. Pteroglossus, the most brilliant genus in the Family, exhibits green, scarlet, and yellow hues, with areas or bands of black and scarlet on the lower surface in thirteen out of eighteen species. The tail is graduated, and the feathers below are somewhat hair-like. These Araçarís, as they are called, range from South Mexico to Bolivia and South Brazil. The lovely P. beauharnaisi, of Upper Amazonia, has dark green upper parts, with crimson on the rump and mantle; and light yellow lower parts, tinged with red, which shew a scarlet ventral band and black spots on the throat; the maxilla is black with orange culmen, the mandible white. P. aracari of Guiana and Lower Amazonia has no red on the mantle, the smooth head and throat are black, the maxilla is white with black culmen, the mandible black. Some six species of Selenidera, remarkable for the dissimilar sexes, and generally for the transversely striped or blotched beak, range from South-East Brazil and Upper Amazonia to Nicaragua. The males, except in S. spectabilis, have a distinct nuchal crescent of yellow, less marked in the females; the former have the head and breast black, the latter usually chestnut; but the hen of the above species has the under surface black, that of S. piperivora greyish-green. The general colour is dark green, with brown tip to the tail, yellow or orange ear-coverts, and scarlet vent; the beak is whitish, reddish, or greenish, with black markings. {457}Aulacorhamphus has some dozen fairly uniform green members, relieved by a white, bluish, or black throat. The rump may be crimson or rufous, the rectrices tipped with chestnut, and the bill a mixture of red, black, yellow, or horn-colour, usually with a white line at the base. The range is from Mexico to Guiana and Bolivia.

Fam. XVIII. PICIDAE.–The Woodpeckers form a very large Family of scansorial birds with zygodactylous feet, which is so natural that Huxley raised it to higher rank as Celeomorphae, while Parker separated it still further as Saurognathae. The two Sub-families are (1) Picinae, or Woodpeckers, and (2) Iynginae, or Wrynecks.

Sub-fam. 1. Picinae.–The chief external peculiarities of this section lie in the form of the large head, the neck, and the tail-feathers. The neck is often much compressed, with exceedingly powerful muscles, which, coupled with the strong, wedge-shaped bill, enable the bird to operate with ease and celerity upon the boles and limbs of trees, whence it procures much of its food, and where it excavates a deep hole for the reception of its eggs. The shafts of the twelve tail-feathers, of which the outer pair are very small, are in the majority of cases stiff and spiny, and therefore well adapted to keep the body close to the bark while climbing; parallel cases being those of the Tree-Creeper (Certhia) and the Dendrocolaptinae. The shape of the tail is rounded or cuneate; the wings are moderate and not very much pointed, with ten primaries and from ten to thirteen secondaries. The metatarsus is short, with a single row of anterior scutes; the claws are large, sharp, and curved.[260]

The tongue is excessively long and "worm-like," with horny, barbed tip, and is capable of marvellous protrusion owing to the elongated "horns" of the hyoid apparatus, which in some forms curve round the skull and have their origin near the base of the bill. Facility is thus secured for searching narrow cracks or deep hollows for insects, while the secretion from the large salivary glands secures the adhesion of the objects aimed at. The furcula is U-shaped, the syrinx tracheo-bronchial, the after-shaft rudimentary, while neither adults nor young have down at any stage.

The prevailing colours are green, yellow, black, and white, in various combinations, with spots and bars; brilliant scarlet being commonly present on the crown and frequently also on the back {458}or under parts. From the males the females and young in first plumage may be distinguished by their duller coloration; but in the intermediate stages of growth the latter exhibit a considerable amount of red. Many species have fine crests.

According to Hargitt[261] the number of genera is fifty, including three hundred and eighty-five fairly defined species; though both genera and species depend chiefly on colour. He mentions Colaptes as an instance of the possible formation of races by hybridization or climatic influences, and Gecinus as an example of diversely coloured forms, perhaps originating from a common ancestor. The well-known colour-phases of Dendrocopus major and of the genus Iyngipicus may be mentioned in this connexion; the species becoming larger and whiter as they range eastwards through Central Asia to Japan, and the former also shewing a tendency to a crimson tint on the breast as it nears Africa southwards.

Woodpeckers are, with a few exceptions, solitary woodland birds of a particularly shy and retiring nature, and therefore somewhat difficult of observation. When seeking food they usually ascend a tree in spiral fashion assisted by their tail and claws, and carefully examine every chink or cranny in the bark; on reaching the higher limbs they betake themselves at once to fresh hunting-grounds, often alighting at the very base of a trunk, but equally often flying straight to some promising half-decayed branch. In some cases, however, high flights are essayed. The species of Colaptes and Geocolaptes feed upon the ground; many forms, such as Picus martius, Gecinus viridis, and Melanerpes formicivorus, prey largely upon ants and take great pains to make a thorough clearance of the nest; the last-named stores up acorns; while Sphyrapicus varius and its congeners suck the sap of trees and also hawk for flies: others again devour a large quantity of fruits, seeds, and perhaps even Indian corn. Omitting, however, the sap-sucking propensities of the American species, the harm done is outweighed by the good.

In spring the laughing, ringing, or other cries may be heard in most wooded districts; the sounds being somewhat harsh, and consisting of more or less continuous notes according to the species, while the duration is commonly about thirty seconds. The curious "drumming" noise produced in particular by the Spotted and Black Woodpeckers is also chiefly heard early in the year, though it ceases not with the courting, but when the young {459}are hatched. This sound, which can be heard for a mile, is caused by the bill hammering on the bark–usually of some rotten branch, while the bird's head moves backwards and forwards with extraordinary rapidity; a stationary position, however, is not invariably preserved, nor the quest of food interrupted. The hen sometimes hisses loudly if disturbed upon her eggs; both parents are said to "purr" in certain American species when the hole is interfered with, and they certainly utter continuous, sharp alarm-notes in Britain. It is probable, but perhaps hardly certain, that the female drums as well as the male. The sense of hearing is extremely acute in the Family. The flight is strong and undulating with constant "dips," and when once witnessed can be recognised at considerable distances. Both sexes help to excavate the hole for their eggs, which is a neat circular aperture, worked from the centre outwards, and carried inwards to the core of the wood, to descend thence for at least a foot; as soon as it turns downwards it gradually enlarges, until the whole presents the form of a long-necked bottle. Abortive borings are often made, of considerable depth; while the chips may be found lying at the foot of the tree in a heap, if not removed by the birds, as occasionally happens. Firs, oaks, poplars, beeches, ashes, and willows, both high and low, furnish many breeding places, but wooden walls or towers are also utilized, and two species, mentioned below, bore like Kingfishers in banks. The same hole is occasionally tenanted in successive years, but natural cavities are rarely used. It is commonly stated that Woodpeckers always choose for their excavations decayed or decaying limbs; but the soundest branches, or even the thickest parts of the trunks of huge oaks, are not unfrequently selected. The oval, glossy, white eggs are deposited on a few chips, and usually number from three or five to ten; nevertheless as many as seventy-three are recorded as the produce of one Woodpecker, and forty-two in the case of the Wryneck, when robbed on successive days.[262] Both sexes are known to incubate in certain cases: they sit very closely towards the end of the period, which lasts fourteen days or more, yet often leave their hole quite readily at first. Many species have been tamed, but they are wild and destructive in captivity.

The Family ranges over the greater portion of the globe, except the Australian Region, Madagascar, and Egypt. Its members are {460}most abundant in the Indian and Neotropical Regions, several forms occurring in the Antilles.

Geocolaptes olivaceus, an olive-coloured bird with whitish marks on the wings and tail, crimson rump, and crimson-washed abdomen, is common in the Cape Colony and Natal, and is remarkable for nesting in holes in banks or mud-huts: it feeds upon the ground, and family-parties are stated by Mr. Layard to keep together until the following breeding-season. Similar habits have been observed in Colaptes agricola of the Argentine Republic and Patagonia, in timberless districts; but, as the trees grow, it recurs to its natural habits. C. auratus, the golden-winged Flicker of North America, has a phase (C. mexicanus) found west of the Rocky Mountains and in Mexico, with red coloration of the wings in place of yellow, intermediate races occurring in the intervening regions; considerable controversy has consequently arisen as to whether hybridization has taken place, or whether this is a case of specialized forms of a generalized ancestor, due to climatic or other causes. The colour above is dove-brown with black streaks; the head being lead-coloured with a crimson band on the nape, the rump white, the lower throat black, the under parts pinkish-brown with round black spots, and the wings strongly washed with yellow on both surfaces. The bill is more arched and less wedge-shaped than usual. The food consists of fruit, wood-lice, ants, and so forth, much of which is procured upon the earth.

Gecinus viridis, our well-known Green Woodpecker, Yaffle, or Rain-bird, the "laugh" of which is supposed to predict wet weather, is a green bird with yellow rump and red head; the habits being those common to the whole group, though a certain preference is shewn for feeding on the ground or on ant-hills. It ranges throughout Europe to Asia Minor and Persia, while other nearly allied forms, differing in their black occiputs or scarlet rumps, extend over nearly the whole Eastern Palaearctic and Indian Regions. Chloronerpes is a Central and South American genus of smaller birds, among which C. rubiginosus has golden-rufous upper parts, with a red nape, and yellowish under surface crossed by dark bars. Akin to this is the Ethiopian Campethera, C. punctata being yellow, olive, and brown above, with a crimson head, and yellow below with small black spots. Chrysophlegma extends from the Himalayas to China and the Malay Islands. C. flavinucha is about the size of the Green Woodpecker, but {461}is much yellower, and has a splendid orange crest on the nape, a yellow throat and a grey breast; C. miniatum has the crest and upper parts washed with red.

The three-toed Gauropicoïdes rafflesi of the Malay countries has a long black crest, and narrow, pointed tail-feathers, which contrast well with its golden back; the under parts are brownish. Asyndesmus torquatus of the Western United States has very peculiar hair-like plumage below, in which the first subdivisions of the whitish webs are not again divided; the upper surface is bronzy-green, the front of the head crimson, and the collar white. Melanerpes is a large genus with many brilliant forms, which range throughout America; M. flavifrons being black above, with white rump, crimson head and breast, broad golden forehead and throat, and brownish chest; M. candidus having the head and breast pure white, and the blackish back only relieved by a yellow band on the nape; whereas M. formicivorus is intermediate in coloration. The last-named, often called the Californian Woodpecker, extends southwards to Mexico and northwards up the Pacific Coast to British Columbia; it stores up acorns by inserting their upper halves in holes bored in the limbs of trees, which may be sometimes seen studded with them to a height of forty feet or more.[263] Apparently this is done for the sake of the grubs in the acorns; while, as its name implies, the bird also devours ants.

Sphyropicus contains the three Sap-suckers, which together range throughout North America, an individual having strayed to Greenland. S. varius shews a striking combination of colours in its black and white back, crimson head and throat, black chest, and yellow breast, while it has the curious habit, shared by its congeners, of puncturing trunks of trees to obtain the sap, in which they delight. Sometimes the entire bole is encircled by these borings.

Nearly all that has already been said of the Family in general, particularly with regard to the "drumming," may be repeated of the Spotted Woodpeckers, of which Dendrocopus major and D. minor are the British representatives. The colours in this genus are black and white in varied proportions, with crimson on the head and often on the lower parts; a small amount of buff and brown being not uncommonly added, while in D. brunneifrons, a {462}Himalayan form, there is an admixture of yellow with the red on the crown. Our Greater and Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers extend throughout Europe and North Asia, and reach the Atlantic Islands; while some thirty congeners widen the range until it includes nearly all the Palaeartic, Nearctic, and Indian Regions. They are also found south of lat. 20° S. in the Neotropical. D. leuconotus and D. (Dendrocoptes) medius are other European forms, with varying races. Picoïdes is a similarly coloured genus of three-toed birds, with yellow instead of red on the head. They inhabit the most northern forests of both Worlds, reaching southward to Central Europe, China, and (west of the Rocky Mountains) to New Mexico. P. tridactylus is well-known in Europe.

Iyngipicus is a large group of small species, which stretch from India to the Kuril Islands, Chira, Flores, and Celebes; and, if Hargitt is right in considering Picus obsoletus congeneric, from North-East Africa to Senegambia. The colours are black or olive above, relieved by white and fulvescent below with dark stripes or spots, the occiput shewing a band, or two streaks, of red; the lateral tail-feathers, moreover, are hardly rigid, approaching in that respect those of Picumnus. Dendrobates is a still larger genus of similarly sized birds, varying from nearly uniform olive with a red crown, or bright red with white under parts, to dull gold-colour, where the lower surface is buff barred with brown; the head being in the last case red, but the nape yellow. They range from Northern Argentina to Central America. Mesopicus goertan, one of half a dozen finely-coloured species found throughout most of the Ethiopian Region, has an olive back, long crimson feathers on the head and rump, and a greyish breast.

Thus far all the members of the Family agree in having the nostrils covered with bristles. Among those in which the bristles are wanting may be mentioned Celeus and the three-toed Tiga javanensis and its congeners, extending from India to Cochin China. The last-named has a brilliant golden-orange back, a crimson {463}head, crest and rump, black tail, neck and wings, and dark brown under parts with white spots. Celeus ranges from Mexico to South Brazil, C. flavus being canary-yellow with brown tail and wings, a large crest of the former colour, and a crimson stripe at the gape. This genus, and the five following, are characterized by having the neck extremely narrow and compressed.

Campephilus, ranging from the Gulf States and the Lower Mississippi to Argentina, and Ipocrantor, of Chili and Patagonia, are noticeable for the concave ends of their tail-feathers. C. principalis, the Ivory-billed Woodpecker of the Southern United States–almost the largest member of the Family–frequents the highest timber, where, according to Wilson, it used to strip off cart-loads of bark, and make huge quantities of chips. It appears, however, that it only attacked trees infested by insect-larvae. When it was common the Indians used the head as a charm, and considered that it gave them the creature's courage. Its main colour is bluish-black with white wing-markings; the crimson and black occipital feathers together forming a long crest. Both this bird and the Pileated Woodpecker of North America (Dryotomus pileatus) are locally known as "Log-cocks," with which name may be compared that of "Stock-eagle," i.e. "Stump-eagle," given in the West of England to the Greater Spotted Woodpecker. {464}Ipocrantor magellanicus, of Chili and Patagonia, has an even longer crest. Hemicercus is a genus of curious little crested black and white species, with very short and hardly rigid tails, occurring in India, the Malay countries, and Cochin China. Hemilophus pulverulentus, a larger bird of similar range, is remarkable for its enormous bill and curious dusty-looking slaty plumage.

Under the head of Picus, which gives the Family its name, is placed by Hargitt only P. martius, the Black Woodpecker, an inhabitant of the pine-forests of Europe and Asia to Japan, quite erroneously asserted to have occurred in England. The colour is black with the exception of a red head, while the feathering extends down two-thirds of the metatarsus in front. It feeds chiefly on ants, insects, and their larvae, utters a loud rattling cry, drums on trees, and lays four or five eggs in holes bored in rotten wood.

The Piculets are considered by most writers to form a Sub-family Picumninae, and connect the Picinae and the Iynginae, being the least specialized of the former; they constitute the genus Picumnus, of which the thirty or more members have short, rounded tails without spiny shafts, and nostrils hidden by bristles. These diminutive birds occupy America from Honduras to Northern Argentina, as well as most of the Indian Region, one being a native of Africa; they are duller than most Woodpeckers, and are rufous, olive, or greyish, while often marked with black, or with red or yellow on the head. P. micromegas is confined to Hispaniola, P. (Verreauxia) africanus to the Gaboon districts, P. (Sasia) ochraceus and its two congeners are found in Northern India and the Malay countries. Of these only the first has any bright colour on the head. Sasia lacks the hallux.

Sub-fam. 2. Iynginae.–The Wrynecks may be distinguished from the typical Woodpeckers by their soft tails without spiny shafts, and naked nostrils with a partial covering. The plumage shews a peculiar mixture of black, brown, grey, and white, somewhat similar to that of a Nightjar. They feed chiefly upon the ground on ants and the like, and do not seek for insects under the bark of trees to the same extent that Woodpeckers do; while, instead of cutting out their own nesting-hole, they utilize cavities in stumps, posts, or even banks, to contain the white eggs, from five to ten in number, and often choose the same site annually. These birds have a curious habit of erecting the head-feathers and twisting the head itself from side to side, or almost over the back, either when sitting quietly on a branch or when molested. They {465}utter a loud, triple note, frequently reiterated, which has been compared to that of the Kestrel, and somewhat resembles the spring cry of the Nuthatch. Owing to the non-spinous tail the members of this genus cannot climb so well as Woodpeckers, while on the ground they are awkward and move with constant hops. The extensile and worm-like tongue is not barbed at the tip. Iynx torquilla, the Cuckoo's-mate or Snake-bird, is fairly common in England, and extends thence to Japan, Kordofan, and Senegal. The remaining species are all Ethiopian, I. pectoralis with a reddish-brown fore-neck and chest inhabiting the southern half of Africa, the similar I. pulchricollis occurring in East Equatorial Africa, and I. aequatorialis, in which the red extends to the whole breast, being met with only in Abyssinia.

