Chapter XXI: Introduction (20)

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.

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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.

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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}

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._