Of fossil forms referred to this Family, Uintornis occurs in the Eocene of the United States, while Picus and Homolopus have been found respectively in the Lower and Middle Miocene of France.

{466}CHAPTER VII

NEORNITHES CARINATAE CONCLUDED

BRIGADE II–LEGION II (CORACIOMORPHAE CONCLUDED)

ORDER: PASSERIFORMES

ORDER XIV. PASSERIFORMES.

This Order contains about five thousand five hundred species, being more than half the birds yet known. Their classification is attended with much difficulty, and the anatomy of many more forms must be investigated before anything approaching a satisfactory–not to say final–scheme can be proposed. The earlier taxonomers often based their systems largely on European genera, and were therefore obliged to interpose others, or even to recognise new Families, as their knowledge extended, among the many new discoveries, to various American and Australian forms.

The foundation of recent arrangements of the group, depending on the number or position of the song-muscles, was laid between 1845 and 1847 by Johannes Müller, who divided the then generally accepted Order Insessores into three tribes: (1) Oscines or Polymyodi [Song-birds, or those with many (usually five or seven) pairs of song-muscles]; (2) Tracheophones [where the bronchi take no part in the formation of the voice-organ]; and (3) Picarii [corresponding in the main to Nitzsch's Picariae]; the two former of which included most of the Passerine forms. Simultaneously with Müller, Cabanis proposed a system grounded on similar principles; while in 1867 Huxley recognised of his group Coracomorphae the divisions Polymyodae, Tracheophonae, and Oligomyodae [birds with few song-muscles]. About ten years later Garrod, who was followed between 1880 and 1882 by W. A. Forbes, divided the Passeres into Desmodactyli, with a band joining the muscles of the {467}hallux to the front toes, and Eleutherodactyli, where the hind toe is free. The former contained only the Eurylaemidae; the latter the Mesomyodi (where the syringeal muscles join the bronchial semi-rings in their middle or lateral portion), and the Acromyodi (where they are attached to the extremities). The subdivisions need not be discussed here; but it should be noticed that, as opposed to Müller, the attachment, and not the number, of muscles was the point relied upon. Want of space forbids an account of the subsequent labours of Mr. Sclater,[264] Professors Newton[265] and Fürbringer,[266] and others; but the last-named no doubt influenced considerably the views of Dr. Gadow, mainly accepted below. This author[267] takes into consideration not only the attachment, but also the disposition of the muscles of the syrinx, and distinguishes his Passeriformes as (1) Passeres anisomyodae, where the syringeal muscles are unequally inserted, either in the middle, or upon the dorsal or ventral end only, of the bronchial semi-rings; (2) Passeres diacromyodae, where some of the muscles are attached to the dorsal, and some to the ventral ends. The former of these groups may be subdivided into A. Subclamatores and B. Clamatores; the latter into C. Suboscines and D. Oscines. Even the groups (1) and (2) are expressly stated not to rise to the rank of Sub-Orders, while the Oscines and other equivalent divisions are of hardly more than Family value.

The great number of species in the Order Passeriformes makes it necessary to treat the various sections less fully than has been the case in the foregoing portion of the work, while the Families are not, of course, on the same level here as elsewhere.

1. PASSERES ANISOMYODAE.

A. Subclamatores.

Fam. EURYLAEMIDAE.–The Broad-bills, a curious Old World group, have been by various authors regarded as allied to the Rollers or to the Flycatchers. They are distinguished from all other Passerine forms by the fact that the hallux is connected with the front toes by a vinculum or band joining the deep plantar tendons, and is thus incapable of independent motion. The beak is very {468}broad, while it is comparatively small in Calyptomena; Corydon, and to a less extent Eurylaemus and Sarcophanops, have a decided terminal hook to the maxilla. The metatarsus is scutellated in front and smooth behind (laminiplantar); the hallux is weak; the third and fourth toes are distinctly united, the claws are very short. The moderate wings have ten primaries in Calyptomena, eleven elsewhere, Eurylaemus having the eleventh very small; the secondaries are nine or ten; the tail of twelve rectrices is usually long and rounded, but is graduated in Psarisomus, short and square in Calyptomena. The adults have no aftershaft or down, the tongue is sagittate, and Sarcophanops has naked orbits. The plumage in Calyptomena viridis of the Indo-Malay countries is bright green, with a large black post-auricular and a yellow pre-ocular spot, three black bars on the wing-coverts, and blackish wing- and tail-quills. The duller female has no black spots or bars. The dense frontal feathers project forward over the beak. C. whiteheadi of Borneo has a black throat. These somewhat inactive birds inhabit thin jungles, utter soft whistles, and feed on fruit; the rest of the Family eat little but insects, though Cymborhynchus macrorhynchus, the Rain-bird of the Malays, enjoys berries.

Eurylaemus javanicus is blackish, with yellow markings on the back, tail, and wings; the head, neck, and under parts being vinous purple, with a black crescentic chest-band, which is absent in the hen. Corydon sumatranus is black, with a white alar bar and a buffish-white throat and fore-neck. They cover much the same area as Calyptomena. Cymborhynchus shews black and crimson colours, while the beautiful Psarisomus dalhousiae, found from the Eastern Himalayas to Borneo, has a green back and under {469}surface, black and blue head and wings, yellow face and throat, and blue tail becoming black below. Serilophus contains two grey-brown species with chestnut rumps, ranging from Sikkim to Tenasserim. Sarcophanops is peculiar to the Philippines.

The quiet and solitary Broad-bills inhabit forests, thickets, and gardens, flying little, sitting sluggishly on the branches, taking insects on the wing, and uttering whistling or metallic notes. They make large roughish oval nests, with a large entrance near the top often protected by an overhanging roof, while a sort of tail is commonly added; these are suspended from low branches or plants close to water; the materials being twigs, roots, tendrils, moss, or leaves, felted together and smoothly lined with green foliage, flags, bamboo-spathes, or grass, sometimes renewed when dry. From three to five eggs are laid, pale yellowish in Calyptomena, white or rarely spotted with red in Psarisomus, and pinkish, buff or white elsewhere, with markings varying from black to rufous.

B. Clamatores.

This group includes the Pittidae, Philepittidae, Xenicidae, Tyrannidae, Oxyrhamphidae, Pipridae, Cotingidae, Phytotomidae, Dendrocolaptidae, Formicariidae, Conopophagidae, and Pteroptochidae.

Apparently the furcula is U-shaped; the tongue varies; the aftershaft is small, if present; the down is sparing or absent.

Fam. I. PITTIDAE.–The members of this Old World Family, nearly fifty in number, range from India to North China, East Australia, New Guinea, and New Britain; while one species is West African. They are stout, strong-billed forms, with short rounded wings and tail, the long metatarsus being more or less scutellated all round; the primaries number ten–the outer being decidedly long–the secondaries eight, the rectrices twelve. The plumage exhibits vivid scarlet, blue, and green tints, in addition to yellow, purple, black, brown, and white; elongated neck-feathers occur in Anthocincla, erect frontal plumes in Coracopitta. The tail in Pitta is nearly square, but is pointed in Eucichla, and Coracopitta. The habits seem to be fairly uniform, all the species haunting thickish jungle or dense scrub, whether in the rock-strewn glens of India, or the damp Malayan, Australian, and Papuasian forests. The birds are more often heard than seen, though the plaintive, oft-repeated double whistle of the smaller forms, or the mournful, triple cry of the larger, is seldom audible in the mid-day heat, both being recognisable by the long-drawn final syllable.

{470}[Illustration: FIG. 99.–Pitta brachyura. × 3/7.]

They are chiefly terrestrial, and jump from rock to rock or branch to stump with great agility; their apparently leisurely movements being really so quick that a mere glimpse is usually obtained through some opening in the foliage, while their habits are consequently difficult to observe. The quiet watcher may, however, hear the birds pattering over the beds of leaves, and see them hunting for molluscs and insects, or digging for worms and ants, but the slightest movement causes them to depart with long rapid hops, exchanged under pressure for a low, direct noiseless flight of short duration. Pittas are habitually, though not invariably, solitary, and are especially shy when breeding. P. moluccensis ascends the trees to call, P. oatesi occasionally whistles at night, while P. novae guineae flirts its tail like a Wagtail. The exposed nest, with its lateral entrance, is frequently placed on the ground at the foot of a tree or shrub, but sometimes amongst undergrowth or in very low forks; it is a rounded fabric of twigs, roots, bark, moss, leaves, and grass, often cemented with earth; the larger species making a clumsier and looser structure, the smaller a more compact mass. Unspotted eggs are rare, the usual colour being creamy-white with brown, reddish, grey, or purplish-black spots or scrawls; the number is from three to six. Anthocincla phayrii and Pitta cucullata are said occasionally to build a platform of sticks before their doorway, and the latter a projecting roof over it. The former species, which inhabits Burma, is brown with a black coronal streak, black and white superciliary stripes, white throat, and pink vent; Pitta caerulea is bright blue above, with black occiput and nape, but an otherwise ashy head; it is greyish-buff below, with a partial black collar. The female {471}has a brown back, and a buffish head, with black cross-bars and collar. This very large form ranges from Tenasserim to Sumatra and Borneo; the smaller P. cyanea of Bhutan, Burma, and Siam is somewhat similar, but has a scarlet nape, and bluish under parts with black bars. P. maxima of Gilolo is glossy black, with blue wing-coverts, a white alar bar, green edges to the secondaries, white lower surface, black chin, and crimson belly. P. granatina of Borneo is purplish-black, with scarlet occiput and nape, blue superciliary stripe, some blue on the wing, purplish throat, and scarlet belly. P. baudi of the same island is crimson above, with blue crown and tail, black nape, and white alar bar; the lower parts being black, with purple and blue abdomen: the female is dull brown below. P. cyanoptera, reaching from Burma and Borneo to South China, is dull green above, with a dark central stripe and a black margin to the brownish crown; the black wing shews a white bar, and azure on the coverts; the tip of the black tail and the rump are blue; the lower surface is buff, with crimson on the belly. Several species have green under parts, a blue pectoral band, or no blue on the rump and wings. P. angolensis inhabits West Africa, P. nympha North China and Tsu-shima Island, P. iris and P. strepitans Australia; the latter reaches New Guinea, where it meets, among other forms, the entirely black Coracopitta lugubris, as well as P. mackloti, which extends to New Britain.

Fam. II. PHILEPITTIDAE.–This contains only the two species of Philepitta, peculiar to Madagascar, which have bare orbits surmounted by a green caruncle in the male, and metatarsi with a regular series of scales behind (taxaspidean). P. jala is black, with yellow at the bend of the wing; the female is olive-green with yellow markings below. P. schlegeli is green above and yellow below in {472}both sexes, the male having a black head, the female white streaks on that part. The outward form and habits recall those of Pitta, but the latter are more arboreal. The young are apparently spotted, unlike those of the Pittidae, which resemble the adults.

Fam. III. XENICIDAE.–This contains the genera Acanthidositta and Traversia, each with one species, and Xenicus with two; they are remarkable New Zealand forms, in which the weak syringeal muscles only reach the lowest tracheal ring. The slender metatarsi are almost smooth, the claws acute and elongated; the short rectrices number ten, and the tenth primary is nearly equal to the next; the secondaries are eight. The tongue is lanceolate and horny. The stout-billed, long-legged Xenicus longipes has dark green upper parts, a brown crown, a yellowish rump and sides, black cheeks, whitish superciliary stripes and throat, and silky, bluish-grey under parts. The female is chiefly brown. X. gilviventris is olive-brown on the back and cheeks, and purplish-brown beneath, with some rufous and a black spot on the wing. Both forms inhabit the South Island, and are called "Bush-Wren" and Rock-Wren respectively. The former frequents dark sub-alpine forests, restlessly searching the trees for insects, their chrysalids and larvae, and uttering a weak note or a trill. It is seldom seen on the ground, yet flies but little, as might be expected from its short, rounded wings. The compact domed nest of moss, placed in low forks or in tree-roots, contains five or six white eggs with pink blotches; when built in holes it is open. The other species lives among débris high up the hills, being almost entirely terrestrial, skulking round the boulders, and eating dragonflies, lepidoptera, and insects generally, with scraps of fat from any traveller's camp. The nest of roots, twigs, and leaves, lined with feathers, is placed in crevices, and contains some five white eggs. The similar Traversia lyalli of Stephens Island is said to be nocturnal. Acanthidositta chloris, the Rifleman, is dull green above with yellower rump, and fulvous white below; the moderate wings are blackish, with green edgings and yellow bars; the eye-stripe is white; the short rounded tail is black with light tip. The female has an olive upper surface with brown markings, a yellow rump, and buffish under parts. This species inhabits the hill-forests of both the main islands of New Zealand, where it actively searches the trees for food with quivering wings, and utters a feeble "cheep." The more or less bottle-shaped nest, placed in holes in trees, {473}buildings, and so forth, is formed of bents, roots, and feathers, and contains from three to five white eggs.

Fam. IV. TYRANNIDAE.–This comprises some four hundred species, chiefly of an olive or black-and-grey coloration, which is occasionally relieved by bright scarlet as in Pyrocephalus, orange-red as in Muscivora, or yellow as in Todirostrum; but these hues are not necessarily common to whole genera. Agriornis and Megarhynchus are exceptionally large forms, but the majority are small, and in habits and appearance resemble the Old World Flycatchers, or even Shrikes. From the former, however, they are easily distinguished by their normal outer primary and the exteriorly scutellated back of the metatarsus (exaspidean). Dr. Sclater[268] recognises four Sub-families, Taeniopterinae, Platyrhynchinae, Elaineinae, and Tyranninae.

The curved bill, varying in length and stoutness, is compressed and bristly at the gape in the Taeniopterinae, hardly bristly in the Elaineinae, depressed and decidedly bristly in the Platyrhynchinae and Tyranninae; while the culmen is most strongly hooked in the larger species, being much curved in Oncostoma, particularly broad and flat in Platyrhynchus, Megarhynchus, Muscivora, Todirostrum, and Euscarthmus, swollen and very wide in Rhynchocyclus. In the first and last of the Sub-families the metatarsus is strong and often long; in the remainder it is comparatively weak; Centrites has an extremely elongated hallux, correlated with Lark-like habits. The wing is usually short, but is often long in the Taeniopterinae and Tyranninae; the outer of the ten primaries are at times acuminate in Tyrannus, Hapalocercus, Cnipolegus, and Taenioptera, whereas in Colopterus and Alectrurus these quills are unusually reduced. The secondaries are nine. The tail, normally of twelve rectrices, varies much in length, and is very deeply forked and graduated in Milvulus, Muscipipra, and three members of Tyrannus, moderately divided in Contopus and certain species of Taenioptera, and so forth; it is not infrequently nearly square; while it is long and rounded in Capsiempis and the like; long and graduated, with only ten narrowly-barbed feathers in Culicivora; of the same shape in Cybernetes; and excessively reduced in Orchilus ecaudatus. Copurus possesses two very long median rectrices; the male of Alectrurus tricolor has the two fairly long outer feathers with their inner webs abnormally developed, and that of A. risorius has them enormously lengthened and broadened.

{474}The Taeniopterinae, which are generally black, grey, and white, frequent the open parts of wooded districts, river-sides, or exceptionally marshes, in South America, a few of them extending north of Panama; the Elaineinae and Platyrhynchinae are olive, grey, brown, and yellow, and inhabit dense forests from South Mexico to Patagonia, Ornithion imberbe ranging as far north as Texas; the Tyranninae–with many large species–normally exhibit olive, grey, yellow, or white in varying proportions, and include most of the Nearctic genera, such as Contopus, Empidonax, Myiarchus, and Tyrannus, as well as many Neotropical forms, and the entirely Antillean Blacicus and Lawrencia. Erectile crests occur in some cases in Tyrannulus, Cnipolegus, Colopterus, Pseudotriccus, Lophotriccus, Machetornis, Muscivora, Empidonax, Anaeretes, Elainea, Pyrocephalus, Myiobius, and Mitrephanes; white eye-rings are found in Euscarthmus zosterops, E. orbitatus, and Capsiempis orbitalis; a fleshy yellow caruncle surrounds each eye in Lichenops; and in the breeding male of Alectrurus risorius the throat and cheeks shew bare orange skin.

The following are examples of the coloration, which is often similar in both sexes. Tyrannus pipiri, the King-bird of temperate North America, ranging to Peru in winter, is dark grey, with a concealed orange patch on the black crown, black and white wings and tail, and white under parts. Pyrocephalus rubineus, of South America north of Buenos Aires, is dark cinereous with crimson head and lower surface, the female being grey above, and chiefly white below with grey stripes. Muscivora regia of Guiana and Amazonia is brown, with a scarlet crest tipped with purplish, and has ochraceous under parts with brownish bars. The crest is yellower in the hen. Megarhynchus pitangua, of Central and South America to Paraguay, is brown, with yellow lower surface, a black head, white superciliary streaks joining on the nape, a concealed orange coronal patch, and a white throat. Elainea pagana, ranging from South Mexico to Brazil, is dull olive above, and greyish-white below with yellow belly; a spot on the crown and two alar bars being white. Cyanotis azarae of La Plata, Chili, and West Peru has bronzy-green upper and yellow lower surface, with a partial black band beneath and a crimson vent; the head is black with a crimson spot, the wings and tail are black and white. Todirostrum cinereum of Central America and eastern South America is greyish above and yellow below, with black crown, wings, and tail, the primaries having yellow edges and {475}the tail a white tip. Taenioptera dominicana, of South-East Brazil and Argentina, is white with the wings and tail mainly black; Cnipolegus unicolor of Upper Amazonia is uniform black.

Tyrants are active and restless birds, chiefly met with near rivers or marshes, where they are constantly seen sitting alone on the branches of trees, bushes, dead thistles, and giant pampas-grasses, or more rarely, as in the Chat-like Muscisaxicola, on clods and boulders; thence they dart, like Flycatchers, upon their prey. Centrites frequents bare plains and loves the ground; Serpophaga and Sayornis haunt streams, and flirt the tail like a Wagtail; Fluvicola, Alectrurus, and Cyanotis inhabit reed-beds, and climb about the bending stems in Tit-like fashion; the Taeniopterinae are mainly terrestrial, and often form flocks, Myiotheretes running and flying like a Thrush, and even accompanying bands of Plovers; Machetornis searches the backs of cattle for insects, and dusts itself like a Lark. Many members of the family are decidedly shy, but the majority are otherwise, and in especial the Tyranninae, which are excessively bold and pugnacious when breeding, attacking even the Carrion-Hawk (Milvago), and bullying their smaller relatives. In a fair number of species the sexes are usually observed apart; in others they are as invariably in company. The range extends to ten thousand feet or more in the Andes, Muscisaxicola macloviana being found at that altitude, as well as down to the sea-coast in Patagonia; while in some cases semi-migratory movements take place at certain times of year. The powers of wing are commonly great, especially in the agile King-bird and its congeners; Taenioptera and Agriornis can fly as well as hop; Centrites, though of terrestrial habits, moves swiftly or circles easily in the air; Pitangus and Empidonax minimus quarter the ground for food with undulating movements. Pyrocephalus rubineus soars with upraised vibrating wings to a considerable height, with many a rise and fall; Alectrurus tricolor goes slowly and vertically up with rapid pulsations of the pinions, and then comes slanting down; while the graceful Scissor-tail (Milvulus) twists and turns about in the air, alternately opening and shutting its long forked rectrices, or whirling aloft at will to dart earthwards again like a rocket.

{476}[Illustration: FIG. 101.–Scissor-tail. Milvulus tyrannus. × 2/7.]

The usual note is shrill, piercing, and often harsh or angry, as in Tyrannus, Myiarchus, and Machetornis; it is loud, grating, and rarely mellow, in Pitangus and Cybernetes; a low plaintive whistle or pipe is uttered by Myiotheretes, Cyanotis, and most of the Taeniopterinae, Sayornis having a ringing cry, supposed to resemble "Phoebe," which name it bears in North America, and Fluvicola and Cnipolegus giving vent to clicking sounds. Many species twitter, chirp, or chatter, while Pyrocephalus rubineus, Hapalocercus flaviventer, Ornithion imberbe, Contopus ardesiacus, and Empidonax flaviventer are stated to have a pleasant trill approaching a song. These notes may be uttered by the birds either when soaring in the air or when stationary. The food normally consists of insects, caught upon the wing with an audible snap of the bill; but Taenioptera often, instead of hawking from a perch, pounces upon crawling beetles, grasps them in its claws, and devours them upon the earth. Pitangus bolivianus and some other forms even eat mice, young birds, small snakes, lizards, fishes, frogs, spiders, molluscs, worms, and insect-larvae, beating the larger creatures upon a branch to kill them. Elainea strepera, Myiarchus crinitus, and some species of Tyrannus, will eat berries and seeds. A bulky nest is often fashioned of rough twigs, moss, grass, straws, wool, hair, and rags; which may be open as in Tyrannus, or domed as in Pitangus bolivianus, and placed in trees in either case: or it may be beautifully felted with moss, lichens, and spiders'-webs, and lined with hair and feathers, as in Elainea and Serpophaga. Sayornis commonly makes a foundation of mud pellets, adding coarse materials above with feathers for bedding, the fabric being fixed to rocks or buildings. Again, many species build slight or fairly compact nests of grass, twigs, and softer materials {477}in bushes, forks, or outgrowths of trees. Copurus, Taenioptera, Machetornis, and Myiarchus commonly use old holes of Woodpeckers; Todirostrum and Fluvicola often make hanging purse-like structures; Cyanotis attaches its conical nest of papery reeds to the stems of those plants; Serpophaga frequently suspends its domicile to twigs, roots, or grasses overhanging water; Alectrurus, Lichenops, Hapalocercus, and Centrites build in rush- or grass-tufts, and Muscisaxicola under stones. Taenioptera and Machetornis, moreover, will lay in the "ovens" of Furnarius, or in the nests of Anumbius acuticaudus (pp. 486, 487). Muscivora mexicana makes a curious hanging spindle-shaped nest, surrounded by loose materials. The eggs are usually whitish, salmon- or cream-coloured, and may be unspotted, or dotted and ringed with red, purple, or brown; those of Pyrocephalus rubineus have black and grey markings, those of Machetornis dense brown stripes or spots, those of Myiarchus tangled purple or red-brown lines and marblings, while those of Centrites niger are plain bluish-green.

Fam. V. OXYRHAMPHIDAE.–The members differ from the Tyrannidae in the straight bill, and the serrated outer web of the tenth primary of the male. The sole genus Oxyrhamphus has three greenish forms, with red crests, and black-spotted yellow or white lower parts.

Fam. VI. PIPRIDAE.–The Manakins, often considered a sub-section of the Cotingidae, are for the most part small thick-set birds, though Heteropelma and some other genera have greater dimensions. The seventy or more species may be divided into the Sub-families, Piprinae, with brilliant males, and Ptilochlorinae, where the sexes are usually dull-coloured and similar;[269] the former ranging from South Mexico to North Argentina, the latter to South-East Brazil. The curved bill is generally short and wide at the base in the Piprinae, with an indistinct terminal notch; but is somewhat elongated, much compressed, decidedly notched, and usually provided with rictal bristles in the Ptilochlorinae. The metatarsus is exaspidean (p. 473)–though nearly smooth in Metopothrix and Masius–and is comparatively slender in most of the Piprinae, stronger in the Ptilochlorinae, Piprites, and Ceratopipra; the outer and mid-toes being partially united. The exterior of the ten primaries is always short, while the wing is much elongated in Chloropipo; the secondaries are nine or ten. {478}In the males of some forms the remiges differ from those of the females; thus the shafts of the primaries are thickened and pointed in Chiroxiphia, similar but incurved in Helicura and Chiromachaeris, with much attenuated barbs in the latter; in Ptilochloris the seventh primary is modified and bends outwards. In Machaeropterus the wing-bones are flattened; the secondaries have thick stems bending inwards towards the tip, and shew reduced vanes, save the eighth and ninth, while the sixth and seventh have the shaft terminally developed into a horny excrescence. The tail is usually short and square, but is long in Chloropipo and Metopia, rounded in the latter and Masius, graduated in Metopothrix and Heterocercus. The outer of the twelve feathers are much elongated in Cirrhopipra, being acuminate in C. heterocerca, curved and filiform in C. filicauda; the two median rectrices are lengthened in Helicura; while in three species of Chiroxiphia they are also long, or even linear in C. linearis. Frontal crests occur in Metopia, Masius, and Metopothrix; vertical crests in Pipra serena, P. suavissima, and four species of Chiroxiphia; Ceratopipra has a peculiar extended nuchal tuft, Chiromachaeris an elongated beard.

As examples of coloration we may take the following:–Chloropipo flavicapilla has a yellow head, neck, and under parts, a green back, and brownish wings; Xenopipo atronitens is uniform black; Ceratopipra cornuta, black with scarlet head, neck, and thighs; Cirrhopipra filicauda similarly coloured, with yellow forehead and lower surface. Pipra leucocilla is black with a white crown; P. velutina has a blue cap, P. suavissima an erect white vertical crest, lilac rump, and orange mid-abdomen. Machaeropterus regulus exhibits green upper parts, a scarlet crown, slaty wing- and tail-quills, and white, green, and rufous under surface. Chiroxiphia pareola is black, with blue mantle and crimson crest; Chiromachaeris aurantiaca is also black, with orange nuchal band, cheeks and breast, green rump, and yellow abdomen. The females are green, with yellowish or whitish tints below. {479}Ptilochloris squamata is in both sexes olive-green, with blackish cap and wings, and yellowish under parts marked with black; others again of the Ptilochlorinae are chiefly olive or rufous,[270] three species of Heteropelma having concealed coronal patches of yellow.

Manakins as a rule inhabit deep forests, or thick undergrowth near marshes, where they incessantly creep about the branches like Tits, and take short flights after passing insects. Chiroxiphia caudata is called in Brazil the "Fandango-bird," from the fact that one individual often sits and sings, while its fellows dance up and down to the music. Two males of C. linearis have been seen skipping before a female, and uttering meanwhile their cry of "to-le-do." Chiromachaeris makes a sound like a whip cracking, followed by a continuous rattle–possibly caused by the wings; but this noise seems peculiar to the genus, the usual cry being loud and whistling. Fruits of all sorts, especially berries and seeds, and occasionally insects, form the food. Chiromachaeris manacus and Chiroxiphia caudata hang loose, shallow nests of grass–the latter with slight additions of wool, hair, tendrils, and leaves–from the forks of low shrubs; the two eggs being reddish-or yellowish-white, thickly blotched with red or brown.

Fam. VII. COTINGIDAE.–This group, divided by Mr. Sclater[271] into the Sub-families Tityrinae, Lipauginae, Attilinae, Rupicolinae, Cotinginae, and Gymnoderinae, contains more than a hundred species; but the Attilinae are sometimes placed in the Tyrannidae or the Formicariidae, Iodopleura and Calyptura in the Pipridae. The range extends from South Mexico to Argentina, Carpodectes being restricted to Costa Rica and Nicaragua, Phoenicocercus, Haematoderus, and Gymnocephalus to Guinea and Amazonia, Doliornis to Central Peru, Tijuca, Phibalura, and Calyptura to South Brazil.

The bill varies from strong, elongated, compressed, and curved, as in Tijuca, the Tityrinae and Attilinae, to short and broad, as in Phibalura, Querula, and Chasmorhynchus; the culmen being particularly elevated in Gymnoderus, and much hooked in the Attilinae. The metatarsus, scutellated in front, and usually covered with small round scales behind (pycnaspidean), is especially strong in Pyroderus and Rupicola, partly feathered in the latter, and posteriorly corrugated in Lipaugus; while Attila and other kindred forms have the outer toes somewhat {480}connected. The wings may be long, as in Carpodectes and Iodopleura, or short as in Phoenicocercus and Calyptura; the ten primaries, of which the outer is small, are much reduced and twisted in Chirocylla–particularly in the male; in that sex of Rupicola some have the inner web cut away at the tip, while the external secondaries have the outer vanes filamentous; the Tityrinae have the ninth primary abbreviated and often scimetar-shaped; the seventh has a terminal horny process in the male of Phoenicocercus. The secondaries are ten or eleven. In Xipholena the greater coverts are stiff and elongated. The tail of twelve rectrices is usually moderate and square; though very short in the Cotinginae, long in Tijuca, deeply forked in Phibalura, and nearly hidden by its coverts in Cotinga amabilis. Bristles surround the gape in the Lipauginae and Attilinae, but vary elsewhere; Rupicola has a large compressed crest, Cephalopterus (Fig. 103), one like an umbrella, Phoenicocercus, Doliornis, Heliochera, Calyptura, and Phibalura moderate tufts. Wattles and naked areas occur in Chasmorhynchus and Cephalopterus; some species of Tityra have the lores and orbits bare; Gymnoderus has the sides of the head and the whole neck, Gymnocephalus the entire head unfeathered.

The plumage is ordinarily plain rufous, green, or grey; the females being nearly always dull, though many of the males are very brilliant. Among these Tityra exhibits black and white hues, Hadrostomus is chiefly grey or black, with a rosy band below in three cases, Pachyrhamphus is green, black, yellow, rufous, or grey, sometimes varied with white. Lathria streptophora has a pink collar, Aulia irregular black spots below. Phoenicocercus carnifex is dark brown, with scarlet crown, rump, most of the tail and under parts; Rupicola crocea, the well-known Cock of the Rock, is bright orange, with brown and white wings and partly blackish rectrices; Phibalura flavirostris is black and yellow with concealed scarlet crest; Tijuca is black, with yellow on the wing; Ampelion is green, relieved by brown, black, and yellow; Pipreola is green, with black, scarlet, yellow, or orange markings on the throat or breast; Cotinga exhibits splendid blue and purple tints; Xipholena pompadora has an unusual reddish-purple hue, coupled with almost white wings. Carpodectes is snowy white, with leaden-coloured or yellow bill; Heliochera has black, grey, white, or yellow coloration, with a chestnut crest; Iodopleura shews a lilac tuft on each side of the breast; and Calyptura {481}is chiefly greenish-yellow, with a scarlet, black-edged crest. Of the peculiar Gymnoderinae, Haematoderus, which has elongated head-, neck-, rump-, and breast-feathers, is crimson with brown wings and tail, the female having brown on the back; Querula is dull black with a red collar of lengthened plumes; Pyroderus is black with crimson throat and fore-neck. Cephalopterus ornatus, the Umbrella-bird, is entirely black, with a huge expanded umbrella-like crest of bare-shafted incurved feathers, and a long flattened and feathered gular wattle; C. penduliger has this appendage extraordinarily long and cylindrical; C. glabricollis a bare orange throat with a terminal tuft on the red outgrowth. Chasmorhynchus niveus is white, with a spiral erectile process on the forehead, thinly covered with white feathers: C. nudicollis has the cheeks and throat naked and bristly, but lacks the excrescence; C. variegatus is white, with a brown head, black wings, and bare papillose throat; C. tricarunculatus is chestnut, with a white head bearing three caruncles, on the forehead and at the gape. In this genus the females are green above and chiefly yellow below. The bill may be orange or red in the Family, while Gymnoderus alone has large white powder-down patches on the flanks.

{482}[Illustration: FIG. 104.–Bell-bird. Chasmorhynchus niveus. × 2/7. (From Waterton's Wanderings.)]

The habits of these woodland birds are comparatively little known, but most of them frequent high trees, though some prefer low bushes; such forms as Lipaugus and Heteropelma haunt dense forests, Pipreola and Phibalura more open situations, while small flocks often occur at considerable elevations, Heliochera reaching ten thousand feet. Cephalopterus ornatus loves islands in rivers, Chasmorhynchus and Xenopsaris marshy glades or even sedge-growth. The flight, usually of short duration, is heavy and noisy in Pipreola and elsewhere, Swallow-like in Phibalura; insects are often captured on the wing, and not only these but spiders, molluscs, and even lizards, are occasionally sought upon the ground. Berries, seeds, and the like, however, constitute the chief food. Cephalopterus and Hadrostomus, at least occasionally, beat their prey upon a branch before swallowing it. The members of this Family are usually somewhat shy and dull, but the males of Rupicola were observed by Schomburgk to dance in turn with outspread wings before an assembled flock, strutting and parading with frequent leaps. This bird is credited with a voice like a monkey; Chasmorhynchus niveus is termed Campanero or Bell-bird from its clear, bell-like note, uttered with the caruncle erected, while its congeners have also ringing cries; Cephalopterus gives vent to long deep "lowings" at sunrise and sunset. Tityra semifasciata utters frog-like sounds, Pachyrhamphus a loud whistle, and other species notes resembling those of Tanagers, Tyrants, or Wrens. Rupicola fastens a nest of mud, surmounted by twigs and lined with moss, to projections of rocks {483}in damp, sunless caves, laying two buff eggs with reddish-brown and lilac spots; Pyroderus orenocensis deposits similar eggs on platforms of sticks placed in tree-forks; Tityra semifasciata lines holes in decayed limbs with dry grass to receive its white eggs; Hadrostomus niger, H. homochrous, and some species of Pachyrhamphus, hang big nests of such materials as leaves, plant-stalks and wool, with side entrances, from low branches; the two to four eggs, where known, being chocolate, faintly marked or unspotted; Phibalura fixes a cup of lichens in the crotch of a large tree, laying twice annually two greenish-blue eggs with neutral markings; Cephalopterus is said to make a rough nest of sticks; and Pipreola riefferi to deposit pale salmon-coloured eggs, sparingly spotted with reddish-brown.

Fam. VIII. PHYTOTOMIDAE.–The Plant-cutters constitute a single genus Phytotoma, of four Finch-like species, having strongly serrated bills and pycnaspidean (p. 479) metatarsi. The primaries number ten, the secondaries nine, the rectrices twelve. P. rara of Chili is brown and black, with red crown and lower surface, white margins to the wing-coverts, and red-banded lateral tail-feathers; the female has yellowish-brown under parts streaked with black, and a brown crown. P. raimondii of North-West Peru is somewhat like, but has only a narrow red frontlet; P. angustirostris of Bolivia is greyer, with white on the secondaries and tail, and a browner breast; the hen being chiefly greyish, with black striations above and spots below; P. rutila of Argentina and North Patagonia is very similar. Flocks or pairs of Plant-eaters are found in dry open situations, the former often consisting solely of the comparatively unsuspicious males; they sit aloft on bushes, but hide when alarmed. The flight is whirring with sudden short undulations; the food consists of seeds and other fruits, tender shoots, buds and leaves; while the voice is decidedly harsh, the alarm-note of the male resembles the bleating of a kid, and the female's cry is cricket-like. The slight, shallow nest of twigs and fibres is placed in thick bushes, and contains four bluish-green eggs, flecked with brown. The birds are said to cut plants off close to the ground without apparent object.

The four Families that follow are often classed as Tracheophonae, and have loud voices owing to their tracheal syrinx (p. 22).

Fam. IX. DENDROCOLAPTIDAE.–This group, with over 200 species, occupies the Neotropical Region, excluding the Antilles, {484}and is divided by Mr. Sclater[272] into the Sub-families Furnariinae, Synallaxinae, Philydorinae, Sclerurinae, and Dendrocolaptinae.

The extremely variable bill is short and straight in Geobates and Henicornis, Warbler-like in the Synallaxinae, stouter and Shrike-like in the Philydorinae, extremely strong in Hylexetastes, short and incurved in Xenerpestes and Phacellodomus, short with upturned genys in Glyphorhynchus, Xenops, and Pygarrhicus, very long, thin, and decurved in Xiphorhynchus, very long, but only slightly curved in Nasica, and so forth. It is much hooked in Ancistrops. The endaspidean[273] metatarsus may be long and slender, as in Sylviorthorhynchus; stronger, as in the terrestrial Furnariinae and Sclerurinae; or shorter, as in the scansorial Dendrocolaptinae, which usually have large toes and sharp claws. The scales are almost obsolete in Furnarius and Lochmias; the outer and middle toes are partially connected in the Sclerurinae and Dendrocolaptinae. The wings, which have ten primaries and about nine secondaries, are long in Pseudocolaptes, moderate in Xenerpestes, short and rounded in Lochmias, and frequently decidedly abbreviated. The variable tail, normally of twelve rectrices, is often graduated; the shafts of the quills are stiffened and spiny in the Sclerurinae and Dendrocolaptinae, the latter of which climb and feed in Woodpecker fashion; in the Synallaxinae it is generally long, with pointed but comparatively soft feathers; in the Philydorinae it is short, Anumbius having particularly sharp rhachides. It is also short, though rounded, in Xenerpestes, Coryphistera, and Limnophyes, similar but longer in Clibanornis, while it has the shafts projecting beyond the vanes in Homorus, Oxyurus, and Sittosomus. Schizoeaca and Synallaxis have only ten rectrices, and Sylviorthorhynchus apparently possesses but six, the outer being very short and the inner excessively long with narrow decomposed webs. Limnornis, at least, has the tongue bristly towards the end.

The coloration is chiefly brown of various shades, often with the tail chestnut–or, rarely, the body, as in Homorus; spots, striations, or cross-bars, of white, fulvous, or black occur frequently, and Margarornis has pearl-like markings below. The rump or under parts may be white, and the throat occasionally exhibits a black, rufous or yellow patch, or the breast a chestnut band; while black, rusty, brown, or grey caps are not uncommon, that of {485}Siptornis albiceps being white. The bill may be red, or exceptionally the feet white, as in Furnarius leucopus. Crests are found in F. cristatus, Synallaxis semicinerea, Coryphistera, and Homorus. The sexes, as far as known, are similar. The large Drymornis bridgesi is over a foot long, but many forms are not half that size, and most are comparatively small.

The habits are extremely diverse. Geositta cunicularia flits along low and swiftly, like a Wheatear, with the tail in motion, or crouches and runs before the pedestrian, uttering a note resembling piti-piti, varied by a ringing trill. It frequents bare spots, and bores oblique tunnels in biscacha burrows, sandy banks, or mud walls, ending in cavities lined with soft grasses, where it lays five white eggs. The food consists of seeds, insects, and their larvae, the bill being commonly used to dig. Lochmias nematura fills a similar hole with a large-domed nest of twigs and roots, lined with leaves, which contains two white eggs. The Oven-birds (Furnarius) run or hop unconcernedly among the wayfarers with the head thrown back, or pause with one foot uplifted; they utter incessant and loud, but not unmelodious, cries with the beak outstretched, which are even heard at night.[274] Worms, {486}insects and their larvae are sought upon the ground, and both sexes incubate, the pairs keeping together throughout the year. The curious nest (Fig. 105) is placed in exposed situations on branches, in forks of trees or shrubs, on posts, rocks, or house-roofs; it has thick walls, almost unbreakable when dry, of clayey mud and dung mixed with a little hair or dry grass, a lining of the same materials underlying the three to five white eggs. This massive structure has an inner chamber with an outer passage running partly round it, and is generally the work of several months, the materials being only procurable in damp weather. The above refers at least to Furnarius cinnamomeus, F. minor, and F. rufus (the "Hornero" or Baker); but White[275] states that F. figulus builds a stick nest, and E. Bartlett[276] that F. torridus deposits four creamy white eggs on twigs and bents in holes in banks. Upucerthia, resembling Geositta in general habits, ranges to an altitude of nine thousand feet. The lively Cinclodes recalls both the Wheatear and the Dipper, as it runs with upturned tail from stone to stone, takes short, low flights, or hunts for crustaceans, molluscs, and insects in the water, equally happy on the streams of the Andes, or the desolate lake-sides of Patagonia. The note is a sharp trill, while three white eggs are laid on a bed of grass and fur in holes. Sclerurus frequents damp forests, scratching among the leaves, and crouching, when startled, on some trunk. Phloeocryptes flies weakly, but hops actively about reed-beds in pursuit of flies, uttering reiterated grating notes; it attaches its Wren-like nest of grass or rushes and mud, lined with feathers, moss and hair, to a few of the reed-stems, and builds a projection over the entrance. The two or three oval eggs are glossy blue. The shrill-voiced Leptasthenura clings to the branches in search of insects like a Tit, and lays from three to six pointed white eggs on soft materials in holes in trees, sometimes utilizing nests of Furnarius rufus, Siptornis sordida, and other species. Synallaxis, usually seen in pairs searching for food upon the bushes, has a persistent harsh double call or a cat-like cry; it forms a loose, oval structure, which would fill an ordinary wheel-barrow, of thorny sticks and twigs in forks of trees, lining it with hair, feathers, woolly leaves,and the like, and often capping it with more leaves. This generally possesses a lower chamber connected by a vertical or horizontal passage with the entrance, itself protected by a tubular fabric; while more than {487}one nest is often found in the same tree. The three or four eggs are pale greenish-blue or whitish. Siptornis sordida appears to have similar habits, but several of its congeners run like mice; or conceal themselves in herbage or holes, the marsh-loving species uttering very whirring notes. S. sulphurifera fabricates a domed nest of grass among rushes, and lays two white eggs; that of S. maluroïdes is open, and lined with feathers and wool, though the site is similar; that of S. striaticeps resembles the last-mentioned, but is placed in a tree-fork and contains four or five white eggs. S. hudsoni arches the grass over a hollow in the ground in open spots, and deposits five pale buff eggs on a little powdered dung; its flight is Pipit-like, and its cry melancholy. Phacellodomus, usually found in hot dry valleys, is sluggish, and has a shrill, harsh voice; the nest, containing four white eggs, being hung from the end of a branch, and recalling that of Synallaxis. Xenops, Sittosomus, Picolaptes, Xiphorhynchus, Pseudocolaptes, and many other forms are denizens of damp forests, and run up the tree-trunks spirally like Creepers, searching for prey and tapping the bark as Woodpeckers do; the cries are plaintive or noisy, and the white eggs, apparently two in number, are laid in holes. Large insects are sometimes battered upon the branches. Anumbius acuticaudus, the "Thorn-bird" or "Firewood Gatherer," makes a bulky nest some two feet high of thorny sticks, and places it in isolated trees. From an entrance near the top a spiral or zigzag passage leads to a lower cavity lined with grass, hair, feathers, and wool, where five pointed white eggs are deposited; while sometimes an upper roosting chamber is added. This bird utters ticking chirps or trills, and feeds mainly upon the ground, regaining the branches with difficulty. Homorus lophotes, the "Cachalote," with its strikingly white eyes and blue beak, haunts plains with scattered trees or bushes, being decidedly shy and quick of foot, though weak of flight; it eats insects, and turns up the earth with its bill or claws. Rasping cries are often emitted in concert; while the nest–even larger than that of Anumbius–is a loose mass of similar structure, placed on some low branch or in a bush, the three or four white eggs occasionally shewing through the bottom. Drymornis, again, has Woodpecker-like habits, whereas Limnornis and Limnophyes creep about dense reed-beds, and only appear now and then to utter jarring or chattering sounds.

{488}Fam. X. FORMICARIIDAE.–The so-called "Ant-birds"–not known to live on ants–are plentiful in the forests of northern South America, whence the numbers decrease to Central America, Chili and Argentina. Of the two hundred or more species none inhabit the Antilles, but three occur in Trinidad and one in Tobago. Mr. Sclater[277] allows as provisional Sub-families the strong Thamnophilinae, the weaker Formicariinae, and the long-legged Grallariinae.

The beak is strong, compressed, hooked, and terminally toothed in the Thamnophilinae, being exaggerated in Batara, large and swollen in Cymbilanius, and exceptionally hooked in the former genus and Pygoptila; Cymbilanius, Neoctantes, and Clytoctantes have the genys upturned. In the Formicariinae the bill is weaker and but slightly hooked, being very long and thin in Rhamphocaenus; in the Grallariinae it is usually elevated and compressed, though broad in Pittasoma. The taxaspidean metatarsus (p. 471) is moderate or short in the Thamnophilinae, and remarkably long in the Grallariinae, where it may be very strong, as in Pittasoma; among the Formicariinae it is short and thick in Rhopoterpe and Formicivora, long and thin in Psilorhamphus and Formicarius, and so forth. In Phlogopsis, Psilorhamphus, Rhamphocaenus, Heterocnemis, Myrmeciza, Hypocnemis, Pithys, and Gymnopithys the scutes are nearly fused. The outer and middle toes are joined towards the base. The wings, which have ten primaries and nine secondaries, are normally short and rounded, though longer in Rhopoterpe; the tail is commonly long and broad in the Thamnophilinae, varies greatly in the Formicariinae, and is very short and square in the Grallariinae. It may be rounded or graduated in the first two Sub-families, and Terenura has it remarkably thin; Cercomacra, Formicivora caudata, and F. ferruginea have only ten rectrices in place of the usual twelve. Thamnomanes has well-developed rictal bristles, Rhamphocaenus has the nostrils in a groove and partly covered by a membrane.

The sexes are similar, and mainly reddish-brown, in Rhamphocaenus, Phlogopsis, and the Grallariinae; but generally the males are black and white, black, grey and brown, or uniform black; and the females ferruginous, more or less relieved by black and white. Cross-bars, spots, and striations are not uncommon, the white often shewing as a band on the tail, an edging to the wing-coverts, or exceptionally, as in Pygoptila margaritata, as {489}round spots on both wing and tail; while the yellowish lower parts of Myrmotherula pygmaea, Herpsilochmus rufimarginatus and three species of Terenura exhibit the brightest tints found in the Family. Black or dark-hued caps are not infrequent; crests occur in Batara, Pithys, and many members of Thamnophilus; the rump-feathers are often dense and elongated, as in Thamnistes, Pygoptila, Chamaeza, Cercomacra, and Thamnomanes; those of the flanks are much developed in Thamnocharis; those of the lores are short and erect in Pyriglena. Bare red or bluish orbits are found occasionally; Gymnocichla has most of the head naked and blue; and the irides may be red, white, or brown. Batara is quite fourteen inches long, Myrmotherula pygmaea about three.

The usually shy and retiring Formicariidae either skulk among dense undergrowth in hot tropical forests, or frequent more cultivated districts; they creep about silently, singly or in pairs, seeking spiders, insects and their larvae, on the twigs and foliage of trees, or on parasitical plants or grasses; while they habitually keep near the ground, though sometimes joining flocks of other birds in their higher flights. Many carefully search the lower surface of the leaves for food with the head downwards, and occasionally eat seeds. The Grallariinae appear to be entirely, and the Formicariinae to a great extent terrestrial, hops being the characteristic mode of progress; the tail is commonly carried erect or in motion, as in the case of Formicarius, and is often much abraded by the thorny thickets. Thamnophilus albinuchalis and some other species choose dry situations, but generally the vicinity of water is preferred. The ordinary note in the Family is deep and powerful, and is said to have the effect of ventriloquism; it consists of monotonously repeated sounds, like ke-ke-ke or ko-ko-ko, varied by more rasping tones or trills. The nest, a slight shallow structure, generally hung from the lower twigs of a tree or bush, is composed of straws, fibres, roots, and hair, or occasionally of leaves, moss, and wool; it contains two or three white, bluish, or rufous-brown eggs, usually spotted, streaked, or zigzagged with red-brown, but more rarely with grey.

Fam. XI. CONOPOPHAGIDAE.–These curious birds, and their equally remarkable allies the Pteroptochidae, differ from all other Passeres in having two incisions posteriorly on each side of the sternum. The Conopophagidae, extending from Colombia to Bolivia and Brazil, include the genus Conopophaga, and probably {490}Corythopis. The head is large, the bill depressed in the first-named, longer and more compressed in the last; the exaspidean metatarsus (p. 473) is thick and long in the one, with broad curved hind-claw, but is thinner, with straighter and weaker hallux, in the other. The outer and middle toes are basally connected. The wings are moderate and rounded, as in the next Family; the tail is very short in Conopophaga, which has long, lax rump-feathers. The general coloration is brown, with a white mark behind the eye in the last-named genus; the head may be black, or chestnut with black sides; the throat black; the breast banded with chestnut, black or grey; or the central abdomen white. Corythopis has black striations below.

Fam. XII. PTEROPTOCHIDAE.–This group ranges from Costa Rica to Patagonia, occurring up to an altitude of nine or ten thousand feet. The bill is comparatively long and thin in Scytalopus and Merulaxis, stronger in Liosceles, Pteroptochus, Hylactes, and Rhinocrypta, being much arched in the last-named; the culmen expands into a peculiar oval plate in Acropternis and Triptorhinus; while a membrane partially covers the nostrils. The taxaspidean metatarsus (p. 471) is generally elongated and strong, with long claws, the hallux being long and incurved in Hylactes, and similar but straighter in Acropternis; the whole foot is shorter in Rhinocrypta, more slender in Pteroptochus, while the scutes are fused in front in Liosceles. The short, rounded wings have ten primaries and eight secondaries; the tail varies in length, and may be graduated, as in Merulaxis and Acropternis, or short and more even, as in Triptorhinus. Hylactes has fourteen rectrices in place of twelve. The colour is blackish, dark grey, or brown, often barred or scalloped with black; the crown, rump, breast, or belly are at times chestnut or rufous, the lower parts varied with white, or even banded with orange. Merulaxis has long, stiff loral plumes, Rhinocrypta lanceolata a crest, and several forms elongated rump-feathers. In Acropternis the back and abdomen are ocellated with white. The sexes are nearly similar.

These peculiar birds are commonly shy and retiring, hopping actively about with erect tails, or running like mice, but rarely flying, except between the boughs and the ground. They are decidedly difficult of observation, though they follow up the pedestrian under cover, betraying their position by their scolding cries. Many species, such as Hylactes tarnii, the "Guid-guid," Pteroptochus rubecula, the "Cheu-can," and Triptorhinus paradoxus, the {491}"Cheu-gui," inhabit damp, gloomy forests; others often frequent dry plains, or stony and bushy hill-sides, as H. megapodius, "El Turco," and P. albicollis, the "Tapaculo"; while Scytalopus magellanicus prefers thick woods, but also haunts grass-lands in the Falkland Islands. Rhinocrypta lanceolata, the "Gallito," or Little Cock, lives in thickets and hedges, and struts in the open like a Fowl. The food, chiefly obtained upon the ground, consists of insects, seeds, and buds. The noisy and generally harsh notes vary considerably, Hylactes tarnii yelping like a dog, Pteroptochus albicollis sometimes uttering a sound like a coo, Triptorhinus paradoxus a reiterated frog-like croak, Rhinocrypta lanceolata a hollow chirrup or a scolding cry. The nest, commonly situated near the ground, is said in some cases to be made of sticks; Rhinocrypta forms a domed structure of grass in a bush, and lays four eggs; Scytalopus magellanicus is recorded as using a mass of moss upon a bank to contain its set of two; Hylactes and Pteroptochus are reported to nest in burrows. The eggs are white, at least in the first three.

2. PASSERES DIACROMYODAE.

C. Suboscines.

This group contains only the two Families Menuridae (Lyre-birds) and Atrichornithidae (Scrub-birds), each with one genus, Menura and Atrichornis respectively. The former possesses three pairs of vocal muscles, the latter only two pairs;[278] Menura, moreover, has a peculiarly long sternum, constricted towards the middle, while Atrichornis has but rudimentary clavicles, being thus unique among the Passerine forms.

Fam. I. MENURIDAE.–Lyre-birds have a stout bill; very long and powerful metatarsi, with robust elongated straight claws; and somewhat short rounded wings, with eleven primaries and ten secondaries. The tail has sixteen rectrices, and in the males of two species has the exterior pair of feathers curved like a lyre, with very narrow outer and very broad inner webs; the next six pairs have very distant barbs and no barbules, except towards the base; while the two median plumes have narrow inner and no outer webs, and after crossing below, curve boldly outwards. The tongue is sagittate, the furcula U-shaped, the after-shaft rudimentary; the adults have no down. M. superba of New South Wales and South Queensland, some thirty-three inches long, is {492}dull brown, with a slaty tinge above, and more rufous throat, wings, and tail-coverts; while the outer rectrices exhibit regular notch-like transparent or blackish markings on the chestnut inner webs, caused by the absence of barbules. The naked orbits are bluish or lead-coloured. The female has a long, broad, normal tail, the median feathers exceeding the rest. M. victoriae, of Victoria, is darker, with more boldly marked outer rectrices. M. alberti, of Queensland, and the Richmond and Clarence River districts of New South Wales, is redder above, and has the tail less lyrate, the outer feathers being shorter, with no transparent notches.

{493}Lyre-birds haunt precipitous sandy gullies in thick forests with tangled undergrowth, whether inland or near the coast; and, though able to fly, live chiefly upon the ground, whence they leap, when scared, to branches even ten feet high. They run with the tail horizontal, and scratch among fallen leaves for insects–especially coleoptera–myriapods, worms, and molluscs; the solitary individuals or pairs which are usually observed being particularly shy. Each cock has a walk or playground, and scrapes little hillocks or hollows for dancing places, where he struts or pirouettes with erect tail and drooping wings, scratching, pecking, and singing at intervals. Apparently, however, he is not polygamous. The normal cry is a loud, liquid, gurgling sound; but the Pheasants, as the Colonists term them, are clever mockers, imitating a cock's crow, a hen's cackle, a dog's bark or howl, the Laughing Jackass's note, or even the setting of a saw. The tail-feathers are said to be shed after breeding, and to be fully developed only by the fourth year, when males begin to sing. The oval, domed nests, placed on ledges of cliffs, on tops of old stumps, in forks of trees, or by fallen logs, are loose bulky masses of sticks, bark, grass, leaves, ferns, and moss, lined with roots and the bird's feathers. The one large egg has a stone-grey, brown, or dark purple ground-colour, blotched, dotted, and streaked with purplish or blackish-brown. The chicks are said to be covered with black down in M. victoriae, white in M. alberti, and brownish in M. superba; and to remain six weeks in the nest. The hen sits with her tail curled sideways or forwards. The flesh is dark, tough, and unpalatable.

Fam. II. ATRICHORNITHIDAE.–Atrichornis has a large bill; moderate scutellated metatarsi; extremely short wings with eleven primaries, the outer of which is very small, and some eight secondaries; and a long, broad, graduated tail with twelve rectrices. The tongue is sagittate, the aftershaft rudimentary, and no down is present on adults. A. clamosa of Western Australia, about eight and a half inches in length, is brown above, barred with dusky, and reddish-white below, with a black pectoral patch; A. rufescens of New South Wales has the lower parts like the upper. The females appear to be unknown. These very shy birds haunt dense scrub, or grassy and bushy tracts, being very difficult of observation; they mimic the notes of other species cleverly, and also utter a peculiar noisy cry. They scratch in the ground, probably for insect-food.

{494}D. Oscines.

Of this group, or the true singing birds, the anatomy is even less worked out than that of the Suboscines, and consequently the relationships are in many cases extremely doubtful. The Hirundinidae stand distinctly apart, with no other Families near them, though some similarity of habits, and possibly of structure, may be recognised in certain Muscicapidae (especially if Artamus be included among them), and to a less extent in a few Sturnidae; yet almost as much resemblance may be perceived in some Tyrannidae, which (not being Oscinine) can have no affinity to the Hirundinidae. The likeness is therefore probably one of analogy only, and, if so, of no taxonomic value. Here again it must be stated that the Oscines hardly attain more than the rank of a Family, and that in the Passeriformes the Families have not the same value as in the foregoing Orders.

The Alaudidae are generally recognisable by the casing of their metatarsi (p. 496), but in other respects they seem to shew an affinity to the Motacillidae (Anthinae) on the one hand, and to the Fringillidae on the other. The wing-characters, on which reliance was formerly placed, prove to be wholly untrustworthy.

As to the rest of the "Families" of Oscines, it is impossible to indicate their probable relations by placing them in sequence, or even at present to group more than a few of them with any degree of assurance. Some have not yet been defined at all, and few of them sufficiently for anyone to be confident as to their limits. Thus in the Muscicapidae hardly any two systematic ornithologists will agree as to which genera should be included and which excluded. If restricted to Old World forms, there is still no defined boundary between them and the Campephagidae, while there is perhaps even less distinction between them and the Sylviidae (or Sylviinae, if these last be included among the Turdidae). Moreover, by some taxonomers the Mniotiltidae have been referred to the Muscicapidae, and though there is an obvious distinction between them in the number of the primaries, the instance of the Alaudidae (already mentioned) shews that this may be of very slight importance.

Some other "Families" may perhaps be grouped with less risk of error. The Troglodytidae, Certhiidae, Sittidae and Paridae are possibly such; but the limits of the last-named are {495}certainly not laid down, and it would be hard to give a good reason either for admitting or refusing to admit into it genera like Liothrix or Chamaea, while the puzzle is still greater in regard to some forms from Australia and New Zealand.

The two latest writers on the subject, Dr. Gadow and Professor Newton, abstain from offering any scheme of Classification of the Oscines, the latter limiting himself to the declaration, already expressed by the late W. K. Parker, that the Corvidae should stand as the highest group. As regards their predecessors it will be enough here to enumerate the "Families" in the order in which they were arranged by Dr. Stejneger[279] in 1885, and Dr. Sharpe[280] in 1891; the scheme of the last author, however, being reversed to harmonize with the plan of the present volume, in which the lower groups are assigned priority. The order of Dr. Stejneger, which is based on both anatomy and morphology, is that subsequently followed, but his Families are not invariably adhered to.

DR. STEJNEGER. DR SHARPE. Alaudidae. Hirundinidae. Motacillidae. Muscicapidae. [H]Enicuridae. Campophagidae. Timaliidae. Pycnonotidae. Leiotrichidae. Timeliidae. Muscicapidae. Mimidae. Turdidae. Troglodytidae. Cinclidae. Cinclidae. Troglodytidae. Turdidae. Chamaeidae? Sylviidae. Mimidae? Vireonidae. Hirundinidae. Ampelidae. Campephagidae. Artamidae. Dicruridae. Laniidae. Ampelidae. Regulidae. Artamidae? Paridae. Laniidae. Zosteropidae. Vireonidae? Dicaeidae. Paridae. Nectariniidae. Oriolidae. Meliphagidae. Paradiseidae. Certhiidae. Corvidae. Mniotiltidae. Sturnidae. Motacillidae. Meliphagidae. Alaudidae. Nectariniidae. Fringillidae. Dicaeidae. Coerebidae. Certhiidae. Tanagridae. {496} Coerebidae. Ploceidae. Mniotiltidae. Icteridae. Tanagridae. Oriolidae. Ploceidae. Dicruridae. Icteridae. Eurycerotidae. Fringillidae. Eulabetidae. Sturnidae. Ptilonorhynchidae. Paradiseidae. Corvidae.

As regards structure, the Oscines have one posterior incision or fenestra on each side of the sternum; the furcula is U-shaped; the tongue is variable, as is the syrinx (pp. 13, 21, 22, 467); the nostrils may be pervious or impervious; an after-shaft is nearly always present, though comparatively weak; down occurs sparingly on the blind young, and is absent, or only found on the unfeathered spaces, in adults. The primaries number ten or eleven; the secondaries nineteen, twenty, or even more; the rectrices normally twelve. The form of the bill, wings, and tail are discussed under the different Families; the metatarsus exceptionally is smooth in front, but is ordinarily scutellated, while behind it is smooth and generally compressed, except in the Alaudidae, which, having it scutellated posteriorly, are termed scutelliplantar, as opposed to laminiplantar (with one horny growth behind). The hallux is the strongest toe.

Of fossil forms of Oscines, Osteornis (Protornis) of the Lower Eocene of Glarus in Switzerland may be Passerine; Palaegithalus (Sylviinae) and Laurillardia (Sturnidae) have been found in the French Upper Eocene; Palaeospiza (Fringillidae) in the Oligocene of Colorado; Motacilla, Turdus, Lanius, Corvus, Fringilla, and Loxia in the French Miocene or in the Breccia of Italy; Scolephagus and Corvus in the Pliocene of Oregon; Palaeocorax in the Chatham Islands; an extinct Foudia (Fringillidae) in Réunion.

Fam. I. ALAUDIDAE.–The Larks inhabit the Palaearctic, Indian, and Ethiopian Regions, only one genus (Otocorys), with many races, being found in America, and one (Mirafra) in the Australian Region. Of the former, O. peregrina, occurs as far south as Bogota, while the latter is found in Australia and Flores. M. hova is peculiar to Madagascar, M. javanica to Borneo and Java, Spizilauda deva to India. Alauda arvensis, the Sky-Lark, and Lullula arborea, the Wood-Lark, alone breed in Britain: but Otocorys alpestris, the Shore-Lark, is a regular winter-visitor {497}to our shores; while Galerita cristata, the Crested Lark, Calandrella brachydactyla, the Short-toed Lark, and Melanocorypha sibirica, the White-winged Lark, occur occasionally. The Sky-Lark has been introduced into Long Island, N.Y., Australia, and New Zealand.

The bill is long and curved in Certhilauda and Alaemon, shorter and slender in Alauda, similar but more robust in Galerita, abbreviated and conical in Calandrella, Pyrrhulauda, and Melanocorypha, and extraordinarily stout in Rhamphocorys, with a gap between the maxilla and mandible. The metatarsus is elongated, and may be more slender as in Certhilauda, or stouter as in Galerita and Melanocorypha; the hind-claw is generally much lengthened and straight, but may be short and curved, as in Calandrella, Pyrrhulauda, and Alaemon. The wing varies much in length, many forms having the outer primary almost aborted, though in Mirafra and elsewhere it is of fair size; the inner secondaries are nearly as long as the primaries in Calandrella. The tail is moderate or short, and may be rounded, nearly square, or emarginate. The normal coloration is light-brown with darker longitudinal streaks, the under parts being whitish and frequently spotted anteriorly; desert forms, however, often have uniform pale buff or rufous plumage–for example, Galerita isabellina and Ammomanes. Melanocorypha yeltoniensis is nearly black in the male; others of the same genus have a black gorget; the black-cheeked Rhamphocorys, Alaemon alaudipes and Melanocorypha sibirica exhibit white wing-patches; while Otocorys has a projecting black tuft on each side of the occiput, black cheeks, lores, and bands on the crown and breast, the {498}rest of the face and throat, or even the lower parts, being yellowish. Tephrocorys cinerea and Mirafra apiata have a rufous crown and breast respectively. Pyrrhulauda is chiefly black below, and varies above from grey to chestnut, relieved by black and white. Ordinarily the sexes in Larks are similar. Crests are not uncommon.

Certhilauda, Alaemon, and Ammomanes inhabit deserts or arid plains, Alaudula raytal frequents sandy islets, and Otocorys often selects uplands; but most forms only require open country, being chiefly ground-birds and seldom found near woods. Lullula, however, loves heaths and the outskirts of copses, and Mirafra bushy spots. Larks often flock together, and are not usually shy, since they will even enter villages; the desert species are particularly quick runners, while the flight is exceptionally weak in Ammomanes, Calandrella, and some others, though as a rule sufficiently strong. Perching is not an uncommon habit, Lullula and Mirafra habitually settle on trees or tall bushes, and several forms squat to avoid detection. In general dusting takes the place of washing. The food consists of insects and their larvae, seeds, worms, small molluscs, crustaceans, or even berries. Most Larks soar while uttering their pleasing trills, and plaintive calls are often heard; Lullula has a more flute-like song, Pyrrhulauda utters a shrill chirp. Galerita cristata and Melanocorypha calandra imitate other birds successfully when caged. The cup-shaped nest of bents, lined with finer grasses, fibres, or hair, is placed in herbage or in some depression in the soil–wool, cotton, rags, or even sticks being exceptionally added; but two or three species of Mirafra build a domed structure, occasionally placed on bare rocks or roofs of houses. The eggs are generally whitish, closely spotted or zoned with purplish-grey or brown; some specimens, however, are thickly freckled with yellowish or marked with reddish. The number varies from two in Pyrrhulauda, and about three in Ammomanes, to five, six, or even seven. Both sexes incubate in some cases, while two or more broods are often reared in the season. Thousands of Sky-Larks are netted annually for the table.

Fam. II. MOTACILLIDAE.–This group comprises the Sub-families Motacillinae, or Wagtails, and Anthinae or Pipits. The bill is thin and more or less elongated, with a slight notch, the culmen being decidedly curved in Oreocorys. The metatarsus is very long in Wagtails, variable but shorter in Pipits; it is usually slender, with the hind claw well developed and slightly {499}curved; though it is stout, with very long hallux, in Macronyx, Xanthocorys, and Neocorys. The wing is commonly elongated and pointed, with the inner secondaries reaching nearly to the end of the primaries, but it is shorter and more rounded in some species of Anthus. The tail is very long in Wagtails, but moderate in Pipits, being generally somewhat emarginate.

Wagtails range over the Old World, but are lacking in Australia and Polynesia; two species extend to the extreme north-west of America, one is accidental in Greenland, and one is restricted to Madagascar. Pipits are almost cosmopolitan, though not found in Polynesia; only two forms, however, inhabit North America, while one is peculiar to New Zealand, and another to Australia; Anthus bogotensis is exclusively Andean, A. antarcticus occurs in South Georgia, A. bertheloti occupies Madeira and the Canaries.

Wagtails are generally black and white, grey and white, grey with yellow breast (or even head), greenish with yellow lower {500}parts and greyish or black heads, or almost entirely yellowish. Most Pipits are brown above, with dark streaks, and light edges to the feathers, and are buff, whitish, or rufous below, with triangular brown spots. The outer rectrices are usually more or less white, as are sometimes part of the others. Limonidromus, however, is an olive-brown Wagtail with two black crescentic marks below, Anthus chloris a Pipit with a yellow patch on the breast. A. rosaceus has yellow axillaries; A. tenellus, has the wings, tail, cheeks, and under surface chiefly yellow, with a black pectoral band. The curious genus Macronyx, to its mainly brown coloration adds orange, yellow, or pink lower parts with a black gorget, while it shews a marvellous resemblance in other respects to Sturnella (p. 580)–M. crocea to S. magna, M. ameliae to S. defilippii. The bill and feet are usually black in Wagtails; the former is brown, with paler mandible and yellowish gape in Pipits, where the feet are brown, yellowish, or reddish. The females are duller, and in the Motacillinae the young are usually browner.

Wagtails frequent streams and stagnant waters, as in the case of the Pied, White, and Grey Wagtails, Motacilla lugubris, M. alba, and M. melanope; or they haunt fields of corn and meadows, as in the Blue-headed and Yellow Wagtails, M. flava and M. raii. All the above breed in Britain, but the White and Blue-headed species rarely. The Grey and the Yellow Wagtails both have yellow breasts, but the former has a grey, the latter an olive, back.

Pipits prefer open places with rough herbage, as for instance the Meadow-Pipit, Anthus pratensis; rocky shores, as the Rock-Pipit, A. obscurus; or open parts of woods and banks, as the Tree-Pipit, A. trivialis. These nest commonly with us, while the Red-throated Pipit, A. cervinus, the Tawny Pipit, A. campestris, Richard's Pipit, A. richardi, and the Water-Pipit, A. spipoletta, visit us occasionally. Flocks are rarely seen, but a few individuals often congregate on the sea-beaches in winter; the flight is easy, though jerky, and not protracted; that of Wagtails being distinctly undulating. Neocorys soars like a Sky-Lark, and the Tree-Pipit in particular hovers above his perch while singing. The songs of the last-named, and of Motacilla vidua are more Finch-like; that of Neocorys Lark-like; those of other species shrill, and less frequent than their repeated call- or alarm-note of chit-chit (Pipits) or chis-sic (Wagtails). The food consists of seeds, insects, worms, small molluscs and crustaceans, usually procured upon the ground, {501}Wagtails hunting for flies round cattle, and being very commonly seen wading. Pipits make their nests almost entirely of grass, Anthus correndera and A. rufulus occasionally adding an overarching cover; Wagtails use moss, grass, and roots, with a bedding of hair and feathers. The four to six eggs are bluish white or brownish, with grey, blackish, or brown spots in the Pied Wagtail and its similarly coloured allies, yellowish-white with yellowish and greenish-brown markings in others of the Sub-family; in Pipits they are commonly greyish or yellowish-white with brown and grey mottlings, sometimes covering the whole shell; while in the Tree-Pipit they vary from grey with dark brown spots and streaks to reddish-white, with rich brown, claret-colour, or bright red markings or close frecklings. A black line or two is a common feature throughout the Family. Wagtails choose for nesting sites ledges of rocks, crevices, holes in trees or walls, tops of pollarded willows, stony banks, or–in the Yellow Wagtail group–hollows in the soil among herbage. Pipits prefer the ground, or even spots shaded by trees, as in the Tree-Pipit.

Fam. III. HENICURIDAE.–The Fork-tails, a group of doubtful affinity, generally placed near the Motacillidae, extend from the Himalayas and the hills of South and West China to Burma and the Great Sunda Islands, one of the species–some dozen in number–reaching Samarcand westwards. They are black and white birds, with stout, straight, and usually elongated bills, long, strong metatarsi without scutellation, moderate rounded wings, extraordinarily long forked and graduated tails–except in Henicurus scouleri, where the shape is square and the feathers short–and well-developed rictal bristles. The outer pair of rectrices are white. H. ruficapilla has an orange-chestnut crown and hind neck, nearly the whole back being chestnut in the female; that sex of H. velatus has a brown head; two species have the upper parts spotted with white, and two the back slate-coloured. Several of them have crests. The bill is black, the feet whitish. These active unsuspicious birds haunt forest-streams or hill-torrents, and hunt for molluscs, insects and their larvae, near or in the water. They often wag the tail when perched on stones or branches. The large nest is formed of fibres, roots, and moss, and is placed on rocks or tree-stumps; the three or four eggs are greenish-white, with scattered brownish spots.

Fam. IV. TIMELIIDAE.–In this Old World assemblage are {502}included by Dr. Sharpe[281] many genera rather referable to the Turdidae, Pycnonotidae, Troglodytidae, and Paradiseidae; but the Family may be taken to contain most of that author's Crateropodes and Timeliae,[282] the Tit-like Liotriches, and perhaps Clitonyx, Chaetobias, and Myiophoneus. The whole question, however, is very doubtful, and no decision can yet be arrived at. The supposed diagnostic points are the rounded wings curved to fit the body, the lax, soft plumage, the comparatively large outer primary, the similarity of the unspotted females and young, and the Thrush-like bill. This bill, however, may be very strong and hooked, as in Myiophoneus and Gampsorhynchus; stout, deep, and wide, with festooned maxilla, as in Paradoxornis; similar but smaller, as in Chleuasicus and Suthora; short and blunt, as in several of the Liotriches; extremely elongated, slender and decurved, as in Pomatorhinus; or extraordinarily so, as in Xiphorhamphus. It is not infrequently notched. The metatarsi are typically strong or even clumsy, and vary considerably in length; in Liothrix, however, they are slender; while Cholornis has only two anterior toes (p. 10). The tail, often broad and much graduated, may be very long, as in Sibia, or no longer than the upper coverts, as in Oligura; the rectrices being obliquely truncated in Siva, curved outwardly in Liothrix, and frequently pointed or somewhat spiny. Elongated rictal bristles are not uncommon; several species have crests, that of Grammatoptila being exceptionally large; rigid shafts occur in the head- and mantle-feathers of Acanthoptila, on the forehead in Dumetia, Timelia, and Chaetops; hair-like plumes decorate the back of Macronus; the inner secondaries are much produced in Cinclorhamphus; the cheeks are bare in Aethocichla.

The sexes are commonly alike, the plain rufous coloration being often relieved by black, white, and grey; Liothrix and Clitonyx, however, shew tints of red or yellow; Myiophoneus of purple, blue, and black, and in some cases maroon; Brachypteryx of indigo. Hyperergus is partly olive-green, while Trochalopterum chrysopterum and T. phoeniceum exhibit respectively golden and crimson hues, not to mention other instances.

Many of the forms are found from the Indian Region to New Guinea, New Caledonia, and New Britain, one reaching Fiji and two New Zealand; others occur in the Ethiopian countries, whence a species of Argya extends to Morocco and Tripoli, and {503}a second to Arabia and the Jordan. Crossleyia, Bernieria, Mystacornis, Xanthomixis and Oxylabes are peculiar to Madagascar.

Most members of the Family inhabit woods near water with thick undergrowth, or more rarely stony hills, scrubby gullies, and rocky torrents; Cinclorhamphus haunts grassy plains; Crateropus kirki prefers reeds. The majority are decidedly terrestrial, skulking warily among the bushes and grass, either singly or in small companies, while some are inquisitive and active. The flight is low, short, undulating, and laboured; but the birds hop and climb well, bounding over the ground or clinging to the trees. The Japanese and Chinese "Hill-Robin" (Liothrix lutea) and its allies are more arboreal, as are Paradoxornis, Suthora, and so forth. Orthonyx is said to dance like a Lyre-bird (p. 493). Many species scratch up the soil or dead leaves in search of insects and their larvae, which, with seeds, constitute the chief food; fruit, however, or even small reptiles, crabs, worms, and molluscs are occasionally eaten. The tail is often carried erect; Cinclosoma rises with a whirring noise; Cinclorhamphus hovers in the air. Several members of the Family are comparatively silent, Sittiparus and Alcippe twitter, Stachyridopsis utters clear, bell-like tones, Timelia slowly repeated cries, Myiophoneus a fine whistle; but usually harsh chattering or screaming noises alternate with chuckles, croaks, clucks, or a laughing chorus. Psophodes is called the "Coach-whip bird," from its notes ending like the crack of a whip. The habits of Clitonyx are said to resemble those of the Meliphagidae. The nest is commonly a rough structure of leaves, moss, herbage, and the like, often lined with roots, which is placed in low trees, bushes, reeds, grass, holes in trees, or banks, by Garrulax, Argya, and Turdinus; in crevices of rocks, by Chaetops; or on crags near torrents, by Myiophoneus. It may consist of somewhat softer {504}materials, frequently bedded with fur, wool, or feathers, as in Crateropus, Paradoxornis, and Trochalopterum–several pairs of the last-named occasionally using the same tree; or it may be a domed mass of grass, leaves, bark, and moss, situated on or near the ground, as in Timelia, Orthonyx, Pomatorhinus, Pellorneum, and Rhopocichla. Lioptila and some of its nearest allies build a mossy cup, adorned with cobwebs, in high firs or other trees. The eggs of Crateropus and Argya are deep greenish-blue, glossy and spotless; those of Garrulax are similar, or pale blue or white; those of Dryonastes light blue; those of Pomatorhinus, Stachyris, Orthonyx, and Xiphorhamphus white; those of Paradoxornis whitish, with yellow-brown and purple markings. The ground-colour is frequently greenish-blue, olive, brown, salmon, creamy, or white, and shews scattered or dense spots, streaks, freckles, blotches, or even hieroglyphics, of reddish, purplish, chocolate, olive, grey, or occasionally black. The coloration, however, is by no means constant in each genus, while the number varies from two to five or six. The Australian Pomatorhini fashion large domed nests, after the manner of Magpies, of twigs lined with bark and feathers, and add a spout-like entrance, while several are commonly found at the ends of the branches of the same tree; their buff or purplish eggs, clouded with brown and purple, and streaked with black hair-lines, number from four to ten.

Fam. V. PYCNONOTIDAE.–The Bulbuls, often included among the Timeliidae, have a fairly long bill, usually somewhat stout and curved, which is Finch-like in Spizixus, very long and thin in Phyllostrephus, and so forth. The maxilla is generally notched, being minutely serrated in Andropadus, and decidedly hooked in Tricholestes, Aethorhynchus, and Trichophoropsis; while strong or weak rictal bristles are ordinarily present. The abbreviated metatarsi lack scales in several genera. The wings are normally short, rounded, and concave–though more pointed in Hypsipetes and Irena (if these really belong to the Family), Hemixus, Alcurus, and Ixocincla or even long in Tylas–the secondaries are much elongated in Aethorhynchus. The tail is sometimes square or graduated, but is commonly rounded, being rarely forked, as in Hypsipetes; in Irena and Micropus the coverts are much lengthened, while they nearly equal the rectrices in I. crinigera. Crests occur frequently, the constituent feathers in Alcurus being obtuse, in Criniger long and pointed, in Otocompsa somewhat recurved. {505}Most of the Family are characterized by long, fluffy rump-plumage and conspicuous nuchal or dorsal hairs, the latter reaching their highest development in Tricholestes. The feathers hide the nostrils in Irena and Spizixus; Poliolophus has a yellow circumocular wattle, and several species of Pycnonotus possess fleshy eyelids of black, red, or grey.

The usual coloration is olive-brown, olive-green, or olive-yellow, commonly with wholly or partially yellow, white, greyish, or even orange, rufous, and buff under parts; Hypsipetes perniger is entirely black, Micropus melanoleucus black with white wing-spots, and many species are mottled with yellowish or white. Trachycomus has a yellow cap of decomposed bristly feathers; while elsewhere the head or the throat is often more or less black, brown, chestnut, grey, and rarely yellow or white. The tail and rump may be rufous, yellow, or orange, occasionally barred with black; and white or yellow markings frequently adorn the wings. Otocompsa shews crimson or scarlet ear-tufts, and crimson or yellow under tail-coverts; certain species of Pycnonotus have the latter scarlet, orange, or yellow; Rubigula has loose, stiff, scarlet plumage on the throat, and an orange under surface. Chloropsis is green and yellow, relieved by orange, blue, purple and black, and exhibits a conspicuous blue, purple, or emerald shoulder-patch, except in C. cyanopogon and C. flavipennis; Aegithina and Aethorhynchus are green, black, and yellow; while Irena (the Fairy Blue-bird) is either brilliant turquoise, with black wings, tail, and under parts, or purple-blue, varied by cobalt above, with or without a black mantle and under surface. The bill and legs range from brown, black, or plumbeous, to coral red, orange, yellow, or whitish. The sexes are similar, except in Aegithina, Aethorhynchus, Chloropsis, and Irena.

From their headquarters in the Indian and Indo-Malay countries, the Pycnonotidae extend to China, Hainan, Formosa, and the Moluccas, Hypsipetes even reaching Japan; they also occupy the whole Ethiopian Region, with Madagascar and the neighbouring islands. To these latter Ixocincla and Tylas (p. 533) are peculiar; while Pycnonotus, Criniger and Xenocichla inhabit both of the above Regions, and the first is found from Morocco to the Cyclades, Rhodes, Cyprus, and Palestine.

Bulbuls are gregarious arboreal birds of feeble flight, rarely seen upon the ground, where they move with awkward shuffles or short hops. The majority are sociable, and frequent gardens, {506}orchards, forests, and low jungles; they feed chiefly upon fruits, including berries and seeds, but also upon insects, which Aethorhynchus, Aegithina, and Chloropsis in especial seek among the leaves and branches of the trees. The ordinary note is a mellow cheerful whistle, becoming a pretty song in such species as Pycnonotus haemorrhous, and P. xanthopygus, the Ceylon and Palestine Nightingales; chattering and chirping sounds are, however, often heard, while Criniger, Phyllostrephus and Hypsipetes habitually utter reiterated jarring or croaking cries, particularly when roosting in company. The flimsy, or occasionally bulky, nests of twigs, fibres, grass, moss, and cobwebs are placed in low trees, bushes, creepers, or bamboo-clumps; Aegithina, Chloropsis, and Irena generally laying two or three white or greenish eggs with brown streaks or spots, and the remaining forms from two to four, of a pinkish white or salmon colour, with markings of various reds and purples. The nest of Iole is suspended by the rim like that of an Oriole. The Perso-Arabic Bulbul of poets is probably Daulias hafizi, a true Nightingale.

Fam. VI. MUSCICAPIDAE.–The Old World Flycatchers are a group of somewhat vague definition, Hemipus appearing closely allied to the Laniidae, Cryptolopha to the Sylviinae, Lioptilus to the Timeliidae. Connexion with the Turdinae is implied by the more or less spotted plumage of the young, though the metatarsus is usually scutellated anteriorly. Typically the bill is broad and flat, with stiff rictal and prominent nasal bristles; it is extremely wide, with the culminal ridge strongly developed in Machaerorhynchus, Myiagra, Bias, and Smithornis; Sisura has it longer and more slender; Chelidorhynx short, with a pronounced hook; and the diminutive Smicrornis exceptionally small; while many species have it much less robust. The feet, usually weak, may be stronger, as in Chloropeta; the wings, ordinarily elongated and pointed, and especially so in Hemichelidon, are at times abbreviated and rounded, as in Niltava, whereas the secondaries in Platystira and Newtonia nearly equal the primaries, of which the outer is very short. The tail is also short in Diaphorophyia, but is usually moderate or long, and frequently much graduated, as in Rhipidura (Fantail), Elminia, and Terpsiphone, the males of the last having the two median feathers twice the length of the body. Terpsiphone, Cyanomyias, Bias, Trochocercus, and so forth, have fine crests, shorter in the female; while fleshy wattles, round or {507}above the eye, of scarlet, blue, or yellow, are found in Terpsiphone, Zeocephus, Diaphorophyia, Platystira, and Arses. The bill is sometimes reddish or blue, and the inside of the mouth green or yellow, as in certain Birds of Paradise.

The males of our summer visitors, the Spotted and Pied Flycatchers, Muscicapa grisola and M. atricapilla, are respectively brown with whitish under parts streaked with dusky, and black and white; the hen-bird being similar in the former case, but in the latter olive-brown, with the frontlet, wing-patches, and lower surface buff instead of white. M. (Erythrosterna) parva, which is brown with grey head, and has a reddish-orange fore-neck that becomes rufous in the female, occurs accidentally in Britain. Platystira is glossy bluish- or greenish-black above with white markings, and white beneath with a black pectoral band, the female having greyer upper parts, and sometimes a maroon chest; Erythromyias is black and white, with an orange-rufous breast or back; Pseudogerygone is olive-green, brown, or grey above–dark crimson in P. rubra–with an admixture of black, buff, rufous, yellow, or white, and has similar or yellow tints below; Chasiempis is brownish, relieved by black, white, and bay; Culicicapa is greenish-yellow with a bright yellow lower surface, the head being grey in one species. The hen-bird in these four genera, where known, resembles the male. That sex of Niltava is blackish or purplish, varied with rich cobalt, especially on the neck, the under parts being orange-rufous or purplish-grey; the female is chiefly olive, often with a blue or lilac neck-patch. Malurus commonly shews a fine mixture of blue, purple, and velvety-black, with a little brown and white; one of its members is chiefly brown, but has a blue tail, and a lilac crown with black centre; a second is vermilion, black and brown above, and black below; a third has crimson in the place of vermilion; a fourth is bluish-black and white. The hen-birds are mainly brown, often with a blue, or even a green, tail. Piezorhynchus has two metallic black species, while P. chrysomelas is orange-yellow and black; Metabolus is almost white, with black face and throat; and lastly, Terpsiphone (or Tchitrea), well known on Chinese and Japanese screens and fans, contains several long-tailed and finely crested white birds, with glossy greenish-black head and throat, and with black markings on the wings and tail in T. paradisi, the Paradise-Flycatcher. The female is rich bay above, with similar head, but grey cheeks and throat. In {508}other species the males are said to be maroon, cinnamon, chestnut, blue-grey, or glossy-black above. T. mutata of Madagascar may be dimorphic. Nuchal collars, elongated silky flank-feathers, and spots or stripes below, are not infrequent in the Family.

Flycatchers are common in the Ethiopian, Indian, and Australian Regions; and several species are Palaearctic, four or five reaching Europe. Most of them are migratory, the Spotted Flycatcher nesting northwards to Tromsö and Archangel, the Pied Flycatcher nearly as far. They love wooded districts, and Gerygone even gloomy forests; while they are usually silent and solitary, feeding on little but insects, which are habitually caught upon the wing with an audible snap of the bill, though also procured upon the boughs or by darting to the ground. The graceful, undulating, or zigzag flight, and the sudden dash into the air, followed by a quick return to the perch, are especially characteristic, as is a frequent quivering of the wings and tail; Rhipidura motacilloïdes is Wagtail-like in habits; while Sisura inquieta, the "Grinder" of Australia, runs along the river-sides, or hovers like a Kestrel, making a grinding sound in the air, whence it descends vertically to secure its prey. Other species of Rhipidura pick flies off cattle, and rise and fall perpendicularly in the air, opening the fan-shaped tail or tumbling completely over. Malurus runs quickly, or bounds along with rapid hops. Most Flycatchers are tame, but several are pugnacious; Lanioturdus is stated to be gregarious; Parisoma creeps about thick bushes; {509}Smicrornis clings to the branches like a Tit; Niltava and other forms eat berries and the like in late summer; Eopsaltria and Gerygone are very fond of insect-larvae. The voice is usually faint, but is harsh in Terpsiphone, Smithornis, and Batis, croaking in Piezorhynchus and Lanioturdus; Sisura whistles; Gerygone, Malurus, and our Pied Flycatcher, have pleasing Redstart-like songs; while that of Microeca, which often soars aloft when singing, is said to resemble the strain of the Chaffinch. The neat nest, usually formed of grass, moss, leaves, bark, fibres, or hair, and not infrequently decorated with lichens or cobwebs, is placed in low forks or cavities of trees, if not among creepers or outgrowths on banks, Terpsiphone preferring higher situations. Gerygone builds a covered pear-shaped structure, with or without a protecting porch, of like materials, lined with fur or feathers, and suspends it in shrubs; Malurus and Smicrornis make rounder fabrics; while that of Ochromela is somewhat similar, but is composed of grass and ferns, and usually placed in low vegetation. The eggs, in number from two to six, are greenish- or buffish-white, with red, brown, or rarely grey, spots and blotches; exceptionally they are uniform light blue, as in Muscicapa atricapilla; white, as in Chelidorhynx; apple-green, green-blue, or whitish, with reddish-brown, yellowish, or lilac markings, as in Eopsaltria; or white, with red or purplish spots, as in Malurus, Chasiempis, and Gerygone.

Fam. VII. TURDIDAE.–This group is here divided into five Sub-families, (1) Turdinae or Thrushes and their allies; (2) Myiodectinae; (3) Sylviinae or Warblers; (4) Polioptilinae; and (5) Miminae or Mocking-birds. The first and third of these are often considered separate Families, but they are so closely connected by the Saxicoline and Ruticilline forms that they can hardly lay claim to such rank, while the Accentorinae and Regulinae of certain authors seem unnecessary. The Miminae shew some affinity to the Wrens (Troglodytidae).

Sub-fam. 1. Turdinae.–In this section the bill is usually rather long and stout, being notched but hardly curved, with few, if any, basal bristles; it is somewhat hooked in the so-called genus Geocichla–where it is much lengthened in five species, and abbreviated in G. princii; large, broad, and arched in Turnagra (a doubtful member of the Family); comparatively short and slender in Sialia, Ruticilla, Erithacus, Saxicola, and so forth; more robust in Accentor. The metatarsus is long in Catharus, Calliope, and Notodela, but {510}is usually moderate, being particularly strong in Geocichla, Nesocichla, Zoothera, and Turnagra; in Saxicola, Erithacus, and Daulias it is at once slender and elongated. Generally the anterior scales are fused together, forming an ocreated covering (p. 10), but the opposite sometimes occurs, as in Accentor, Nesocichla, and Thamnobia. Typically the wing is fairly long and broad, with abbreviated outer primary, the next feather being emarginated in some species of Myrmecocichla; but in Dr. Sharpe's group Thamnobiae,[283] it is generally abbreviated and more rounded, in Sialia it is pointed. The tail may be long and wide, as in Turnagra, or comparatively short, as in Monticola and Pratincola, but is usually of medium length; it is normally square or rounded, though emarginated in Sialia, and much graduated in Copsychus and Cittocincla, while in Cossypha natalensis it has pointed feathers. Turdus (Geocichla) varius, T. horsfieldi, and T. hancii have fourteen rectrices.

The coloration is ordinarily plain black or brown, more or less varied with grey, white, rufous, or chestnut, occasionally in the form of a collar; many Thrushes, moreover, exhibit the characteristic white breast spotted with brown. The bill is frequently orange or yellow. As examples of the genus Turdus we may take our native Blackbird, Mistletoe- and Song-Thrushes T. merula, T. viscivorus, and T. musicus; our summer visitor the Ring-Ousel, T. torquatus; our winter immigrants the Redwing and Fieldfare, T. iliacus and T. pilaris; the American "Robin," T. migratorius; and the Ground-Thrushes ("Geocichla,") with their light patch under the wing. The sexes are commonly alike, but black or grey males have usually brownish females. A bushy crest occurs in Catharus.

Of some ten Rock-Thrushes (Monticola), M. saxatilis occurs exceptionally in Britain. It has a cobalt and blackish-blue head, neck, and upper back, a nearly white mid-back, brown remiges, chestnut lateral rectrices and lower surface. M. cyanus is almost entirely blue. The browner hens are generally spotted and barred below. Cochoa viridis is green and black, with blue-green under parts, and blue on the head, tail, and wings; C. purpurea has the bright colours replaced by purplish-brown and lavender; C. azurea is mainly rich blue, becoming purple below. The females are duller. Blue-birds (Sialia) are bright blue, often with chestnut breast or back, the males being the most brilliant; Grandala caelicolor is indigo, with blackish wings and tail.

{511}[Illustration: FIG. 111.–Mistletoe Thrush. Turdus viscivorus. × 7/11.]

In Saxicola (Wheatear) the rump-region is white, except in some seven species, where it is entirely or partly chestnut or buff; the plumage exhibits various combinations of jet black, chestnut, brown, grey, and white, the black shewing especially upon the breast, quill-feathers, throat, lores, or ear-coverts. The females may be similar to the males or browner. Pratincola rubetra, our Whinchat, is mottled with brown and buff above and is buff below, having a superciliary streak and wing-bar of whitish; P. rubicola, the Stonechat, is blacker on the back, and has the head and throat black, but the breast rufous, while the hen lacks the black head. Other species have white rumps or tails, and the breast or even most of the plumage black. Oreicola has three black members with white under parts; Myrmecocichla eight, which are grey or brown, relieved by black, white, and buff. The Australian and Pacific Robins (Petroeca), of very doubtful affinity, are blackish or greyish, with scarlet or pink breasts, and some white above; one having a red head. Our Redstart, Ruticilla phoenicurus, is grey, with brown wings, chestnut breast, rump, and lateral rectrices, black face and throat; the hen being brownish above and buff below, with less brilliant chestnut tints. The Black Redstart is dark grey, with brighter rufous rump and tail, black lower parts, {512}and a white wing-patch; brown replacing the grey and black in the female. Some species are blacker above, one has a chestnut back and no black throat, another has both rump and tail black, and three have blue on the forehead and crown, one of these again having a white gular mark. R. moussieri, linking the Redstarts to the Chats, is black, with orange-rufous rump, tail, and lower surface, a white alar spot, and white extending from the forehead to the face. The Robin,[284] Erithacus rubecula, needs no description; the Persian E. hyrcanus hardly differs; the similar Japanese Robin, E. akahige, has a grey belly; the Corean E. komadori is orange-chestnut above, black and white beneath. The Blue-throat, Cyanecula suecica, is brown, except for a white superciliary streak, bay tail-coverts, and a bright blue throat with a central rufous spot, to which succeed black, white, and rusty bands, and a whitish belly. C. wolfi lacks the gular spot, C. leucocyana has it white. Calliope camtschatcensis, C. pectoralis, and C. tschebaiewi, are brown or dark grey, with grey or black breasts, white abdomens, some black and white on the face, and glossy scarlet throats. Daulias luscinia, our summer visitor the Nightingale, and the larger eastern D. philomela are russet-brown in both sexes, with redder rump and tail, and whitish lower parts. D. hafizi of Persia is intermediate (cf. p. 506).

Our Hedge-sparrow, Accentor modularis, is brown streaked with blackish, and shews bluish-grey on the head, throat, and breast; but the Alpine Accentor, A. collaris, which rarely visits Britain, has a white throat spotted with black, and flanks mottled with chestnut; while their congeners exhibit rufous lower parts or pectoral bands, black throats, or whiter wings and tails. Ephthianura is grey, brown, black and white above, with the crown, rump, and breast crimson in one species and yellow in two; {513}of the latter one has a black mark on the breast, as has a fourth form with a white lower surface.

In the Thamnobiae the sexes are alike, or the females duller. The colour, as in Callene and Copsychus, may be dull blue and cobalt, purplish- or bluish-black, or bluish-grey, often with white rump; or, as in Cossypha and Thamnobia, grey, brown or blackish, with orange-chestnut or rufous rump, tail, and abdomen. Stripes of black and white often adorn the face, the ruddy hue occasionally tinges the breast, nape, or wing, while a blue alar patch or a white head occur exceptionally. Cittocincla is intermediate in coloration; Alethe is chiefly chestnut or rufescent-olive above, but grey and white or creamy buff below, with orange crown in two cases. Turnagra has brown upper parts with reddish tail, and the lower surface either grey with white throat, or whitish with dusky stripes; Cichladusa is similar, or has buff under parts, with black spots and gular crescent. All the above frequently exhibit white on the wings or tail. Lamprolia is velvety-black, with blue spangles on the head and neck, and white rump-region; Tarsiger is either blue above, varied with black, white, olive, or yellow, and with more or less orange below, or lacks the blue entirely. Aedonopsis and Phaeornis are brown, with grey and white under parts.

In the Turdinae the young are constantly spotted, as opposed to the Sylviinae.

Sub-fam. 2. Myiodectinae.–These birds differ from the Turdinae in their short, somewhat depressed bills, and strong rictal bristles. Myiodectes and Cichlopsis are in both sexes fairly uniform brown, grey, or blackish, with a grey lower surface, and occasionally chestnut or orange throat and belly; one species of the former, however, is cinnamon, with black head and under parts, and a white band across the cheeks.

Sub-fam. 3. Sylviinae.–Besides the typical Warblers are here included most of Dr. Sharpe's groups Bradypteri and Cisticolae,[285] but not, of course, the American "Warblers" (Mniotiltidae). They differ from the Turdinae in being smaller, with the bill usually weak and slender, though it is very stout in Rhopophilus and Arundinax; a few genera shew strong rictal hairs; while Regulus has the nostrils covered by one or more peculiar bristly feathers. The metatarsus is sometimes scutellated anteriorly; the wings are comparatively {514}short and broad. The tail, which in some twenty genera contains but ten feathers, varies from square to rounded, being rarely emarginated, but not uncommonly graduated, as in Locustella, Cisticola, and elsewhere; it is much lengthened and widened in Laticilla, broad and soft in Bradypterus, and so forth. In Sphenoeacus, Dromaeocercus, and the still longer-tailed Stipiturus the rectrices are spiny with curiously decomposed webs; in Orthotomus the median pair are elongated during summer in the male; in Sylviella the rump-feathers nearly hide the tail itself.

The usual coloration in both sexes is plain greyish or brown, with rufous, buff, white, or yellowish lower parts, and frequently spots, stripes, and streaks. Many forms, however, shew more or less black or red hues, often in the form of a cap; others, as Cryptolopha, Habrornis, Tickellia, and Phyllergates exhibit brilliant yellows and greens, relieved by grey, black, chestnut, and white; Orthotomus and some species of Prinia, Hapalis, and Euprinodes are hardly duller; while Phylloscopus, Acanthopneuste, Regulus, Hypolais, Neornis, and Acanthiza vary from yellow-green to brown and buff above. Regulus, Phyllergates, and certain members of Cisticola, have red, orange, or yellow crowns; Acanthiza has scaly frontal feathers; the male of Stipiturus a blue throat; Myiomoira is black and white, with a yellow and orange breast in one case; Stiphrornis has an orange throat in two; Leptopoecile shews a blue wash on the rump and lower surface.

Sub-fam. 4. Polioptilinae.–The Gnatcatchers, with the sole genus Polioptila, have very slender bills, moderate rictal bristles, metatarsi scutellated anteriorly, shortish wings, and graduated tails. They are blue-grey above, with black rectrices, externally marked with white; and are greyish or white below. White shews occasionally on the wing, and some males have black heads.

Sub-fam. 5. Miminae.–The American Mocking-birds have fairly long bills, which are little decurved except in Harporhynchus, but are frequently notched, and bristly at the gape. The metatarsi are usually strong and distinctly scutellated in front, though more slender in Oreoscoptes and Melanoptila, and sometimes quite smooth in the latter and Galeoscoptes; the wings are shortish and rounded, with well-developed outer primary; the tail is rather long and is generally broad and much graduated, but is narrower and squarer in Oreoscoptes. The usual coloration is dull brown, rufous, and grey, varied by white on the remiges and rectrices, and by an occasional {515}black cap or chestnut vent; Melanoptila, however, is uniform purplish- or bluish-black, Rhodinocincla rosy or rufous below in the male and female respectively, with superciliary streak to match. Oreoscoptes, Mimus, Cichlherminia, and Harporhynchus often shew spots beneath and Donacobius dusky bars, Mimus trifasciatus has a dark chest-band.

The Turdidae occupy the whole globe, being characteristically, though not invariably, migratory.[286] Of the Turdinae, Thrushes abound in the Neotropical Region, and–if we include the Ground-Thrushes–are common in the Ethiopian, Indian, and Australian, but the Palaearctic and Nearctic are poorly supplied: Chats, Robins, Redstarts, Nightingales, Hedge-sparrows, and their nearest allies are mainly Palaearctic, Ethiopian, and Indian; though Sialia reaches America, Pratincola Celebes, and Petroeca Samoa. Nesocichla is restricted to Tristan da Cunha, Turnagra to New Zealand, Phaeornis to the Sandwich Islands; while Madagascar possesses peculiar forms both of this Sub-family and of the Sylviinae. The last-named, however, are chiefly Palaearctic, and visit the southern Old World in winter; yet two species of Acrocephalus breed in Australia, Miro and Myiomoira occupy New Zealand, Tatare and Psamathia are Polynesian, one species of Phylloscopus reaches Alaska, Regulus occurs thence to Panama, and so forth. The Polioptilinae and Miminae inhabit North and South America; the Myiodectinae range from the more western United States to Bolivia and Brazil. Of the last groups several forms are confined to the Antilles, and of the Miminae three to the Galápagos.

Thrushes inhabit wooded country, and reach an altitude of twenty thousand feet in some latitudes; they feed chiefly on the ground, where they hop about scratching or searching for worms, molluscs, and insects. Snails are habitually cracked on some favourite stone by the Song-Thrush, and fruit is also eaten. The strong rapid flight is undulating and frequently low, but flocks cover vast distances on migration; Ground-Thrushes are naturally more terrestrial and resident, while the solitary Rock-Thrushes haunt stony hills, rocks, and ruins. This Sub-family comprises some of our very finest songsters, the Song-Thrush or Mavis vying with the Nightingale, which gladdens both day and night, and the Blackbird uttering delightfully mellow notes; but chirping sounds and harsher screams are common. Phaeornis {516}sings prettily. The typical Turdine nest is a massive cup of grass, cemented with mud and inlaid with finer herbage; but other materials are constantly added, while mud, dung, or rotten wood constitutes the lining in the case of the Song-Thrush, and occasionally elsewhere. It is usually placed in trees or bushes, but not infrequently in cavities in trunks, walls or rocks, and sometimes on the ground in heather, banks, and so forth. The eggs may be greenish or bluish with reddish-brown or purplish spots and streaks, or glossy blue with or without black or brown markings; Rock-Thrushes have them light blue with faint stains, or pinkish with rusty freckles, Turnagra whitish with black-brown spots.

As regards the Saxicoline and Ruticilline forms attention should be drawn to the jerky, flitting flight, the "chacking" alarm-note and the rarer song of our Wheatear, the similar habits of our Stonechat and Whinchat, not to mention other allied forms; as well as to the pleasant notes of Redstarts, Redbreasts, Blue-throats, and Hedge-sparrows, and the common habits of hopping, flirting the tail, and drooping the wings. The nests of Chats consist of grass and moss, often lined with hair, feathers, or fur, and are usually placed in holes of various descriptions, or in rough herbage; the four to seven blue, greenish, or even whitish eggs being spotted or zoned with rufous, except in a few instances, such as our Wheatear, where markings are rare. Deserts and stony or furzy flats are favourite haunts. Petroeca adds bark, fibres, cobwebs, or lichens, and chooses sites in forks, or holes in trees and walls; the greenish or buffish eggs being marked with purplish, brown and grey. Cyanecula and Nemura select hollows in marshy spots, building with moss, grass, and leaves, like Robins; but the former, instead of reddish-white eggs with rufous spots, has them olive-coloured or dull greenish with faint rusty markings, as have the Nightingales, which place their fabric of oak or beech leaves on the ground or in low shrubs. Copsychus, Cossypha, Catharus, and Thamnobia nest as Robins do, in holes in banks, trees, or walls, and have similar eggs; Redstarts deposit five or six, which are light blue or white and very rarely spotted, in a structure of grass, moss, roots, hair, and feathers, placed in cavities of trees or masonry; Tarsiger and Notodela prefer hollows in banks and rocks, and lay blue and salmon-pink eggs respectively. Hodgsonius and Larvivora also have them blue. Chimarrhornis and Rhyacornis nidificate like Redstarts, but their eggs are greenish-white with rufous or yellowish spots; the shy {517}Cittocincla haunts thick woods, and deposits four oily-green eggs, with brown and purplish spots and dashes, on a bed of leaves and grass in holes in trees; the unsuspicious Sialia utilizes cavities in stumps or buildings, the nest and its contents resembling those of a Redstart. The breeding habits of the Hedge-Sparrow need no description, and those of the Alpine Accentor differ little, except that rocky sites are chosen.

In the above section the number of eggs varies from four to seven. The flight is feeble as compared with that of Thrushes, most species feeding chiefly upon the ground and being more insectivorous, though Redstarts and Chats will take insects on the wing.

The habits of the active Sylviinae are much more uniform; they seldom fly far, except on migration, and a few flit about like Wrens; while Amytis, Stipiturus, Sphenura, and some species of Aedon run, or hop among the herbage, with upturned tail. They frequent trees, bushes, long grass or reeds, seldom flocking as does Regulus, and live on insects and their larvae, small molluscs and fruit, the first-named being either caught in the air or sought upon the leaves and branches. The song is usually clear and sweet, though often plaintive, metallic, or whistling; the Willow- and Wood-Warblers (Phylloscopus) trill: the Black-cap and Garden-Warblers (Sylvia) have beautiful songs, as well as grating alarm notes; the Cataract-bird (Origma) runs along rocky water-courses emitting shrill cries; the Reed- and Sedge-Warblers (Acrocephalus), the skulking Cettia, and other marsh- and grass-frequenting forms, utter more or less jarring sounds, generally from some bush, whence they quickly drop to cover; while the Grasshopper-Warblers (Locustella) have a peculiar cricket-like note.

The nest may be a thin or fairly substantial cup of grasses, bed-straw (Galium) and the like, occasionally lined with hair, and placed in bushes or rank herbage, as in the Black-cap, Garden-Warbler and White-throats (Sylvia); or a firmer structure, including wool, moss, feathers, reed-flowers, or even lichens, built on the ground, in shrubs, in sedge, or between reed-stems, as is the case in Locustella, Acrocephalus, Aedon, and Hypolais. Phylloscopus, as well as some African and many Indian and Australian members of the Sub-family, fashion a round ball of grass and a little moss, lined with finer grasses, hair, down, or feathers, and generally place it close to the earth; Regulus hangs a cup of moss and spiders' webs, bedded with feathers, below the end of a conifer or other {518}branch, or even builds it in creepers. Savi's Warbler (Locustella luscinioïdes) makes a Rail-like nest of broad grass-blades (Glyceria) in sedges, Myiomoira one of bark, grass, wool, moss, and fibres in holes in trees, Miro a similar fabric on their branches, Acanthiza a domed hanging structure of like materials, Origma a ragged pendent mass of moss and roots, lined with fur or feathers, under rocks. Orthotomus (Tailor-bird) and some species of Franklinia, Prinia, and Cisticola stitch together the edges of a leaf or leaves to sustain their nest of grass, cotton, wool, and hair.

The number of eggs is generally from three to six, but as many as twelve are found in Regulus. The colour is buffish-white with brownish and violet-grey spots in Savi's Warbler; pinker with delicate red-brown freckling in the Grasshopper-Warbler; rich red-brown in Cettia and Chthonicola; similar or varying to blue, green, white or pinkish, with or without red or brown spots, in Prinia–even in the same species; little different in Cisticola; bronzy-brown in Pyrrholaemus; white or purplish with dark markings in Sericornis; white in Origma and Cryptolopha. In Sylvia the eggs are greenish- or yellowish-white with olive, brown, green, or reddish spots; in Acrocephalus they are decidedly greener; in Aedon greyer with brown and dull violet markings; in Phylloscopus and Acanthiza white, usually with dark red or purplish spotting; in Hypolais lilac-pink with blackish or brown blotches or streaks; in Regulus white, freckled or entirely suffused with yellowish or ruddy dots.

Myiodectes frequents woods and thickets, and has somewhat Thrush-like habits; the voice is powerful, clear and metallic; while the food consists chiefly of berries, though insects are hawked for in the air. The nest, placed on bushes, stumps, banks or rocks, is made of sticks lined with soft materials, or of twigs, roots, and moss, and contains from three to six eggs, not unlike those of the Redbreast.

Polioptila haunts tall trees or shrubs in pairs or small companies; the habits are restless, the flight is quick, the food consists of gnats and so forth, commonly captured on the wing. The purse-like nest is felted with bark, fibres, and down, and decorated with lichens; it is woven to boughs, stems, or creepers, and contains four or five greenish- or bluish-white eggs, marked with red-brown, lilac, and grey.

Of the Miminae, Mimus polyglottus is the Mocking-bird in {519}chief; the natural song being rich, varied, and powerful, and the imitations ranging from the yelp of the Eagle to the noises of the farm-yard. It is found from the United States to Mexico and the Antilles, where in isolated trees, hedges, or brambles it makes a bulky platform of rough twigs to support the cup of roots, wool, and so forth, which contains the four to six pale greenish-blue–or rarely buffish–eggs, with brown and purplish markings. The movements are energetic but graceful, the flight Thrush-like; the food consists of insects, often taken in the air, and fruit. Mimus modulator, the "Calandria," of Argentina, Brazil, and Bolivia, feeds chiefly on the ground, and can hardly be said to mock, though M. triurus of the same countries does so. Galeoscoptes carolinensis, the Cat-bird, besides an attractive song, utters clucks, whistles, and mewing sounds; it feeds chiefly on insect-larvae, and deposits from three to five deep greenish-blue eggs in a nest of twigs, bark, and plant-stalks lined with grass. Oreoscoptes, of the North American sage-brush districts, resembles Mimus in its habits, nest, and eggs, but is no mimic; nor, it may be added, are the shy Thrashers (Harporhynchus), which commonly haunt arid situations, placing their large, flattish nest of coarse twigs, leaves, fibres, bark, grass, and moss, lined with softer materials, in low trees or thorny scrub. Their three to six eggs are white, bluish, greenish, or buff, with yellowish, purplish, or red-brown spots or specks, those of the more terrestrial H. crissalis being uniform pale greenish-blue. Donacobius frequents reeds, but possibly does not belong to this group; Melanoptila has a harsh or mewing note, and lays blue eggs, as does Melanotis.

Fam. VIII. CINCLIDAE.–The Dippers or Water-Ousels form a single genus, Cinclus, probably more akin to the Wrens than to the Thrushes. The bill is moderate and straight, without bristles at the gape, the maxilla being slightly curved and notched; the smooth metatarsi are fairly long and strong; the wings are abbreviated, rounded, and concave; the tail is extremely short, and the whole body peculiarly squat-looking. The colour above is normally greyish-black or brown, C. ardesiacus being, however, delicate grey; the lower parts are similar or white, commonly with a black belly, while a chestnut band crosses the breast in the British C. aquaticus and in C. albicollis. White spots often occur above and below the eye; C. leuconotus and C. leucocephalus have nearly white heads, and the former shews white on the back. {520}The sexes are alike, but the young are spotted. Both plumage and down are close and nearly impervious to water.

These birds range throughout the Palaearctic Region, just reaching the southern slopes of the Himalayas, China, and Formosa. One species occupies the Atlas Mountains, while others occur along the heights of Western America, and the Andes southwards to Peru. Individuals of a dark form from Northern Europe occasionally stray to Britain, but such migration is exceptional.

Dippers frequent rapid streams in hill-country, which seldom freeze, and appear as cheery in winter as in summer; their flight is powerful, rapid, and direct, with quick wing-strokes and sudden descent; their cry upon the wing is loud and clear, their song when stationary Wren-like. They sit on stones in the water, bobbing up and down and jerking their tails, while they use both legs and wings below the surface, whither they dive noiselessly in search of insects, their larvae and pupae, or molluscs. Fish-spawn has not been found in the stomach. The domed, but flattened, nest is composed chiefly of moss or grass, with an inner bed of dry materials, which are generally oak or beech leaves, though in India sometimes ferns and roots. It is affixed to rock-faces, ledges, or boulders in streams, placed in crevices of masonry, or even built in holes in the soil or in débris caught on bushes, common situations being behind water-falls, under bridges, or beside mill-wheels. C. albicollis seems to make an open fabric in Italy. From four to seven dull white eggs are laid very early in the season, two or even three sets being often produced–occasionally in the same nest. This the young sometimes leave by the end of March, being able to swim before they are fully fledged.

{521}Fam. IX. TROGLODYTIDAE.–The Wrens have their headquarters in Tropical America, but even reach Greenland, Patagonia, and the Falkland Islands. Four genera with some eight species inhabit the Himalayas, the hills of West China, the Burmese countries, Sumatra and Java; while Troglodytes, including the common Wren, occupies most of the Palaearctic and Nearctic Regions. An altitude of eleven thousand feet is attained in certain cases.

The bill is generally moderate, slender, and somewhat arched; being, however, stouter and almost hooked in Thryothorus and Campylorhynchus, much elongated in Catherpes, Salpinctes, and Microcerculus, high and compressed in Cyphorhinus, remarkably conical, straight, and pointed in Sphenocichla. The maxilla may be notched, but rictal bristles are almost entirely absent. The long robust metatarsi are scutellated anteriorly, except in Pnoëpyga; Salpinctes shews scales behind; Cistothorus has a very large hind claw. The wings are rounded and concave; the tail is usually short and graduated, though it is exceptionally long in Cinnicerthia, Sphenocichla, and Urocichla, and is hardly visible in three species of Pnoëpyga. The last-named genus has only six rectrices, Urocichla has ten. The coloration is ordinarily brown, with a great tendency to barring; spots, stripes, and streaks are not uncommon; chestnut, bay, orange, and grey often relieve the dulness; Troglodytes formosus, Catherpes, and Henicorhina exhibit white spots above or even below; and two species of Microcerculus have a white alar bar.

Wrens frequent marshy, as well as dry or rocky localities, being familiar and yet wary; they habitually hop about with upturned tails, fly sharply from cover to cover, and hunt for insects, their larvae, and spiders, among fallen leaves, in crevices of rocks, and so forth, while they occasionally eat worms, small molluscs, crustaceans, and seeds. The characteristic note is shrill and Warbler-like, though harsher sounds accompany it, but Cyphorhinus cantans, the {522}Organ-bird of the Amazons, Troglodytes domesticus (aedon), Microcerculus, and other American forms utter melodious flute-like strains. The nest is usually a domed structure of ferns, grass, moss, leaves, or even twigs, often lined with hair or feathers, which is placed in bushes, hedges, cacti, reeds, and cavities of masonry, or on trees, rocks, banks, and the like; Salpinctes, Catherpes, Urocichla and sometimes Pnoëpyga make no covering; Campylorhynchus fashions a large purse-like structure, with a long passage for entrance. The eggs vary in number from three to nine, and are white, with or without spots or freckles of red, purplish, or brownish; in Thryophilus pleurostictus they are said to be blue.

Fam. X. CHAMAEIDAE.–This contains only Chamaea fasciata and C. henshawi of California, which by various American authorities have been referred to the Wrens or the Tits, though not agreeing closely with either. This is the only Family of land birds peculiar to the Nearctic Region. In both sexes the lax plumage is brown above and buffish below, with faint tail-bars and pectoral streaks; the bill is short, straight, and compressed, and is furnished with rictal bristles; the metatarsi are stout and nearly smooth; the wings are rounded and concave; the tail is graduated. Chamaea inhabits dry plains and bushy hill-sides, flits about or searches for insects with elevated tail, utters a Wren-like trill, and builds a nest of twigs and grass in low bushes, adding hair or feathers to the lining, and laying three or four pale greenish-blue eggs.

Fam. XI. HIRUNDINIDAE.–The Swallows and Martins compose a well-defined cosmopolitan Family, certainly far removed from the Swifts (p. 420), with which they used to be joined. The latter have ten tail-feathers, and hardly any scutellation on the legs, the former twelve rectrices, and an anteriorly scutellated metatarsus. The bill is short, broad, and usually much depressed, being notched at the tip and split nearly to the eyes. The feet are very small and weak, with the middle digit more or less adherent to its neighbours; Tachycineta has a stoutish hallux, Chelidon feathered toes, and Cotile riparia a tuft at the back of the metatarsus. The wings are extremely long and pointed, while the exterior margin of the outer primary has hooked barbs in the males of Psalidoprocne and Stelgidopteryx. The tail varies in length, and is often very deeply forked, Petrochelidon, Stelgidopteryx, Chelidon dasypus and Psalidoprocne nitens having it {523}exceptionally square; while the lateral feathers may be almost linear, as in Hirundo rustica, or even wire-like, as in H. smithii.

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